The Pugilist: The Hypocrisy of Liberal Christology

Liberal theologians accuse the early Christians of revising Jesus so that He is more than man because of their predispositions. The Jesus we read of according to them reveals their subjective thoughts concerning Jesus and not objective history. Below Warfield argues that the liberal theologians are guilty of the same crime, they don’t believe in the supernatural, so they revise Jesus to fit their predispositions.

In the absence of all positive proof that Jesus was not what His followers represent Him, we must accept Him as what they represent Him. To refer subjectively to the faith of His followers what they refer objectively to His person, for no other reason than that it would seem to us more natural that He should have been something different — what we choose to think Him rather than what they knew Him to be — is only to be guilty ourselves, in the portrait which we form of Jesus, in an immensely aggravated form, of the fault of which we accuse them. B.B. Warfiled, Concerning Schmiedel’s “Pillar Passages”

Matthew 4:12-25 & The World a Galilee not a Jerusalem

Why does Jesus “withdraw” into Galilee? A casual reading might lead one to think that Jesus is afraid, or more reverently, that He seeks to avoid premature death. If this is how Herod deals with the herald, what of the legit King? But Jesus does not escape Herod’s domain, He just relocates to a different part of it. Next one may be tempted to think the reason is primarily pragmatic. Nazareth was a small out of the way village, whereas Capernaum was located by the Sea of Galilee, was more substantial with a population of approximately fifteen thousand, and was home to at least five of the disciples; but this isn’t the reason the Holy Spirit gives us. Jesus relocated to fulfill scripture. He will headquarter His ministry in Galilee of the Gentiles.

Galilee was the most northern edge of the former united kingdom of Israel and was surrounded and influenced by Gentiles. Gentiles not only resided around Galilee but were constantly traversing through it on the Via Maris, “the way of the sea,” a major trade route running from Damascus in the north to Egypt in the south. Galilee was a land of darkness influenced by idolaters. It was far from Judea, far from Jerusalem and the Temple, far from the light. The Messiah has come, but not where we expect Him, why? I believe this communicates to us something of Jesus’ mission.

When Jesus comes in to the world it is a place of darkness, not light; it is a Galilee not a Judea; it is a Sodom, not a Jerusalem. Galilee pictures the world.

God sent His Son into a world of darkness to magnify His Light. So when you look within and see only sin, remember God’s Light, Jesus Christ, is greater than your darkness (John 1:5). Don’t be arrogant about your sin; it isn’t greater than God’s grace. The darker the stain, the mightier His blood is shown to be.

The Truth Brings Both Peace and War

It is as much a crime to disturb the peace when truth prevails as it is to keep the peace when truth is violated. There is therefore a time in which peace is justified and another time when it is not justifiable. For it is written that there is a time for peace and a time for war and it is the law of truth that distinguishes the two. But at no time is there a time for truth and a time for error, for it is written that God’s truth shall abide forever. That is why Christ has said that He has come to bring peace and at the same time that He has come to bring the sword. But He does not say that He has come to bring both the truth and falsehood. – Blaise Pascal

The Pugilist: What the Gargantuan Effects tell us of Him whose Advent Was so Humble

The rise of Christianity was a phenomenon of too little apparent significance to attract the attention of the great world. It was only when it had refused to be quenched in the blood of its founder, and, breaking out of the narrow bounds of the obscure province in which it had its origin, was making itself felt in the centers of population, that it drew to itself a somewhat irritated notice. The interest of such heathen writers as mention it was in the movement, not in its author. But in speaking of the movement they tell something of its author, and what they tell is far from being of little moment. – B.B. Warfield in Jesus Christ

Matthew 4:1-11 & The Serpent Stomper

In his excellent book, The Gospel Driven Life, Michael Horton comments on the disciples that,

They sought to learn the wisdom of his ways and imitate his example.  However, they missed the most important elements that true discipleship entailed.  They misunderstood the point of the journey.  They failed to realize that the most important part of following Jesus was realizing that they could not go everywhere that he was going; could not do everything that he alone could accomplish; and could not even understand why he had come, apart from the Spirit opening their hearts to recognize Christ in all the Scriptures.  The most important things that had to be done for the establishment of this kingdom Jesus had to do by himself.  In fact, the disciples had fled for their lives.

We are just as foolish.  We try to make this text all about us.  No doubt Christ is our example in overcoming temptation and we can glean many practical helps from our text, but this text is primarily about Jesus overcoming temptation, not us.  We are arrogant little fools trying to skip the prerequisites and go straight to graduate work.  Without the prerequisites we flunk temptation.

Jesus is doing here what we cannot – overcoming temptation and resisting the devil.  Remember Jesus has just identified Himself with us in His baptism.  Notice all the other marks of identification here.  He is in the wilderness for forty days and then He quotes from Deuteronomy 8.

The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.  And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.   – Deuteronomy 8:1-3

So Israel, God’s son failed the test of living by God’s Word alone, but the true and greater Israel, God’s only begotten Son doesn’t.  He succeeds where they – where we failed.  In His second and third temptation Jesus does more of the same.

Also there is something implicit here that Luke makes more clear in his gospel account.  Both Matthew and Mark go straight from Jesus’ baptism to His testing, but Luke, he inserts a genealogy in between.  What a weird place for a genealogy right?  But remember unlike Matthew who works forward from Abraham to Jesus, Luke works backwards from Jesus all the way back to Adam.  Now we can compare the first Adam in whom we fall to the Second Adam in whom we are risen to newness of life.

The first Adam had every provision, he could eat of every tree save one; the second Adam had been fasting for forty days.

The first Adam falls after one temptation and is driven out; the second Adam resists three temptations and Satan is driven out.

Here is the point, we fall to temptation continually, He didn’t, ever!  His victory over Satan, sin, and temptation is ours.  The prerequisite for overcoming temptation is union with Christ (Romans 6:6-7; 1 John 5:4; Revelation 12:11).  His victory is ours.  Faith, not merely technique is the key to overcoming temptation.

All divine power and strength against sin flows from the soul’s union and communion with Christ (Rom. 8. I0; 1 John 1. 6, 7). While you keep off from Christ, you keep off from that strength and power which is alone able to make you trample down strength, lead captivity captive, and slay the Goliaths that bid defiance to Christ. It is only faith in Christ that makes a man triumph over sin, Satan, hell, and the world (1 John 5. 4). It is only faith in Christ that binds the strong man’s hand and foot, that stops the issue of blood, that makes a man strong in resisting, and happy in conquering (Matt. 5. I5-35). Sin always dies most where faith lives most. The most believing soul is the most mortified soul. Ah! sinner, remember this, there is no way on earth effectually to be rid of the guilt, filth, and power of sin, but by believing in a Saviour. It is not resolving, it is not complaining, it is not mourning, but believing, that will make thee divinely victorious over that body of sin that to this day is too strong for thee, and that will certainly be thy ruin, if it be not ruined by a hand of faith.  – Thomas Brooks in Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices

Matthew 3:13-17 & His is Ours

John, well, he’s different.  Jesus’ kooky cousin wears camel’s hair and eats locusts and wild honey.  So its only fitting that his baptism is a little different too.  Christian baptism symbolizes and identifies us with the death burial and resurrection of our Lord (Romans 6:1-11).  That hasn’t happened yet so what is John’s baptism about?  It is the baptism of repentance (symbolizing repentance) in preparation for the coming King’s redemptive rule (Acts 19:1-7 emp. v. 4).

So if John’s baptism is symbolic of repentance, what is sinless Jesus being baptized for?  Matthew’s account is written to give an answer to that question.  All four gospels record Jesus’ baptism, but only Matthew includes Jesus’ explanation,  “To fulfill all righteousness!”  Yet this explanation only seems to make things worse!  But notice Jesus says to fulfill – not because He lacks but to fulfill, not because he is repentant, but to fulfill.  Three interpretations have gained favor among evangelicals.  I don’t think the first one is valid; I think the second one closer to the truth, but only as understood in light of the the third option.

  1. Jesus’ baptism is anticipatory of His death, burial, and resurrection whereby he will fulfill all righteousness and make many righteous.
  2. Jesus’ baptism is an act of obedience as a man to the new command of God going out through John.
  3. In Jesus’ baptism He is identifying Himself with the sinners for whom He came to fulfill all righteousness.

So Jesus is fulfilling all righteousness not for Himself, but us, as our substitute.  He doesn’t lack righteousness, we do.  He comes as the second Adam, achieving all righteousness in our place (Romans 5:18-19).

Theologians have a helpful way to understand this; it is called the active and passive obedience of Christ.  Christ not only passively bore your sins and the wrath of God, He also actively achieved all righteousness in your place.  But don’t misunderstand this language to say that Jesus’ life comprises His active obedience, while His death comprises His passive obedience. Jesus suffered for us during His life, and His ultimate act of obedience was that of laying down His life. Yes, the cross is the ultimate, climatic act of both the passive and active obedience of Christ, but it cannot be dissected form His life. Jesus Christ didn’t just need to die for you, He needed to live for you. All of Jesus is necessary to save you from your sins. Christ fulfills all the obligations we shirked, and bears the penalty we deserve.  He didn’t just die in your place, He lived in your place.  He has become to you righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30)!  In Christ you become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:20).

This is how the Holy God of heaven now sees you, righteous in Christ.  As God is well pleased with His Son, He is well pleased with us.  We are loved in the Beloved.  His love toward His beloved is His love toward us (John 17:23, Ephesians 1:6).  The rays of the Father’s pleasure that go out toward His Son are the very rays of bliss that strike us.

And what a comfort is this, that seeing God’s love resteth on Christ, as well pleased in him, we may gather that he is as well pleased with us if we be in Christ!  – Richard Sibbes

Old Princeton for New Calvinist

If you find yourself enjoying the quotes I throw at you from B.B. Warfield this year you may also want to start reading The Gospel Coalition blog as they will be doing a year long series on Old Princeton. Click here to read the first installment.

Tolle Lege: Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Readability: 1

Length: 206 pp

Author: Tullian Tchividjian

Jesus + Nothing = Everything; this equation came out of the hardest year of Tullian’s Life, the year that Coral Ridge merged with the church he planted, New City Presbyterian Church. You about can read some of the struggles he faced here. This equation sustained, saved, and sanctified him through that time. In short, here the power of the gospel for all of the Christian life is gloried in. This isn’t just theology for your head, but for you heart and life.

In my misery I demanded an explanation from God. After all, I had done what he asked me to do—I had put “my baby” on the altar. And now this? Like Jonah in the belly of the great fish, I was arguing with God and making my case for why God owed me rescue. Worn out, afraid, and angry, I insisted that God give me my old life back. The gentle but straightforward answer from God that I received from the pages of Colossians that morning was simple but sobering: ‘It’s not your old life you want back; it’s your old idols you want back, and I love you too much to give them back to you.’

That June morning was when Jesus plus nothing equals everything—the gospel—became for me more than a theological passion, more than a cognitive catch-phrase. It became my functional lifeline. Rediscovering the gospel enabled me to see that:

because Jesus was strong for me, I was free to be weak;
because Jesus won for me, I was free to lose;
because Jesus was someone, I was free to be no one;
because Jesus was extraordinary, I was free to be ordinary;
because Jesus succeeded for me, I was free to fail.

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=28825135&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Jesus + Nothing = Everything: Intro from Crossway on Vimeo.

The Pugilist: Fight For Words

Stick through the quote for the last paragraph.

You see, that what we are doing today as we look out upon our current religious modes of speech, is assisting at the death bed of a word. It is sad to witness the death of any worthy thing, even of a worthy word. And worthy words do die, like any other worthy thing–if we do not take good care of them. How many worthy words have already died under our very eyes, because we did not take care of them! Tennyson calls our attention to one of them. The grand old name of gentleman,” he sings, “defamed by every charalatan, and soil’d with all ignoble use.” If you persist in calling people who are not gentleman by the name of gentleman, you do not make them gentleman by so calling them, but you end up making the word gentleman that kind of people.

…If everything that is called Christianity in these days is Christianity, then there is no such thing as Christianity. A name applied indiscriminately to everything, designates nothing.

The words ‘Redeem,’ ‘Redemption,’ ‘Redeemer’ are going the same way. When we use these terms in so comprehensive a sense…that we understand by “Redemption” whatever benefit we suppose ourselves to receive through Christ,–no matter what we happen to think that benefit is–and call Him “Redeemer” merely in order to express the fact that we somehow or other relate this benefit to Him–no matter how loosely or unessentially – we have simply evacuated the terms of all meaning, and would do better to wipe them out of our vocabulary.

I think you will agree with me that it is a sad thing to see words like these die like this. And I hope you will determine that, God helping you, you will not let them die thus, if any care on your part can preserve them in life and vigor. But the dying of the words is not the saddest thing which we see here. The saddest thing is the dying out of the hearts of men of the things for which the words stand.  – B.B. Warfield in “Redeemer” and “Redemption”