Lent 4
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
John 3:14-21
This text is perhaps one of the most familiar texts to the church since it contains the oft quoted verse, John 3:16. The context of this passage is so important to consider, for it helps us understand the importance and truth of Jesus' words. He was speaking with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the Jews. Nicodemus represents all intelligent seekers of truth, for he was no dummy. He was trying to figure out who Jesus was and whether the things he taught were true, for the Pharisees were adamantly opposed to Jesus.
In helping Nicodemus understand who he was and his purpose for coming to earth, Jesus compared his future crucifixion to the bronze serpent that Moses raised up in the wilderness. Just as all who looked at the bronze snake would be spared the judgment of death, so too, all who look to the cross will be spared the judgment of eternal death in hell.
I can't emphasize enough how important it is for us to communicate this truth over and over again, for there are many Nicodemus' in our world who are trying to figure out who Jesus was (and is, if they believe he still exists). Many people question the truth of what he spoke in this text. Many others bristle at the exclusive nature of this text, where Jesus clearly stated that those who believe are saved and those who do not will perish.
In our age of relativism and political correctness, there is much pressure to imply (if not outright preach and teach) that Jesus is one of several ways to heaven. Popular reason goes something like this: "It's not so important what (or who) you have faith in, just as long as you have faith in something." Now if this human reasoning were true, then Jesus was either a fool, a liar, or deluded, for this passage leaves no room for such reasoning. There is only one explanation for why some in the Christian church would teach and preach anything but Christ alone for salvation and eternal life, and it is this: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
Anyone who will not preach that Jesus is the only way to be saved clearly loves darkness rather than light (whether they are aware of it or not) and this is because their deeds are evil. Such people feel condemned by Christ, for they have missed the point of his grace and are focused on rebelling against his law. If they do consider his grace at all, it is to take advantage of it.
Dear friends, if we find it hard, like Nicodemus, to believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved, then we need to do a thorough inventory of our life to see if there is sin that we are trying to hide in darkness for fear that our deeds may be exposed. Having then confessed any such sin, and accepting by faith that Jesus came, not to condemn us but to save us from our sin, it is a lot easier to see why he is the only way for salvation.
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is not a fool, a liar, or deluded, then there is only one truth to preach: Jesus is the only way to be saved. In the days of Moses, there were no alternative ways to be spared death from the deadly snake bite. Either look at the bronze snake and live, or ignore it and die. Jesus said it is the same way with him. Look at the cross as our only hope for salvation and live, or ignore it and perish for all eternity. This holds true for us and everyone to whom we minister.
Pray that God will help you to receive these truths by faith, even if it goes against reason and popular thought. Pray for courage to preach and teach these truths without any compromise or allowance for other ideas of how to be saved. If you are condemned for preaching and teaching this way, don't be surprised, for so were Jesus and the apostles. Maybe you will have to do what Jesus and his followers did in those situations. They shook the dust out of their clothes and went somewhere else where people would listen to the truth.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Your word is truth, and simple to believe. Forgive me for those times when I have let reason and popular thought get in the way of simply receiving these truths by faith. Help me to preach them boldly so that your word can call people into a saving relationship with you. Thank you for dying for my sins; and that simply by looking to the cross and what you did for me there, I am saved! Amen.
Ephesians 2:1-10
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture, for it is rich with mercy and grace! But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- Isn't that awesome?
This is also a great text because it is the great leveler. By that I mean it brings everyone down (or up) to the same level. How important this is for us to remember, especially during those times when we, or others, tend to elevate pastors to a level higher than others. I have listened to more people than I want to count, who have told me of bad experiences with pastors who portrayed themselves as better than their parishioners. How sad, for that couldn't be further from the truth.
The truth is, we were once dead through the trespasses and sins in which [we] once lived ... following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. Some pastors have lived a portion of their life apart from Christ and have come into a saving relationship with him later. They don't have a problem understanding this passage. Their challenge is to not forget where they came from. Other pastors, like myself, grew up in a Christian home where we were "good" kids who grew up to be "good" adults. Therefore, we find it more difficult to identify with those who have lived a portion of their life apart from Christ -- following the desires of flesh and senses. For us, we need to hear (and let it truly sink in) that we too were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. In spite of our "good" past, at the core of our being we are no better than anyone else, due to the sinful nature we were born with and need to be set free from.
But the good news, for us and for all whom we share the gospel with, is that God ... raised us up with him (Christ) and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What wonderful, good news that is! Again, we don't deserve that, but this is the nature of our gracious and merciful God.
If you have been thinking rather highly of yourself, allow the law in this passage to bring you down to the level of the worst sinner you know; but then let the grace of Jesus bring you up to the same level as him. When you think of those to whom you minister, try to avoid thinking of them in terms of the "bad" people and the "good" people, but rather in terms of the lost and the found -- the perishing and the saved. When I started seeing people in this way, I didn't see anyone (myself included) as better or worse than another. Instead, I started seeing people as either those who were saved by grace, or those who needed to be saved by grace.
Be very careful to avoid teaching, or implying, any form of salvation, or elevation in God's kingdom, by works. Paul made it clear to the Ephesians that it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. When it comes to salvation and our place in God's kingdom, none of us have anything to boast about, other than Christ Jesus. We are members of God's kingdom only because of the atoning work of Christ. We are "good" people in God's kingdom (when we are good) only because of the sanctifying work of God's Holy Spirit. All glory and boasting about who we are, always goes to God.
How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a good person and look down on those who are not? Do you see yourself as superior to those to whom you minister? May God, through this text, give each of us a reality check, and allow the law and grace to put us in our place -- the place where Christ has seated us. And may we never forget, as Paul pointed out at the end of this text, that we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Good works are never for salvation, but because of salvation.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I thank and praise you for your rich grace and mercy to me. Thank you for saving me from the old nature I was born with and seating me in heavenly places with you, now and for all eternity. Help me to do the work you have called me to, not for salvation, but because of salvation, and to never boast in self, but always in Christ Jesus. Thank you. Amen.
This text is perhaps one of the most familiar texts to the church since it contains the oft quoted verse, John 3:16. The context of this passage is so important to consider, for it helps us understand the importance and truth of Jesus' words. He was speaking with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and leader of the Jews. Nicodemus represents all intelligent seekers of truth, for he was no dummy. He was trying to figure out who Jesus was and whether the things he taught were true, for the Pharisees were adamantly opposed to Jesus.
In helping Nicodemus understand who he was and his purpose for coming to earth, Jesus compared his future crucifixion to the bronze serpent that Moses raised up in the wilderness. Just as all who looked at the bronze snake would be spared the judgment of death, so too, all who look to the cross will be spared the judgment of eternal death in hell.
I can't emphasize enough how important it is for us to communicate this truth over and over again, for there are many Nicodemus' in our world who are trying to figure out who Jesus was (and is, if they believe he still exists). Many people question the truth of what he spoke in this text. Many others bristle at the exclusive nature of this text, where Jesus clearly stated that those who believe are saved and those who do not will perish.
In our age of relativism and political correctness, there is much pressure to imply (if not outright preach and teach) that Jesus is one of several ways to heaven. Popular reason goes something like this: "It's not so important what (or who) you have faith in, just as long as you have faith in something." Now if this human reasoning were true, then Jesus was either a fool, a liar, or deluded, for this passage leaves no room for such reasoning. There is only one explanation for why some in the Christian church would teach and preach anything but Christ alone for salvation and eternal life, and it is this: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.
Anyone who will not preach that Jesus is the only way to be saved clearly loves darkness rather than light (whether they are aware of it or not) and this is because their deeds are evil. Such people feel condemned by Christ, for they have missed the point of his grace and are focused on rebelling against his law. If they do consider his grace at all, it is to take advantage of it.
Dear friends, if we find it hard, like Nicodemus, to believe that Jesus is the only way to be saved, then we need to do a thorough inventory of our life to see if there is sin that we are trying to hide in darkness for fear that our deeds may be exposed. Having then confessed any such sin, and accepting by faith that Jesus came, not to condemn us but to save us from our sin, it is a lot easier to see why he is the only way for salvation.
If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he is not a fool, a liar, or deluded, then there is only one truth to preach: Jesus is the only way to be saved. In the days of Moses, there were no alternative ways to be spared death from the deadly snake bite. Either look at the bronze snake and live, or ignore it and die. Jesus said it is the same way with him. Look at the cross as our only hope for salvation and live, or ignore it and perish for all eternity. This holds true for us and everyone to whom we minister.
Pray that God will help you to receive these truths by faith, even if it goes against reason and popular thought. Pray for courage to preach and teach these truths without any compromise or allowance for other ideas of how to be saved. If you are condemned for preaching and teaching this way, don't be surprised, for so were Jesus and the apostles. Maybe you will have to do what Jesus and his followers did in those situations. They shook the dust out of their clothes and went somewhere else where people would listen to the truth.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Your word is truth, and simple to believe. Forgive me for those times when I have let reason and popular thought get in the way of simply receiving these truths by faith. Help me to preach them boldly so that your word can call people into a saving relationship with you. Thank you for dying for my sins; and that simply by looking to the cross and what you did for me there, I am saved! Amen.
Ephesians 2:1-10
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture, for it is rich with mercy and grace! But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- Isn't that awesome?
This is also a great text because it is the great leveler. By that I mean it brings everyone down (or up) to the same level. How important this is for us to remember, especially during those times when we, or others, tend to elevate pastors to a level higher than others. I have listened to more people than I want to count, who have told me of bad experiences with pastors who portrayed themselves as better than their parishioners. How sad, for that couldn't be further from the truth.
The truth is, we were once dead through the trespasses and sins in which [we] once lived ... following the desires of flesh and senses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. Some pastors have lived a portion of their life apart from Christ and have come into a saving relationship with him later. They don't have a problem understanding this passage. Their challenge is to not forget where they came from. Other pastors, like myself, grew up in a Christian home where we were "good" kids who grew up to be "good" adults. Therefore, we find it more difficult to identify with those who have lived a portion of their life apart from Christ -- following the desires of flesh and senses. For us, we need to hear (and let it truly sink in) that we too were by nature children of wrath, like everyone else. In spite of our "good" past, at the core of our being we are no better than anyone else, due to the sinful nature we were born with and need to be set free from.
But the good news, for us and for all whom we share the gospel with, is that God ... raised us up with him (Christ) and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What wonderful, good news that is! Again, we don't deserve that, but this is the nature of our gracious and merciful God.
If you have been thinking rather highly of yourself, allow the law in this passage to bring you down to the level of the worst sinner you know; but then let the grace of Jesus bring you up to the same level as him. When you think of those to whom you minister, try to avoid thinking of them in terms of the "bad" people and the "good" people, but rather in terms of the lost and the found -- the perishing and the saved. When I started seeing people in this way, I didn't see anyone (myself included) as better or worse than another. Instead, I started seeing people as either those who were saved by grace, or those who needed to be saved by grace.
Be very careful to avoid teaching, or implying, any form of salvation, or elevation in God's kingdom, by works. Paul made it clear to the Ephesians that it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast. When it comes to salvation and our place in God's kingdom, none of us have anything to boast about, other than Christ Jesus. We are members of God's kingdom only because of the atoning work of Christ. We are "good" people in God's kingdom (when we are good) only because of the sanctifying work of God's Holy Spirit. All glory and boasting about who we are, always goes to God.
How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a good person and look down on those who are not? Do you see yourself as superior to those to whom you minister? May God, through this text, give each of us a reality check, and allow the law and grace to put us in our place -- the place where Christ has seated us. And may we never forget, as Paul pointed out at the end of this text, that we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Good works are never for salvation, but because of salvation.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I thank and praise you for your rich grace and mercy to me. Thank you for saving me from the old nature I was born with and seating me in heavenly places with you, now and for all eternity. Help me to do the work you have called me to, not for salvation, but because of salvation, and to never boast in self, but always in Christ Jesus. Thank you. Amen.
