Author: Jesse Walz

God with us

God being with his people is a common biblical theme. You can trace it through Genesis, with mankind enjoying God in the garden, then being cast out. Exodus begins with the people enslaved, and ends with God dwelling in the middle of the camp.

But God being in a tent is one thing. The rules and procedures to get through to him, the one man who could approach him – God living in a tent, and then the temple, was only a glimpse of life in the garden.

And finally, we hear the promise longed for since the man and the woman were cast out of the garden. Through Isaiah, God speaks to the wicked king Ahaz:

‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel’ (Isaiah 7:14).

In this child to be born, God would be ‘Immanuel’, meaning ‘God with us. In this child to be born, once again God would walk with his people. We wouldn’t be separated from him by veils or altars or priests. He would be with us, walking and talking with us.

And finally, the child was born. God in the flesh, walking among an unclean and sinful people. Yet he won’t break out in judgement. Instead, he’ll show them mercy.

This God in the flesh will show compassion to the poor and sick. He’ll preach of the coming kingdom, and will raise the dead. But most importantly, he will go to the cross. Rather than coming in judgement on us, he’ll face the judgement of his Father for us.

And because of his death and resurrection, those who trust in him are guaranteed an eternity with God. Everlasting life, with our everlasting God. Because of Christmas, and Easter, those cast out can be welcomed back into his presence.

From humble beginnings

When it was first announced that I would be the minister at Eaglehawk, one friend was particularly excited about the name.’ But while there’s much to love about Eaglehawk, it’s not what many would call ‘exciting.’

But God is the expert at using the humble for his purposes. In the 8th century BC he made a startling promise:

‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days’ (Micah 5:2).

It was in Bethlehem that a ruler would come! No one would have expected that! When the Wise Men came, they went to Jerusalem (Matt 2:1), until they were directed to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a hick town, not a place of palaces and kings!

But it has a history. From here God had raised up David, youngest of his brothers. God made him king and promised he would always have a son to sit on his throne (2 Sam 7).

And from this same humble place God would bring forth the Great King. The one promised from the beginning. The one who would save his people.

To keep this promise God, at just the right time, had Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. He ordained that a decree would be made by the Roman King (Luke 2:1, Prov 21:1), so his humble king would be born at the promised place.

Perhaps you feel small and powerless. God is the expert at using the weak to shame the strong. Who knows? It might be that through you inviting a friend to a Christmas event they will receive eternal life as they hear of the humble King.

Back to Basics

WSC Q5: Are there more gods than one?

WSC A5: There is but one only, the living and true God.

It was once inconceivable that this belief, that there is only one God, would be abandoned by Western Society. Christianity had held sway for so long, and even as the Reformation challenged (and in some places broke) the power of the Catholic Church, there was still clear agreement between the different groups that there was one God.

Today we are surrounded by many spiritualities and religions. You can imagine, if we were writing an explanation of the Christian faith in the 21st century, monotheism, the belief that there is only one God, would be important to include. God is a mystery to our world, and we would need to go back to basics. This is something the world, new converts and our children need to hear.

But why include it in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), written in the 17th century? This was known and believed by everyone, Catholic and Protestant alike!

The reality is, we always need to go back to the basics. We can never assume that everyone believes or knows the basics. People are continually being added to the church. They need to hear this news, they need to know the basics.

And for those of us well familiar with the basics, we need it too. Like Israel, we can be tempted to believe in other gods – gods of our own making. Gods that are more convenient, that demand less from us, that make promises we prefer, who are easier to understand and fit with our morality and view of humanity.

It’s good to get back to basics. Our God is the living and true God. He is one. And he alone is worthy of our worship.

Book Review: ‘Gender – A Conversation Guide for Parents and Pastors’

 

Many parents and pastors, along with others in our society, are struggling with the issue of gender. While there have been discussions and debates on some aspects of gender, it has been accepted that there are only two genders, and this matches with the body God gave you.

But no more. Our culture has rapidly accepted the idea that one can feel they are a different gender to what their body is. These are arguments we haven’t heard before, and our children are being taught them by their friends, the shows they watch, and their teachers at school.

‘Gender: A Conversation Guide for Parents and Pastors’ is a helpful first step for those wanting to be better prepared to teach their children what God says about gender. Roughly dividing the conversation into 3 parts: pre-primary school, primary school, and high school aged children, the building blocks for the biblical view of gender are laid.

The reader is given some ‘key concepts and passages,’ a great help for those unsure how to teach biblically on gender. There are ‘sample dialogues,’ ideas for how you could briefly explain these concepts to your children, ‘age-tips’ and ‘questions and discussion starters.’ All of these are brief, and helpfully grounded in the Bible.

There is a section for adults, where some different objections to the biblical view are addressed, but the authors manage to avoid being technical. This is an easy to read book, short (75 small pages), cheap, and an excellent first step for parents and pastors to understand the issues themselves, and then to teach to the children in their care.

Our world is having a constant conversation with our children about gender. This book is a helpful guide to fill our children with God’s word, understood through the gospel of Jesus Christ, so they can be inoculated against the confusion our world wants to teach them. It is highly recommended.

Foolish Creatures, Glorious God

We are such foolish creatures. We love to make gods of our own invention. Wherever we look, we see people worshipping their gods. Watch ads on the TV and you will see the gods of our age. Beauty creams allow us to chase after youth. Flash cars give us a sense of social status. That relaxing trip means we can worship the self, chasing after pleasure.

This is nothing new. It’s been here since even before Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden, where they worshipped the self and desired to be like God rather than obey him. We see it in the Golden Calf, the Baals and Asherah’s, Molech and Chemosh. To all these sacrifices were made in the vain hope that blessings would be given.

We ‘exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things’ (Rom 1:23). We desperately store up wealth, only for it to disappear, whether in the stock market or by theft (Matt 6:19). We have such a low view of God, and this is what the next question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) addresses.

WSC Q4: What is God?

WSC A4: God is a spirit – infinite, eternal and unchangeable – in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

This isn’t all that could be said. It’s only a start. Nothing can compare to him. How foolish to think we could replace him. Why would we ever want to live for anything besides him?

What goes beyond our comprehension is to realise that this God is the one who became a man. Who suffered and died. Who gave the supreme example of his ‘wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth’ in the salvation of sinners such as us.

The Bible in a nutshell

The art of summary takes much practice to perfect. Journalists must regularly sift through all the facts of a situation and decide what is necessary to include and what is not.

What would your answer be if someone asked you to summarise the Bible? If they just wanted the guts of it? If this was my one chance with someone I would eagerly explain that Jesus came to save us from God’s judgement for our sin – though that leaves so much detail to fill in.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC), attempts this monumental task in this way:

WSC Q3: What do the Scriptures principally teach?

WSC A3: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man.

No doubt every summary could be improved upon, but this is a good effort! If we are to ‘glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ (WSC A1), we must know who God is and what he wants from us!

This sparks further questions (some which will be asked in the following 104 questions!). And what is painfully clear is that though God’s requirements are spelled out in God’s word, we cannot do it. We stand condemned for sin.

But praise God! One thing we learn about God in his word (and in the catechism) is that he is full of mercy. And in mercy, he sent Christ to save us. ‘God, being rich in mercy … made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved’ (Eph 2:4-5).

How good is our God, that he not only gives knowledge of himself (John 1:18), but because he knows us so well, provides a Saviour! And more, he then gives us his Spirit, so we can now please him as we live lives of obedience.

Our instruction book

I remember a time when electronic products came with proper instructions. My first mobile phone had a thick booklet, explaining in detail each button, and the various features. But no longer. Now there is a diagram with the outside buttons pointed out, but no further detail. You need to find the various features yourself.

But that is not how God operates. He doesn’t expect us to discover on our own, through instinct or trial and error, how to do what we were made for. The first question of the Shorter Catechism (WSC) said our purpose ‘is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.’ The second tells us where we find our instructions.

WSC Q2: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

WSC A2: The word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

The Bible! That’s where we find our answers! That’s where we find our instruction! God has spoken words of life, and they are recorded for us, and passed down through the ages. The word of God, the Scriptures, the Bible, is where we discover how we can do this incredible task, our wondrous purpose.

God’s word is not only ‘able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ,’ but it useful for how we live and what we think (2 Tim 3:15-17). The church is ‘built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone’ (Eph 2:20).

There is no other ‘rule.’ No obligation or teaching found outside Scripture has any authority when it comes to glorifying and enjoying him. He has given us all we need. Praise God.

Purpose in a sea of hopelessness

The first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) is the most well-known and quoted of the entire catechism. And no wonder; it’s the question that has been asked throughout every culture and age. It provides the answer that sets us free from the uncertainty of our place in the world and declares the privilege of our existence.

WSC Q1: What is the chief end of man?

WSC A1: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

How do we arrive at this answer? Consider the Garden in which Adam and Eve were placed. There they were to walk with God in a land full of gold and precious stones, with glorious food and enjoyable work (Gen 2:7-17). Consider the New Creation where again we will be with God, comforted by him (Rev 7:15-17). And consider the Paul’s urging in 1 Cor 10:31, ‘So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’

What a wonderful message this first question and answer provide. How encouraging that there is a purpose to life! We live in a time where God is dismissed, and therefore purpose is lost. Depression and suicide rates have increased dramatically in our culture despite our freedoms and prosperity. Why? One reason is a lack of purpose.

But despite the hopeless message of the world, the Bible continues to proclaim this hope-filled truth: we have a purpose, and it is good. It is full of joy, serving the God who made us and gave us so much. Worshipping him who made a world full of beauty and variety, rather than stale and boring. What it looks like to achieve our purpose takes the whole WSC to flesh out, but what an encouraging summary we have.

Longing for His Voice

How can we hear God’s voice? Where can we find it? These are questions that many Christians ask. We long to be like Abraham, who heard God speak with his ears, like Jacob with his dream, or like Moses at the burning bush. We long for that personal word, the one that speaks directly to our situation, gives specific guidance, assures us of love, and any number of possibilities.

We read Hebrews 1:1 wishing that it would happen to us too: ‘Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.’ We wish we could be prophets hearing from God in varied ways, or that there would be a modern prophet. Some may even feel there is something wrong because they haven’t experienced this.

But that should fall away as we continue reading: ‘but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.’ This is the situation of every Christian through the ages – these are the last days, and in these days there has been a revelation.

In the past God spoke at many times and in various ways, now he has spoken in the definitive way – by his Son. Who is this Son? The heir of all things, who made the world. He’s the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature (v2). What more could God reveal to us than has already been revealed through him?

How can we hear from God? Through Christ, revealed in his Word. It is in God’s Word that he still speaks – not a new revelation, but an always relevant revelation (see Hebrews 3:7). God’s Word is sufficient, and satisfying. Why would we want more?

The way to God

‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God’ (1 Pet 3:18).

There are many opinions on how people can come to God. The more religious opinion is that you must work hard to balance the scales between your bad and good deeds. Every day is spent striving to be better than the one before, and spent worrying about the sins you committed. Whether you’re Catholic, Mormon, Muslim, or anything else, coming to God is based upon our works. Tragically, because it’s based on our performance, there can never be any assurance that we have done enough.

The more secular, or loosely religious, opinion (if they accept a God), is that coming to God is easy. It’s the belief that God will accept us (almost) no matter what we’ve done. His standards aren’t so high as those religious fundamentalists always suggest, he knows we’re not perfect, and he accepts us as we are.

But neither opinion is helpful, because both misrepresent God’s standards and our ability to reach them. God is holy, and he expects his people to be holy. He will accept nothing less than moral perfection. Despite what the secular/loosely religious thinks, God will not just brush off our sin like it’s nothing. This is a standard none of us can reach. We are all sinful, and a lifetime of good works will never outweigh one sin.

But there is a way, not earned by us, but provided by God. In his mercy he sent Christ who suffered for sins. By his death on the cross he bore the punishment for sin. He died for sinners, the unrighteous. Coming to God is a gift for those who trust Christ. This is a revolutionary message for us to proclaim.