(By David Giarrizzo)

Man: A mist, a vapor, a withering weed; dust. We are temporary mortals, little lives bound by the constraints of time on earth. Here today, gone tomorrow.

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their lives and cares,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in following years.

Time: It flies; it rolls; it ticks; it slips. Time acts as the governor of human events, a universal rule by which all must abide until death.

Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.

God: Infinite; outside of time; from everlasting to everlasting. Unlike fragile, finite man, God is, was, and always will be; the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

…The passing of one year to the next often prompts such important thoughts as these above. The most important thought to dwell on, however, is of course our help and our hope, God Himself.

I thank the Lord for another year. Most of all, though, I praise the Lord for His powerful grace that softened my heart and peeled back the scales on my eyes to behold and acknowledge the wonderful reality of Him. Without His divine, mysterious mercy upon my soul, I would not know God as I do in this personal, sanctifying way. Apart from that predestining, all-compelling, life-changing love of the Father, I would yet be confined to my sin nature and under His ever-present wrath. Such is the state of millions of people today who live in willful rebellion against God. Their rebellion is played out both actively and passively, visibly and in secret. One of the most observable manifestations of man’s rebellion and Truth-suppression is seen through false religions with made-up deities. Simply put, this is blatant idolatry.

Brit Hume was right when he recently alluded that Christianity is a better religion than Buddhism. In fact, Brit may already know what he and Tiger Woods will one day see—that Christianity is better than any religion. But Christianity isn’t the best religion because of its teachings on compassion or forgiveness or love. Christianity is not just “a safer bet” because of its doctrines on heaven and hell. And Christianity certainly isn’t the best religion because of any of the people who call themselves Christians. No, Christianity is better than Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Neopaganism, Mormonism, Scientology, Islam, or any other man-made belief system simply because the God of Christianity is the only true God.

I am reminded of the events of 1 Kings 18. Here we read that the prophet Elijah confronted 450 prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. We read Elijah’s challenge to the 450 flesh-cutting prophets in verse 24: “And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” Of course we all know the conclusion of the matter: God won. And those who saw the dramatic events of the day observed first-hand the power of the one, true, living God and the impotence of the imagined Baal. The moral of the story is plain: FEAR THE GOD WHO LIVES! (Hebrews 10:31).

Therefore, let us proclaim much like the people there that day near Mt. Carmel, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

“…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”
(Philippians 2:10-11)

May it be our mission—not just for 2010, but for life—to bring the reality of the one, true God to bear upon the hearts and minds of all who suppress His existence in their unbelief. Let us pray that the fear of the holy God of the Bible will be seen in our own lives as we take the message of salvation through Christ alone to all the world.

I’ve heard my dad preach on various occasions these simple but memorable lines:

Life is short.
Death is certain.
Hell is real.
But Jesus saves!

…Words to remember as we enter another year of our short-lived lives. Happy New Year!

(By David Giarrizzo)

Each month at Grace Covenant Church a different hymn is featured and sung every Sunday for that month. Usually the goal is for the congregation to learn new hymns or be exposed to old ones. For this month we have been singing “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates” from the Trinity hymnal. As I looked afresh at the words of this hymn, especially the last two lines of each stanza, I noticed the Trinitarian theology that is clearly on display. Consider these words:

We praise thee, Father, now, Creator, wise art thou!
We praise thee, Savior, now, Mighty in deed art thou!
We praise thee, Spirit, now, Our Comforter art thou!

The work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are evidenced in the incarnation and appropriately worshipped through this hymn. In fact, this hymn is a helpful reminder to believers to hold high the doctrine of the Trinity in our thoughts, words and worship. By definition, our Christmas celebrations should be defined by Christ-centered worship and praise. Likewise, our worship should be consistently Trinitarian as we give thanks to God the Father for sending His Son Jesus to save us from God’s wrath and granting us the Holy Spirit to sanctify our hearts.

The rest of the hymn is of great value to read and ponder this Christmas and every Christmas.

1. Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates!
Behold, the King of glory waits;
The King of kings is drawing near,
The Savior of the world is here.
Life and salvation he doth bring,
Wherefore rejoice and gladly sing:
We praise thee, Father, now,
Creator, wise art thou!

The words of the first verse flow directly from the words of the psalmist in Psalm 24:7-10. Looking back to the birth of Christ we recognize that God opened the gates of the world, the ancient doors of heaven, as the King of Glory entered in. When Jesus took on human flesh and entered this world as a human baby boy, heaven sang for joy knowing that this baby, in fulfillment with prophesy and according to God’s sovereign plan, would be the Savior of the world—a Redeemer for people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 5:9). Therefore, let us sing with joy and wonder at the wonderful love of the Father to send His only Son to save a wretched people.

2. A Helper just he comes to thee,
His chariot is humility, His kingly crown is holiness,
His scepter, pity in distress.
The end of all our woe he brings;
Wherefore the earth is glad and sings:
We praise thee, Savior, now,
Mighty in deed art thou!

This same baby boy who was the Son of the most high God come down to save sinners appeared in flesh and was born to Mary and Joseph in the humblest of means. Jesus was not born in a palace and then placed in a golden crib. He was born in a shelter for farm animals and laid upon straw and placed in feeding trough on a lonely night in the quiet town of Bethlehem. Christ’s first coming was not characterized by worldly pomp and circumstance. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his ascension into heaven, Jesus’ life was characterized by humility. Even the highlight of Christ’s earthly ministry, when He was lauded by the Jews as their Messiah, Jesus identified himself with a modest donkey, not a stately stallion (Luke 19:35-38). But the words of the Jews in Luke 19 are reminiscent of the words of the angel in Luke 2—

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38)
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord….Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:11-14)

In spite of His humility, Christ is the most glorious King and a just Helper of the neediest of sinners. May we ever remember the truth of Philippians 2:5-11:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

3. O blest the land, the city blest,
Where Christ the Ruler is confessed!
O happy hearts and happy homes
To whom this King in triumph comes!
The cloudless sun of joy he is,
Who bringeth pure delight and bliss.
We praise thee, Spirit, now,
Our Comforter art thou!

Sadly, just as the birth of baby Jesus went largely unnoticed by many people living in Judea at the time, the reality of Christ continues to be ignored by many people living in the world today. But He is not unnoticed by all. There are “happy hearts and happy homes” all around the world where the reality of Jesus Christ has been known and experienced due to the mind-enlightening, heart-enthralling grace of God. To those whom Christ has been made known, He is truly a confessed Ruler, a triumphant King; “the cloudless Sun of joy He is, Who bringeth pure delight and bliss.” Herein lies “the reason for the season”—Jesus Christ and the joy of salvation that He brings to the hearts of men and women all around the world.

This Christmas, let us focus our thoughts and worship on the only wise, triune God Who is from everlasting to everlasting. And as we adore the One Who was born as a baby to rescue men from their sins, may we “rejoice and gladly sing” for the “life and salvation he doth bring.”

(By: Chad Bennett)

“What is a Christian?” asks J.I. Packer in Knowing God (200); he answers, “The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God as Father. But cannot this be said of every person, Christian or not? Emphatically no! The idea that all are children of God is not found in the Bible anywhere.”

John 1:12-13 reads, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Christians receive this great blessing not through a natural birth but through the sovereign act of adoption.

Adoption, for the Christian, is a change of status from slave to son, in which there is also a legal and forensic change of status. We become children of God by faith and by the new birth. Our adoption is related to predestination and election and is the result of God’s love for us. Adoption brings a number of privileges to those whom God adopts.

As children, we have the privilege of calling God “Abba, father,” and relating to Him as a father. We have Him as a perfect father who does not have the failings resulting from sin that are inherent in our earthly fathers. As a Father, we have the privilege of trusting that God will protect us and preserve us as a good father would protect his children.

Through adoption we have the privilege of God providing for us as is stated in Romans 8:32. 1 John 2 shows that God teaches us as his children. We have assurance of salvation as children. God has pity and compassion for us because we are His children.

The Holy Spirit is given only to children of God, which is a great benefit and blessing for believers. There is the brotherhood of all believers and with Christ as well, being heirs and co-heirs with Christ. Our adoption frees us and brings the love and concern of our brothers (Romans 14).

As Packer states, truly adoption “is the highest privilege that the gospel offers … because of the richer relationship with God that it involves” (Ibid. 206-7). We who were once enemies of God now have the privilege of relating to Him as Father.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God” 1 John 3:1

Hubble Image

Institutes – part 8

(By: Chad Bennett)

It has been some time since I last wrote on the Institutes of Christian Religion. The last article can be found here. In continuing this study Calvin focuses the fifth chapter of his book on God the creator. In doing so he spends much time on a subject upon which we have already touched, general revelation. I give you a couple of quotes from the first section of chapter 5 with the hope that it will whet your appetite for future discussion on the God’s self-revelation in His creation.

Beyond the sense of divinity which is given to all people Calvin explains that God “daily discloses himself in the whole workmanship of the universe. As a consequence, men cannot open their eyes without being compelled to see Him… He shows His glory to us, whenever and wherever we cast our gaze” (52).

“The reason why the author of the Letter to the Hebrews elegantly calls the universe the appearance of things invisible (Hebrews 11:3) is that skillful ordering of the universe is for a sort of mirror in which we can contemplate God, who is otherwise invisible” (52-53).

Let us who have the written Word not forget the mercy of God that He reveals Himself to all men whenever and wherever they cast their gaze and reveals much that was otherwise invisible.

(By: Chad Bennett)

In a recent class on Systematic Theology I read Herman Bavinck’s The Doctrine of God. In the book he divides the doctrine of God into six essential elements. I present a summary form of the six elements here for your consideration. I would love to hear feedback on whether you think his list is complete, what you might add, or what he included that you would not.

Bavinck believed that the first element of the doctrine of God is God’s independence. He is a self-existent, self-willing, and personal being who is exalted above all that is created. Secondly, God is able to reveal Himself in definite places and at definite time and He has done so in history. Thirdly, God’s self-revelation in the Old Testament was for the purpose of preparation of an even greater revelation to come. The revelation was outward and to man instead of inward which was preparatory for His greater revelation of God incarnate in Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Fourthly, while the Old Testament provided a true and therefore reliable revelation of God it did not provide a complete revelation of Him. Fifthly, although God does at times limit Himself to a definite places and persons He is always exalted infinitely higher than all of creation as He is holy (Isaiah. 57) and omnipotent. Finally, The New Testament shows forth the same as the Old in testifying to God’s holiness and inapproachableness; yet the fullness of God dwells in the person of Jesus and spiritually in all those who love Jesus (John 14).

The Institutes: part 5

(By: Chad Bennett)
Having dealt in the last article with the majesty of God that brings a sincere dread of God to all who encounter Him, we move now to further ponder what true religion is. Calvin says, “Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law” (43). He further explains that “all men have a vague general veneration for God, but very few really reverence him” (43).

Calvin does not stop with a reverence for God but insists that a knowledge of God leads us to seek every good from Him and having received it to credit it to God. We who are his handiwork, are infinitely indebted to Him owing our very existence to Him. All that we would endeavor to do ought to be ascribed to Him. Since he is our creator and we owe our all to him, we are reminded of our depravity in as much as we fail to serve Him. In a recent study of Philippians I was reminded of the movie The Count of Monte Cristo. There is a scene in the book and movie where one characters has lost a fight. The penalty for losing the fight was his very life. The victor in the battle successfully appeals to have the other man’s life saved. The man’s response is to turn to the victor and say “I am you man for life.” He understands that he should be dead and whatever life he now has he owes to that man. How much more so is this true of our God who created us. We would not exist apart from God’s creative work. Further “we are dead in our trespasses and sins” and our savior gives His life that we may have life. We who should be dead owe our very lives to our gracious savior. The person who understands this “restrains itself from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but, because it loves and reveres God as Father, it worships and adores him as Lord. Even if there was no hell, it would still shudder at offending him alone” (43). This is the reverence and trust in God that results from a true knowledge of Him.