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(Oh, the shame!) Some of you may have noticed the total lack of activity on this little blog. I’ve noticed it too. Unfortunately, the curator seems to be totally preoccupied with certain things which, while they generate much food for thought and much study of the scriptures, are not entirely appropriate for public consumption at this time. Isn’t that tantalizingly mysterious? So this post really doesn’t have much point but I just felt the need to explain my going AWOL.
God bless!
“This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
One particularly real danger for 21st-century Reformed Christians is the danger of mere formalism. In contrast to other branches of Christianity, Reformed kids and adults receive an incredible amount of doctrinal instruction. On the whole, Reformed sermons cannot be characterized as fluffy, and while the kids at the church down the road are practicing their yearly Christmas play, Reformed kids are reciting whole chapters from Calvin’s Institutes (well…maybe not quite). In any case, the mind is certainly not neglected. This is a good thing. And while we ought to praise God for the rich teaching which many of us receive, we must also recognise that it is not enough. Not nearly enough. We must love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and all our mind. It is possible to know much about Jesus and his work, but to have no love for him or it. Jonathan Edwards, a man of almost super-human intellect, spent much time wrestling with questions of religious experience. At the time of the Great Awakening, many people were having all sorts of experiences which they called religious and God-given. Some were obviously genuine, some were obviously not; other were and were not, but neither of them obviously so. Edwards, living in the middle of all this, spent much time and energy in trying to discern which were which and how believers could themselves discern what true religious affections were. He steered a middle course between those fanatics who accepted every experience (no matter how contradictory to the word of God); and those who condemned the entire Great Awakening as ridiculous enthusiasm. Edwards held firmly to the belief that true religion was a matter of the heart, as well as the mind, and therefore was experienced to some degree. In response to those who criticized him for this, he said:
“What notions have they of religion, that reject what has been described, as not true religion! What shall we find to answer those expressions in Scripture — ‘The peace of God that passeth all understanding; rejoicing with joy unspeakable and full of glory, in believing in and loving an unseen Saviour; — All joy and peace in believing; God’s shining into our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; With open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, and being changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord; — Having the love of God shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost given to us; — Having the Spirit of God and of glory rest upon us; — A being called out of darkness into marvellous light; and having the day-star arise in our hearts:’ — I say, if those things which have been mentioned [(legitimate spiritual experiences)] do not answer these expressions, what else can we find out that does answer them? Those that do not think such things as these to be the fruits of the true Spirit, would do well to consider what kind of spirit they are waiting for and praying for, and what sort of fruits they expect he should produce when he comes.”
I myself know other Reformed young men who would violently oppose the kind of religious experience Edwards is talking about and denounce all such things as subjectivism and mysticism. These misled souls would do well to listen to Edwards’ words. Is mysticism a danger? Certainly. But it is not to be corrected by a simple, unfelt adherence to propositional truth that leaves the heart cold, and spirit dry.
Reading 2 Kings isn’t much fun. The book is filled with darkness, Israel and Judah almost devoid of any virtue whatsoever. King after king after king does what is evil in the sight of the Lord until their hardness of heart and gross rebellion is almost nauseating. All is not completely black however, and scattered here and there throughout the narrative are kings who feared the Lord and obeyed him—a little bit. Most of these persons are like Jehu who “wiped out Baal from Israel,” but “did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat…that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan.” God commends him for having “done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes,” but sadly, Jehu’s legacy is that he was “not careful to walk in the law of the Lord the God of Israel with all his heart.” (2 Kings 9, 10)
Jehoash continues that trend: “And Jehoash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all his days…nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.” (2 Kings 12)
Amaziah has this said of him: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not like David his father…the high places were not removed.” (2 Kings 14)
Azariah? “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…nevertheless, the high places were not taken away.” (2 Kings 15)
Perhaps Jotham? “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…nevertheless, the high places were not removed.” (2 Kings 15)
Next we have Hezekiah: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it. He trusted in the Lord the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.” (2 Kings 18) FINALLY!! What a contrast!
But it doesn’t last long, for Manasseh “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed.” (2 Kings 21)
It seems we are back to square one again.
But then we arrive at 2 Kings 22 and 23, the most exciting chapters of the whole book. I’d love to quote them in full, but that might be a little excessive. Stop reading this, get your Bible, and read 2 Kings 22 and 23 right now. I mean it. Better yet, read the whole book of 2 Kings to get the full effect. But at least read 22 and 23. Seriously.
Reading those chapters after all the horrors recounted in 2 Kings is like reaching an oasis with a mouth full of sand and crinkly eyelids, but now—finally sweet cool clear liquid water! What a relief! Josiah doesn’t fool around. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” Chapter 23 goes on and on and on about how Josiah completely (and I mean completely) eradicated all the abominations found in Israel.
So what would you want your legacy to be? That you feared the Lord, but didn’t quite deal with all the sins in your life? That you feared the Lord, but still clung to the darkness in which you formerly lived? Or that you feared the Lord and did not turn aside, either to the right or to the left? I sure know which one I would want! So what are the high places still left in your life; things that you know are displeasing to the Father, but you just aren’t ready to give up? You know what they are. Follow Josiah’s example, not just for the reputation (not at all for the reputation!) but because he, like Hezekiah before him, served the Lord with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength. Josiah was uncompromising when it came to purging the land. We are called to nothing less.
That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Ever have those days when you just can’t get out of bed? When the alarm has just gone off but your legs honestly and truly feel quite incapable of movement? You would get up if you could, but…and besides, you need your rest for the busy day ahead, and morning devotions, well, you won’t get much out of them anyways if you’re this tired, and…and….*snore*? I have.
Have you ever gone to bed at night and suddenly realized that the morning devotions you put off never ended up happening? You were going to do them at coffee-break or after your first class, but stuff happened and you scribbled devotions in your ‘to do’ list for after supper. But then they phoned and mom needed help and now you’re in bed and exhausted. Sound familiar?
I suppose it’s already painfully obvious that the two sorts of conduct described above are far removed from one another. It’s also probably obvious which is the better of the two. Jesus had laboured all day, only to serve crowds of people starting at sunset! After what was surely an exhausting day and evening, he got up early (while it was still dark) and spent time alone in prayer with his heavenly father. When his disciples found him, he outlined the busy day they had ahead of them.
Would it be too much to state the obvious: Jesus was human. Do you really think his legs felt any different than yours in the morning? Do you think he didn’t want to just roll over and talk to his father some other time? He was tempted in all ways, just like us. He did not use his busy previous evening as an excuse (he knew it was just that—an excuse), nor did he plead an exemption on account of the busy day that lay ahead. He arose and prayed. Isn’t it time we jettisoned all our excuses, rose, and prayed? The next time our legs won’t move, let us remember this verse: “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” We will find, by God’s grace, a strange and unexpected mobility has been imparted to our legs. Rise and pray, Christian soldier!
The cohors praetoria was a small escort which accompanied an army commander in the republic, taking its name from his tent (praetorium). During the civil wars the military dynasts had kept large personal bodyguards, and in 27 BC Augustus established a permanent force consisting of nine cohorts, each containing 500 (or possibly 1000) men, recruited mainly from Italy and Romanized provinces. The praetorians had superior service conditions, receiving more than three times legionary pay and serving for 16 years, which marked them out as élite troops. (OCD 3ed. p. 1241)
This short description of the origins of the guard only hints at the glory of this unit. The praetorian prefect (their commander) was the most respected and prestigious prefecture in the Roman Empire. The praetorians had elaborately decorated armour and were the only troops allowed in the city of Rome. In the middle and later empire the loyalty of the praetorians was essential to an emperor’s survival and it was not seldom that the praetorians were directly responsible for the death of the emperor and the selection of his successor.
With this in mind, isn’t it incredible that Paul says in the Philippians chapter 1, that the whole Praetorian guard knows that his imprisonment is for Christ? Already at such an early stage in its history, the gospel of peace had reached some of the highest officials and most powerful bodies in the Empire. Elsewhere (Phil. 4), Paul mentions the Christians who were part of Caesar’s household! I just LOVE it when my studies and the Word of God come together :)
‘When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”’
These are some of the most incredible words Jesus ever spoke. Our Lord must have known how difficult this would be for his followers when he added the gentle reminder: “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” It is so easy to know them, yet so hard to do them. Every Christian dreams of being a tool through which God does great things in his kingdom, but how many of us dream of being the tool through which God washes the feet of his saints? Jesus’ teachings regarding the first and the last are a difficult pill for us to swallow. The question asked above betrays this. You may have noticed that there is an implicit assumption in the way the question is phrased: that washing feet is not a great thing. Sadly, we are still thinking in the world’s terms and we need to have our minds renewed to think like Christ, in whose kingdom the first shall be last and the last first.
