As I thought about the invitation I asked myself, “Why should a church be involved in the chamber?”

 Rather than spend a lot of time wrestling with whether or not the church’s involvement compliments or detracts from the church’s mission and purpose, I moved on to a second question.  What could a church possibly offer to business people?

 I think the answer is twofold.

 First, the church has a responsibility to teach what God has ordained for mankind to do.  And among the responsibilities and obligations that God has placed on humanity is work.

 Ecclesiastes 3:22 says, “So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot.”

 We are often tempted to see work as a necessary evil, or as simply as a means to an end.  But this is not the way God designed things.  Even in the Garden of Eden, God designed and assigned work to Adam—Adam was to name all of the animals and he was to tend to the garden.  For Adam, these were good things.  They were things that brought him joy.  Why?  Because in doing these things with excellence, he was pleasing his Creator.  We find joy and happiness when we please someone with whom we are in a loving relationship.

 I believe this is the key to finding enjoyment in work—that we do our work to the glory and honor of the God we love.  1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

 So whether we are a janitor or a CEO, we can find joy in our work when our ambition drives us to work in such a way that our loving God is glorified and pleased with what we have done.

 Second, the church also has a responsibility to teach that there is more to this life than our work.  We live in a culture that identifies success by the size of our house and the size of our toys.  Our culture tells us that if you succeed in life you will be happy.  If you achieve your dreams you will find joy.

 Here is where the American Dream can lead people into misery.  Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is not all there is to life.  There is a reason why Howard Hughes died in misery.  His quest for life, liberty and happiness caused him to succumb to the lie that we can ultimately please ourselves.

 This lie of self- fulfillment is exposed when we start asking the question, “what’s next?”  I want a nicer home.  OK.  There’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but what’s next?  I want a nice car.  Again, there’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but what’s next?  Better school, kids, prestige, portfolio etc.  But what’s next?

 At some point in our life, we finally reach the end of this line of questioning and the end is always the same.  What’s next?  Death.  As the joke goes, there are only two guarantees in life, death and taxes.  So why do businessmen and women make provision for their taxes, but not death?  People will go to great lengths to make sure that they don’t make mistakes with their taxes. Carefully planning and meetings with CPA and tax attorneys are the norm. 

 But when it comes to death, why do people just assume everything will just work out in the end?  Why do people assume that they know about death and thereafter when they have never given any serious thought?  And even if they have given it some thought, why would they also not seek council from those whose sole responsibility to know these things?

 I don’t proclaim to know everything about my tax liability, so I go to a professional.  I don’t proclaim to know everything about my health, so I go to a doctor.  I don’t even proclaim to know everything that the Bible teaches, so I regularly meet with other professional pastors to discuss these very things.

 The purpose of the church has two parts.  First the church is to lead people in worshipping God.  Second, the church is to proclaim to people how they might have a right relationship with God.  This is where the purpose of the church intersects the business world.  (They also intersect at the point of morality and ethics, but that is for another time.)

 As Americans we can get so caught up in our work and business pursuits that we forget – or purposefully ignore—that there is more to life.   What is the purpose of life?  The answer is not found in work, or family or pleasure, or anything other than God’s glory.  It is the purpose of the church to answer this question, “How can I glorify God?”  That way, when we are faced with the final “what’s next?” we will be prepared to stand before God our Creator and Judge and give an account of our lives.

 Work is important.  God ordained man to work.  But there is more to life than just work.  This is what the church must pursue.  So what can a church possibly offer to the business world?  A satisfying, eternal purpose for why we do what we do—the glory of God.

What I discovered was that the problem was not my battery and it wasn’t my outlets.  It was the battery charger.  It died.  As it turned out, I was running on battery power all evening and didn’t realize it.

As I thought about this experience and began playing with ideas for how I could use it as a sermon illustration, I realized how I have heard similar stories used by pastors as sermon illustrations.  They typically went like this.

“The reason you go to church is so that you can get your batteries charged and make it through the weak.  If you don’t get your batteries charged, you will burn out.”

As I thought about this I realized I had a problem with the basic premise that we have some sort of spiritual batteries that will run down if they don’t get recharged.  I believe this is very misleading, even to the point of teaching that our spiritual survival is dependent upon us plugging in to Jesus once in a while.

This past year I bought the movie Batteries Not Included from Wal-Mart for only $5.   In this movie, two little, space robots come to earth and they choose an old, dilapidated building for their home.  The title of the movie comes from a scene where several baby robots are “born.”   One of the babies though is born without a battery and thus without life.  A guy in the building grabs that robot and runs back to his apartment with it.  After seeing him working on it, and presumably giving it a battery, the baby robot comes to life.

But the point of the movie relevant to us is that throughout the movie, these two robots have to plug into the wall in order to recharge their batteries.

This is not the way to view our Christian walk.  We are not given batteries in which we get charged and go about our way.  This is really nothing more than a spiritualized humanism veiled in Christian lingo.  We don’t have spiritual batteries.

Jesus talks about this in John 15 as he compares the Christian life to a vine and the branches.  Christians are the branches.  We are connected to the life giving vine all the time.  Jesus said in verse 5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

The whole notion of operating on spiritual batteries and walking the Christian life disconnected from Jesus is in serious error.  There is no life disconnected from Jesus.  Jesus refers to Himself as the “bread of life” (John 6:35,48), the “Light of life” (John 8:12),  the “water of life” (John 4:10), the source of the “River of life” (Revelation 22:1), and the “Word of life” (John 1:1). 

Either we live our lives in dependence upon Jesus for all things, or we resort to trying to walk the life on our own. (I say trying because in the end, true Christians will discover that even when they tried to live it on their own, the grace of God was still directing their steps.)

Church is not a time to connect and get our batteries recharged.  It is a time to JOIN with other believers in the praise, worship, and adoration of our Savior and for humbly receiving the continued nourishment.

I preached a sermon series on acceptable corporate worship about two years ago.  In this series I brought up preparing for corporate worship.  The way we prepare for corporate worship is family worship.  The way we prepare for family worship is private worship.  And the way we prepare for private worship is corporate worship.

To view ourselves as operating on battery power is to disconnect from this cycle of worship.  We must live our lives in constant worship, constantly looking to Christ and receiving his grace through the ministry of His Word in our private time, our family time, and our church time.  For as Jesus said, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”

We have no spiritual batteries, but we do have a power source within us.

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 says, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6  who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

“You can’t.  Stop.  Please don’t go away.  Please, no one’s ever stuck with me for so long before.  And if you leave . . . if you leave, I just remember things better when I’m with you. I do . . . I remember it. I do, it’s there, I know it is because when I look at you I can feel it.  And I look at you, and, and I’m home.  Please, I don’t want that to go away.  I don’t want to forget.”

As I listened to her lines, it struck me that Dory’s internal driving force was selfishness.  Yes, it was good that she was helping to find Nemo, but her motivation for continuing the journey was not Nemo, but herself!  She liked who she was when she was with Nemo’s Dad and didn’t want to give that up.

I can’t help but wonder, how many Christians are like Dory.  How many Christians like Christianity because of the way it makes them feel?  If and when persecution comes to the shores of the USA, what is going to happen to the Christians?  What will happen when Christianity no longer gives people good feelings?

I have talked to many people who have tried Christianity and it “just didn’t work for them.”  This is because in their hearts they are like Dory, they are focused on themselves.  They “choose Christ” because of all the benefits they think they are going to get because of their decision.  If you tell people that they are going to hell unless they choose Christ, of course that is what they are going to do.  If you tell people they get to go to heaven in they choose Christ, of course that is what they are going to do.

But what about some of the hard things that come with Christ, like repentance?  And, what about the whole dying to self as Paul says in Romans 6:11-12?

“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.   Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”

There is nothing harder for a sinner, than to give up his wants and desires and submit himself to the lordship of someone else(In fact, it’s impossible without God’s grace), especially if the other person wants something directly contrary to the sinner’s own selfish desires. 

Thus, here is a fatal flaw in how the gospel is often presented in America.  We are told to choose Christ because we get to go to heaven and not go to hell.  The problem here is that choosing Christ is done on the basis of “what I get out of it,” and the motivation is nothing less than my own self-interest.  This directly contrary to how Jesus (Matthew 4:17), Peter (Acts 2:38), Paul (Acts 17:11) and others call people to faith.  We are called to repent of pursuing our own self-interest and not pursuing God’s interest which is His own glory.

The truth is that true Christians are not Dory Christian’s, but Nemo Christians. 

Nemo eventually follows after his father, but only because his father pursued him to the ends of the earth!  This is what the Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:9-10.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

You see, we choose God, ONLY (and after) because He first chose us.  And when did He choose us?  Ephesians 1:4-6 says, “even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved.”

If you call yourself a Christian, why are you following Christ?  Is it because of what you get, or because of what He has done?  Is it because you chose Him, or because He chose you?  Is it because you sought out God, or because He predestined you before the foundation of the world?

If your answer is the former, if you are following Christ for the blessings, then you are like Dory and may very well not be a Christian at all.   Here I must issue a great warning.  At the end of the Movie, Dory is seen playing and having fun with all of the little fish just as if she were a part of the family, but she isn’t a family member.

Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:34-36.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Notice 3 things.

1) First, whoever commits a sin is a slave to sin.  That means we are all by nature slaves to sin.

2) Second, the slave may be in the house for a little while, but eventually he will be kicked out.

3) Third, it is the Son who decides who gets set free, not the slave.

The difference between Nemo and Dory is the glory of God.

Nemo Christians have the same attitude in them that was in Christ Jesus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.   If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.   ”Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour.   Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:24-28)

The Nemo Christian says, “Father, do whatever you will with me, just use me to glorify your name.”  Is this your faith?  Is this your purpose in following Christ?

 A while ago, I was flipping through the radio stations when I heard a conversation about prophecy.  The man being interviewed was saying that America is falling apart because churches are not studying and preachers are not preaching prophecy.

 He then went on to explain how Satan’s goal was to destroy humanity (which I agree with).  But, he said Satan’s means for destroying humanity was not sin but genetic.  He pointed to the reference in Genesis 6:2 where “the sons of God (Nephalim) saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.”  He then followed this up by saying that the Nephelim had corrupted the genetic seed of humanity and therefore humanity was no longer redeemable.  Only Noah’s seed was uncorrupted by them.  He pointed to Genesis 6:9 (Noah was perfect in his generations) as proof.

 From this background in Genesis, he then went on to warn people of the danger that lies ahead for humanity.  There are now scientists removing the DNA from cells and implanting their own “creations” so as to form new life.  This man argued that it would not be long before scientists began doing this to humanity. And when that happens, he said, humanity’s genetic seed, which has been passed down from Noah uncorrupted, will be corrupted and the end result is that God will not be able to redeem people because they will no longer be human.

 As absurd as this sound, I am not making this up.  I would love to be able to add a name and philosophy to this teaching so that it might be avoided.  But I bring this up as an illustration of what happens when eschatology is separated from the cross.

 I see three dangerous situations arising from this that will do great harm to this generation and the next.

 1) When eschatology is separated from the cross—meaning, it is no longer defined by what Christ did on the cross—theology is neglected.  When the emphasis in eschatology is on the immediate return of Jesus, theological issues are passed over in the name of “getting people ready.”

 From the beginning, even in the apostolic church, people were proclaiming that Jesus would return in their lifetime.  There have been numerous historical studies done to compile the list of dates when Jesus would return.  The three biggest Christian cults all came from people who predicted the return of Christ; the Mormons, the Seventh Day Adventists, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 I know this next statement is more anecdotal, but I can’t help but look at the Southern Baptists today.  They grew rapidly during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s (the generation after Israel became a nation in 1948).  Regular preaching of the dispensational, pre-millenium eschatological views of the return of Christ in the current generation and the neglect of historic orthodox doctrines have left the current generation without a foundation from which to battle the Mormon and JW cults.  Is it any surprise then that the Mormons are finding the greatest number of converts from the Baptists?

 The Mormons are moral people, they use the language of classic Christianity and they hold to traditional values.  They appear to be what the church should look like today.  Therefore, they are very appealing to people who have no understanding of what Scripture really teaches.  When Eschatology is elevated over the preaching of the cross (Salvation by grace alone, though faith alone, in Christ alone, revealed in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone) heresy will creep in and the ignorant will be unable to defend against it.

 2) When eschatology is separated from the cross people are burned.  Consider how many thousands of people believed Harold Camping when he predicted Christ’s return in May? How many people sold their possessions and gave the money to him in order to “save people?”    How many of them now have to deal with the shame of being duped?  How many now have to deal with the shame of being so gullible?

 From a cultural perspective, who wants to be an idiot like the people in the year 1000 that sold all their possessions and gave them to the Roman Catholic Church because Jesus was returning that year?  And who wants to be an idiot like all of the JWs who believed Jesus was returning in 1914?  And who wants the shame of following the example of the people that sold everything in order to follow Harold Camping in 2011?

 You get the picture.  Christians are seen as stupid, illogical and mindless drones doing whatever they are told to do by whichever nutcase is making the latest prediction.  And many of those who turned to Christ because of a prediction of doom and gloom now have since turned their back on Christ because they feel like they were manipulated.  And instead of pursuing the truth, they want nothing to do with Christianity. People get burned and abused by such non-biblical hype.

 3) When eschatology is separated from the cross the doctrine of salvation is perverted.  Not only do people redefine salvation and redemption (i.e. locating our redemption in our genes, see above) but it also withdraws the offer of salvation to those who need it.

 Harold Camping’s explanation for what happened (or didn’t) is nearly the exact same thing as the explanation given by William Miller in 1844 and by the Jehovah’s Witness in 1914 for their prediction failures.  They all say that Jesus returned “spiritually.”

 If it is true that Jesus returned spiritually then the logical conclusion is that no one else can be saved.  Harold Camping even made such a statement!  I bring this up because of the profound damage such statements inflict on people.  Can no one be saved now that “Jesus returned in judgment,” Mr. Camping?

Salvation is distorted not only to the people who are told they can’t be saved because Christ already came, but salvation is also distorted for the Jews.  John Hagee teaches that when the new temple is built Jews will find salvation by returning to the OT sacrificial system.  But that clearly contradicts what Paul teaches in amy places that salvation is in Christ alone.  Hebrews even teaching in chapter 10 that the pure obedience to the sacrificial system never saved anyone.

So heaven forbid that I should tell people that all hope is lost–even though there is still breath in thier lungs– because they waited too long!  From what I read in Scripture, the only time it is too late is when we die or when Jesus actually returns visibly.  And Heaven forbid I tell Jews that there is salvation apart from Christ!

To conclude, I believe that the system of dispensational pre-millennialism will in the end do more harm than good because it undermines Scripture, it neglects doctrine, it leaves people manipulated and burned out and distorts salvation.

 Let us not give up hope that Jesus will return.  His death and resurrection is our assurance that He truly has concurred death!  Let us live our lives pursuing righteousness and holiness.  And let us pursue doctrinal truth so as to prepare the next generation for living in a world that is hostile to the gospel of Jesus Christ.  “No man knows they day or the hour when Christ will return.”   It could be tomorrow, it could be 1000 years from now.  So let us not give up the pursuit of Christ and the pursuit of truth in the name of “winning souls.”  It’s not just the credibility of Christians that is at stake, but also the next generation and, above all, the glory of Christ.

As I talked with this guy, it struck me how shallow America was.  Here was an excellent car, solid and reliable, that almost disappeared from the marketplace simply because people didn’t like the way it looked.  The engine and many of the other features only improved over time, but because the cosmetic appeal was lost, nothing else seemed to matter to car buys.

I think the converse of the Ford Taurus story describes what is happening to the preachers in America.  With the decline of the Reformed churches, America’s preachers have also declined.  Sure there are great orators still standing up on Sunday Morning and drawing large crowds, but where are the Luthers, Calvins, Whitefields, Edwards, and Spurgeons?

What I have seen instead is a preacher’s emphasis , not on Christ, but on the presentation.  This is the inverse of the Taurus illustration.  The cosmetic appeal is growing, but the insides are hollow.  The depths of grace and love have been replaced by moralism and easy-believism.  Instead of preachers viewing themselves and presenting themselves as God’s mouthpiece, it appears that preachers are more interested in being CEOs of a corporation where they use the Bible as by-laws.

I believe the result of preachers focusing on the happiness of the people (the customer) instead of on Christ and His Word has led the church into a situation like that of the Taurus.   The glitz and the glamour are there.  The cosmetics are good, but the heart of the gospel is gone and the church has been pushed aside by the shallow culture in which we live.

We need another reformation of the church.  The truths of the Bible, found by systematic exegesis, must be preached from the pulpit with boldness, gentleness and compassion.  The wonderful “Doctrines of Grace” must be presented day in and day out.

But there is always hope.  Just as the Taurus has started to make a comeback, so too is the true Preaching of the Word.  But it is not found in men like Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Rob Bell, or Benny Hinn.  These men have the cosmetic appeal, but they lack the “Doctrines of Grace.”  Thankfully God is raising up preachers like R.C. Sproul, Alistair Begg, Sinclair Ferguson, and John Piper who preach that we are saved by grace alone (Sola Gracia) through faith alone (Sola Fide) in Christ alone (Sola Christus) according to Scripture alone (Sola Scriptura) and all to the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria).

 This week I want to consider what it means to be clothed with Christ.

 I was at a church growth seminar this today.  Normally, I wouldn’t go to a church growth seminar because they focus on a pragmatic approach to church growth.  For example, at this particular seminar, the speaker was considering barriers to church growth.  Number one on his list was space (sanctuary seating, Sunday school chairs, parking spaces, etc.) even though he said only 50% of the pastors had this issue before them.  Number 2 on his list was the pastor.  He said that 80%-90% of pastors were a barrier to church growth.  I think he has these two reversed.

 The number one barrier to church growth is always the pastor.  I love what Robert Murray McCheyne said.  “The greatest need of my congregation is my own holiness.”  McCheyne was one of the key figures in the Scottish revival of the 1840’s.  The effects of that revival were felt through WW2!  He died at the age of 31 (or maybe 30).

 If Church growth is spiritual, which it must truly be since the church itself is spiritual (even though it is also visible), then the greatest hindrance, and only hindrance, is spiritual.  Therefore, if the pastor is failing spiritually, he cannot shepherd the flock in the paths of righteousness.  A pastor can only lead people where he himself has already gone. 

 This is why I have to come back and say, I don’t like church growth seminars.  They tend to treat the symptom and not the disease. 

 All of this to merely set the stage for what I really wanted to talk about: being clothed with Christ.

 In the course of the church growth seminar, and while the speaker was discussing the pastor barrier, he mentioned the pastor’s appearance.  Does the pastor’s appearance have an effect on the people?  Of course the answer is yes.  To quote the speaker, “If the pastor doesn’t wear deodorant, the people may still follow, but it will be at a distance.”

 The part of the pastor’s appearance I want to consider is what he looks like behind the pulpit.  How should a pastor dress when he preaches?  There is a wide variety of opinions on this issue.  I knew a young pastor who went into an old, dying church.  He wore flip-flops (which I haven’t done, but would like to someday if the opportunity were right.), holey jeans, and a t-shirt.  In the course of about 2 years his church grew to be almost 1000 people.

 The other side of the coin can be seen by preachers such as Joel Osteen, TD Jakes and other TV preachers.  They wear top-of-the-line business suits.

 In both of these cases I can’t help but think about the message that is being communicated by the pastor’s preaching apparel.  In the one case, the pastor has dressed now as to appear just like the common person going to the beach.  There is nothing sacred communicated by his attire.  On the other hand, the high-class business suites are exactly the kind of thing worn by top-level executives and what is communicated is that this preacher has his act together and is controlling the church much like a CEO.   And for those who choose not to be so formal, the normal attire is what is typically called business-casual.  Whether it is a suit or slacks, the message sent by the preacher’s clothes is that the church is a business.   And sadly, the message is usually that church is the place where we do business with God.

 But the church is not the place where we do business with God.  It is the place where God does business with us.  He addresses us by calling us to worship Him.  He undresses us by exposing our sin in prayer and the Word.  And then He re-dresses us in forgiveness and the mind of Christ.  Church is where God does business.  Church is where God clothes us with Christ.

 Is there another way for a preacher to dress than to convey the absence of the sacred or the prestige of a well-oiled business? I believe so, but that will have to wait for another time.

 My initial thought was that this would have pleased Satan.  But then I began to think deeper.  If Revelation 12:4 is a reference to Satan and the angels, then 1/3 of the angels follow Satan and became demons.  From what I know of the Bible’s teaching of Satan, I can’t imagine Satan being pleased with only a part of the angels falling.  I believe the bible paints Satan as a being consumed with destroying everything that God created –including all of the angels.  Therefore, to have only 33% of the angels follow him could not be viewed as successful.   Success for Satan must be 100%.

 Thus, with this anger and hatred for all things righteous and good and in his rage for failing to destroy all the angels, Satan turns his eyes on humanity.  And in the Garden of Eden, Satan finds Adam and Eve.  In them, he sees the opportunity for success that was not available with the angels.  Since Adam was the LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE of all of humanity, or the federal head, if Satan could cause Adam to fall then Satan would be successful in causing 100% of humanity to turn against God.

 We know how the story in the Garden of Eden goes.  Satan attacks Adam through Eve and the result is that Adam fails.

 Romans 5:14-21 details the effects of the fall of humanity’s federal head.  1 Corinthians 15:20-21 is much more succinct.  “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

 It must have appeared to Satan in those first few moments after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit that He had achieved the very success he desired.  But in this apparent success, Satan was also setting the stage for His greatest defeat.   And later that day when God spoke with Adam and Eve God reveals that He has plan for redemption.

 Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

 It is this promise to Adam and Eve that begins the revelation of redemption that culminates in Christ.  And what a crushing blow that must have been for Satan.  In the fall of Adam, Satan thought had destroyed the whole human race, only to discover that God had already planned for this event and had promised a Redeemer.  Thus the course of history from Adam to Christ was a battle where Satan was seeking to destroy the redeemer of humanity.

 Then, Satan finally succeeded in killing the Christ.  And lo and behold, what he has really done is driven the final nail into his own coffin.  

 So from Satan’s perspective, he was on the verge of destroying humanity  by taking down the federal head.  Only then he discovered that God had already made provision by promising a Redeemer.  When Satan finally finds the Redeemer and kills Him, he discovers that this Redeemer was a Second Adam and another Federal Head and by His death the Salvation of the elect was guaranteed.  How demented and degenerate and self-deceived Satan must be at this point in history to continue to fight!

 Every apparent success Satan has had has amounted to one defeat after another in God’s eternal plan to bring glory to Himself—glory in His righteous judgment or glory in his abounding love and mercy.

 No wonder Paul breaks into doxology when he begins his letter to the Ephesians.   He is contemplating how God set in motion the perfect plan of redemption that even included the fall of the angels in order to bring Salvation to the elect throughout the ages.

 Ephesians 1:3-4  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

 “Federal headship” is a term which has almost entirely disappeared from current religious literature—so much the worse for our moderns. It is true that the expression itself does not verbally occur in Scripture; yet like the words Trinity and the divine incarnation, it is a necessity in theological parlance and doctrinal exposition. The principle or fact which is embodied in the term “federal headship” is that of representation. There been but two federal heads: Adam and Christ, with each of whom God entered into a covenant. Each of them acted on behalf of others, each legally represented as definite people, so much so that all whom they represented were regarded by God as being in them. Adam represented the whole human race; Christ represented all those whom the Father had, in His eternal counsels, given to Him. – A.W. Pink Divine Covenants.

 At the heart of this definition of federal headship is the concept of legal representation.  This is what differentiates the fall of the angels from the fall of man.  There does not appear to be taught in Scripture anything that would indicate that the angels had a single representative in whom their status before God was determined.   Thus, their decision to follow Satan and to rebel against God was the origin of their fall.

 Hebrews 2:14-17 sheds light on our understanding of federal headship being legal representation.

14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.   17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

 Verses 16 and 17 are of particular interest because verse 16 directly states that Christ did not come to redeem angels and verse 17 identifies how Christ “helps the offspring of Abraham.”  That help comes in the form of federal headship.

I can’t help but think that the reason God did not redeem fallen angels is because redemption is not possible without a federal head or a legal representative who could stand in their place.  Could there be some other way of rescuing the fallen angels from their sin?  I agree with the moderator of the Genevan Institute and I lean in the direction of saying that without a federal head, there can be no salvation for fallen angels—though I am hesitant to say that salvation is impossible for God, especially given the great lengths He has gone to in order to redeem the elect in humanity.

 Next time I want to go farther down this road and consider God’s sovereignty in light of the unredeemable fall of the demons.

 A few years ago, we were having a family over to our house on a regular basis.  And we began to notice that their child broke something just about every time they came over.  So, after their child broke something of sentimental value, my wife and I decided it was time to talk to them.

 In the course of our conversation, forgiveness was raised in the context of holding grudges.  Though my memory of the conversation is far from perfect, I remember discussing the very phrase, “forgive and forget.”  And I told them that though we forgive, we should not forget.  And I gave an illustration of a criminal. 

 If a criminal repents of his actions, are we to forgive them?  Of course the answer is yes.  But should we then forget what they have done? Absolutely not.  This does not mean we keep throwing their sin in their face—remember, we have forgiven them.   Instead, we are to work to make sure that they never again fall in that way.  If we truly forgave them, as Christ has forgiven us, then we will strive to make sure that boundaries are in place to keep them from breaking the law again.   To forget about their crime would actually be removing the barriers that they need to remain obedient.

 Consider the scars on Jesus hands.  He will bear those marks for all eternity and the scars on Jesus’ hands will prevent him from “forgetting” what He has forgiven.  It is precisely because of the scars that we have our eternal security.  The book of Hebrews even goes so far as to say that if ever those scars (and what those scars represent) were not sufficient, there would be nothing else to save us.   

 Hebrews 6:4-6, “For it is impossible,  . . . to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

 I believe we can deductively take a step farther and say that if Christ ever forgets the scars, we could have no eternal security.  Here is the reason.  Those scars are an eternal reminder that the price has been paid.  They are the guarantee of God’s justice and holiness.  Were He to forget the price that he paid, He might very well forget that justice has been done.  And if he forgets justice has been done, then He might require it again.  And if He required it again, there would be nothing left to save us!

 Let us not simply “forgive and forget,” but let us forgive –and not forget–and work to mature and preserve godliness in those we have forgiven.

We have all probably heard it said, “Forgive and forget.”  Some of you may be surprised at this, but that is not in the Bible.  I believe linking forgiveness with forgetfulness can leave the door wide open to future harm.

Anyone who has struggled with addictions and has overcome them will tell you that if they forget what it cost them, they immediately become susceptible to falling into it again.

In 2 Corinthians 5:19 Paul writes, “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, . . .”

This particular sentence can raise some serious questions for people who believe that God is perfectly just – And He is!  How can a perfectly just God not hold someone accountable for that which they have done?  If an earthly judge chose not to hold a murderer accountable we would have that judge removed.  So how can a perfectly just God not hold people accountable?  How can God not count our sins against us, when he must punish sin?

(Exodus 34:7 specifically says that God will by no means clear the guilty.)

Paul anticipates and answers this question.  In verse 21 he writes, “For our sake, He [God] made Him [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him [Christ] we might become the righteousness of God.” 

Here is the explanation of how a Holy and Just God punishes sin while at the same time He doesn’t hold our sins against us.  Paul is here arguing for what theologians refer to as ‘Double Imputation.’  Christ’s account of righteousness is charged with our sin.  This is why Christ died.  He was paying the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”)

Just as Christ received to his account something that wasn’t His, Christians receive to their account something that isn’t theirs and that is Christ’s righteousness.  It is on account of Christ’s righteousness that God declares us to be justified before the law.

Now back to the issue of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not simply God forgetting about our sin.  He can NOT forget about it.  He is holy and just.  Miriam-Webster defines forgive as, “to give up resentment of or claim to requital for [something].”

God doesn’t simply “give up a claim to requital,” He pays it Himself.  God pays the penalty for sin by the Second person of the Trinity (Jesus) dying on the cross as a substitute.  So,  forgiveness happens because God’s justice has been satisfied by the debt of sin being paid in full.  And it is by God’s grace alone that this double imputation takes place.

Therefore, forgiveness is where justice and grace meet.

Next time, I am going to revisit the whole idea of forgiving and forgetting in light of the definition of forgiveness.