GospelDrivenLife

How new is the new? a great quote on grace by Michael Horton

How amazing is grace?  Here is a great word from Michael Horton.

There's always been a suspicion that grace is a little too comforting. That the news is too good, it's a little dangerous to tell people that it's all of God, all of grace. Unleashed in its full force such preaching would surely undermine all sense of moral earnestness. The fear of punishment and hope of rewards is the only thing that can really get us off the dime, even though on our deathbed we may be told that Christ is enough after all. A lot of Christians today can tell similar stories, when they became a Christian they were told that Christ died for their sins past, present, and future, and promised eternal life to all who believe. But then, after their conversion, they were gradually buried under a weight of conditions. If you follow these steps you can live the victorious Christian life. If you do this God will smile upon you. What, you're not living in victory? Perhaps you're not following the steps. Start over. Rededicate yourself, try harder. It's actually pretty easy, you know, especially with the help of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, having begun in the Spirit, they're trying to be perfected in the flesh, because that's the message they're getting, or at least thinking they're getting, in church.

The new and self help Christianity

I have been seeking to show that the Old Covenant was designed to fail -- and the new does in power what the old could not achieve.  It decisively deals with the root of sin and the consequences of sin.  The new is to the old what a Ferrari is to a matchbox car, or a Ducati is to a tricycle.  And I think that is an understatement.  But I like the "hands on" nature of the Old -- and I am drawn to it. 

How new is the new? 2

My impression is that the relationship of the Old and the New Covenants is a point of endless debate – but one that is so important to the life of the Christian. If the old had weakness in it, is that accusing God of a making a mistake? And why would God institute something that would fail? On the other hand, if the new is that much more glorious, then should we pay any attention to the Old? Let’s just tear that part of our Bible out and forget it.

How new is the new?

When I was a boy, I used to play with mini-cars.  I had a road race set and spent hours watching the cars race around our living room on their track.  I had a toy car I could sit on.  I would push off from a wall, and ride through the basement.  It was fun and cool, when I was a boy.  But now I drive my 5 speed jet black Mazda 3i and would not want to go back.  Those early vehicles were tastes of a real car.  They were designed to prepare me.  But they get put aside once the real has come.

What is true of cars is not true of how I relate to God.  Nor was it true of the people of the New Testament.  I am under the new covenant, but I keep wanting to go back to the old.

Going where others have died, 3

The glory of God is beyond all analogies.  What possible connection can there be between my daily life, fighting traffic and keeping on top of tasks, with the radiant holiness of God.  Glory is a word that cannot be defined since it is above all other words.  Glory is wonderful and glory is frightening.  Those two ideas and experiences belong together when the one who is glorious is infinite in glory. How then can we draw near to God?

Going where others have died, 2

The Bible states clearly -- no one can see God and live.  Our God, the true God, is of such a glory and majesty of being that in his presence all else is undone.  Perhaps the radiance of the sun is a close metaphor -- we cannot stare at the sun for any length of time without being blinded.  We certainly cannot fly close to the Sun without being disintegrated.  That is not because the Sun is mean or cruel -- it is because of its glory.  Daily we enjoy the life-giving effects of the Sun.  Its glory is our life. Its glory could also be our destruction.

Going where others have died, 1

I have never known anyone who was struck dead by God.  But Scripture tells their stories.  Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah, Ananias and Saphira.  They ventured into the holy and paid with their lives.  When I read those accounts, it seems unreal.  What sort of a God would strike someone dead when they enter his presence?  But, if I read my Bible carefully, it seems that there should have been more and would have been . . . had not God created a means for his people to be safe in his holy presence.

This week I have been reflecting on Jesus as the High Priest who made propitiation for the sins of the people.  Behind that simple phrase in Hebrews 2.17 is the story of how God acted in Israel's history to protect them from being struck dead.  The posts that follow will be a reflection on this.

The Death of Death, 3

So, what is the fruit of Jesus ending the power of death and delivering us from fear of death? It all seems so irrelevant!

The simplest word I have is that Jesus triumph over death is the basis for all hope. Let me explain.

The Death of Death, 2

The death of death and the redemption of a new human race is described in Hebrews 2.

Hebrews 2 talks about the world to come (v.5). It tells us that the purpose of God is to subject the world to come to humankind. The author quotes Psalm 8 to show that this was God’s design for his image bearers -- we were to exercise dominion in the creation, to subdue it, and all things were to be subject to us. But the author notes that “we do not see all things subject to him.”

 

 

The Death of Death, 1

Hope is a powerful force in the human heart. When we are full of hope we sense there is meaning to what we are doing and that our labors will not be in vain. Hopelessness is a disease rooted in the belief that life is a waste – or at least our life is, and that nothing we have done or will do will matter at all in the end.

I have been reflecting this week on the root of all hopelessness. It is death. When people look at the brevity of their lives and the seemingly minimal fruit that comes from great effort, they battle with hopelessness. When people see evil triumph over good, they become hopeless.

What is death? Where does it come from? What does Christianity have to do with death?