A Slave of Christ

“When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.”
- Romans 6:20-22

“For he who was called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a slave of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”
-1 Corinthians 7:22-23

"And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants (douloi = slaves), you who fear him, small and great."
-Revelation 19:5

“There is a sense in which all people are Christ’s possession because he created them and now sustains them; he is the one ‘through whom all things were made and through whom we live’(1 Cor. 8:6). But in every sense believers are his special possession, a people of his very own, because he purchased them as his slaves (1 Cor. 6:19-20, 7:22-23) along with their freedom from all iniquity (Titus 2:14). As a result of that purchase they belong to him totally, and only to him, a comprehensive ownership that his slaves voluntarily embrace. He is their absolute and exclusive Master. His rights over what he purchased are unlimited and he tolerates no rivals to his lordship, for no slave can adequately serve two masters. ‘Proof of purchase’, or the mark of this ownership is the presence and activity of the Spirit in the believer’s life. And that same Spirit is the guarantee that this divine ‘property’ will reach its destination intact.”
- Murray Harris, Slave of Christ, p. 125


Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

If you are a Christian you belong to Christ. Because of His mercies to you, you are not your own. You no longer belong to the dominion of self. You are no longer rightfully in charge. You have been ransomed or purchased for Christ as His own possession and for His own purposes. You have been bought at tremendous cost. The metaphors used for the Christian are many…friend, son, daughter, sheep, soldier, and disciple, but rarely do we refer to the Christian as slave. There is something in us that bristles at the thought of being the possession of another. One of the things my brothers and I used to tell one another is, ‘You’re not the boss of me!’ We couldn’t bear the thought of anyone telling us what to do, let alone one another. If we are Christians Christ is the gracious boss of us. He owns us, lock, stock and barrel. We are no longer our own. We belong to Him. To see ourselves as those who have been purchased will help us see things clearly. It will help us as we love and serve one another. It will help us as we determine priorities for our time and finances. It will help us as we interact as husbands and wives, and as we interact with our children. The shadow of the Cross casts long over our ownership. We are not our own, we’ve been bought with a price.

A slave of Christ together with you,

Dan

Gracious Speech

“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.”
- Proverbs 4:24

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”
- Colossians 4:6

“For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
- James 3:7,8

“It may seem too obvious to say, but Genesis 1 makes it plain that the first words ever spoken were spoken by God. Language is not a human invention to be used in whatever way serves our interests. If God is the first speaker, then language is his creation. This means that our ability to speak was given to us by the Creator and it exists for his glory. Everything we will ever say belongs to him and should be used for his purposes. Words, in short, have a high and holy calling.”
- Tim Lane and Paul Tripp, Relationships, A Mess Worth Making, p. 71

“It is time for many of us to confess that we have not known the way of love. Our words have hindered, not helped, what the Lord is seeking to do. We have been controlled by the passions and desires of the sinful nature and failed to represent Christ’s character. We need to cry out for grace to speak loving words as his ambassadors.”
- Paul Tripp, War of Words, p. 229

“Please forget the words I just blurted out,
It wasn’t me, it was my strange and creeping doubt
It keeps rattling my cage.
And there’s nothing in this world to keep it down.”
- Radiohead, I Can’t

Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

When I think about the things I’ve said over the years my knees get weak. James calls the tongue a restless evil that is full of deadly poison. I can still remember hurtful things I’ve said over forty years ago. A sharp word, a critical judgment conveyed to others, a terse argument, gossip designed to form an opinion – these, and more, are in my collection of spoken sins. My tongue is a restless evil. And there is a sinful satisfaction when the tongue does its work. To refrain from evil speech and to ‘tame’ the tongue is no easy task. It is restless, and the sinful heart is not satisfied until the tongue has its way. When we speak we are simply giving verbal expression to the restless evil already formed in the heart. Our speech reveals our heart and for me this is sobering. By our words we have the power of life and death. When I think about my words I am grateful for the thorough and complete work of Christ’s substitutionary work. Christ’s passive obedience, which is that perfect obedience Jesus rendered to the Father in fulfilling all righteousness, has been credited to my account. His perfect speech, sinless tongue, and unsinning heart have been imputed to me. I no longer bear the just judgment God declares against my sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. And yet, God’s sanctifying work is not yet complete in me. I need reminders to speak graciously. I need my speech, even now, to be redeemed. God, as the first speaker, must redeem my words, and He must do this continually by making my heart new. It will do no good to reform my speech with no change to my heart. I’m praying for God to renew my heart day by day and make it evident by the things I say.

Lord, let my mouth be an evidence of your work taking place in my heart.

Dan

A New Children's Book - The Prince's Poison Cup

Theology can be difficult stuff. Have you ever tried to explain multifaceted theological concepts to your children? In fact, ask the average Christian adult to explain substitutionary atonement and you’ll likely get a blank stare. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate Ligonier Ministries/Reformation Trust’s efforts at making gospel-focused theology accessible for both parents and children. Judy and I have purchased several children’s books written by R. C. Sproul. The Priest With Dirty Clothes and The Lightlings come to mind and both have been read to our kids and grandkids and we’ve also given them away as gifts. In each of these cases complex theological ideas become understandable and accessible. With the recent release of The Prince’s Poison Cup, Ligonier has done the heavy lifting for Christian parents. This is a great book that brings the grace of God in the bright glory of the gospel to bear in a readable children’s book. Kids will easily relate to Ella in her disdain for medicine and they will be drawn in to the deeper meaning of the story line about the prince who must taste the bitter cup. The illustrations by Justin Gerard are very rich and very good and reflect Ligonier’s attention to detail. But, my favorite part of the book is the discussion section for parents at the end. This section will help both children and parents understand this theme. This book will help Christian parents communicate the gospel to their children. For parents who take this responsibility seriously this is a book that will help us in our task. Ligonier Ministries deserves special thanks for helping us do our job. The Prince’s Poison Cup is available through Ligonier Ministries (http://www.ligonier.org/), Monergism Books (http://www.monergismbooks.com/) or through Christ Our Redeemer Church’s resource table.

- Dan

COR's First Child Dedication and Baptism

“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
- Colossians 2:11-12

“The church is generated by the right preaching of the Word; the church is contained and distinguished by the right administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.”
- Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, p. 10

“Baptism is important precisely because it is tied to the gospel, to the saving work that Christ accomplished in his death and resurrection.”
- Thomas Schreiner, Believer’s Baptism, p. 1

“Similarly, when a person is baptized, he takes upon himself the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19): he becomes God’s person, distinguished from all the other families of the earth. And the Lord’s Supper signs and seals the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood, by which we are separated from the world (Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25).”
- John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life, p. 413


Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

Last Sunday was a glorious day at Christ Our Redeemer Church. As a new church plant we experienced two ‘firsts’. First, six children were dedicated to the Lord. Jack Bowen, Abraham Gerving, Anaya Hamilton, Ethan and Felix Haugans, and Jason Wakefield came forward to be prayed for and both their parents and the church were given a charge to raise them under the influence of the gospel. This was a very happy occasion. And then following the morning service we went to The Marshall Center in Vancouver for a baptismal service and potluck. At the baptismal service Emma and Paul Hanger, Joey Ellis, and Lydia and Nathanael Morse made public professions of faith and were baptized. It was a wonderful encouragement to hear the testimonies of each person’s love for the Savior. This was another happy occasion.

I thank God for His work in our midst. To see parents with a desire to raise kids that love the Savior, and to see young people eager to make a profession of faith and follow the Savior is a great encouragement and joy. Make God give us many more child dedications and baptisms in the years to come.

I’m thankful to be serving the Savior together with you.

Dan