Blog Archives - WELCOME TO THE JOY OF TROY

December 11, 2021

12/11/2021

Half Saved

        He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Heb. 9:26-28, NRSV.

    Here is a passage that finds echoes in many places in the New Testament. The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ accomplished His sacrificial work when He died once for all on the cross. While that never needs to be repeated, by itself it leaves people only "half saved." He has yet to "appear a second time, not to deal [again] with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

    Wait a minute! Aren't Christians already saved? Doesn't Ephesians 2:8 plainly teach through its use of the past tense that believers "have been saved" (NKJV) by grace through faith?

    Those things are definitely true. So, we must ask, if Jesus has already redeemed Christians, how come Hebrews says that Jesus will return "to save those who are eagerly waiting for him"? How can they be saved but not yet saved? Before answering, we should realize that Paul takes up the topic in Romans 13, in which he appeals for Christians "to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (verse 11, RSV).

    Part of the answer to the half-saved dilemma is that Romans speak of salvation from three different perspectives. One of them, justification, is past for believers. Another, glorification, is future. And the third, sanctification, is a present reality. Thus Christian living takes place between two great events. The first being justification, when believers gave their hearts to Christ. The second is His return at the end of the age.

    And with that phrase, "end of the age," we hit upon the two great events that encompass all the New Testament era. The first is the beginning of the kingdom of God, which Jesus asserted He had inaugurated when He began His earthly ministry (Matt. 4:17). The second is the consummation of the kingdom, when Christ comes again.

    That thought takes us to Romans 8:23, in which the apostle states that Christians "have the first fruits of the Spirit," but that they "groan inwardly as [they] wait for adoption as sons" and "the redemption of [their] bodies" (RSV).

    The plain fact is that as believers we are half saved and half redeemed. The fullness of that salvation hope will not come until Jesus returns at the end of the age and gives us new bodies to go with our new hearts and wills.

December 10, 2021

12/10/2021

Christianity's Defining Word: Hope

        For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly; righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us. Titus 2:11-14, NKJV.

    It seems like just yesterday, but it was really more than 50 years ago. In my younger years I had a friend whom we referred to as D. G. I never did know what the initials stood for, but that is what we all called him. He was a regular sort of kid and a good friend to hang around.

    Somehow we lost track of each other. Then when I was 16 or so I had occasion to stop by his house. What I saw shocked me. Beer cans littered the yard. More beer cans had been thrown carelessly throughout the house. There were beer cans everywhere! I had seen plenty of beer cans in my short life, but nothing like that.

    As a result, I asked the natural question--What's going on here? Then I heard the shocking news. Sixteen-year-old D. G. had died of leukemia a few days before, and, not knowing what else to do, his parents had thrown an all-out beer party for him and his friends for his last weekend of life.

    I was doubly dumbfounded. First, because of the untimely death of a boy who had been my friend. And, second, because hosting a beer party was the only thing that his apparently adult parents could come up with as a send-off.

    At that time I had no problem with beer parties. But even my agnostic, hedonistic mind had a difficult time grasping the poverty of his death. It forced me to face some important questions. Was escape from reality through alcohol the best thing this family could think of in the face of death? Do not life and death deserve some dignity? Is there any meaning to life after all, or was I, as a wandering teenager, to continue to live my own life alternating between study and work and meaningless stupor? In short, is there any hope in life?

    It would be three more years before I discovered the answer. And since that time what Paul calls the "blessed hope," the hope that surpasses all others, has guided my life.

    In many ways the words "having hope" signify more than any others what it means to be a Christian. We may face crises and death in this life but we know that this life is not all there is. We have the "blessed hope" of a new life when Jesus returns in the clouds of heaven.

December 9, 2021

12/9/2021

Troublesome Times

        At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall be found written in the book. Dan. 12:1, RSV.

    Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary has come to an end. As He completes it Daniel pictures Him as standing up as He prepares to return to earth for His people.

    The pre-Advent judgment has ceased, probation has closed, and the great High Priest has stood. Yet something else happens at this momentous time. The earth descends into a "time of trouble" unequaled in earthly history. That difficult time undoubtedly is brought about when the "four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth" (Rev. 7:1, RSV) finally let loose of their hold and allow the devil to operate more freely throughout the earth.

    Now, the earth has always seen trouble. Jesus pointed that out when He told His disciples that "you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nations will rise up against nations, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs" (Matt. 24:6-8, RSV).

    As noted earlier, earth has always experienced wars, earthquakes, and so on. But the Bible is clear that the beginning of birth pangs will be followed by their end as the earth enters a time of trouble such as never was, during which Satan's evil forces have freedom to do their will. At such a time, Jesus tells us, there will be "men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world" (Luke 21:26, RSV).

    It will be a time of chaos. Not only will the economic and physical world be in upheaval, but there will inevitably arise trouble in the spiritual realm as people begin to blame one another for what is happening. And as in all such times in prior history religious strife will rage and the earthly forces of Satan turn upon believers in Jesus. Revelation 13 and other places in John's apocalypse depict some of that aggression.

    It is during that crisis point in history, as God's people are seemingly being overwhelmed in what Daniel describes as the time of trouble, that Jesus returns to deliver them.

    Father, help us today to stick close to You as we prepare for those things that will come upon the earth.

December 8, 2021

12/8/2021

The Silent Close of Jesus' Work in Heaven

        Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Rev. 22:11-13, RSV.

    Contrary to popular opinion, time will not go on and on indefinitely into the future. There will come a point when God decides finally to put a stop to the misery, death, and disease that we call earthly history. That ending, the Bible describes as a public event. But preceding the Second Advent there will be an invisible one that takes place when the heavenly pre-Advent judgment has been completed and every person has made a decision either for or against Jesus.

    Jesus Himself describes that sequence in Revelation 22:11, 12. Earthly probation will close, eternally sealing the fate of all. Then He returns to reward each person according to their life's decisions.

    The Great Controversy describes the close of probation in the following way: "When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. Probation is ended a short time before the appearing of the Lord in the clouds of heaven. Christ in the Revelation, looking forward to that time, declares: 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly' " (pp. 490-491).

    The interesting thing about the conclusion of human probation is that it has no visible sign that it has occurred. The Second Advent and the rapture of the saints, as we will soon see, are visible. But the close of probation takes place as men and women go about their daily business. "Men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision as been pronounced in the sanctuary above. Before the flood, after Noah entered the ark, God shut him in and shut the ungodly out; but for seven days the people, knowing not that their doom was fixed, continued their careless, pleasure-loving life and mocked the warnings of impending judgment. 'So,' says the Savior, 'shall the coming of the Son of man be.' Matthew 24:39. Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny" (ibid., p. 491).

    According to Jesus, now is the time to get right with God. Today we must let His grace fill our hearts and change our lives.

December 7, 2021

12/7/2021

Judgment Completed

            What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Matt. 16:26, 27.

    When Christ completes His priestly work of judgment in the heavenly sanctuary, He returns to earth to reward those who have accepted His grace and let it change their lives. Of course, some will have opted for some other reward. But the very logic of the flow of events demands the type of pre-Advent judgment set forth in Daniel 7: first comes the judgment and then follows the Advent with its rewards.

    That judgment, of course, is not for God's information. Rather, it is public because others need to be convinced that He is doing the right thing in saving some but not others. The open nature of the event is the reason the Bible talks about "books" that record people's lives. What they have done is crucial in the judgment.

    Here we have a problem. After all, Paul makes it clear that we are not justified or counted righteous because of our works (Rom. 3:20), but saved fully and entirely by grace (Eph. 2:8-10). And that is absolutely true. But grace doesn't merely forgive and justify--it also transforms, empowers, and sanctifies.

    To put it another way, if you have been justified by grace your whole life will change. You will not be able to continue in the same old self-centered way. Jesus makes a difference in how people behave and think. Saved people will live by a different set of principles, and those principles will determine what they "do" in life.

    In other words, our actions indicate either salvation in the heart or a lack thereof. According to Jesus, both the heart and the life come up for review in the final judgment. Even Paul teaches that point when he writes that God "will render to every man according to his works" (Rom. 2:6, RSV). And as we have seen, Jesus was big on "doing" since the beginning of His ministry: "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven" (Matt. 7:21, RSV).

    So the judgment is based on how those who claim to be Christians have lived their lives. And when the evidence is in and has been set forth for all to see in the pre-Advent judgment, then Jesus "shall come...with his angels" to "reward every man according to his works." What a glorious prospect for God's people. It is a day worth living for.

December 6, 2021

12/6/2021

Judgment Result Number 2: Christ's Followers Are Vindicated

        I was watching, and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High....The court shall be seated, and they shall take away his [the little horn's] dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Daniel 7:21-27, NKJV.

    I vividly remember my introduction to the topic of the pre-Advent judgment. One of my first visits to an Adventist church took place when I was an 18-year-old private in the army. I went because I wanted to be with my girlfriend, but what I observed astounded me. Up front stood an "old" woman (she was probably 40) who had an exceptionally long and bony finger that she utilized in pointing to each of us teenagers. Her message was that we had better lie awake at night and recall and confess each and every sin that we had ever committed, because if we missed one we would end up in the hot place. The judgment had begun, and who knew when our individual names might surface in it.

    That is what I have come to see as the bad-news version of the judgment, a fear-laden approach that does not line up with Scripture. In the Bible the judgment is always for the saints. Unlike human judges, God is not neutral. He is actively on the side of those at whom the devil is pointing an accusatory finger. He so loved the world that He sent Jesus to die for us (John 3:16). But the Father went further than that; He has even given over the final authority of judgment to Jesus (John 5:22). That is the concluding aspect of His high priestly ministry in heaven. Jesus our Savior is also Jesus our Judge. And those who have accepted His redeeming work have nothing to fear in the final judgment. In fact, the Bible describes their judgment as gospel--good news.

    Thus in Revelation 6:10 it is the saints who cry out "how long" before the beginning of the judgment that will set things right. Scripture pictures them as looking forward to God's judgment with joyful anticipation. And in Revelation 18:20 the judgment is for the saints and against Babylon.

    Too many people have thought of the final judgment as a kind of medieval inquisition headed up by a vengeful God. Not so! Rather, God's purpose is to demonstrate that believers have accepted Jesus. The judgment does not seek to keep people out of the kingdom, but to vindicate as many as possible so that they can go home with Jesus when He comes again.

December 5, 2021

12/5/2021

Judgment Result Number 1: Christ Is Vindicated

        I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. Dan. 7:13, 14, NASB.

    This passage is pregnant with meaning. Taken in the context of the flow of Daniel 7, the verses do not speak about the Second Advent, but rather of Christ's coming in the judgment scene. The stage was set for it in verse 9 and 10, which pictured the public placement of thrones, the arrival of the Father, and opening of the books containing the evidence that forms the basis of the final judgment. Now, Daniel describes Christ as "One like a Son of Man" joining the Father in the final work of judgment before They bring an end to earthly history.

    The vision shows that the judgment ends in favor of Jesus, who at its conclusion receives everlasting dominion. That decree seals forever the fate of Satan and renders God's universe secure for the eternal ages to come. And Jesus' vindicating judgment involves His followers in the victory. Thus a judgment in favor of the work of Jesus on earth is also a verdict for the final and eternal justification of those who have chosen to accept the benefits of His incarnation, life, death, and resurrection.

    One of the most interesting things about this judgment scene is that it pictures Jesus as "One like a Son of Man." It is the verse that led Him to choose that title as His favorite description of Himself during His earthly ministry. He chose it rather than Messiah or Christ because that designation had acquired too many ideas related to a conquering king. To avoid that, Jesus elected to identify Himself as "the Son of Man."

    Interestingly, John the revelator picks up the title of the Son of Man again in Revelation 14:14-16 to depict Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven at the end of time to take His people home. As a result, we can see that the Jews were not altogether wrong when they visualized the Messiah as a conquering king. But they weren't completely correct, either. In reality, the ministry of Jesus as the Son of Man has two aspects--the first as suffering servant and the second as coming King. The final judgment utilizes the accomplishments of the first phase of His work as the justification for the second, in which He is given everlasting dominion.

December 4, 2021

12/4/2021

The Setting of the Final Judgment

        As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. Dan. 7:9, 10, RSV.

    Another aspect of Christ's heavenly ministry is that of judgment. Just as the ancient Jewish year had a day of judgment connected to the ministry of the earthly sanctuary near its end in the annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), so the Bible tells us that the heavenly pattern will also. Daniel 7 presents us with the most graphic scene of that heavenly judgment, which represents the final act of Christ's high priestly ministry. In the flow of history that judgment takes place during the final phases of the little horn's reign (verse 8) and near the time when God gives the kingdom to the saints (verses 14, 26, 27). In other words, the book of Daniel pictures it as occurring right before Christ comes again. After the judgment is complete, Christ will, so to speak, lay aside His priestly robes and don those of a conquering king.

    Before we get to Jesus' place in the judgment we need to take a closer look at Daniel's portrayal of the judgment scene itself. "Majestic" is the only way we can describe it. Even the size of the heavenly throne room, represented in the earthly model by the Most Holy Place, beggars our imaginations. Visualizing a room large enough to contain millions of angelic beings is beyond our comprehension. We can say the same for the dynamism and glory of the place. Here we need to be careful, though. The prophet puts before us a picture beyond our imagination and comprehension. As a result, we can grasp the general picture of what is happening but its details are beyond us. We have a snapshot rather than a detailed explanation of what is happening.

    But even from that we learn several quite distinct facts. One is that of glory. The vision depicts Jesus and the Father in terms of light and fire as They sit upon the throne. Another image is that of action with thousands and millions of angels performing works of service both in relation to God and to the universe.

    But the defining picture is that of the judgment being set, with all eyes focused on the process. The judgment is a public event based upon evidence (books). God wants all the universe to know that He has done the best thing possible in His handling of the sin problem on earth that led to the incarnation of the Son.

    The words "thrones were placed" "and the books were opened" signal not only the judgment but the beginning of the end of earthly history.

December 3, 2021

12/3/2021

Jesus' Prayer-answering Ministry

        I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:13-15, NIV.

    Jesus in His heavenly high priestly ministry not only functions as one who can save to the uttermost as our advocate and intercessor, but He also has a ministry of answering the prayers of His followers still on earth.

    During His days of walking with the disciples He had repeatedly told them that their prayers would be answered. And now that He is in heaven John reveals a few more of the details of how prayer works. At the center, as we might expect, is Jesus Himself. Because of His earthly work for us we can come confidently before the Father in His name, knowing "that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us," we have assurance that God the Father and God the Son will respond to our prayers through the activity of God the Holy Spirit and the angels who do His bidding. Such is Christ's heavenly ministry of answering prayer. We have a Friend in heaven who became one of us and knows our needs through firsthand experience and is more than willing to facilitate the answering of the prayers of His saints. The ministry of prayer is a central function in His priestly activity in our day.

    As we think about the verses for today's reading we see that John has the interesting habit of stating the purpose of his writing near the end of the document rather than at the beginning. Thus toward the conclusion of the fourth Gospel he tells his readers that these things "are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that in believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31, RSV).

    He does the same thing in quite similar words in 1 John 5:13, but with a major difference. He composed the Gospel so that the readers might come to a belief in Jesus and so have life. The letter, however, he penned to those who were already believers but had had their faith shaken by internal conflict in their congregations. They had become unsettled about their standing before God and needed to regain confidence.

    Some of us are in that latter category. We have accepted Jesus but have been battered by our own shortcomings and perhaps hurt by members of the church who in their carelessness have rattled our faith. John wants us to know that in spite of all the challenges we face and all the roadblocks life has thrown in our path, we can have confidence that we have a Friend in heaven intent in answering all prayers asked according to God's will.

December 2, 2021

12/2/2021

We Have an Intercessor!

            If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his Son but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed interceded for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Rom. 8:31-37, NRSV.

    As Christians, we never stand alone. We have a friend in heaven who ensures the eternal salvation of all who come to Him. Part of Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary is to be an intercessor who guarantees the salvation of each of His followers. Leon Morris refers to today's passage as "the Christian's triumph song."

    Nothing can separate us from the love of God because we have a Friend in heaven. Perhaps it is more accurate to say Friends, because God so loved us that He gave His Son. And it is God who justifies all who come to Him through Christ. Then who is left to condemn? Paul asks in Romans 8:34. His answer is emphatic. It is Christ Jesus. And that is good news.

    Why? Because, the apostle says, Christ is on our side. Here we need to remember that while He was on earth He told us that "the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22). Thus even though "we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ" to answer for our lives (2 Cor. 5:10), Christians (those who have a continuing faith relationship with God through Jesus) have absolutely nothing to fear. Again, why? Because He (1) died for them, (2) was raised from the dead, (3) is sitting at the right hand of God, and (4) is presently interceding for Christians as their heavenly High Priest.

    Here is the best of good news. Christ gave His life for the sins of His followers.  As a result, there is "now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1, RSV). Having absorbed the penalty for those "in Him." He will not turn around and pronounce judgment against His followers for the very sins that He died for.

    To the contrary, Jesus is currently "at the right hand of God" in the heavenly throne room, where He intercedes for us as our High Priest.

    The biblical doctrine of the judgment is a reality. But if the judge is on our side, there is no way that we can come under condemnation. We are safe in Jesus. Nothing can separate us from the love of God except our own personal decision to reject the One who is currently interceding for us in the Temple above.