FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:12-25

During life’s daylight hours, when we are lighthearted and full of life, we don’t take time to listen. But when the sunlight fades in some sorrow or difficult experience, God gets our attention and in the darkness He teaches us some lessons we need to learn.

The shadows had fallen upon Paul. He was a prisoner of the Roman government. He knew the Philippians loved him and were praying for him because Epaphroditus had told him so. For Paul the sunlight had faded, temporarily, yet the darkness had descended, and nightfall had come.

However, the darkness will not defeat God Almighty. He would work even in it and teach Paul some lessons that would bless not only the Philippians but all believers in the ages to come.

Life will not always be sweet and joyous. But as we walk with faith in God, life’s dark hours will not defeat us. There are some lessons that God will teach us even in the darkness.

God Can Put a Silver Lining in Every Dark Cloud

Read Philippians 1:12-13 for insight into this section.

In her poem “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” Lena Guilbert Ford has an interesting thought: “There’s a silver lining / Through the dark clouds shining.”

Though Paul was a prisoner surrounded by dark, uncertain clouds, he found the silver lining God had put on the dark clouds.

After carefully thinking through his problems, Paul came to the steadfast conclusion that “the things which happened” to him was producing good fruit. “The things which happened” could literally be translated, “the things dominating me.” Nothing ever “just happens” to the believer. Things either come directly from God or in His permissive will He permits them to come. As believers, we are most definitely not controlled either by fate or luck.

Paul wanted the Philippians to understand that the things dominating his life, namely his imprisonment at that time, would not curtail his ministry or hinder the spread of the gospel. Rather, his dark cloud had a silver lining and his imprisonment had really served to advance the gospel.

Paul’s imprisonment, which Satan planned to use to short-circuit Paul’s preaching ministry, was instead being used by God to spread the gospel of redemption.

For months Paul lived in his own rented quarters in Rome. He was chained to a Roman soldier day and night. The guards were changed every few hours, and these pagan guards couldn’t help but hear the gospel of Jesus from the lips of the apostle they were bound to.

History tells us also that the soldiers who guarded the apostle were not just ordinary soldiers. They were the Praetorian Guard. During the reign of Emperor Tiberius there were approximately 10,000 of these handpicked soldiers. It’s be stated that they had double pay and special privileges and they became so powerful in their own right that the emperors had to court their favor. Paul had contact with one after another of these highly esteemed soldiers.

Chained to these palace guards, Paul had opportunity to witness to Rome’s most elite soldiers, many of whom would be saved and, in turn, become missionaries to the ends of the earth where they would be stationed.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 9:22

The Death of Christ Is the Atonement of God for Our Sins

What is the meaning of the death of our Lord? This is God’s redemption for our souls. This is God’s way for our salvation. This is God’s answer to our sins. This is the Lord’s reply to Job when Job cried, “I have sinned, O God, what shall I do?” This is the answer to the cry of Macbeth, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hands?”

What is the meaning of that cross? This is the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. This is the blood of the Passover Lamb, for the Lord had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” This is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53:6, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” This is the great redemption of the Lord God through all time and history. This is the pivotal moment in human story toward which all God’s sovereign efforts finally found their ultimate consummation.

So Jesus bowed His head on the cross and cried, “It is finished!” The drops of blood that poured out from the cross to the dust of the ground whispered to the grass, saying, “It is finished!” The grass whispered to the herbs, “It is finished!” The herbs whispered to the trees, “It is finished!” The trees whispered to the birds in the branches, “It is finished!” The birds spiraling upwards to the clouds cried, “It is finished!” The clouds spoke to the stars in the sky, “It is finished!” The stars in the sky cried to the angels in heaven, “It is finished!” The angels in glory went up and down the streets of the heavenly city echoing this glad refrain, “It is finished!” The crucifixion of our Lord was God’s redemption for the sin of the world.

The Cross Is the Message of Our Salvation

This is not only the death of our Lord, this is not only the result and the judgment upon our sin, it is not only God’s redemptive plan for the ages, but the cross is the symbol of our hope in glory.

Wherever men have fallen in the faith, there will you see a cross placed by the grave. It is a sign of our faith, of our promised heaven in the world to come. The arms of that cross are extended wide, wide as the world is wide. As far as the West goes West and the East goes East, just so far are the arms of the cross extended. In their embrace, all of us can find refuge, forgiveness, salvation, and hope. This has God Almighty done for each of us.

The cross is a sign of our hope, our faith, our commitment to Jesus. Every word that He said He will faithfully keep. Every promise that He made will be faithfully kept for us. No word of our Lord will fall to the ground. He is able and mighty to save. That is our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, who died for our offenses and was raised for our justification. With what infinite gladness, gratitude, praise, and thanksgiving does the Christian lift up his head in the name of the Lord who died for us, who is able to save us, and who some day will present us before the throne of His glory without spot or blemish, washed clean and white in the blood of the Lamb!

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 9:22

What is the crucifixion of the Son of God on the cross? What happened on Golgotha, on Calvary? Is this a dramatic play like the tragedy of Shakespeare’s Macbeth or King Lear? What is this that is happening on Calvary? Is it a historical tragedy like Socrates drinking the hemlock or Julius Caesar murdered at the foot of the statue of Pompey? Is it like the assassination of President Lincoln in Ford’s Theater or like the tragedy that brought a cloud over Dallas in the assassination of President John Kennedy? What is this that happened on Calvary?

The Crucifixion Is the Judgment of God Upon Our Sin

The death of Christ on the cross is the fruit and the result of our sins. Who killed the Lord Jesus? Who executed the Prince of Glory? Who nailed Him to the cross where He suffered until He died? Whose fault is that?

So many would answer, “God did it.” Like Job’s wife said to him when he fell into abject suffering, “Curse God and commit suicide.” It is God’s fault. He did it.

There are others who would say: “It is His own fault. He should have been a better manager. Had He been smart, He would not have been nailed to that tree. It is His own fault.”

There are those who would say: “It is Judas’ fault. He sold Him for thirty pieces of silver. He betrayed Him. It is Judas’ fault. He did it.”

There are those who say to this very day: “It is the Jews’ fault. They delivered Him. They accused Him. They encompassed His execution. It is their fault. They did it.”

There are those who would say: “It is the Roman soldiers’ fault. They are guilty of the death of the Lord. They did it. Who drove those nails through His hands? They did it. Who thrust the spear into His side? They did it. Who raised Him up between the earth and the sky? The Roman soldiers did it. They killed Him.”

It is remarkable that each one disavows the guilt of the Lord’s crucifixion. According to one tradition, when Pilate was recalled, he committed suicide, and they flung his body into Lake Lucerne. That is why just beyond the city of Lucerne there is a tall, towering mountain called Mt. Pilatus, Mt. Pilate. Legend says that in the mist of the twilight of every evening, the peasants see Pontius Pilate rise from the depths of the sea and wash his hands in the clear blue water of Lake Lucerne. “I am guiltless of the blood of this just man. I did not do it.”

Then the Jews did it. They are Christ-killers. They crucified Him. Without exception, the Jew cries, “Would you bring the blood of this man upon us and upon our children? We did not do it.”

Then surely it was the Roman soldiers. They executed Him. But the Roman soldiers would stand in attention before you and say: “We are men under authority, and we but carried out the mandates and the commandments of the Roman government. We are soldiers obeying orders. We did not do it.”

Then who did? Who is responsible for the crucifixion of the Son of God? Who ultimately must stand at the judgment bar accused?

It must be that we all had a part. My sins pressed upon His brow that crown of thorns. My sins drove through His hand those jagged nails. My sins thrust that spear into His heart. My sins nailed the Lord Jesus to the tree. That is the first meaning of the death of our Lord. It is the fruit and the judgment upon my/our sins.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture Reference: Hebrews 9:22

The secular and material world is bold and blatant in its rejection of the gospel of atoning blood. They refuse and repudiate the whole message of redemption, stating their opposition bluntly, rudely, and brutally. They say if we have tractors to move mountains, we do not need faith. If we have penicillin, we do not need prayer. If we have positive thinking, we do not need salvation. If we have the state, we do not need the church. If we have manuals on science, we do not need the Bible. If we have an Edison or an Einstein, we do not need Jesus. They define life altogether in secular and material nomenclature.

The Christian Religion Is a Message of Redemption

The gospel of the Son of God addresses itself to a far deeper need of humanity than penicillin, government, or manuals of science. The Christian faith addresses itself to the need for regeneration, the forgiveness of sins, a new life, a new heart, a new way, and a new day. The religion of Jesus Christ is one of deliverance and redemption from the judgment of sin. You see that in the very definition and description of the faith itself. The Christian faith is not, in the first place, an ethic, although it is ethical. It is not in the first place a theology, although it is theological. It is not in the first place reformational, although it has social, cultural, and political overtones. The religion of Jesus Christ is first, foremost, and always redemptive. He was delivered for our offenses, and He was raised for our justification (Romans 4:25). You can see that in the advocacy, the sign, and the symbol of the Christian religion.

The sign of the Christian faith is not a burning bush. It is not two tables of stone bearing the Ten Commandments. It is not a seven-branched lampstand. It is not a halo above a submissive head. It is not even a golden crown. The sign and the banner of the Christian faith is always a cross, a cross in all of its naked hideousness, as the Romans would have it; the cross in all of its philosophical irrationality, as the Greeks would have it; but the cross in all of its saving power and potency, as Paul would have it. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” (Galatians 6:14). This is the very epitome and summation of the redemptive message of Christ.

The Descent and Sufferings of Our Lord

Our minds can hardly enter into the most significant and dramatic of all of the events in human history, the descent of our Lord from the highest glory to the lowest humiliation, the immeasurable distance between His throne in heaven and the ignominy of His cross in the earth. Down and down and down did the Lord descend until He was made in the likeness of a man, made out of the dust of the ground, a slave, poor even among the poor. He was finally executed in a manner reserved for the criminal, raised between heaven and earth, as though He were rejected by men and scorned by God, reviled and abused. As though abuse were not vile enough, they covered Him with spittle. As though spittle were not contemptuous enough, they crowned Him in the mockery of thorns. As though the thorns were not sharp enough, they drove great nails through His hands and His feet. As though the nails did not pierce deeply enough, they thrust Him through with a Roman spear, and the red, crimson flow of His life poured out. Even the sun in the sky refused to look upon such shame and suffering.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.