Tag: Jesus Christ

The Cross that Reconciles

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” Ephesians 2:14 NLT

A long time ago, a young man died a violent death, leaving His followers devastated.  That young man was Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who rose triumphant from the grave, whose death on the cross is the only real hope for a lost and fallen humanity.  In a world full of division, hatred and wars, it is the cross of Christ alone that can bring about true unity and peace among men.

Pride is at the root cause of these hostilities, and it takes many forms.

People take pride in their birth and race, deeming themselves superior to others who are not like them.  There is also pride of possessing power which causes tension between the “haves” and the “have nots”, the employer and the employed, those who govern and the governed, among other things.  There is pride of intellect which causes the separation between the “Greeks and barbarians”, the wise and the unwise, the educated and the uneducated.

Peace involves love, sympathy and understanding, but the world is incapable of producing true peace because the problem is in the heart of man, not his mind. Pride is a formidable power in this world, and none of man’s own inventions can deal with this problem.

The only thing in the world that can bring peace and unity among men and women is the cross of Christ.  How is this accomplished?

First, the cross shows us the reality about ourself.  We are prideful beings, thinking we are always right and it is always the other person’s fault.  But the cross of Christ humbles us when we consider why Christ came into the world.  He came because we cannot save ourself, He came “to save that which was lost”.  The cross tells us that we are complete failures who have missed the mark, and that Christ came to die on the cross so that we can be made right with God.

Second, the cross reveals to us the truth about others.  The cross shows us that other people also have souls, and that it does not matter what the color of their skin is, their economic status or level of education, we are all alike. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are one in sin, in failure, in hopelessness and helplessness.

The cross unites us in every respect.  In our failure and helplessness, we receive the same forgiveness, being equally made the children of God, sharing the same divine life. We rejoice in the same Redeemer who has broken down the middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile, who has torn down the barrier between us and our fellow human beings.

God forbid that we should boast about anything, except in the death on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

* Reference:  Martyn Lloyd-Jones,  The Best of Martyn-Lloyd Jones, 1992, Baker Books, England, pp. 85-107

* Photography by Jean Winters Olkonen

The Narrow Gate that Leads to Life

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus speaks about two divergent courses that a person can choose to follow in life: a wide gate leading to a broad pathway, and the other, a strait gate leading to a narrow and difficult path.  The latter is symbolic of the Christian experience and way of life which the Lord Jesus Christ beckons us to follow.

This gate is a constricting entrance, an exclusive pathway from the very start, and a personal one. In its narrowness, certain things are to be left behind in order for one to pass on through.

The Christian is to leave behind the ways of the world, the outlook that ignores God, living a life based upon the whims and demands of this life alone.  In leaving the worldly principle, the Christian finds himself as a unique, responsible being before God, confronting the issues of his life and his eternal destiny.

The Christian is to leave the old “self” outside the gate.  He is to put off the old man and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24).

This gate is narrow because it is a difficult experience. The Christian life is not easy because it is too glorious and wonderful, in contrast to how effortlessly the ordinary can be attained. There are few who find and enter the exalted Christian life simply because it is a hard life.

The gate is strait because if truly lived, it involves suffering and persecution.  The world has always been inclined to persecute the person who follows God. Jesus Christ Himself was rejected and persecuted by the world, hence the Christian must be ready to be misunderstood, because he has been set apart to follow Christ.

This gate leads to a path that continues to be narrow. The Christian life keeps on being difficult; it is a continuous “fight of faith” right to the very end.

But the narrow pathway leads to life, rescuing us from the path of destruction.  It is the road trodden by Christ Himself, and it is our privilege to walk out of this world and enter into this life, following Him every step of the way.

** Reference: David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, “Studies in the Sermon on the Mount”, Martino Publishing, CT, 2011, pp. 217-228.

** Photograph: Gate in the Poppies by Evgeni Dinev

Marks of the Poor in Spirit

“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

The Lord’s discussion on the Beatitudes begins with the attribute of being poor in spirit.  I do not believe that the ordering of the conditions for blessedness was purely by chance: Jesus had a particular reason for calling out this trait first and foremost among the others.  Thomas Watson (1660) describes it in these terms: “Poverty of spirit is the foundation stone on which God lays the superstructure of eternal glory”.

What does being “poor in spirit” mean?

Contrary to what some believe, it does not mean being poor in a material sense, and shunning worldly riches.  It is also not the same as being “spiritually poor”,  that of being without grace and having no sense of one’s own moral poverty; nor is it the same as being “poor-spirited”, that of possessing a mean base spirit, acting below oneself.  (p. 2)

The Greek word for “poor” means being destitute, not only of outward, but also of inward comfort.  Following the lines of this definition, those who are poor in spirit are “those who are brought to  the sense of their own sins, and seeing no goodness in them, despair in themselves and look wholly to the mercy of God in Christ. It is “self-annihilation”, a kind of emptying of self so that God is free to fill the soul with His grace through Jesus Christ. (p. 2)

Why does Jesus begin with poverty of spirit in the Beatitudes?  It is because herein lies the foundation of everything that follows in the Christian experience of salvation.  Unless one is poor in spirit, one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  Without being poor in spirit, one cannot mourn, or be meek, or merciful, or hunger and thirst after righteousness.  Being poor in spirit ushers in all the rest.  (p. 2)

What are the marks of a person who is poor in spirit?  Here are some attributes: (pp. 5-7)

* One who is weaned or detached from himself.  In so doing, he becomes an empty vessel so that God can pour in the precious wine of His grace.  In contrast, one who is puffed up in his own self-sufficiency and self-excellence is not fit for God’s grace; he is already full: “his hand is full of pebbles — it cannot receive gold”.  But the poor in spirit are those who are broken in the sense of recognizing their own unworthiness.

* One who is a Christ-admirer.  He runs to Christ in his nakedness to be clothed in the garments of the Lord’s righteousness; he sees himself in a state of death and clings to the tree of life; he sees that all his riches lie in Christ.  Everything is Christ, Christ is all in all.

* One who is ever lamenting of his spiritual estate.  Like a poor man who is about to starve, he ever looks to God, laying down his life at the gate of mercy and living upon the altars of free grace.

* One who is lowly in heart.  As rich men are haughty, the poor are submissive.  The more grace he has, the more humble he is because he now sees himself as a great debtor to God, yet forgiven of his debts;  he lives, yet it is not him, but that Christ lives in him; he labors, yet not he, but by the grace of God.

* One who is content to take Christ upon Christ’s own terms.  The proud sinner will contend and bargain with Christ: he will have Christ and the world’s pleasures; he will have Christ but retain his own righteousness.  “But the poor in spirit sees himself lost without Christ, and is willing to have Christ upon the Lord’s own terms, a Prince to rule him, as well as a Savior to save him”.  He is as Paul when brought to the end of his rope, to the very depths of knowledge of his own human frailty, he calls out to God saying, “Lord, what will you have me to do?” (Acts 9:6)

* One who is an exalter of free grace.  There are none who so magnify God’s mercy as the poor in spirit. As those who are poor are innately thankful, those who are poor in spirit greatly proclaim the goodness and mercy of God, they “bless God for the least crumb which falls from the table of free grace”.

We must labor to be poor in spirit.  “Christ begins with this trait, and this is where we must start if ever we are saved. “ (p. 6)

* Reference: Thomas Watson, 1660, The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12, “Poverty of Spirit”. 

* Photograph: Waiting for the Tide by Kevin Temple