Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Primacy of Christ

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
- 1 Cor. 2:1-2

“The church in America will have to learn what it means to mourn before it can dance. Sticking to the story, fixing our eyes on Christ – even if it means distracting us from what we have diagnosed as our real issues – is the kindest thing a pastor can do for a congregation, the most precious gift we can receive and pass on to our neighbors, and the most relevant mission on earth.”
- Michael Horton, Christless Christianity, p. 259

“We have a God who is capable of self-sacrifice for us. It was although he was in the form of God, that Jesus Christ did not consider his being on an equality with God so precious a possession that he could not lay it aside, but rather made no account of himself. It was our God who so loved us that he gave himself for us. Now, herein is a wonderful thing.
- B.B. Warfield, quoted by Carl Trueman in The Wages of Spin, p. 127


Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

Whatever is said of us may it never be said that we were deficient in being Christ-centered. Of anyone, we have the most incredible story to tell. I fear, though, at times we live as if the good news found in Christ is a modest proposal, rather than the singular grand message in all of creation. Reconciliation to God through the person of Christ makes all other news anemic, but I’m afraid much of the time we treat it as yesterday’s headlines. This news alone has the power to save. This person alone has the prerogative and authority to forgive. Our many transgressions are against Him and it is He alone that brings forgiveness at great cost to Himself. In Warfield’s words, ‘It was our God who so loved us that he gave himself for us. Now, herein is a wonderful thing.’ Our priority and primacy is Christ. We must keep our eyes fixed upon Him. He must capture our gaze. It is this beatific vision that will change us and in turn provide impetus for sharing that same gospel that will change our family, neighbors, and friends. May we resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Desiring the primacy of Christ with you,

Pastor Dan

Friday, April 24, 2009

Union with Christ

‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.’
- Ephesians 2:4-7

‘What is that union which the elect have with Christ? A. The union which the elect have with Christ is the work of God's grace, whereby they are spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably, joined to Christ as their head and husband; which is done in their effectual calling.’
– The Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A 66

‘Union with Christ is, in fact, the foundation of all the blessings of salvation. Justification, sanctification, adoption, and glorification are all received through our being united with Christ.’
- Robert Letham, quoted in, He Who Gives Life, p. 217



Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

If you are a Christian you have been ‘spiritually and mystically, yet really and inseparably’ joined to Christ. Christ’s life has become your life, Christ’s death has become your death, and Christ’s resurrection has become your resurrection. Because they are His they become yours. He freely and graciously gives them to you and they cannot be taken away. Think of this…every spiritual blessing imaginable has become yours and they cannot be removed. Because He has been raised He has raised us. This is His work of grace in you and for you, and if you are a Christian this can never be removed. There is no danger of Christ changing His mind. There are no worries about God rescinding His adoption of us at a future date. The security and bond with which He holds believers secure is the placement of Christians in inseparable union with Him. In our frequent sin and vacillation we need an unchanging Savior that holds us secure. We need a Savior whose Cross was sufficient for all of our sin and a Redeemer whose Resurrection was full of power to save. In Christ we have found both and He has made us glad and thankful participants in His life by joining us to Him. He has loved us and demonstrated that love to us by an unbreakable bond which He has secured for us forever. Amazingly, we are really and inseparably united to Him.

Stunned by the immeasurable ramifications of our union with Christ,

Pastor Dan

Thursday, April 16, 2009

The Post-Resurrection Great Commission

“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
- Matthew 28:18-20

“Christ’s triumph, then, will be the triumph of evangelism.”

- R.B. Kuiper, God-Centered Evangelism, p. 241

“Jesus Christ is the ‘missionary’ par excellence: the basic and foundational mission is his. He has been sent by the Father to effect forgiveness and salvation, especially through his death and resurrection, and then to announce it to Jews and Gentiles alike. In fulfillment of the Servant’s role his task is to bring God’s salvation to the ends of the earth.”

- Kostenberger and O’Brien, Salvation to the Ends of the Earth, p. 269



Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

Last week we celebrated Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. In these two events lies the good news of the gospel. Christ has ransomed sinners for Himself through His own blood on the Cross and He was raised for the sinner’s justification in God bringing Him back to life. At the Resurrection all authority was granted to the risen and ascended Lord and it’s in this authority that mission can move forward. We have no other authority by which we can evangelize or advance the gospel forward than that which has been given by the resurrected and ascended Christ. Everything the church does is to be grounded in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, because it is here where authority has been given and here that authority is derived. This gives us hope in evangelistic advance, such as the making of disciples, in teaching, and in baptizing, therefore, we have hope that our efforts will not be in vain. The resurrected and ascended Lord is our source and power. We mustn’t preach the gospel without the power of the resurrection. We cannot have the one without the other. The Cross alone is forgiveness without effectual power and the Resurrection alone is power without forgiveness for sins. In our mind they must be inseparable as we carry on our evangelistic efforts. Christ’s triumph is the triumph of evangelism.

I’m grateful for the Great Commission that is grounded in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ,

Pastor Dan

Friday, April 10, 2009

Cross Centered v. Gospel Centered

"Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”
- Acts 2:29-32

‘For seeing that in the cross, death and burial of Christ, nothing but weakness appears, faith must go beyond all these…because, as he, by rising again, became victorious over death, so the victory of our faith consists only in his resurrection.’
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II:16

‘Even today a dead Christ is easier to come to terms with than a living Lord.’
-Paul Beasley-Murray, The Message of the Resurrection, p. 26


Dear Christ Our Redeemer Family and Friends,

It may be theological shorthand but it’s a subtle and important difference. To be cross-centered alone is to miss something very important. To be gospel-centered is to be all-inclusive. When Paul talks about the gospel having ‘first importance’ in 1 Cor. 15 both the death of Christ and His resurrection are included. Understand this - a crucified Savior alone cannot save us. However, a crucified Savior raised again by God for our justification can and does save us. These are very important distinctions because the Resurrection sets the trajectory for everything that follows the Crucifixion. The second Adam has come and the new creation has begun, but only because the God-man has died in the sinner’s stead and has risen again. He has done what no ordinary man could do. His victory over sin and His future reign has begun now because He has risen. We have our sins atoned for in the Cross, but we have the completion of our salvation in justification, hope, power, and new and eternal life because of the Resurrection. Because of the Resurrection every enemy has been defeated, and not just my sin, but everything and everyone that raises opposition to God. Rejoicing in a crucified Savior is misinformed worship, but rejoicing in a crucified and risen Savior is to celebrate the superlative glory of the gospel. Rejoicing in the Resurrected Savior is to rejoice in the ascended and reigning King. Revelation 5 pictures the saints forever worshiping the Lamb who was slain, but who now lives forevermore. The Lamb was slain for us, but God raised Him up for our salvation. The risen Lamb will be the object of our worship forever. He has risen. He has risen indeed.

Thanking God for the power and glory of the resurrection.

Pastor Dan