or. Becoming like the one whom you would want to love for the rest of your life!
Finding the Love of Your Life: Part I
Context: Cain murders Abel, and is charged by God.
He is not killed but cursed and protected by God.
We have much to learn from this narrative:
* As Adam and Eve were cursed, they discovered that blessings accompanied those curses. We, too, will find that the hard things God sends our way are also accompanied by grace. Which of your difficult circumstances might be accompanied by blessing?
* As Cain held back the best of his crop, he put the lie to his offering of dedication. So we, too, are measured by our condition of heart, not merely by the merit of our behaviours.
* We are self-centred, as was Cain; being self-centred is not satisfying, we have a god-shaped vacuum that we cannot fill. We want and need the approval, the blessing of…
Someone who is important to me.
Someone who knows me.
We cannot find the approval, the blessing that we need from another human.
INTRODUCTION:
The top three questions I have been asked:
What’s God will for my life?
Should I marry this person?
Where did Cain find his wife?
Outline:
Gen. 4:17 Cain had marital relations with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named the city after his son Enoch.
I. Cain found a woman to marry and produce children.
a. Interesting genealogy: his grandsons were the first metalsmiths, instrument-makers, etc., as well as being disreputable.
Lesson: everyone contributes.
b. Interesting question: Where did Cain’s wife come from?
i. No explanation is given in Scripture; that’s the right answer.
ii. Perhaps she was his sister: Whoa, what about incest?
a. Not mentioned here as incestuous.
b. Earliest prohibition called incest as that between parent and child.
c. Marriage between siblings was only forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Lev. 18, 20), centuries later, in dramatic contrast with the Egyptian practice among the Pharoahs.
IVP Hard Sayings of the Bible:
First, if the human race was propagated from a single pair, as we believe the evidence indicates, such closely related marriages were unavoidable. The demand for some other way of getting the race started is an unfair expectation.
In the second place, the notion of incest must be probed more closely. At first the sin of incest was connected with sexual relationships between parents and children. Only afterward was the notion of incest extended to sibling relationships.
By Moses’ time there were laws governing all forms of incest (Lev 18:7–17; 20:11–12, 14, 17, 20–21; Deut 22:30; 27:20, 22, 23). These laws clearly state that sexual relations or marriage is forbidden with a mother, father, stepmother, sister, brother, half brother, half sister, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, aunt, uncle or brother’s wife.
The Bible, in the meantime, notes that Abraham married his half sister (Gen 20:12). Therefore, the phenomenon is not unknown in Scripture. Prior to Moses’ time, incest in many of the forms later proscribed were not thought to be wrong. Thus, even Moses’ own father, Amram, married an aunt, his father’s sister, Jochebed (Ex 6:20). In Egypt, the routine marriage of brothers and sisters among the Pharaohs all the way up to the second century made the Mosaic law all the more a radical break with their Egyptian past.
The genetic reasons for forbidding incest were not always an issue. Close inbreeding in ancient times was without serious or any genetic damage. Today, the risk of genetic damage is extremely high. Since the genetic possibilities of Adam and Eve were very good, there were no biological reasons for restricting marriages to the degree that it became necessary to do later.
iii. She was created for Cain by God, as He had created Adam and Eve.
iv. For those Christians who accept evolution, Cain’s wife may have been one of many other humanoids, evolving toward full human form, as had Adam & Eve; of course, that raises more problems than it solves.
1. If Adam and Eve were the product of evolution, what made them distinct from the other hominids of the day?
2. If Adam and Eve were the first to evolve from a lower hominid, how did they find one another?
3. If this is what happened, then does that not require us to understand the Garden of Eden as only a metaphorical place? After all, why wouldn’t there be other such species, slightly lower, perhaps, who might find their way into the Garden?
II. Cain found a wife, though he was ill prepared to be a husband.
a. Remember that Cain had wrestled with God over his banishment.
i. Cain murdered his brother out of jealousy:
1. Cain had had the blessing of his Mum, Abel was named ‘Whatever.’
2. Cain was distressed by God’s rejection of his offering, compared to Abel’s.
3. God blessed Abel’s, not Cain’s.
4. That left Cain in blessing-deficit!
i. He’d had his mum’s.
ii. He missed God’s.
b. Cain now attempts to gain the blessing of God by taking a wife and producing offspring. The most obvious way to exhibit divine blessing was to “be fruitful and multiply.”
i. Cain found a wife and they multiplied.
ii. But the blessing was more precise than that:
1. Multiply AFTER YOUR KIND.
2. In Adam & Eve’s case, that would have meant godly offspring.
3. In Cain’s case, he reproduced himself biologically and morally, not a good thing.
4. Cain missed the point; sharing the external sign of obedience was not the same as the internal matter of obedience.
III. Cain has placed himself at the centre of his universe, rather than God.
a. He still needs the blessing of God.
b. He doesn’t know how to find it.
When sin entered the world, we became self-centred. Being self-centred does not satisfy the emptiness that we have.
c. Cain sought the blessing appropriate to the firstborn.
IV. What is the blessing of the firstborn? A blessing is not merely words!
i. Someone Important loves you.
ii. Someone Significant knows you.
iii. Someone Essential delights in you.
iv. Someone Central enjoys you.
v. Someone Powerful who embraces you.
Transition: There is nothing and there is no one who can make us whole and healthy besides God himself.
God uses friends, family, and partners to move us forward, to bring us happiness, but when we put one of them in that empty place in our souls, we make them an idol.
Isaac desired a wife, a wife he could not find. Finding a mate is a great thing.
Isaac’s brokenness was made plain by his helplessness in that quest. God directed his father’s servant to successfully find Rebekkah.
Gen. 2: It is not good for a man to be alone.
Prov. 18:22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.
Jacob desired a wife; when he met Rachel, the fulfillment of his dreams seemed near.
Unfortunately, Jacob was seeking something more profound than merely a mate. He was seeking blessing, the sort of blessing that we all long for, but that can come only from God himself.
In Jacob’s case, God used his father-in-law, Laban, to highlight Jacob’s own brokenness. Jacob, who had deceived his own father to gain his father’s blessing, discovered that the blessing he had stolen was empty.
He is now deceived by his faith-in-law, who gave him Leah instead of Rachel.
Both of these characters were hungry for approval and blessing.
Both were looking for a mate to make them feel loved, secure, and significant., etc., all things that a first-born should know and experience.
Both were blessed by God, but they did not fully enjoy that blessing.
CONCLUSION
What about us? Many of us are looking for this blessing, this approval, this embrace, from a friend, a mate, a parent.
We are like Fievel: We are certain that there is someone OUT THERE, beneath the pale moonlight, THINKING OF ME and loving me tonight.
The only place you can find this blessing, this approval, this embrace is from God himself, no mere human can do this for you or to you. There is an experiential element to our salvation…
Rom. 8:15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Rom. 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
This is our birthright. You can ask God for this confirmation.
When we come to faith in him, the scripture says that his spirit baptizes us into Christ.
When you come to that point, where you have set aside this self-centred quest, then you can say with the Psalmist…
Psa. 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
Psa. 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
That is wholeness, that is how healing feels.
That is the
Someone Important who loves you.
Someone Significant who knows you.
Someone Essential who delights in you.
Someone Central who enjoys you.
Someone Powerful who embraces you.
We go to the firstborn of all creation, we become part of his family. His family is the only one that consists of all firstborn children.
Heb. 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
Heb. 12:23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,
Heb. 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
The only way we can be a part of this church of the firstborn is to have our names written in heaven by the Firstborn of many brothers and sisters, Jesus himself.
Col. 1:15 ¶ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
Application:
1. If you never received this blessing from your family, know that most of us who did have functional families still missed out on this most intimate of blessings, this deepest sort of approval that comes only from God himself.
2. If you are married, you have probably made the mistake of looking for blessing, soul-affirmation from your mate; back off, drop the demands. Acknowledge to them now that it’s not his or her fault that you are yet unfulfilled.
3. If you are not married, don’t think that this longing is wrong, God did make you for himself; singleness is okay since Jesus.
4. If you expect to marry, don’t be discouraged at your progress; a close friend, a life-mate can help you on your journey, you don’t have to be perfect in order to marry.
We will address that more next week.
So, who IS the Love of your life???
Speak in your heart of hearts, now to…
Someone Important who loves you.
Someone Significant who knows you.
Someone Essential who delights in you.
Someone Central who enjoys you.
Someone Powerful who embraces you.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Cain & A Strange Grace
ce East of Eden
Genesis 4 13 April 2008
Introduction:
We are mesmerized by evil; we love to watch horror movies, because something deep inside us loves to be frightened in the face of an insurmountable enemy. We are hopelessly captivated by the thought that Alien creatures might show up on Earth, that an invisible Predator might show up again, that the T1000 might remake itself.
Most horrific of all, the Godfather may well order the killing of his own brother; maybe his sister is next. No one is safe!
In politics, watch my cynicism here, we are mesmerized by the power of our leaders. We most want to follow their stories when they have been caught lying, or stealing, or being unfaithful to their families. We watch closely to see if they get what they deserve, we are anguished when they are re-elected by our stupid neighbours anyway!
LOOKING BACK: Cain and Abel: the painful results of self-absorption 4:1-7
Cain carried the DNA of his parents into life with his brother. His response to God and his murder of a brother demonstrate the radical consequences of selfish self-absorption.
We experience soul-deep self-absorption; how can we avoid such an outrageous outcome as this?
Application: Our “harmless” self-absorption distorts our perceptions and destroys those closest to us; someone must die!
TODAY: Cain and God: the mercy and grace of God East of Eden: 4:15-16
The wonder of grace: the same grace that causes us pain when we see others not receive all that they deserve, IS AVAILABLE TO US!
STORY LINE:
Cain deserved the death that he exacted from his brother, yet God showed him mercy and grace by preserving his life, providing a wife, and protecting him in a city of refuge.
He continues to live.
He finds a wife.
He finds a city of refuge and the protection of God.
Gen 4:1-16
That’s the story.
Now, what does this tell us about our world,
our life together,
and ourselves?
Key to understanding our world:
1. God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
What is SIN?
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Sin: Treating yourself as your own first cause, and God, therefore, as an accessory. You are god, your own joy and happiness is the end. At that end, you are demanding, God owes you! When he doesn’t deliver, you get angry.
More than merely naming sin, which had first occurred in the GARDEN of EDEN, now we have sin described.
Gen. 4:7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
a. “Crouching at the door” Sin hides itself:
i. The word is controversial; we don’t use the word much anymore, a SIGN of its CROUCHING NATURE.
ii. Zoomorphism: why does an animal CROUCH?
1. To hide itself.
2. To make itself seem unthreatening, reduce alarm.
3. To prepare itself to leap onto its unsuspecting prey.
Gen. 4:8 ¶ Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
b. Sin repeats itself.
i. One lie is not enough.
ii. One lie requires another.
iii. Not all addictions are sins; but all sins will be addictive.
Gen. 4:9 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
c. Sin becomes easier.
i. What seems horrific becomes normal.
ii. If you were angry and mistreated someone, you have to stay angry at them in order to justify what you have done.
Gen. 4:9 …Am I my brother’s guardian?”
d. Sin is self-defeating.
i. One lie leads to another
ii. Liars are most likely to be lied to.
iii. Brothers were meant for one another.
e. Can you recognize the beginnings of sin?
i. No mention of one being better than another.
ii. God says to Cain in v. 7, ‘sin is crouching at your door’
1. Sin always hides itself: crouching; either as a virtue or something not so bad.
a. Keeps itself out of sight.
b. Not big, but small.
c. Looks like it is sleeping, not dangerous.
d. Presents itself as something else.
2. Sin eventually uncoils itself to master you.
3. Sin is not just a choice, but a POWER
a. Sin desires to have you.
b. If you do sin, sin will do you.
c. Why does God speak of sin as if it were an agent?
d. Because it IS a power which grows in you and on you.
i. Those who gossip will become the subject of gossip.
ii. Those who hate will be hated.
Applications:
What are your ‘crouching’ sins?
“I’m not bitter, I just have strong moral outrage.”
The problem is not what is happening to you, but your response to that catastrophe.
If sin is your problem, you can master it.
If Abel is your problem, you can only kill him.
If your spouse is your problem, you can divorce, but that doesn’t deal with the real problem.
God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
2. God’s shows Grace toward Cain, even in sin, by his gentle intervention.
Gen. 4:6 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?
Gen. 4:9 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
Gen. 4:10 But the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!
a. God shows himself to be a careful counselor who applies both judgment and mercy.
i. Notice that God does not wait for sin to occur, he comes to Cain BEFORE THE MURDER.
ii. Notice that God comes to Cain BEFORE REPENTANCE.
1. He arrives before anyone calls; before the murder!
2. ‘His face fell’ before the murder.
3. God did not wait until the sin was committed; he warned.
4. God warns us through our consciences, through his Word, through friends who care enough to confront.
iii. AFFIRMS: God comes as a Counselor: full of questions, not as a teacher.
1. Questions of a counselor affirm the self.
2. Questions affirm their ability to understand, to ‘get it.’
3. V. 7—you CAN master it!
iv. God looked with favor on Abel, not on Cain.
1. Let great things happen to Abel?
2. Abel sensed God’s pleasure? The respect of God?
3. Cain got mad over Abel’s pleasure.
4. Name given because the namer discerned something:
a. Abel: worthless, a nobody.
b. Cain: productive
c. Eve was excited about Cain’s arrival, no mention of Abel.
d. Cain was the winner, Abel the failure.
e. When God favours the weaker one, Cain explodes.
i. Volf: Cain was angry because his identity was constructed in contrast to Abel.
ii. When Cain failed here, he had to exclude both God and Abel.
iii. The power of sin rests not on the urge of violence, but in the perverted self which builds its identity outside of God.
Application: in all things, sin is working and grace is working.
God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
God’s shows Grace toward Cain, even in sin, by his gentle intervention.
3. God’s intervention provides a careful sketch of his salvation.
Salvation—subtlety: cooperating with grace and escaping sin.
Notice that the offering here was a ‘dedication’ offering, a sign that all they possessed as well as their person, was devoted to God.
a. Heb. 11:4—Abel offered it in faith, Cain did not.
Heb. 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith6 he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith7 he still speaks, though he is dead.
b. Faith in the grace of God, that some day He would send One to crush the serpent’s head/response in gratitude to the grace of God.
i. God cannot ignore the call of spilled blood.
ii. If God were to forget the death of the innocent, he would declare that a human life has not value.
c. The only other way to sacrifice to God is as a MEANS to the grace of God: get God to do what you want him to do.
This is resonant with the rest of the story:
• Joseph was hated by his brothers and sold as a slave.
• David was hated by Saul
• Stephen the religious leader was killed the jealous leaders.
• Jesus, the ultimate brother, was killed
All human blood cries out to God for justice.
Jesus’ blood cries out in a different way…
I have paid for their sins, it would be unjust for you to punish them, because you would be receiving two payments.
Jesus’ blood cries out for the Father to SAVE us, not to bring justice by destroying us.
Heb. 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city31 of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly
Heb. 12:23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect,
Heb. 12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.
Jesus’ blood cries out from the ground and says THEY MUST BE SAVED.
How do you become an Abel? Trust in the Greater Abel, whose life was lost for you, whose blood was shed for you and that blood speaks graciously, more graciously than the blood of Abel.
CONCLUSION
1. If you came to Cain in mercy, even before he repented, then how graciously will you come to us?
Jesus was consumed for our sin, so we don’t have to be.
2. The problem of grace: why does it hurt to see grace?
Our system of justice begins with us.
If this satisfies me, then justice is done.
If this does not satisfy me, then there is no justice.
The divine justice is centred on God.
Only God can know when true justice is done: he is just, and justice flows from him.
Only God has wisdom enough to recognize true justice, and has vision enough to see how to rightly implement justice.
We can choose to await his vengeance, his justice, his resolution.
Genesis 4 13 April 2008
Introduction:
We are mesmerized by evil; we love to watch horror movies, because something deep inside us loves to be frightened in the face of an insurmountable enemy. We are hopelessly captivated by the thought that Alien creatures might show up on Earth, that an invisible Predator might show up again, that the T1000 might remake itself.
Most horrific of all, the Godfather may well order the killing of his own brother; maybe his sister is next. No one is safe!
In politics, watch my cynicism here, we are mesmerized by the power of our leaders. We most want to follow their stories when they have been caught lying, or stealing, or being unfaithful to their families. We watch closely to see if they get what they deserve, we are anguished when they are re-elected by our stupid neighbours anyway!
LOOKING BACK: Cain and Abel: the painful results of self-absorption 4:1-7
Cain carried the DNA of his parents into life with his brother. His response to God and his murder of a brother demonstrate the radical consequences of selfish self-absorption.
We experience soul-deep self-absorption; how can we avoid such an outrageous outcome as this?
Application: Our “harmless” self-absorption distorts our perceptions and destroys those closest to us; someone must die!
TODAY: Cain and God: the mercy and grace of God East of Eden: 4:15-16
The wonder of grace: the same grace that causes us pain when we see others not receive all that they deserve, IS AVAILABLE TO US!
STORY LINE:
Cain deserved the death that he exacted from his brother, yet God showed him mercy and grace by preserving his life, providing a wife, and protecting him in a city of refuge.
He continues to live.
He finds a wife.
He finds a city of refuge and the protection of God.
Gen 4:1-16
That’s the story.
Now, what does this tell us about our world,
our life together,
and ourselves?
Key to understanding our world:
1. God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
What is SIN?
Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Sin: Treating yourself as your own first cause, and God, therefore, as an accessory. You are god, your own joy and happiness is the end. At that end, you are demanding, God owes you! When he doesn’t deliver, you get angry.
More than merely naming sin, which had first occurred in the GARDEN of EDEN, now we have sin described.
Gen. 4:7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
a. “Crouching at the door” Sin hides itself:
i. The word is controversial; we don’t use the word much anymore, a SIGN of its CROUCHING NATURE.
ii. Zoomorphism: why does an animal CROUCH?
1. To hide itself.
2. To make itself seem unthreatening, reduce alarm.
3. To prepare itself to leap onto its unsuspecting prey.
Gen. 4:8 ¶ Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
b. Sin repeats itself.
i. One lie is not enough.
ii. One lie requires another.
iii. Not all addictions are sins; but all sins will be addictive.
Gen. 4:9 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
c. Sin becomes easier.
i. What seems horrific becomes normal.
ii. If you were angry and mistreated someone, you have to stay angry at them in order to justify what you have done.
Gen. 4:9 …Am I my brother’s guardian?”
d. Sin is self-defeating.
i. One lie leads to another
ii. Liars are most likely to be lied to.
iii. Brothers were meant for one another.
e. Can you recognize the beginnings of sin?
i. No mention of one being better than another.
ii. God says to Cain in v. 7, ‘sin is crouching at your door’
1. Sin always hides itself: crouching; either as a virtue or something not so bad.
a. Keeps itself out of sight.
b. Not big, but small.
c. Looks like it is sleeping, not dangerous.
d. Presents itself as something else.
2. Sin eventually uncoils itself to master you.
3. Sin is not just a choice, but a POWER
a. Sin desires to have you.
b. If you do sin, sin will do you.
c. Why does God speak of sin as if it were an agent?
d. Because it IS a power which grows in you and on you.
i. Those who gossip will become the subject of gossip.
ii. Those who hate will be hated.
Applications:
What are your ‘crouching’ sins?
“I’m not bitter, I just have strong moral outrage.”
The problem is not what is happening to you, but your response to that catastrophe.
If sin is your problem, you can master it.
If Abel is your problem, you can only kill him.
If your spouse is your problem, you can divorce, but that doesn’t deal with the real problem.
God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
2. God’s shows Grace toward Cain, even in sin, by his gentle intervention.
Gen. 4:6 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast?
Gen. 4:9 ¶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”
Gen. 4:10 But the LORD said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground!
a. God shows himself to be a careful counselor who applies both judgment and mercy.
i. Notice that God does not wait for sin to occur, he comes to Cain BEFORE THE MURDER.
ii. Notice that God comes to Cain BEFORE REPENTANCE.
1. He arrives before anyone calls; before the murder!
2. ‘His face fell’ before the murder.
3. God did not wait until the sin was committed; he warned.
4. God warns us through our consciences, through his Word, through friends who care enough to confront.
iii. AFFIRMS: God comes as a Counselor: full of questions, not as a teacher.
1. Questions of a counselor affirm the self.
2. Questions affirm their ability to understand, to ‘get it.’
3. V. 7—you CAN master it!
iv. God looked with favor on Abel, not on Cain.
1. Let great things happen to Abel?
2. Abel sensed God’s pleasure? The respect of God?
3. Cain got mad over Abel’s pleasure.
4. Name given because the namer discerned something:
a. Abel: worthless, a nobody.
b. Cain: productive
c. Eve was excited about Cain’s arrival, no mention of Abel.
d. Cain was the winner, Abel the failure.
e. When God favours the weaker one, Cain explodes.
i. Volf: Cain was angry because his identity was constructed in contrast to Abel.
ii. When Cain failed here, he had to exclude both God and Abel.
iii. The power of sin rests not on the urge of violence, but in the perverted self which builds its identity outside of God.
Application: in all things, sin is working and grace is working.
God calls the problem Sin—the first occurrence of the word:
God’s shows Grace toward Cain, even in sin, by his gentle intervention.
3. God’s intervention provides a careful sketch of his salvation.
Salvation—subtlety: cooperating with grace and escaping sin.
Notice that the offering here was a ‘dedication’ offering, a sign that all they possessed as well as their person, was devoted to God.
a. Heb. 11:4—Abel offered it in faith, Cain did not.
Heb. 11:4 By faith Abel offered God a greater sacrifice than Cain, and through his faith6 he was commended as righteous, because God commended him for his offerings. And through his faith7 he still speaks, though he is dead.
b. Faith in the grace of God, that some day He would send One to crush the serpent’s head/response in gratitude to the grace of God.
i. God cannot ignore the call of spilled blood.
ii. If God were to forget the death of the innocent, he would declare that a human life has not value.
c. The only other way to sacrifice to God is as a MEANS to the grace of God: get God to do what you want him to do.
This is resonant with the rest of the story:
• Joseph was hated by his brothers and sold as a slave.
• David was hated by Saul
• Stephen the religious leader was killed the jealous leaders.
• Jesus, the ultimate brother, was killed
All human blood cries out to God for justice.
Jesus’ blood cries out in a different way…
I have paid for their sins, it would be unjust for you to punish them, because you would be receiving two payments.
Jesus’ blood cries out for the Father to SAVE us, not to bring justice by destroying us.
Heb. 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city31 of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly
Heb. 12:23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect,
Heb. 12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.
Jesus’ blood cries out from the ground and says THEY MUST BE SAVED.
How do you become an Abel? Trust in the Greater Abel, whose life was lost for you, whose blood was shed for you and that blood speaks graciously, more graciously than the blood of Abel.
CONCLUSION
1. If you came to Cain in mercy, even before he repented, then how graciously will you come to us?
Jesus was consumed for our sin, so we don’t have to be.
2. The problem of grace: why does it hurt to see grace?
Our system of justice begins with us.
If this satisfies me, then justice is done.
If this does not satisfy me, then there is no justice.
The divine justice is centred on God.
Only God can know when true justice is done: he is just, and justice flows from him.
Only God has wisdom enough to recognize true justice, and has vision enough to see how to rightly implement justice.
We can choose to await his vengeance, his justice, his resolution.
The Curse of the Self-Absorbed
The Curse of the Self-Absorbed
Or, Adam & Eve reproduce themselves 6 April
Cain and Abel: the painful results of self-absorption 4:1-7
a. First Story Line, 4:1-2: Eve’s utterance at the birth of Cain: I have birthed a man!
i. She gave birth to two sons.
1. Cain: either SMITH, or POSSESS, OWN
2. Abel: ephemeral, fleeting
4:1 “I have ‘cained’ a man, just like the Lord” OR “with the help of the Lord”
ii. Either the Lord did this, as he promised (3:15).
iii. Or, Eve did this,
1. matching the work of God with Adam,
2. countering her derived nature, as coming forth from the male Adam
iv. Probably, the latter:
1. In v. 25, Eve gives credit to God for bringing forth Seth.
2. Sara likewise attempted to control her world by producing an heir for Abram by her own handmaid, when she failed herself.
3. Here, Eve showed a second time in the story that she was self-conscious and self-centred.
v. Eve’s statement about Seth, v.25: to replace Abel, not Cain!!
1. She had lost both sons, one at the hand of the other, then the murderer was lost to her in his flight.
2. Perhaps Abel was her preferred son.
a. This would fit with the pattern of second-born as the child of blessing.
b. Jacob and Esau.
c. Ephraim and Manasseh
b. Second Story Line, 4:3ff.: The state of Cain’s heart:
i. Offerings were made.
ii. No explicit contrast is explained between the two brother’s offerings, but one was accepted and the other not.
1. One was fruit, the other flesh.
2. Both were labeled ‘offering,’ without distinction.
a. Though we know that brokenness in chapter 3 required not leaves, but flesh.
Sailhamer: that both offerings, in themselves, were acceptable—they are both described as “offerings” (minhah ) and not “sacrifices” (zebah ). The narrative suggests, as well, that they were both “firstfruits” offerings (mibbekoroth v.4); thus as a farmer Cain’s offering of “fruits of the soil” (v.3) was as appropriate for his occupation as Abel’s “firstborn of his flock” (v.4) was for his occupation as a shepherd.
3. Both seemed legitimate offerings.
4. Something was wrong below the surface.
b. Cain’s was rejected, Abel’s accepted.
i. God makes his rejection of one offering as clear as his acceptance of the other.
1. Abel: the fattest, the firstborn
2. Cain: “some of the fruit”
ii. Cain reveals the HIDDEN PROBLEM AND murders Abel.
1. The curse to the serpent and Eve: your offspring will be at war.
2. Here, Eve’s offspring are at war.
iii. God questions Cain, as he did Cain’s father, Adam.
1. Cain abuses language: AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?
2. God reacts with a curse
a. As Adam was rejected from the garden to work the soil outside,
b. Cain will be rejected by the soil he had worked.
c. God was probing Cain’s heart.
i. Not about the offering.
ii. All about the heart.
1. God rejected Cain’s offering.
Sailhamer: 5-7: He was apparently less concerned about Cain’s offering than he was Cain’s response to the Lord’s rejection of his offering. Whatever the cause of God’s rejection of Cain’s offering, the narrative itself focuses our attention to Cain’s response. It is there that the narrative seeks to make its point.
2. Cain reacted to God’s rejection of his offering and reacted as if he preferred Abel and his offering.
a. Anger at God. V.4
b. Anger at Abel. V.8
c. Matt. 7:20—By their fruit you will recognize them.
Sailhamer: By stating the problem in this way, the author surrounds his lesson on “pleasing offerings” with a subtle narrative warning: “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt 7:20).
Conclusion
Cain carried the DNA of his parents into life with his brother. His response to God and his murder of a brother demonstrate the radical consequences of selfish self-absorption. We, too, experience soul-deep self-absorption; how can we avoid such an outrageous outcome as this?
Application:
i. We were built to live in an ideal world where all relationships were perfect, because God was in charge.
ii. In Adam and Eve, we have chosen to place ourselves in charge.
iii. This is the curse of self-centredness: psychologically, socially bad, but we are all self-centred.
1. Psychologically: nothing makes you more miserable than self-absorption.
a. Am I succeeding?
b. Am I failing?
c. Am I being rewarded?
d. Am I being treated justly?
e. When it’s all about me, it’s not about much.
2. Socially: nothing is more off-putting than having every conversation fold back into me and my concerns;
a. This is the source of all feuds.
b. This is why we have wars.
3. Physically: nothing is more all consuming than my own physical health; your well-being lives in my shadow.
a. My time becomes all encompassing.
b. My health, my eating, my satiation take first place.
Keller:
Every culture has a legend or story that a king or a prince will come and set things right; kiss us and wake us up from the sleep of death; free us from the prison tower.
Gospel: Jesus is that true King, who came first in weakness to die for us, but who will come back again in strength!
Tolkien: Lord of the Rings,
“The hands of the king are healing hands and thus shall the rightful king be known.”
The royal hands of Jesus will bring healing to all: Everything sad will become untrue; poverty, hunger, disease, death, disfigurement, will all be gone.
This is my real country, this is the land I’ve been looking for all my life.
All religions say that we will be saved out of this material world, or that it is an allusion, or that it will merely end.
The Bible says that this material world will be remade, fully restored.
We will not escape it, but rejoice in its renewal, forgiveness of sin, the renewal of our souls, the end of poverty.
Or, Adam & Eve reproduce themselves 6 April
Cain and Abel: the painful results of self-absorption 4:1-7
a. First Story Line, 4:1-2: Eve’s utterance at the birth of Cain: I have birthed a man!
i. She gave birth to two sons.
1. Cain: either SMITH, or POSSESS, OWN
2. Abel: ephemeral, fleeting
4:1 “I have ‘cained’ a man, just like the Lord” OR “with the help of the Lord”
ii. Either the Lord did this, as he promised (3:15).
iii. Or, Eve did this,
1. matching the work of God with Adam,
2. countering her derived nature, as coming forth from the male Adam
iv. Probably, the latter:
1. In v. 25, Eve gives credit to God for bringing forth Seth.
2. Sara likewise attempted to control her world by producing an heir for Abram by her own handmaid, when she failed herself.
3. Here, Eve showed a second time in the story that she was self-conscious and self-centred.
v. Eve’s statement about Seth, v.25: to replace Abel, not Cain!!
1. She had lost both sons, one at the hand of the other, then the murderer was lost to her in his flight.
2. Perhaps Abel was her preferred son.
a. This would fit with the pattern of second-born as the child of blessing.
b. Jacob and Esau.
c. Ephraim and Manasseh
b. Second Story Line, 4:3ff.: The state of Cain’s heart:
i. Offerings were made.
ii. No explicit contrast is explained between the two brother’s offerings, but one was accepted and the other not.
1. One was fruit, the other flesh.
2. Both were labeled ‘offering,’ without distinction.
a. Though we know that brokenness in chapter 3 required not leaves, but flesh.
Sailhamer: that both offerings, in themselves, were acceptable—they are both described as “offerings” (minhah ) and not “sacrifices” (zebah ). The narrative suggests, as well, that they were both “firstfruits” offerings (mibbekoroth v.4); thus as a farmer Cain’s offering of “fruits of the soil” (v.3) was as appropriate for his occupation as Abel’s “firstborn of his flock” (v.4) was for his occupation as a shepherd.
3. Both seemed legitimate offerings.
4. Something was wrong below the surface.
b. Cain’s was rejected, Abel’s accepted.
i. God makes his rejection of one offering as clear as his acceptance of the other.
1. Abel: the fattest, the firstborn
2. Cain: “some of the fruit”
ii. Cain reveals the HIDDEN PROBLEM AND murders Abel.
1. The curse to the serpent and Eve: your offspring will be at war.
2. Here, Eve’s offspring are at war.
iii. God questions Cain, as he did Cain’s father, Adam.
1. Cain abuses language: AM I MY BROTHER’S KEEPER?
2. God reacts with a curse
a. As Adam was rejected from the garden to work the soil outside,
b. Cain will be rejected by the soil he had worked.
c. God was probing Cain’s heart.
i. Not about the offering.
ii. All about the heart.
1. God rejected Cain’s offering.
Sailhamer: 5-7: He was apparently less concerned about Cain’s offering than he was Cain’s response to the Lord’s rejection of his offering. Whatever the cause of God’s rejection of Cain’s offering, the narrative itself focuses our attention to Cain’s response. It is there that the narrative seeks to make its point.
2. Cain reacted to God’s rejection of his offering and reacted as if he preferred Abel and his offering.
a. Anger at God. V.4
b. Anger at Abel. V.8
c. Matt. 7:20—By their fruit you will recognize them.
Sailhamer: By stating the problem in this way, the author surrounds his lesson on “pleasing offerings” with a subtle narrative warning: “by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt 7:20).
Conclusion
Cain carried the DNA of his parents into life with his brother. His response to God and his murder of a brother demonstrate the radical consequences of selfish self-absorption. We, too, experience soul-deep self-absorption; how can we avoid such an outrageous outcome as this?
Application:
i. We were built to live in an ideal world where all relationships were perfect, because God was in charge.
ii. In Adam and Eve, we have chosen to place ourselves in charge.
iii. This is the curse of self-centredness: psychologically, socially bad, but we are all self-centred.
1. Psychologically: nothing makes you more miserable than self-absorption.
a. Am I succeeding?
b. Am I failing?
c. Am I being rewarded?
d. Am I being treated justly?
e. When it’s all about me, it’s not about much.
2. Socially: nothing is more off-putting than having every conversation fold back into me and my concerns;
a. This is the source of all feuds.
b. This is why we have wars.
3. Physically: nothing is more all consuming than my own physical health; your well-being lives in my shadow.
a. My time becomes all encompassing.
b. My health, my eating, my satiation take first place.
Keller:
Every culture has a legend or story that a king or a prince will come and set things right; kiss us and wake us up from the sleep of death; free us from the prison tower.
Gospel: Jesus is that true King, who came first in weakness to die for us, but who will come back again in strength!
Tolkien: Lord of the Rings,
“The hands of the king are healing hands and thus shall the rightful king be known.”
The royal hands of Jesus will bring healing to all: Everything sad will become untrue; poverty, hunger, disease, death, disfigurement, will all be gone.
This is my real country, this is the land I’ve been looking for all my life.
All religions say that we will be saved out of this material world, or that it is an allusion, or that it will merely end.
The Bible says that this material world will be remade, fully restored.
We will not escape it, but rejoice in its renewal, forgiveness of sin, the renewal of our souls, the end of poverty.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Blessing of a Curse
What Did He Say?
Gen. 3:15-24
Foundation of Scripture: resonances reverberate throughout the Bible.
* Key to understanding our world. * Key to understanding ourselves.
Central Idea: God responds to the choices of Adam and Eve by blessing the man and the woman through curses.
This is a NONINTUITIVE truth that is a key to unlock life.
A. By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
B. By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
C. By removing them from the Orchard of Eden.
God was merciful and gracious to the new sinners, even as he justly responded to their sin.
Gen. 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;
her offspring will attack your head,
and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”
A. By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
Gen. 3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your labor pains;
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,
but he will dominate you.”
i. Increase labor pains:
1. Real pain.
2. Imagine a painless labor.
ii. Pain in giving birth to children
1. Real pain.
2. Real pain from the children.
3. Real pain for the children: conflict with the serpent’s offspring.
iii. Preoccupation with controlling your controlling husband.
1. Gen. 4:7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
2. Desire for domination now controls interaction between husband and wife.
3. Antidote comes from Eph. 5:
a. A husband is to love his wife to death, as Christ loves us to his death.
b. A wife is to seek the best for her husband.
c. Both of these attitudes & behaviours only come by means of the CONTROL by the Holy Spirit; 5:17-18
Eph. 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Eph. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. Eve was to have children; she would not be cut off because of her sin.
2. Eve’s offspring would continue to interact with the serpent’s offspring, but it would be strident, rather than cooperative.
3. Mystery is here: the offspring so important to this narrative resonates later with God’s promise to Abram that HIS seed would bless all.
By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
B. By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
The ground will lose efficiency by producing thorns instead of fruit only. [woman will be painfully fruitful, man will be…]
Gen. 3:17 But to Adam he said,
“Because you obeyed your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain of the field.
Gen. 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
Gen. 3:20 ¶ The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
Gen. 3:21 The LORD God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. The work will be fruitful; life will be sustained.
In contrast to the destiny of the Greek mythological king, Sisyphus:
Wikipedia: Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology. He was a king punished in the Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and repeat this throughout eternity.
2. His authority to name remains: “…named his wife Eve…” his destiny continues.
By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
C. By removing them from the Orchard of Eden.
Gen. 3:22 And the LORD God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
Gen. 3:23 So the LORD God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.
Gen. 3:24 When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
i. Now, Adam and Eve were “like” God.
ii. Eternal life in this state of fallenness would be good for no one.
iii. Adam is removed [“drove out”] from the orchard to till the ground of his origin.
iv. Guards prevented Adam’s return.
Implication: we long to live forever, regardless of our condition.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. Though we may not, cannot, know what is best for us, God intervenes.
2. God prevented the thorough ruination of the Garden and of humanity.
3. The longing for the Garden remains within us; we love what is good, beautiful, and satisfying.
For further reflection: Gen. 3:14-24 How to live in light of the Fall:
No 12 step process, but several irreplaceable elements:
1. God does not destroy his own people; his discipline is designed to RESTORE.
2. The Fall impacts ME; accept that in humility. My Soul requires major surgery, personal regeneration with the aid of the HS.
3. Acknowledge that the Garden is out of our reach, guarded by an angel, even though we long to return now.
4. BUT God IS doing his work of regenerating us, so that he can restore the Garden; at the end of time, he will complete the task in a spectacular, all-satisfying manner.
5. Seek justice, walk humbly with our God; show yourself not only involved but committed; do the work HE is doing, restoring the world.
6. GOSPEL: garments made from skin trump fig leaves! Leaves fade quickly, skins are more suitable to a hostile environment…
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Gen. 3:21 The LORD God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
a. Of course, skins implies that something else must have died to hide the nakedness of the couple.
These skins portend a divine solution to shame and guilt.
b. Much later in the story, the only MAN not shamed by the Fall had his garments taken away, leaving HIM naked for crucifixion.
c. Now, we enjoy the gift promised in Isa. 61.
Is. 61:3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
d. Gal. 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
6 April--Finding The Love of Your Life/Living With The Intermittent Love Of Your Life
Is. 61:10 ¶ I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
Gen. 3:15-24
Foundation of Scripture: resonances reverberate throughout the Bible.
* Key to understanding our world. * Key to understanding ourselves.
Central Idea: God responds to the choices of Adam and Eve by blessing the man and the woman through curses.
This is a NONINTUITIVE truth that is a key to unlock life.
A. By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
B. By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
C. By removing them from the Orchard of Eden.
God was merciful and gracious to the new sinners, even as he justly responded to their sin.
Gen. 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all the wild beasts
and all the living creatures of the field!
On your belly you will crawl
and dust you will eat all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:15 And I will put hostility between you and the woman
and between your offspring and her offspring;
her offspring will attack your head,
and you will attack her offspring’s heel.”
A. By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
Gen. 3:16 To the woman he said,
“I will greatly increase your labor pains;
with pain you will give birth to children.
You will want to control your husband,
but he will dominate you.”
i. Increase labor pains:
1. Real pain.
2. Imagine a painless labor.
ii. Pain in giving birth to children
1. Real pain.
2. Real pain from the children.
3. Real pain for the children: conflict with the serpent’s offspring.
iii. Preoccupation with controlling your controlling husband.
1. Gen. 4:7 Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”
2. Desire for domination now controls interaction between husband and wife.
3. Antidote comes from Eph. 5:
a. A husband is to love his wife to death, as Christ loves us to his death.
b. A wife is to seek the best for her husband.
c. Both of these attitudes & behaviours only come by means of the CONTROL by the Holy Spirit; 5:17-18
Eph. 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Eph. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. Eve was to have children; she would not be cut off because of her sin.
2. Eve’s offspring would continue to interact with the serpent’s offspring, but it would be strident, rather than cooperative.
3. Mystery is here: the offspring so important to this narrative resonates later with God’s promise to Abram that HIS seed would bless all.
By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
B. By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
The ground will lose efficiency by producing thorns instead of fruit only. [woman will be painfully fruitful, man will be…]
Gen. 3:17 But to Adam he said,
“Because you obeyed your wife
and ate from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground thanks to you;
in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
but you will eat the grain of the field.
Gen. 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat food
until you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you will return.”
Gen. 3:20 ¶ The man named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
Gen. 3:21 The LORD God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. The work will be fruitful; life will be sustained.
In contrast to the destiny of the Greek mythological king, Sisyphus:
Wikipedia: Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology. He was a king punished in the Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll down again, and repeat this throughout eternity.
2. His authority to name remains: “…named his wife Eve…” his destiny continues.
By cursing childbirth with pain, and promising hope through that childbirth.
By cursing the ground where Adam is to work,
C. By removing them from the Orchard of Eden.
Gen. 3:22 And the LORD God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not be allowed to stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
Gen. 3:23 So the LORD God expelled him from the orchard in Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken.
Gen. 3:24 When he drove the man out, he placed on the eastern side of the orchard in Eden angelic sentries who used the flame of a whirling sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
i. Now, Adam and Eve were “like” God.
ii. Eternal life in this state of fallenness would be good for no one.
iii. Adam is removed [“drove out”] from the orchard to till the ground of his origin.
iv. Guards prevented Adam’s return.
Implication: we long to live forever, regardless of our condition.
Where was the blessing in this curse?
1. Though we may not, cannot, know what is best for us, God intervenes.
2. God prevented the thorough ruination of the Garden and of humanity.
3. The longing for the Garden remains within us; we love what is good, beautiful, and satisfying.
For further reflection: Gen. 3:14-24 How to live in light of the Fall:
No 12 step process, but several irreplaceable elements:
1. God does not destroy his own people; his discipline is designed to RESTORE.
2. The Fall impacts ME; accept that in humility. My Soul requires major surgery, personal regeneration with the aid of the HS.
3. Acknowledge that the Garden is out of our reach, guarded by an angel, even though we long to return now.
4. BUT God IS doing his work of regenerating us, so that he can restore the Garden; at the end of time, he will complete the task in a spectacular, all-satisfying manner.
5. Seek justice, walk humbly with our God; show yourself not only involved but committed; do the work HE is doing, restoring the world.
6. GOSPEL: garments made from skin trump fig leaves! Leaves fade quickly, skins are more suitable to a hostile environment…
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Gen. 3:21 The LORD God made garments from skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
a. Of course, skins implies that something else must have died to hide the nakedness of the couple.
These skins portend a divine solution to shame and guilt.
b. Much later in the story, the only MAN not shamed by the Fall had his garments taken away, leaving HIM naked for crucifixion.
c. Now, we enjoy the gift promised in Isa. 61.
Is. 61:3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
d. Gal. 3:27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
6 April--Finding The Love of Your Life/Living With The Intermittent Love Of Your Life
Is. 61:10 ¶ I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
Friday, March 28, 2008
Setting Things Right!
Setting Things Right: The Cross of Jesus
23 March 2008
Question: why was the crucifixion and the resurrection necessary? Because we cannot fix ourselves.
I. We are broken and in need of repair. [shame]
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
From sin to shame…
a. Shame is an emotion: …we are NOT what we are supposed to be. If allowed to soak in, it dyes the soul a dull gray.
Andrew Zantingh www.firsthamilton.ca
I am unworthy and unacceptable, I am inferior and inadequate.
I am seriously flawed, a fake and phony. I feel naked and ugly and vulnerable.
b. Shame leads me to compare myself with others.
i. Comparison with others leads me to feel shame.
ii. Shame is a never-ending cycle.
Lewis Smedes: “Compulsive Comparers.” Feelings of shame cause us to compare ourselves with others—to see how we measure up.
1. Positive comparison leads me to PRIDE.
If we compare ourselves with unsuccessful or insignificant people—it has a way of alleviating our shame for a moment. Bolstering some pride.
2. Negative comparison leads me to a sense of FAILURE.
If we compare ourselves with successful and significant people—it has a way of making us feel like failures. Everyone else’s sun darkens our day.
Conclusion: Indeed---People are Big factors in our shame---inevitably we compare ourselves to others (at times---compulsively so).
c. Our culture of shame impacts me.
i. Intrinsically—no one told Adam & Eve to hide.
ii. Extrinsically—I have no other model, so…
A world—according to Rom 12—is constantly seeking to
conform us to its ideal—its likeness
“squeeze us into its mold”—its mold of what it means to be acceptable
iii. Spiritually—this needs an Easter sermon!
There is the unhealthy shame that is shared in shame-based religions.
II. We have long tried to repair ourselves, long before there were self-help sections in our bookshops.
a. All our religious creations are attempts to attend to our shame.
Andrew Zantingh:
Based on prescribed ways to deal with our worthlessness---ways to become perfect—and therefore worthy of acceptance through personal effort.
b. Religions of all stripes and ethnic roots have given us steps to fix ourselves.
i. The five pillars of Islam
ii. The eight-fold path of Hinduism
iii. The ten commandments of Judaism.
iv. Even Christianity, have all been reduced to a set of rules.
v. Rules break us and highlight our shame.
And so, all religions have failed to remove the shame, have in fact ADDED to our sense of shame and despair; nothing has been repaired.
c. More recently, secularism has made a run at self-repair: the proposed solution has to do with…
i. Self-improvement by denying the validity of mind-draining religion.
ii. Self-improvement by attempting a secular morality.
iii. Atheism—we are alone, we do our best to pass on our genes.
III. Each of these efforts, religious and secular, has met with failure.
This is an ancient problem and from the beginning, the solution comes from God.
Gen. 3:8 ¶ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the orchard.
Gen. 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Gen. 3:10 The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
Gen. 3:11 And the LORD God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Gen. 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”
Gen. 3:13 So the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
It was an orchard, but we only know of two trees within the orchard: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A. Shame moves us to blame someone else, because we are not honest enough to face who we are and what we’ve done.
“the woman whom you gave me…”
B. If something goes wrong, it can’t be my fault, because I can’t endure any more shame.
“the serpent whom you created…”
C. The sin which causes guilt and shame is directly addressed by God.
Gen. 3:14 ¶ So the LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:15 ¶ And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
D. There will be future generations.
E. The shame will be passed on to those generations.
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Something wonderful is hidden here, in the details
F. God promises that Eve will have offspring that will crush the head of the serpent.
From an orchard dominated by TWO CENTRAL TREES, God promised that the cunning serpent would be dealt with by the woman’s offspring; that her son would crush his heritage. God reveals mercy and grace at the very point of failure.
What is grace?
God’s grace involves:
1) pardon---forgiveness from the wrong---God’s answer to guilt.
2) acceptance---being re-united with God and our true selves, accepted, held, affirmed and loved. God’s answer to shame.
OT Judaism was grace-based. While Israel was captive in Egypt:
* He gave them freedom when He led them out of Egypt.
* He gave them the law: The ideal way to know how live without guilt and shame in their relationship.
* He gave them the sacrificial system: The way he gave for imperfect people (he knew would fail) to remain forgiven and accepted.
Which points to the final sacrifice, which we celebrated Friday.
Jesus came—full of God’s grace and truth—meeting shame with grace:
Jesus was criticized for meeting and eating with sinners.
Grace-based faith finds hope in helplessness.
a. You must know that you are a sinner, and cannot help yourself.
b. Presumes a good God, who forgives.
c. Requires a payment for forgiveness.
i. We all understand that forgiveness is never free, not trivial.
ii. We all understand that someone pays.
1. We “forgive” a debt, means that we absorb the cost.
2. We “forgive” an offense, we accept the pain caused by the offense.
3. When God forgives, he takes onto himself the pain caused by our offense; somebody pays!
The problem of evil is fully resolved at the Cross.
How? All the wrong, the shame that came from eating from the Wrong Tree was placed on the shoulders of Eve’s son, Jesus, who hung on Another Tree. The weight of that shame, that evil, that guilt crushed him.
The One who deserved life died for all who deserved Death, so that we cannot deserve life, could share in HIS life.
Once it had done its work, Jesus overcame death, he was raised from the dead.
Today, it looks like Satan has crushed Jesus, hanging and dieing on the Cross.
That was Friday, this is Sunday.
We celebrate his Victory over sin and death, guilt and shame, by his resurrection from the dead.
He is alive today, giving us
pardon---forgiveness from wrong
acceptance---being re-united with God and our true selves, accepted, held, affirmed and loved.
The answer to our guilt and shame is grounded in the Resurrection of Christ, if you will personally respond in faith, claim it as your own.
Pathway: From sin to shame…
From shame to Guilt…
From guilt to the Cross…
From the Cross to freedom
PRAY WITH ME/PRAY AFTERWARDS
23 March 2008
Question: why was the crucifixion and the resurrection necessary? Because we cannot fix ourselves.
I. We are broken and in need of repair. [shame]
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
From sin to shame…
a. Shame is an emotion: …we are NOT what we are supposed to be. If allowed to soak in, it dyes the soul a dull gray.
Andrew Zantingh www.firsthamilton.ca
I am unworthy and unacceptable, I am inferior and inadequate.
I am seriously flawed, a fake and phony. I feel naked and ugly and vulnerable.
b. Shame leads me to compare myself with others.
i. Comparison with others leads me to feel shame.
ii. Shame is a never-ending cycle.
Lewis Smedes: “Compulsive Comparers.” Feelings of shame cause us to compare ourselves with others—to see how we measure up.
1. Positive comparison leads me to PRIDE.
If we compare ourselves with unsuccessful or insignificant people—it has a way of alleviating our shame for a moment. Bolstering some pride.
2. Negative comparison leads me to a sense of FAILURE.
If we compare ourselves with successful and significant people—it has a way of making us feel like failures. Everyone else’s sun darkens our day.
Conclusion: Indeed---People are Big factors in our shame---inevitably we compare ourselves to others (at times---compulsively so).
c. Our culture of shame impacts me.
i. Intrinsically—no one told Adam & Eve to hide.
ii. Extrinsically—I have no other model, so…
A world—according to Rom 12—is constantly seeking to
conform us to its ideal—its likeness
“squeeze us into its mold”—its mold of what it means to be acceptable
iii. Spiritually—this needs an Easter sermon!
There is the unhealthy shame that is shared in shame-based religions.
II. We have long tried to repair ourselves, long before there were self-help sections in our bookshops.
a. All our religious creations are attempts to attend to our shame.
Andrew Zantingh:
Based on prescribed ways to deal with our worthlessness---ways to become perfect—and therefore worthy of acceptance through personal effort.
b. Religions of all stripes and ethnic roots have given us steps to fix ourselves.
i. The five pillars of Islam
ii. The eight-fold path of Hinduism
iii. The ten commandments of Judaism.
iv. Even Christianity, have all been reduced to a set of rules.
v. Rules break us and highlight our shame.
And so, all religions have failed to remove the shame, have in fact ADDED to our sense of shame and despair; nothing has been repaired.
c. More recently, secularism has made a run at self-repair: the proposed solution has to do with…
i. Self-improvement by denying the validity of mind-draining religion.
ii. Self-improvement by attempting a secular morality.
iii. Atheism—we are alone, we do our best to pass on our genes.
III. Each of these efforts, religious and secular, has met with failure.
This is an ancient problem and from the beginning, the solution comes from God.
Gen. 3:8 ¶ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the orchard.
Gen. 3:9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Gen. 3:10 The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
Gen. 3:11 And the LORD God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Gen. 3:12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”
Gen. 3:13 So the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman replied, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
It was an orchard, but we only know of two trees within the orchard: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
A. Shame moves us to blame someone else, because we are not honest enough to face who we are and what we’ve done.
“the woman whom you gave me…”
B. If something goes wrong, it can’t be my fault, because I can’t endure any more shame.
“the serpent whom you created…”
C. The sin which causes guilt and shame is directly addressed by God.
Gen. 3:14 ¶ So the LORD God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
Gen. 3:15 ¶ And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
D. There will be future generations.
E. The shame will be passed on to those generations.
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Something wonderful is hidden here, in the details
F. God promises that Eve will have offspring that will crush the head of the serpent.
From an orchard dominated by TWO CENTRAL TREES, God promised that the cunning serpent would be dealt with by the woman’s offspring; that her son would crush his heritage. God reveals mercy and grace at the very point of failure.
What is grace?
God’s grace involves:
1) pardon---forgiveness from the wrong---God’s answer to guilt.
2) acceptance---being re-united with God and our true selves, accepted, held, affirmed and loved. God’s answer to shame.
OT Judaism was grace-based. While Israel was captive in Egypt:
* He gave them freedom when He led them out of Egypt.
* He gave them the law: The ideal way to know how live without guilt and shame in their relationship.
* He gave them the sacrificial system: The way he gave for imperfect people (he knew would fail) to remain forgiven and accepted.
Which points to the final sacrifice, which we celebrated Friday.
Jesus came—full of God’s grace and truth—meeting shame with grace:
Jesus was criticized for meeting and eating with sinners.
Grace-based faith finds hope in helplessness.
a. You must know that you are a sinner, and cannot help yourself.
b. Presumes a good God, who forgives.
c. Requires a payment for forgiveness.
i. We all understand that forgiveness is never free, not trivial.
ii. We all understand that someone pays.
1. We “forgive” a debt, means that we absorb the cost.
2. We “forgive” an offense, we accept the pain caused by the offense.
3. When God forgives, he takes onto himself the pain caused by our offense; somebody pays!
The problem of evil is fully resolved at the Cross.
How? All the wrong, the shame that came from eating from the Wrong Tree was placed on the shoulders of Eve’s son, Jesus, who hung on Another Tree. The weight of that shame, that evil, that guilt crushed him.
The One who deserved life died for all who deserved Death, so that we cannot deserve life, could share in HIS life.
Once it had done its work, Jesus overcame death, he was raised from the dead.
Today, it looks like Satan has crushed Jesus, hanging and dieing on the Cross.
That was Friday, this is Sunday.
We celebrate his Victory over sin and death, guilt and shame, by his resurrection from the dead.
He is alive today, giving us
pardon---forgiveness from wrong
acceptance---being re-united with God and our true selves, accepted, held, affirmed and loved.
The answer to our guilt and shame is grounded in the Resurrection of Christ, if you will personally respond in faith, claim it as your own.
Pathway: From sin to shame…
From shame to Guilt…
From guilt to the Cross…
From the Cross to freedom
PRAY WITH ME/PRAY AFTERWARDS
Sunday, March 16, 2008
What Went Shamefully Wrong?
What Went Shamefully Wrong?
Pathway: From sin to shame…
From shame to Guilt…
From Guilt to freedom
I. Sin…that awful word
a. Let’s define sin: anything that puts me in the place of God.
Genesis 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Gen. 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
Gen. 3:3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
Gen. 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Gen. 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Gen. 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
i. God wanted for Eve what Eve wanted for herself.
Eve desired it.
It was beautiful for the eyes.
She wanted wisdom.
ii. The serpent challenged Eve to think that God did NOT want her to have what was good for her, beautiful and satisfying.
Is. 14:13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
Is. 14:14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
Sin is putting myself in the place reserved for God alone.
b. Sin affects me:
1John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
c. Sin impacts every culture.
1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
d. The culture of sin impacts me by…
i. Persuading me that I know what is best for me; God cannot be trusted.
From sin to shame…
II. Shame:
a. Shame is an emotion: …we are NOT what we are supposed to be. If allowed to soak in, it dyes the soul a dull gray.
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Andrew Zantingh (7 excellent sermons on Shame vs. Grace) www.firsthamilton.ca
I am unworthy and unacceptable, I am inferior and inadequate.
I am seriously flawed, a fake and phony. I feel naked and ugly and vulnerable.
b. Shame leads me to compare myself with others.
i. Comparison with others leads me to feel shame.
ii. Shame is a never-ending cycle.
Lewis Smedes: “Compulsive Comparers.” Feelings of shame cause us to compare ourselves with others—to see how we measure up.
1. Positive comparison leads me to PRIDE.
If we compare ourselves with unsuccessful or insignificant people—it has a way of alleviating our shame for a moment. Bolstering some pride.
2. Negative comparison leads me to a sense of FAILURE.
If we compare ourselves with successful and significant people—it has a way of making us feel like failures. Everyone else’s sun darkens our day.
iii. Shame is relational.
Andrew Z.:
I raise this issue of comparison—because it puts us in touch with the relational character of shame.
Our sense of identity is formed in relationship. Who we are and how we feel about our-selves is shape, molded and influenced by the messages other people send. By their word, their faces, their gestures, their presence or their absence.
Other people are significant in instilling in us a sense of self-worth at our center.
Other people (parents/pastors/peers) are often the source of our healthy or unhealthy feelings of shame.
Conclusion: Indeed---People are Big factors in our shame---inevitably we compare ourselves to others (at times---compulsively so).
c. Our culture of shame impacts me.
i. Intrinsically—no one told Adam & Eve to hide.
ii. Extrinsically—I have no other model, so…
A world—according to Rom 12—is constantly seeking to
conform us to its ideal—its likeness
“squeeze us into its mold”—its mold of what it means to be acceptable
iii. Spiritually—Easter sermon!
There is the unhealthy shame that is shared in shame-based religions.
TRANSITION:
Romans: the world is trying to squeeze us into its mold: Compare ourselves to one another!
Comparison to others heightens my shame.
I need a different mold, THE ONE THAT GOD INTENDED:
Comparison to Christ lets me see what I AM SUPPOSED TO BE, that leaves me with NO HOPE!!!!
Comparison with Christ CAN lead me to faith…
From Shame to Guilt…
III. Guilt is that state of mind and heart where I KNOW that I cannot be what I am supposed to be.
a. Shame deceives me into thinking that if only…
i. If I only try harder.
ii. If I only had a little more time.
iii. If I only had better friends.
iv. If I only had had better parents.
b. Guilt convinces me that…My status before God is hopeless because I am helpless.
I CAN NEVER attain to Christ’s righteous despite more time, better friends, better family, etc.
COUNTERCULTURAL: HELPLESSNESS IS BLASPHEMY IN A SELF-HELP SOCIETY
Therefore, only God can intervene.
2. A Culture of true Guilt is a transparent one.
a. False Guilt is actually SHAME.
b. Shame avoids/Guilt confesses.
c. Shame denies/Guilt agrees.
3. Shame provides false hope/Guilt leads to true hope.
a. Forgiveness is available.
b. Humility is required.
c. Confession is essential.
d. Restoration is real.
i. Shame is a feeling; nothing can be done about it.
ii. Guilt is a status, which can be changed by divine decree.
Andrew Z.:
He took responsibility for our guilt. He bore the weight upon himself through his Son.
We read in Isaiah 53 that he made his Son to be a public guilt offering:
• Like a priest--God placed his Hand upon his Son.
• God put his hand upon his son—transferred our guilt on him
• God’s will was to crush him upon the cross for our cleansing.
• In order to make a sacrifice—that does satisfaction.
• In order to make reparation—to repair the relationship
• In order to make guilty people----ghost free!
Conclusion: But in order to becoming guilt free there is a high cost!
The pain of moving from avoidance to admission.
The price of going from private to public.
Psalm 130:1-8
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Setting Things Right (Easter) 3/23
Text: Divine solutions to the problem of evil.
Pathway: From sin to shame…
From shame to Guilt…
From Guilt to freedom
I. Sin…that awful word
a. Let’s define sin: anything that puts me in the place of God.
Genesis 3:1 ¶ Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Gen. 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
Gen. 3:3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”
Gen. 3:4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Gen. 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Gen. 3:6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
i. God wanted for Eve what Eve wanted for herself.
Eve desired it.
It was beautiful for the eyes.
She wanted wisdom.
ii. The serpent challenged Eve to think that God did NOT want her to have what was good for her, beautiful and satisfying.
Is. 14:13 “But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly
In the recesses of the north.
Is. 14:14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’
Sin is putting myself in the place reserved for God alone.
b. Sin affects me:
1John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
c. Sin impacts every culture.
1John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
d. The culture of sin impacts me by…
i. Persuading me that I know what is best for me; God cannot be trusted.
From sin to shame…
II. Shame:
a. Shame is an emotion: …we are NOT what we are supposed to be. If allowed to soak in, it dyes the soul a dull gray.
Gen. 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Andrew Zantingh (7 excellent sermons on Shame vs. Grace) www.firsthamilton.ca
I am unworthy and unacceptable, I am inferior and inadequate.
I am seriously flawed, a fake and phony. I feel naked and ugly and vulnerable.
b. Shame leads me to compare myself with others.
i. Comparison with others leads me to feel shame.
ii. Shame is a never-ending cycle.
Lewis Smedes: “Compulsive Comparers.” Feelings of shame cause us to compare ourselves with others—to see how we measure up.
1. Positive comparison leads me to PRIDE.
If we compare ourselves with unsuccessful or insignificant people—it has a way of alleviating our shame for a moment. Bolstering some pride.
2. Negative comparison leads me to a sense of FAILURE.
If we compare ourselves with successful and significant people—it has a way of making us feel like failures. Everyone else’s sun darkens our day.
iii. Shame is relational.
Andrew Z.:
I raise this issue of comparison—because it puts us in touch with the relational character of shame.
Our sense of identity is formed in relationship. Who we are and how we feel about our-selves is shape, molded and influenced by the messages other people send. By their word, their faces, their gestures, their presence or their absence.
Other people are significant in instilling in us a sense of self-worth at our center.
Other people (parents/pastors/peers) are often the source of our healthy or unhealthy feelings of shame.
Conclusion: Indeed---People are Big factors in our shame---inevitably we compare ourselves to others (at times---compulsively so).
c. Our culture of shame impacts me.
i. Intrinsically—no one told Adam & Eve to hide.
ii. Extrinsically—I have no other model, so…
A world—according to Rom 12—is constantly seeking to
conform us to its ideal—its likeness
“squeeze us into its mold”—its mold of what it means to be acceptable
iii. Spiritually—Easter sermon!
There is the unhealthy shame that is shared in shame-based religions.
TRANSITION:
Romans: the world is trying to squeeze us into its mold: Compare ourselves to one another!
Comparison to others heightens my shame.
I need a different mold, THE ONE THAT GOD INTENDED:
Comparison to Christ lets me see what I AM SUPPOSED TO BE, that leaves me with NO HOPE!!!!
Comparison with Christ CAN lead me to faith…
From Shame to Guilt…
III. Guilt is that state of mind and heart where I KNOW that I cannot be what I am supposed to be.
a. Shame deceives me into thinking that if only…
i. If I only try harder.
ii. If I only had a little more time.
iii. If I only had better friends.
iv. If I only had had better parents.
b. Guilt convinces me that…My status before God is hopeless because I am helpless.
I CAN NEVER attain to Christ’s righteous despite more time, better friends, better family, etc.
COUNTERCULTURAL: HELPLESSNESS IS BLASPHEMY IN A SELF-HELP SOCIETY
Therefore, only God can intervene.
2. A Culture of true Guilt is a transparent one.
a. False Guilt is actually SHAME.
b. Shame avoids/Guilt confesses.
c. Shame denies/Guilt agrees.
3. Shame provides false hope/Guilt leads to true hope.
a. Forgiveness is available.
b. Humility is required.
c. Confession is essential.
d. Restoration is real.
i. Shame is a feeling; nothing can be done about it.
ii. Guilt is a status, which can be changed by divine decree.
Andrew Z.:
He took responsibility for our guilt. He bore the weight upon himself through his Son.
We read in Isaiah 53 that he made his Son to be a public guilt offering:
• Like a priest--God placed his Hand upon his Son.
• God put his hand upon his son—transferred our guilt on him
• God’s will was to crush him upon the cross for our cleansing.
• In order to make a sacrifice—that does satisfaction.
• In order to make reparation—to repair the relationship
• In order to make guilty people----ghost free!
Conclusion: But in order to becoming guilt free there is a high cost!
The pain of moving from avoidance to admission.
The price of going from private to public.
Psalm 130:1-8
Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
And He will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
Setting Things Right (Easter) 3/23
Text: Divine solutions to the problem of evil.
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