Sermon Redux – Part 7 of The Essentials of Prayer – “Prayer and Repentance” – 2 Samuel 24:1-25

2 Samuel 24:1-25:

Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” Nevertheless, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel. They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer. Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. So when they had gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

Now David’s heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” When David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and speak to David, ‘Thus the Lord says, “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you.”’” So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

Pestilence Sent

So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. ¹⁶ When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

David Builds an Altar

So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the Lord was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.

Repentance is the opposite side of the coin of forgiveness.  In forgiveness were relent on wrongs toward us.  In repentance we are asking for forgiveness. In repentance e have to guard against two things.  1) we need to guard against thinking that God does not want to forgive us and so we fear to come and ask and 2) Is to be flippant about repentance and think it is easy.

David in this story illustrates the proper approach to God when repentance is needed.  It could be said that David learned the elements of repentance the hard way.  He firstly acknowledges that he has done something wrong despite the advice of counsel.  He has had a long time to watch and see the census be taken so he can’t claim he did things rashly.  He knew what he was doing and so he simple acknowledges it and does not try to hide it. He also does something else at this point which is to try to lessen the consequences of his actions for others.  He picks the option that pouts him in the hands of good which turns out to be the right idea as God’s own mercy stays the plague.  If God gives you options, put yourself and others in his hands.  He takes full responsibility when he does pray asking God to spare his people and take it out on him and his house.  When he receives instructions as to what to do.  David refuses to give to God in restitution or penance something that does not cost him something.

David does not fear to approach God and would rather be in his hands.  This is the attitude that keeps one from coming to God in the first place.  Recognition of God being more merciful than man is key to this.  The other side is that he fears God enough not to try to blame others and when God tells him what to do he works to make sure that his sacrifice and repentance casts him something.  There is no flippant attitude of ‘oh well, I sinned, God will forgive me.”  David does not presume on God’s grace and knows that he will not get off easy and he is OK with that.

In repentance, we are required to walk the narrow path between being thankful for the grace of God and at the same time respectful of the cost of that grace.  The choice is yours.

Defining Atonement – Part 2 – “Atonement” – Part One

In searching the words I am going to search you need to realize I will be sticking mostly with the New American Standard (NASB).  I do search other Bibles but for the sake of a little continuity in this study I will stick with this one.  The first place you really see the term ‘atonement’ is of course in the Law  of Moses.

At first there is the verses that talk about how the priests are allowed to eat of the sacrifices offered for atonement then there is some talk about the altar of incense and how the sons of Aaron will make atonement on it once each year.  My point is that I also have to sift through when the concept is actually being discussed rather than just mentioned on atonement’s relationship to priests and religious artifacts.  That said there is an early concept in Exodus 30 where money is given to make atonement to the Lord where everyone has to give in order to have atonement for them.  This might cause us to think atonement is nothing more than a price paid and you could even just use money but that is not where the text of the Bible stays.  In fact it escalates quickly to something far more valuable.

When we really get to see atonement in action though is after Israel sins with the golden calf and Moses tells the people that he will go up to God and hopefully he can make atonement on their behalf. (Exodus 32) What is interesting is the this whole episode contains basically a desire by God to burn his people in his wrath but his respect for Moses cause him to listen to Moses’ prayer.  Even though, in my opinion Moses’ arguments are weak at best, God still respects Moses enough to let him handle the discipline of his people.  Moses enlists the Levites to slay all those who worshiped the golden calf although God acts as well and swallows up some of them.  The fact is atonement is more of respect and relationship in this case than anything else.  There is blood spilt but it is certainly not innocent blood that is for sure.

Moses ends up having to put his own salvation on the line for all the people.  It is really only this that stops God’s ultimate wrath and something I think we can take away about atonement.  To restore relationship with God requires more than just nice words and promises but a willingness to lay down one’s own life for others.  Even at this early stage we can conclude that using Moses himself as an example.

Next: Atonement – Part Two

Defining Atonement – Part 1 – Reviewing Terms and Methodology

What I am hoping to accomplish in this series is to get a better idea of how atonement works and what exactly it accomplishes.  I have now allusions that I will probably be completely successful but I am trying to make a cloudy picture a little clearer and that is probably the best function of theology. There are probably two dictionary definitions that apply here:

 1) satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

2) Theology. the doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and humankind, especially as accomplished through the life, suffering, and death of Christ.

I think the first definition applies because what we are dealing with is how God’s justice and holiness can be satisfied in the face of our sin and disobedience against him.  The second of course is what I am trying to define – what is my doctrine concerning the reconciliation of God and mankind.  The focus will be on Jesus Christ but I have to admit that atonement has its roots going back far before that to the very beginning.  God has always been trying to reconcile himself to humankind from the moment they fell.  The capstone is Christ for me but the foundation of Christ atonement is all the relationship of atonement between God and his people.

I have already done a cursory look at atonement theories.  I actually looked at nine f the standard theories and if you want a review they are linked below.  I had problems with almost all of them but also found some things I could put my finger on and say ” I like that” but the problem is that ‘liking’ something is not the same as discovering the truth of what the Bible says about the subject.

Ransom Theory of Atonement (aka Christus Victor)

Recapitulation Theory of Atonement

Dramatic Theory of Atonement

Mystical Theory of Atonement

Moral Influence Theory of Atonement

Example Theory of Atonement

Commercial Theory of Atonement

Governmental Theory of Atonement

Penal Substitutionary Atonement Theory

Honestly all these views have something going for them but all of them also fail the full Biblical test for me.  This of course leads me to discussion of how I am going to conduct this search.  My standard method of searching through the whole Bible doing observation, interpretation and application might take much more time than any other series I have ever done.  Even worse is the fact I might have to deal with some many subjects to get to a clear view on the subject.  Sacrifice, blood, forgiveness, grace, etc.  I mean how do you narrow things down in a topic which I find incredible broad and you never know what passage my have some enlightenment quality to it in helping understand the subject.  It might actually be stated that the whole of the Bible being about redemption might have something to say in every verse.

The size and scope of this has caused me to rethink methodology but I simply have to narrow down the terms I feel will be helpful.  Atonement, sacrifice, forgiveness, grace, salvation and other terms will be on my list along with many others but I am going to do them one at a time.  I am hoping that as I do this I will begin to untangle the Biblical web on the entire subject by seeing how these terms start to intersect.  I also may discover other terms that are applicable.  I may spend years on this but I feel this is the only way to truly cover the subject and get an accurate Biblical answer.

Next: “Atonement” – Part One

My Reluctant Quest: Atonement – Part One – Dragged into the Discussion

Over my lifetime in theology,  I have found the subject of atonement a difficult one.  Mostly because even more numberous that the various theories of Biblical Inspiration, atonement as a subject is even more disjointed.  There are at least nine theories on how atonement works.  It also is an issue that not only has theological implications as regards to Christ and salvation but it actually also has implications for apologetics.  One of the things critics of Christianity base some of their criticism on is what kind of picture we get of God if certain atonement theories are true.

My own reluctance has been that perhaps my own salvation has not hinged on what atonement theory I follow.  For me the issue has either been good theology or apologetics.  It is actually this last issue in regarding dealing with critics that has caused me to drop at least one theory of atonement.  If non-believers can quickly and decisively shatter and atonement theory because it clearly creates God as an evil bastard then I am going to be quick to drop it as well.

Theologically though my objection is a little more complicated.  1)  As a Biblical theologian I dislike systems and some of these atonement theories are integral parts of systems of theology.  They have and all or nothing feel to them and I dislike that I might find myself trapped theologically by some theory of atonement.  There is a flexibility I like to continue to develop and grow theological ideas that once you strap yourself into a certain theological car you lose.  2) Because I believe the gospel is different from what most people portray, I balk at something that might cause that view to lose its key elements.  My belief is that the gospel’s main message is an offer of eternal life through the resurrection of Christ.  What happened on the cross is important but it is not quite as central to the gospel in my theology as the theology of the resurrection.

That said.  I have put this quest off for far too long.  How salvation works is pivotal to understanding practical ministry issues of discipleship, evangelism and worship.  The what and why of Christ’s actions dominate many discussions and that needs to be considered.  So I begin with this post.

My method will be much the same.  I will start with a series of posts that deal with what the Bible says about atonement.  It will be a Biblical chronological study as looking at how God teaches atonement through the history of Him and his people.  This will probably involve looking at concepts such as ‘sacrifice, propitiation, etc.” with the idea of identifying and understanding the passages that speak to the issue of atonement.  Next will be a study of the various theories of atonement in relationship to the understandings the Scripture has given us.  Finally will be to look at both of these series and see if any genuine conclusions can be stated.

I am excited but reluctant, this is in many ways uncharted territory for me.

Blessings and Cheers!

Sermon Redux – Part 9 of The Road to the Resurrection – ‘Jesus Hung on the Cross’ – John 19:17-24

We are coming to the point in this sermon series where the cross will be central to everything we talk about as it will be present as part of the drama of Christ at this point.  Looking at this from a preacher’s standpoint I need to basically break down Jesus time on the cross and give it out in bit sized chunks.  There is a lot to Jesus on the cross and I actually have a pretty good opportunity to give out a lot of it.  The point is the month of March involves the cross as a major part of this Road to the Resurrection.  It is going to make March a very emotional month of preaching.

The cross is without a doubt the most diabolical way to commit capital punishment.  The cross kills a person by suffocation not blood loss.  To breathe a person must push the weight of their body up on the nail in their feet and eventually they can’t do that and suffocate themselves under their own weight.  Jesus also already had been scourged and beaten up so he was already weak.  The point is when the nails went through his hands and feet it was just one more thing by then that hurt.  The events surrounding the foot of the cross become the stuff faith is made of for all time.

The first thing that happens is Pilate lists the reason Jesus is being crucified.  “The King of the Jews” is all it says.  The religious leaders object wanting it to say: “He Said He was the King of the Jews.”  Pilate has apparently had enough of them and says ‘ what I have written I have written’.  In short Pilate was actually saying that Jesus was the only man he found worthy to be King of the Jews, or he had taken Jesus’ words about a kingdom not of this world to heart or both.

The second thing is the soldiers throw dice for his seamless tunic.  No one has to go to far to see the fulfilment of prophecy.  Psalm 22 reads like he was there as well as Isaiah 53.  The point is God has used a lot of persuasive power to bring this about and has waited for the right time to send his son so the prophecies are fulfilled at every turn.  In this Jesus also demonstrates his forgiveness to the soldiers.

For us, how do we see Christ at this moment.  For all the glories of the resurrection that will come, to get there we have to go through the valley that is the cross.  Our redemption hinges on these moments and we need to be very mindful about the suffering of Christ when we consider the gift that is salvation.  We should always walk in a manner worthy of it.  Worthy of a king who died for use to fulfill the righteousness of the law so we could be made that righteousness in Him.

My Theological Quests

Theologically I am at sort of a crossroads in my life.  Three major areas of theological concern dominate my mind most of the time these days and they are significant.  Mostly this is why I blog on the issue of theology because to me theology is an organic growing thing in each believer, and seeker for that matter, that grows and develops in the person as the walk with God or look to find him and walk with him. There are however several areas where we all have to be concerned and talk and walk together.  Common themes that help us all understand that walk together.  In some ways we also cannot escape the fact that we are building our own journey on those that journeyed before.  For me three things are of concern, three branches of my theological tree that keep my going and thinking and at times writing.

1) The Inspiration of Scripture – After doing my Theology for Dummies dealing with Biblical Inspiration I discovered something.  I didn’t agree completely with any one of the major theories of biblical inspiration.  They all had good points to be sure, but they all failed on a lot of levels for me.  I have since embarked on a theological quest of sorts to find a theory of scriptural inspiration that I can lock on and keep.  The Bible on the Bible Series is the first stage on this quest but I also plan on looking at the process of canonization to see why people think on another level that the Scriptures we have are inspired.

2) Atonement –  I had much the same experience in looking at all the major theories of atonement as well.  I simply could not buy into any of them completely although I felt all of them had some merit and good points.  I have laid the groundwork through my Life of Christ project but there needs to be other considerations and thought on the subject.  Quest two – come up with a working theory of atonement.

3) Pneumatology – That is my doctrine of the Holy Spirit.  This is a fairly new quest for me but a necessary one.  I was long dominated in my thinking by the Pentecostal and Charismatic thoughts in the third person of the trinity and I feel that those views are slightly y warped.  There has been some good to be sure, but Pentecostals tend to engage in circular reasoning when it comes to the Holy Spirit.  There has also been from the beginning an effort to prove religious experience with the automatic assumption that the experience was legitimate but we need to find biblical proof that it is legitimate.  The cart is always before the horse in much of Pentecostal theology and I want to correct this in my thinking.

All three of these quests may never be completed as I may have to ultimately conclude that the journey is more important that the destination.  The only true completion of anyone’s theology is probably on the other side of death’s door.  I however think it is still important to step on the path and walk rather than sit still and hope it just comes to me.  The journey is just as important as the destination.