After a week and a half without internet connection, I am finally back on line. In my last post I had finished writing about the events of Jesus' death and resurrection. It is time now to turn to their meaning.
The last few days I have been reading John Piper's "The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die" and have been tremendously blessed by it.
Pastor Piper is a Reformed pastor and theologian who has writes passionately about the salvation we have in Jesus. While I cannot agree with every point (especially Piper's belief about our state in death and the nature of hell) my heart has been encouraged and my faith strengthened by the points he brings out.
Like the man in Jesus' parable who discovered treasure hidden in a field he had leased to farm, Piper opens the box of priceless Gospel jewels and examines them one at a time: Forgiveness, Justification, God's Love, Jesus' Personal Love for Us, Righteousness by Faith, and forty-five more. I highly recommend it.
As we begin to examine the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, I want to begin with my own story.
I grew up in a Christian home, and it was a privilege. Unlike some homes, the religious aspect of our family life was generally positive, at least in my experience. Dad had accepted Christ at the age of sixteen in a spiritually divided home (His father was a mean drunk who sometimes beat the family; his mother a devoted Adventist believer who took all four children to church regularly).
At the age of sixteen my dad wanted to give his mother, who he described as his hero, a gift, so he asked the pastor for baptism. Dad was serious about his commitment and remained faithful to Christ until his death a few years ago. In my growing up years, Dad was the primary example of what a Christian was. He spoke often about the Bible and his love for Jesus. He read his Bible regularly, lead out in church, and (to my embarrassment) witnessed to everyone he could.
But in spite of all that, I did not comprehend the good news of salvation until my junior year of college. Somehow, I drew the conclusion that to be saved meant to love God and obey Him the best I could. Looking back, I know the Gospel was clearly taught in my religious upbringing; I just didn't get it.
Consequently, I struggled, because the truth is, we are not saved by "doing the best we can." There is no spiritual power in that. We are rescued from the power of our sinful, broken humanity only when we see that we need Jesus Who died for our sin and rose for our salvation. I will be looking at this in detail in coming days.
In the Adventist academy (high school) I attended my Bible teacher was also our athletic coach. I admired this man a lot. He took a personal interest in us and was interesting as a teacher. So when I left to attend college, I enrolled as a ministerial student. I wanted to help young people like our teacher. But I did not know Christ savingly yet. Consequently, I struggled spiritually in college. I was religious, but not saved. I struggled with the temptations common to young adults who have left home, and was often miserable in my spiritual lostness. Indeed the struggles had begun in academy where sports and friends and the attention of others held far more interest than God.
In my junior year, a great tragedy led me to the cross and to Christ. I was the eldest of five children in our family. My brother and I were followed by three sisters. In the summer of my junior year, my dad, brother and I were working seven hours from home, in construction. One evening we received a phone call that the oldest of my sisters had been killed in a car accident.
The next few days were filled with deep grief for our family, the comfort of many friends, and services for my sister. In my sense of loss, I turned to the Bible for reassurance. I had only read it for class, never because of personal interest; but now I had to know if the things I have believed were really true. Was there really a resurrection? Was Jesus going to return someday and raise my sister from the dead? I had to know these things for certain.
At some point, I found myself in the book of John reading the story of Jesus' resurrection of Lazarus. I continued reading through the Passion Story, and as I read about Jesus' trial and death, it was as if a flood light was turned on in my mind. I clearly saw for the first time how much God loved the world, and how much Jesus loved sinful humanity. Jesus' love and sacrifice were so beautiful to see. God must have known that I was open for the first time. In that moment, I knew I had a choice to make, and I knelt down and prayed a simple prayer: "God, this is so beautiful. I don't know how to follow you; but if you will accept me, I will."
This was not a very complete "sinner's prayer," but in His amazing mercy, God accepted that prayer and the intention it represented. I know now that He accepted me that day through His amazing grace. In fact, I know He was preparing me to receive Him through His Spirit who takes every opportunity to reach our hearts. I felt I had been born again, and know that that I truly had been (John 3).
The next few weeks and months were amazing for me. I suddenly had a deep interest to know everything I could about Jesus and the Bible. I read voraciously, and God began to open His word to my understanding. Jesus' sacrifice and Second Coming meant more than anything now, and I wanted to learn all I could.
Like the disciples after Jesus' death, there were many things I still did not understand, but the journey had begun for me, and God was close.
When I write again, I will begin exploring the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, from the first dawning of understanding the disciples had to the full blown confession of faith they share in their New Testament writings. These things are truly "priceless treasure" to those who are being saved. But I close today with the words of Paul to Titus which have become a favorite of mine, and my own testimony.
"Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaved to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But--When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. . ." Titus 3:3-8
Pastor Michael Brownfield
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