Calvary Hill outside of Jerusalem

Grace From Calvary

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

If you want to enjoy a real spiritual feast, take a concordance to the Bible and look up the word “grace.” First notice how often this word is found in the four Gospels: only four times and only once in a doctrinal sense. Then notice how often it is used in Paul’s epistles (less than half the size of the four Gospels). Here it is found well over one hundred times and practically always in a doctrinal sense, about the love and mercy of God toward sinners and toward His own. Think of it: only once is grace referred to doctrinally in the four Gospels, yet in Paul’s epistles, less than half as large in volume, it is used more than one hundred times.

This is because the Apostle Paul was God’s chosen apostle to make known His grace to sinners. In Acts 20:24 he speaks of “the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

But on what basis could God, through Paul, proclaim salvation by free grace to sinners? Ah, now take your Bible and begin looking up those passages which refer to the cross, the death and the blood of Christ, again noticing that while Paul does not actually relate the story of Christ’s death, he has more, far more, to say about that death, and what it accomplished, than any other Bible writer. It would thrill the heart of any sincere Christian to go through the Epistles of Paul and see how much good news Paul proclaims on the basis of the death of Christ. This is why his message is called “the preaching of the cross” — God’s good news about what Calvary has accomplished for us (1 Corinthians 1:17-23).

In Paul’s epistles we learn that through Christ’s death for us at Calvary believers are “justified,” “accepted” by God, and pronounced “complete in Christ.” By His death they are reconciled to God in one body, given a position at God’s right hand in the highest heavens and assured “the exceeding riches of His grace” in “the ages to come” — this and more! Riches of grace flowing from Calvary; this is the very essence of the glorious message which Paul was raised up to proclaim. Read his epistles and see.

5 Reasons Racism is Ridiculous

Atheism has no rational basis upon which to call anything objectively just or unjust, including racism. If mankind is merely the result of billions of years of mindless evolution and is nothing more than animals (as atheistic evolution contends; Marchant, 2008), then man can logically make evolutionary-based racist remarks that are consistent with the godless General Theory of Evolution. In fact, Charles Darwin’s “Bulldog,” atheist Thomas Huxley, did just that in his 1865 essay, “Emancipation—Black and White.” He alleged, for example, “no rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average Negro is the equal, still less superior, of the white man.” In truth, if there is no God, mankind could just as easily look down upon and mistreat others (whom he deems are less evolved), as he does roaches, rats, and orangutans (Lyons, 2011; Lyons and Butt, 2009). Those who are Christians, however, logically contend that since (1) God exists, and (2) the Bible is the Word of God, racism is morally wrong—and completely ridiculous for the following five reasons.

#1—All Human Beings Are Made in the Image of God

Not only did God specially create Adam and Eve in His image and vastly different than all other living things on Earth (Genesis 1:26-27), since then, every human being has been made according to God’s likeness. While preaching to Gentiles in Athens thousands of years after the Creation, Paul, a Jew, did not contend that man was once the offspring of God; he said, “We are” the offspring of God (Acts 17:28-29). [The Greek word esmen in 17:28 is the first person plural of eimi (to be). This recognition of being God’s offspring served as a basis for his argument, as the next verse indicates: “Being then the offspring of God….”]

James wrote: “But the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we the Lord and Father; and therewith curse we men, who are made after the likeness of God: out of the same mouth cometh forth blessing and cursing. My brethren these things ought not so to be” (3:8-9, ASV, emp. added). [The English verb “are made” (ASV) derives from the Greek gegonotas, which is the perfect participle of the verb ginomai. The perfect tense in Greek is used to describe an action brought to completion in the past, but whose effects are felt in the present (Mounce, 1993, p. 219).] The thrust of the expression, “who are made after the likeness of God” (Greek kath’ homoisosin theou gegonotas), is that humans in the past have been made according to the likeness of God, and they are still bearers of that likeness. For this reason, praising the Creator at one moment, while hurling unkind, racist remarks at another time, is terribly inconsistent in a most unChristlike way. All human beings (of every color and ethnicity) are divine image bearers.

#2—God Only Made One Race—The Human Race

Although people come in different colors, shapes, and sizes, and although they often associate more closely with those whom they find more similar in ways to themselves, the fact is, there is only one human race. Racism is ridiculous because we are all related, not by means of naturalistic evolution, but by special Creation. No one person is inherently of more value than another person. We are all sons and daughters of Adam and Eve—the specially created couple whom God made thousands of years ago in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:20). What’s more, we are also sons and daughters of Noah and his wife, through whom the Earth was repopulated after the worldwide Flood of Genesis 6-8.

As the apostle Paul informed the idolatrous Athenians 2,000 years ago, God “made from one blood every nation to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). Adam and Eve had children, who had children, who had children…who had you and me. We are all physically related. We are all of one race—the one human race. We are all (as modern science classifies us) of the same human species—Homo sapiens. We all trace our ancestry back to Noah, and then back to Adam. We may have different skin color, facial features, hair texture, etc., but we are all brothers and sisters! We are family—a part of the same human race.

#3—God Doesn’t Play Favorites…and Neither Should We

Although God is omnipotent, He is actually color-blind. His all-loving, perfectly just nature will not allow Him to love someone more than another based upon the color of a person’s skin or the nation in which one was born. Similar to how God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), God cannot show favoritism.

Moses wrote: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord or lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:17-19). Peter said: “God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35, emp. added). According to Paul, God “does not receive a face” (Galatians 2:6, NASB literal footnote rendering); that is, “God does not judge by external appearance” (Galatians 2:6, NIV).

In short, it is impossible to hold “the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, (the Lord) of glory, with respect of persons” (James 2:1, ASV). The Christian’s care and concern for his fellow brother by Creation and by Christ is to be color-blind.

#4—Love is Not Racist

Whereas racism is fueled by earthly ignorance and hate, the Christian is filled with the fruit of Heaven’s Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The child of God is directed by an omniscient, omni-benevolent Father Who expects His children to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). To the Philippians Paul wrote, “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (1:9-11, emp. added).

In two of the more challenging sections of Scripture, Paul wrote: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6, ESV). “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another…. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse…. Repay no one evil for evil…. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:9-18).

No Christian can be a racist, and any racist who claims to be a Christian is, in truth, a liar. As the apostle John explained, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (1 John 4:20-21).

“[W]hatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor [regardless of his or her color and ethnicity—EL]. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:9-10, NIV).

#5—Jesus is EVERYONE’S Savior

In one of the earliest Messianic prophecies, God promised Abraham that it would be through One of his descendants that “all the nations” and “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18; 12:3, emp. added). It certainly was an honor for Abraham’s family to be chosen as the one through whom the Savior of the world would come, but Jesus did not come only to save the Jews. God did not enact a plan of salvation to save one particular color of people. He did not send Jesus to take away the sins of a particular ethnic group or nation. Jesus is the answer to the whole world’s sin problem; He is “the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17, emp. added).

“God…desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4, emp. added). For this reason, “repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47, emp. added)—to people of all colors, in all cultures, in whatever countries.

The Gospel “is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16, emp. added). And when individuals in the world “obey the Gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8; see Lyons and Butt, n.d.) and are added to the Lord’s Church by God Himself (Acts 2:47), we all become one in Christ Jesus. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:29).

Conclusion

I do not claim to be an expert on race relations, but I know that some people genuinely struggle with the sin of racism. Some struggle with being the recipients of racism, which in turn may cause them to be tempted to react in racist ways. Others struggle with cowardly silence as they tolerate the sin of racism in their homes, churches, schools, businesses, and communities. Still others seem so preoccupied with advancing their own racial agenda that they appear to hastily interpret most everything as a racial problem, when most things are not.

Jesus once taught the hypocrites of His day, saying, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24). May God help us to see as He sees: “for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). What a better world this would be if everyone realized the foolishness of judging a book by its cover. Racism really is ridiculous.

REFERENCES

Huxley, Thomas (1865), “Emancipation—Black and White,” http://aleph0.clarku.edu/huxley/CE3/B&W.html.

Lyons, Eric (2011), “The Moral Argument for the Existence of God,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=4101&topic=95.

Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (no date), Receiving the Gift of Salvation (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://www.apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/Receiving%20the%20Gift%20of%20Salvation.pdf.

Lyons, Eric and Kyle Butt (2009), “Darwin, Evolution, and Racism,” Apologetics Press, http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=2654.

Marchant, Jo (2008), “We Should Act Like the Animals We Are,” New Scientist, 200[2678]:44-45, October 18-24.

Mounce, William D. (1993), Basics of Biblical Greek (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).

Copyright © 2015 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

We are happy to grant permission for items in the “Doctrinal Matters” section to be reproduced in their entirety, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) the author’s name must remain attached to the materials; (4) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (5) alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, quotations, etc. must be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original); (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken.

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Phone (334) 272-8558(334) 272-8558

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Balancing Life and Work

February 20, 2015

King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel—thirty thousand men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. — 1 Kings 5:13–14

The Torah portion for this week is Terumah, which means “contributions,” from Exodus 25:1–27:19, and the Haftorah is from 1 Kings 5:26–6:13.

Recently, I visited a major international corporation that employs thousands of people all over the world. The nice thing about the company is that it provides everything its workers could ever need. There is plenty of food on hand, a gym, and even a game room where workers can relax – at least in theory – the room was empty every time we passed it. I thought this was great until I overheard one of the employees talking to a fellow employee in the elevator. He said, “It’s great working here. I practically live here – I almost never need to go home!”

What ever happened to the work/life balance?

It’s interesting that in this week’s Haftorah reading, as King Solomon began to build the Temple, he set up a rotation system where men would work for one month and return home for two months and then repeat the cycle again. The ratio he established was one-third work to two-thirds time at home with family. If you translate that ratio into our daily grind, it means out of 24 hours each day, we should work for one-third, or eight hours a day, and have two-thirds of each day for our personal lives.

Not surprisingly, that’s been the norm for quite some time in the modern workplace. However, these days, the lines are getting terribly blurred and many people suffer from overworking and they end up burning out. This has adverse effects on families, friendships, and even our community lives. Can this possibly be how God intended us to live?

In Psalm 127, King David wrote a psalm in honor of his son Solomon. The theme of the psalm is that David would not get to build the Temple but Solomon would. David accepted God’s decision and acknowledged that if God didn’t want something to happen, it was useless to try: “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (v.1). In the next verse, David took this idea one step further by asserting that overworking is a waste of time as well. “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat . . .” (v.2).

God expects us to do our part in working for a living. However, we are fooling ourselves if we think that overworking guarantees a greater result. It seems that Solomon heeded this advice.

Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate our work/life balance. When our work infringes upon living a physically healthy and spiritually conducive lifestyle, we have made a wrong turn on our path of life and it’s time to get back on track. The health of our personal future as well as that of our society depends upon it. Let’s never get too caught up in making a living that we forget to live a good, godly, and balanced life.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein

Does ISIS Represent True Islam?

A mass beheading of 21 Egyptian/Coptic Christians by ISIS militants is the latest outrage perpetrated by those who claim to represent accurately the teaching of Islam (“Video Purports…,” 2015). Despite insistence from several sources that such atrocities do not represent Islam, the Quran contains a number of passages that clearly advocate violent action against those who reject Islam.

For example, within months of the Hijrah, Muhammad claimed to receive a revelation that amply clarifies the issue (Pickthall’s translation):

Now when ye meet in battle those who disbelieve, then it is smiting of the necks until, when ye have routed them, then making fast of bonds; and afterward either grace or ransom till the war lay down its burdens. That (is the ordinance). And if Allah willed He could have punished them (without you) but (thus it is ordained) that He may try some of you by means of others. And those who are slain in the way of Allah, He rendereth not their actions vain (Surah 47:4, emp. added).

In his popular translation of the Quran, Muslim scholar Abdullah Yusuf Ali offered the following comment on this verse: “When once the fight (Jihad) is entered upon, carry it out with the utmost vigour, and strike home your blows at the most vital points (smite at their necks), both literally and figuratively. You cannot wage war with kid gloves” (1934, p. 1315, parentheses and italics in orig.). ISIS Muslims are simply following the teaching of the Quran regarding both their practice of beheading their enemies as well as their warfare.

In a section dealing with, among other subjects, jihad, the Quran is equally forthright in its sanction and promotion of violence:

Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Lo! Allah loveth not aggressors. And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers. But if they desist, then lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they desist, then let there be no hostility except against wrongdoers. The forbidden month for the forbidden month, and forbidden things in retaliation. And one who attacketh you, attack him in like manner as he attacked you. Observe your duty to Allah, and know that Allah is with those who ward off (evil) (Surah 2:190-194, emp. added).

Later in the same surah, Muhammad is chided by Allah for not fully embracing the necessity of warfare:

Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not. They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel his people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can (Surah 2:216-217, emp. added).

These, and several additional verses (see Miller, 2005), from the Quran verify that the ISIS militants are merely following their reading of the Quran. Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi even called upon ISIS followers to unleash “volcanoes of jihad” (Cunningham, 2014). In view of such facts, and in light of the fact that Islamic armies over the centuries conquered nations across North Africa, into Europe, east to India, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia, north to Turkey, and northeast deep into Asia and Russia, one must engage in considerable theological and hermeneutical gymnastics in order to whitewash Islam as a “religion of peace.” [NOTE: We are not implying that everyone who calls himself a Muslim is a terrorist. In reality, there are many kind, peaceful people around the world who consider themselves Muslims. However, peaceful Muslims are not following the Quran faithfully, because the Quran teaches its adherents to take up the sword and fight and kill non-Muslims.]

NOTE: For more on Islam and the Quran, see our DVD titled “Islam, the Quran, and New Testament Christianity” as well as our book titled The Quran Unveiled.

REFERENCES

Ali, Abdullah Yusuf (1934), The Meaning of the Holy Quran (Beltsville, MD: Amana Publications), 2002 reprint.

Cunningham, Erin (2014), “Islamic State Leader Al-Baghdadi Calls on Followers to Unleash ‘Volcanoes of Jihad,’” The Washington Post, November 13, http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/defiant-message-from-islamic-state-leader-but-silence-over-airstrike-injury-reports/2014/11/13/a19f4d9e-6b54-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html.

Miller, Dave (2005), “Violence and the Quran,” Apologetics Press, http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=8&article=1491&topic=47.

Pickthall, Mohammed M. (no date), The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (New York: Mentor).

“Video Purports to Show ISIS Militants Beheading Christian Hostages” (2015), Fox News, February 16, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/02/16/video-purports-to-show-isis-militants-beheading-christian-hostages/.

Copyright © 2015 Apologetics Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

We are happy to grant permission for items in the “Islam and Other World Religions” section to be reproduced in their entirety, as long as the following stipulations are observed: (1) Apologetics Press must be designated as the original publisher; (2) the specific Apologetics Press Web site URL must be noted; (3) the author’s name must remain attached to the materials; (4) any references, footnotes, or endnotes that accompany the article must be included with any written reproduction of the article; (5) alterations of any kind are strictly forbidden (e.g., photographs, charts, graphics, quotations, etc. must be reproduced exactly as they appear in the original); (6) serialization of written material (e.g., running an article in several parts) is permitted, as long as the whole of the material is made available, without editing, in a reasonable length of time; (7) articles, in whole or in part, may not be offered for sale or included in items offered for sale; and (8) articles may be reproduced in electronic form for posting on Web sites pending they are not edited or altered from their original content and that credit is given to Apologetics Press, including the web location from which the articles were taken.

For catalog, samples, or further information, contact:

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Oneness With Christ

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

“I am [have been] crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20).

What is salvation? It is actually coming into oneness with the Lord Jesus Christ.

“The wages of sin is death” and “the soul that sinneth it shall die,” but Christ was not a sinner. Even Pontius Pilate, after having examined Him carefully, said: “I find no fault in Him” and “I find no cause of death in Him.”

It was therefore not His death that He died at Calvary. It was ours. He had come from heaven to be born into the human race as one of us in order to die our death.

It is when we view that death at Calvary and say: “This is not His death He is dying. It is mine;” it is then that, by an act of faith, we become one with Him. His death was ours; the penalty for our sins, but it is not applied to us until by faith we accept it as ours. Thus the Apostle Paul declares by divine inspiration:

“I have been crucified with Christ” and he adds: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith [the fidelity] of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Since the believer has been united with Christ in death, he is united with Him in resurrection life also. Colossians 2:12 says that believers are “buried with Him in baptism.” This is not baptism by water. This is a divine baptism, the work of the Holy Spirit, for he goes on to say: “wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God.”

Little wonder the Apostle begins this lesson for believers with the declaration:

“For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily, and ye are complete in Him” (Colossians 2:9,10).

Christ Our Passover is Slain for Us

By Wil Pounds

Exodus 12:1-51

Exodus chapter twelve records the last of the ten plagues, which was the death of all the firstborn in Egypt. In the case of the first born of Israel justice was satisfied with every claim of righteousness being fully met by the death of the substitute Passover Lamb. The blood of the Paschal lamb was a type of the Lamb of God–Christ our Passover.

The word “Passover” (pasach) means “to pass over; to spread the wings over, to spare; preserve; protecting.” It refers to a specific time and place in the history of Israel when God’s judgment passed over and the Lord stood guard protecting those who trusted in Him. The Jewish Passover is a beautiful type of the salvation God has provided. It was a profession of faith in Yahweh to save His people from the avenging angel of death.

In Christ’s day, as in ours, two days were required to celebrate the Passover. Jesus, with His disciples, observed the Passover the first night, and was Himself the Passover Lamb the second night.

If “every shepherd was an abomination to the Egyptians” what would a lamb in the sacrifice at the Passover make them do? (Genesis 46:34). This subject is still an abomination to many people.

Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. The Passover Lamb was a substitutionary sacrifice. In each Jewish house in Egypt the paschal lamb was to die in the place of the firstborn. In the same way, Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us.

Let’s compare the original Passover lamb with the God’s Passover Lamb who came to take away the sin of the world.

The Passover Lamb must be a choice male lamb in the prime of his life.

“Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats” (Exodus 12:5). It was to die in the fullness of its life.

Jesus Christ began His ministry in the prime of live, around 30 years of age. “When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age . . . (Luke 3:23). Here is a lamb who is in the prime of His life.

The Passover Lamb had to be without blemish.

The Passover Lamb must be perfect without any blemish or fault of any kind (Exodus 12:5). Nothing but a perfect sacrifice could satisfy the requirements of a holy and righteous God (Leviticus 22:21, 22). It has to be perfect to be accepted.

The apostle Peter knew the perfect Lamb in life and he wrote, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). We are told of the beginning of His ministry that “when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). God the Father testified to His sinlessness, and therefore gave acceptance. Anyone who had sin in his life could not make atonement for sins. God can only be satisfied with a holy and pure sacrifice. The word for “unblemished,” or “without blemish” is used of a sacrifice without spot or blemish and morally of a person who is without blemish, faultless, unblameable. Cf. Matthew 27:4, 19, 24; John 18:38; Luke 23:41; Mark 15:39.

The Passover Lamb must be kept under scrutiny.

“You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight” (Exodus 12:6).  

Luke 11:53-54 tells us the scribes and Pharisees grew very hostile toward Jesus and were “plotting against Him, to catch Him in something He might say.” Daily the Jewish leaders scrutinized Jesus’ teaching in the Temple and local synagogues. What can we say about Jesus after all that intense observation for three years? He “who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:22-24; cf. Isaiah 5:9). Jesus “committed no sin,” either before or during His suffering (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5). He was completely innocent in both deed and word because “no deceit was found in His mouth.”

It was necessary for the Passover lamb to be slain.

“The whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight” (12:6). Death must be inflicted on either the guilty sinner or upon an innocent substitute. The victim’s blood was taken and sprinkled upon the door-posts and lintel of the house where the Israelites dwelled. Without the sprinkling of blood there was no salvation that night. The lambs were slain between 3 and 5 PM of the afternoon before the Passover which began when the first ray of starlight could be seen in the sky. The head of the household stood for and acted on behalf of each family member.

At the trials of Jesus the people shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” That was the common consent of the whole congregation of Israel (Matt. 27:22-23). Representatively Jesus stood in the place of every believing sinner. Jesus died at the very time that the paschal lambs were being slain in the temple in Jerusalem. Thousands of lambs were slain that first Passover night in Egypt, but it is interesting that throughout this chapter the singular is used when referring to the Lamb. Israel shall kill “it,” not them. There was only one Lamb in Yahweh’s mind that night–the Lamb of God at Calvary. “He [God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus’ scourging and death accomplished spiritual “healing” or salvation of every individual who trusts Him as his Savior. “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22; Cf. Mark 15:6-15; John 1:29, 36; 12:24).

“Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7b). Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for our sins. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). The word “redeemed” means “to set free by the payment of a ransom.” It is a ransom for life as of a slave, (Matt. 20:28), and therefore, to set free by payment of ransom. The ransom is the precious blood of Jesus. Jesus’ blood is God’s blood (Acts 20:28). Deity became incarnate in humanity. How precious and costly is the redemption God provided in the atoning sacrifice of His own Son. More literally, we are redeemed “with costly blood, highly honored, blood as of a lamb that is without blemish and spotless, the blood of Christ.” It was by the blood of Christ that we are redeemed from sin. It is an ugly picture of blood spilt because sin is ugly. We are totally depraved and in the need of God’s perfect sacrifice for sin. “Redemption” is a purchasing from the marketplace of sin with the priceless blood of a perfect lamb. Cf. Hebrews 10:1-7, 10-14, 19-22, 29; 1 John 1:7; Luke 22:19-22.

The bones of the Passover Lamb must not be broken.

“It is to be eaten in a single house; you are not to bring forth any of the flesh outside of the house, nor are you to break any bone of it” (Exodus 12:46).

The Roman soldiers came “to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken” (John 19:33-36). Cf. Psalm 34:20, “He keeps all His bones; not one of them is broken.”

The blood of the Passover Lamb had to be applied in the correct manner.

“Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it” (Exodus 12:7).

We have to appropriate by faith the death of Jesus for our sins. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). Cf. Romans 3:24-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13-14; Hebrews 11:28.

The meat of the Passover Lamb must be eaten in the home.

“They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste ”it is the Lord’s Passover” (Exodus 12:8-11; cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

The Holy Spirit awakens our sinful, depraved heart, “dead in trespasses and sins,” to see Jesus Christ as the Lamb slain on our behalf. God in His sovereign grace gives us faith to receive Christ as our personal Savior. He “loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Lamb of God died as my substitute. He died instead of me. He died on my behalf. I appropriate by faith the fact He died for my sins. A Savior provided is not sufficient; he must be received. There must be “faith in His blood” (Romans 3:25), and faith is a personal thing. It is my personal responsibility to exercise faith in Jesus Christ who died for me. I must by faith take the blood and refuge beneath it. I must place it between my sins and a Holy God. To be saved by faith is to rely upon the Lamb of God as the sole ground of my acceptance with Him. The righteousness of a holy God demands acquittal of every believer in Christ.

Not only did God provide for their salvation from the death angel, but He also provided nourishment for their travel. Jesus not only saves us from sin, but He also provides daily bread for our spiritual lives. We must come to Him for our nourishment every day. What we ate for spiritual food yesterday will not carry over for today or tomorrow. It is a daily feasting on Christ. Change the metaphor and the need for daily sustenance becomes perfectly clear. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

The Passover Lamb of God provides perfect protection from the judgment of God.

“For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments ”I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12-13). The death of the Lamb and the sprinkling of its blood provided the only safe refuge from the judgment of God. Every first born who was not covered by the Passover lamb was slain that night.

The apostle John recognized this great truth when He wrote that Christ “Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Romans 3:25 speaks of Christ “whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.” Christ is the means whereby our sin is covered and remitted. Properly propitiation is the turning away of wrath of a holy God by an offering. God’s wrath is His settled, controlled, holy antagonism against all sin. Propitiation is the appeasement of the wrath of God by the love of God through the gift of God’s own sacrifice. Christ is the Priest and the Sacrifice for our sin (Romans 3:25). The initiative is taken by God Himself in sheer unmerited love. He turns His own wrath away by His own blood. God’s justice has now been satisfied. Our sin debt has been paid. His holiness is satisfied and God’s wrath is turned away. John the Baptizer saw Jesus and he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29, 36). “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). “He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:12-14; cf. Heb. 9:27).

The death of Jesus Christ is the propitiation for all of our sins. The sacrifice of Himself turns away the wrath of God. It is God who is propitiated by His own provision made in the vicarious, substitutionary, expiatory sacrifice of Christ. Man sinned. Christ annuls the power of sin to separate God and man. Our Passover not only covers our sins, but He turns back the wrath of God which we deserve and God can look upon us with His favor.

The Passover meal was a memorial supper.

The Passover was to be celebrated every year as a remembrance of what Yahweh had done in delivering Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 12:14, 42). Every year, every family would concentrate on this meal and the meaning of each of the elements of the meal. At least once a year every family in Israel knew what God did at the Passover in Egypt. It was a method of teaching the people about redemption.

Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples (Matthew 26:26-32: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34). At the last Passover the transition was made to the memorial supper of the Lamb of God who took away our sins. Properly officiated the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is a reminder of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf. It is a message of the salvation of the family of God. “Do this in memory of Me.” We come to the communion table and celebrate on the basis of redemption accomplished. The atoning sacrifice of Christ has been accomplished; now it is time to remember and celebrate! It, too, is a great method of teaching and preaching the meaning of the sacrificial death of Jesus on the believer’s behalf.

The Passover Lamb’s blood must not be trampled on.

“For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to smite you” (Exodus 12:23; cf. v. 7). The blood of the lamb is not to be put on the threshold. It is not to be trampled upon. Do not trample on the blood of the Lamb of God. How tragic when men demean the blood of God.

The beloved Greek scholar A. T. Robertson writing on I John 1:7 enunciated: “Walking in the light with God makes possible fellowship with one another and is made possible also by the blood of Jesus (real blood and no mere phantom, atoning blood of the sinless Son of God for our sins). John is not ashamed to use this word. It is not the mere ‘example’ of Jesus that ‘cleanses’ us from sin. It does cleanse the conscience and life and nothing else does (Heb. 9:13; Tit. 2:14). See in verse 9 both forgiveness and cleansing. Cf. 1 John 3:3” (Word Pictures in the New Testament).

The great application that comes out of the Passover sacrifice is the assurance and security of our salvation through the Lamb of God. The apostle Peter preached, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

The believer’s security is to be found only in the applied blood of the Lamb of God. There can be no other basis for eternal security. Feelings have nothing to do with our security. Like the people of Israel long ago we must rely upon the Lamb alone to cover all our sins. When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” we were delivered once and for all from all condemnation. Nothing but the blood can cover your sins.

Have your put your trust in Christ alone to save you for all eternity? It is God’s free gift to all who will call upon His name.

Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb slain. Come eat.

The Logic of the Plan of Salvation

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

In I Corinthians 1:22 we are told that “the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.”  This is doubtless why God chose Paul, with his profound intellectual background and acumen, to proclaim “Christ crucified,” the “wisdom of God” as well as the “power of God” (I Corinthians 1:23,24).

Paul was a gifted logician as well as a theologian, and nowhere is this more evident than in his epistle to the Romans, where, by divine inspiration, he presents the logic of God’s plan of salvation. Again and again, throughout the epistle, he uses that word so prominent in mathematics and in logic: “therefore.”

“Therefore thou art inexcusable…” (Romans 2:1).

“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight” (3:20).

“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested….  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law” (3:21,28).

“Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access…” (5:1,2).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).

“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors…” (8:12).

“I beseech you therefore… that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

It is an inexorable, unchangeable law that sin results in death. But the Lord Jesus Christ, “who did no sin,” took our place and “died for our sins.” Thus it is also an unchangeable law that “He that hath the Son hath life.” “The law of the Spirit” is “life in Christ.” The moment one trusts Christ as Savior the Spirit gives him life, the life of Christ, which is everlasting — indeed, eternal life (Romans 8:2; I John 5:12).

Let Others Shine

February 23, 2015

“Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the LORD from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.” — Exodus 27:20–21

The Torah portion for this week is Tetzaveh, which means “contributions,” from Exodus 27:20–30:10, and the Haftorah is from Ezekiel 43:10–27.

This week’s Torah portion begins, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil . . .” God was giving the command, but who was He talking to? In context, the answer is obvious: God was talking to Moses. However, the fact that Moses was not mentioned by name raises a red flag. From the time of Moses’ birth until the end of the Five Books of Moses, Moses’s name is mentioned in every single Torah portion – except for this one. Why?

The Jewish sages explain that this portion deals with Aaron’s appointment as the High Priest and the duties of his descendants. This was Aaron’s moment. The sages explain that Moses, in his great humility, understood that this was Aaron’s portion. He gladly stepped aside so that Aaron could shine.

Moses is known as the most humble man of all (Numbers 12:3), and his example teaches us that true humility is having enough self-esteem that you don’t need to be the one in the spotlight. True humility is being able to peacefully and joyfully move aside so that others can have their moment. This is also the hallmark of any great leader. A good leader can lead the way. However, a great leader can empower others so that they can forge a path of their own.

When Moses stepped aside for Aaron, it was a beautiful counterbalance for the time that Aaron made way for Moses. Back in Exodus 4, when Moses encountered God at the burning bush, he put forth all sorts of arguments for why he should not be the one to redeem Israel. Finally, Moses pleaded with God, “Please send someone else” (v.13), and the sages explain that Moses was arguing that Aaron should be chosen, not him. Aaron, as the older brother, deserved the privilege and honor of being the leader of Israel, not Moses. But God responded, “What about your brother, Aaron . . . . He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you” (v.14). God reassured Moses that Aaron knew that Moses had been chosen and that he was sincerely happy for Moses. Aaron didn’t need to be in the spotlight – he was only too glad to see his brother shine.

We can all learn from Moses and Aaron by looking for ways to help others shine. How might we take a step back to let someone else advance? For a parent, it may mean giving a child a chance to do a grown-up job. At work, it may mean giving an employee a shot at doing something new and extraordinary. Be joyful and glad for others when they have their moment – and be ready to step aside to let others shine.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein