We are checking back with Tertius, the scribe to whom Paul dictated the Epistle to the Romans. The two of them had just finished the intense and closely reasoned third chapter of the letter. Paul had been musing aloud about the next chapter when Tertius pushed his chair back and asked for a break.
Tertius: Paul, my friend, may I be so bold as to comment on what you are planning for this next chapter?
Paul: Of course. You know I welcome your thoughts.
Tertius: It’s about your introducing Abraham. Seems to me Moses belongs in this next chapter instead. Here is why. You have announced the news that justification before God comes not by keeping the law but by faith. The covenant goodness of God shines brightly. And that makes a place for Moses. After all, he is the one who gave us the law.
Paul: But that is not the message I want to convey. Yes, all you say is true, but that is just the foundation for the greater truth, the greater mercy of God whose blazing brilliance radiates on all the peoples of the world.
Tertius: Then, I don’t get it. What could be added to justification by faith? In fact, if any condition added, that brings a denial of grace alone. What am I missing?
Paul: Nothing—that is, nothing as far as you go. Nothing should be changed. Justification by faith opens the door to the kingdom of God, but it also tells us about those outside. If we only teach the door of personal justification, we miss those who immediately become qualified to come through. And for that I need to bring in Abraham.
Tertius: You need to spell this out.
Paul: If the required qualification is keeping the law, that would only be the Jews. But by bringing the terms of justification “apart from the law,” that means that those who do not have the law also are invited. And who does that mean? Everybody. No one is omitted from the invitation to come through the door into God’s kingdom. God’s invitation is a universal invitation. That would be obscured if Moses is held up as the prime illustration. And that’s where Abraham fits.
Tertius: I guess you are going to spell that out.
Paul: I will, and you will be writing this on paper.
God wanted a man who would be the forebear of the faithful, basically the quintessential person of faith. This person had to come to God by trust and faith. His trust would be severely tested and his faith would be the basis of all future people of faith. That is what we have in Abraham.
We know how his trust was tested. “Take your son, your only son, your son Isaac whom you love” (Genesis 22:2). Would Abraham be willing to sacrifice Isaac? Yes, he was willing. Abraham believed that God would bring life out of death. Not sure how, but that was made clear by his willingness. What saves this from brutal savagery on the part of God is that He did not let Abraham go through with it, and this was the single such request that God made.
Abraham’s faith became the model faith, the conditions of which were to be universally true for saving faith. To that end, Paul made it clear that when Abraham trusted God for the life of Isaac, this was before his circumcision, not after. No agument could be made that God’s favor came by keeping the law of circumcision. That God made Abraham “the father of many nations." He is the father of all who believe that God who gives life to the dead through repentance and faith.
Tertius: So when you move from justification to Abraham, you are making the case for a universal view rather than an individual approach to grace. Do I get that right?
Paul: You do. And to be specific, the implications for the church ought to be clear. But no clearer than what our Lord Himself said. The church is “to go and make disciples of all nations.” He might as well have said, “Go and tell people in each and every ethnic group that the door to the kingdom is open for all—for all—who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
If I may speak personally—which I do in the letter to Ephesus—God has given me the specific and unique calling to make plain the unsearchable riches of this grace; and to persuade both Jews and non-Jews that this grace is actually intended for both. (Ephesians 3:7,8) And may I add, this persuasion has not been easy.
Tertius: Those sound like marching orders for the church. What would be signs that the church misses this Commission?
Paul: Two signs. The first sign would be confining grace just to the individual. The second would be pointing the kingdom's door only to those near and like us. This would continue the neglect of those millions who have not yet heard the news. They too would like that privilege. And God wants them to find that door.
Tertius was waiting for me on the bench and wanted to pick up on Epiphany and Lent. “If I remember right, you all that do seasons of the church year are about to enter Lent. That makes this last Sunday of Epiphany the Sunday, right? A Sunday that many call, ‘Mission Sunday, right’” He went on, “And what are you going to do about this on Sunday?”
Tad: Well, as a matter of fact I will be concentrating on this very message where I will be. The whole service will revolve around the nations.
Tertius: Pretty good. What church is this?
Tad: It’s a small one, and the people are small, you might say. Ages below 15. All of them.
Tertius: I’m curious. What is this church called and where is it?
Tad: We are probably the only church without announcements and with no offering. The church is called “Tadpole’s Tabernacle” and will be at the home of our grandchildren, whose parents will be away for the weekend.
Check out this website for nations that do not know how to find the door:
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/issue/day/
Tertius: Paul, my friend, may I be so bold as to comment on what you are planning for this next chapter?
Paul: Of course. You know I welcome your thoughts.
Tertius: It’s about your introducing Abraham. Seems to me Moses belongs in this next chapter instead. Here is why. You have announced the news that justification before God comes not by keeping the law but by faith. The covenant goodness of God shines brightly. And that makes a place for Moses. After all, he is the one who gave us the law.
Paul: But that is not the message I want to convey. Yes, all you say is true, but that is just the foundation for the greater truth, the greater mercy of God whose blazing brilliance radiates on all the peoples of the world.
Tertius: Then, I don’t get it. What could be added to justification by faith? In fact, if any condition added, that brings a denial of grace alone. What am I missing?
Paul: Nothing—that is, nothing as far as you go. Nothing should be changed. Justification by faith opens the door to the kingdom of God, but it also tells us about those outside. If we only teach the door of personal justification, we miss those who immediately become qualified to come through. And for that I need to bring in Abraham.
Tertius: You need to spell this out.
Paul: If the required qualification is keeping the law, that would only be the Jews. But by bringing the terms of justification “apart from the law,” that means that those who do not have the law also are invited. And who does that mean? Everybody. No one is omitted from the invitation to come through the door into God’s kingdom. God’s invitation is a universal invitation. That would be obscured if Moses is held up as the prime illustration. And that’s where Abraham fits.
Tertius: I guess you are going to spell that out.
Paul: I will, and you will be writing this on paper.
God wanted a man who would be the forebear of the faithful, basically the quintessential person of faith. This person had to come to God by trust and faith. His trust would be severely tested and his faith would be the basis of all future people of faith. That is what we have in Abraham.
We know how his trust was tested. “Take your son, your only son, your son Isaac whom you love” (Genesis 22:2). Would Abraham be willing to sacrifice Isaac? Yes, he was willing. Abraham believed that God would bring life out of death. Not sure how, but that was made clear by his willingness. What saves this from brutal savagery on the part of God is that He did not let Abraham go through with it, and this was the single such request that God made.
Abraham’s faith became the model faith, the conditions of which were to be universally true for saving faith. To that end, Paul made it clear that when Abraham trusted God for the life of Isaac, this was before his circumcision, not after. No agument could be made that God’s favor came by keeping the law of circumcision. That God made Abraham “the father of many nations." He is the father of all who believe that God who gives life to the dead through repentance and faith.
Tertius: So when you move from justification to Abraham, you are making the case for a universal view rather than an individual approach to grace. Do I get that right?
Paul: You do. And to be specific, the implications for the church ought to be clear. But no clearer than what our Lord Himself said. The church is “to go and make disciples of all nations.” He might as well have said, “Go and tell people in each and every ethnic group that the door to the kingdom is open for all—for all—who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.”
If I may speak personally—which I do in the letter to Ephesus—God has given me the specific and unique calling to make plain the unsearchable riches of this grace; and to persuade both Jews and non-Jews that this grace is actually intended for both. (Ephesians 3:7,8) And may I add, this persuasion has not been easy.
Tertius: Those sound like marching orders for the church. What would be signs that the church misses this Commission?
Paul: Two signs. The first sign would be confining grace just to the individual. The second would be pointing the kingdom's door only to those near and like us. This would continue the neglect of those millions who have not yet heard the news. They too would like that privilege. And God wants them to find that door.
Tertius was waiting for me on the bench and wanted to pick up on Epiphany and Lent. “If I remember right, you all that do seasons of the church year are about to enter Lent. That makes this last Sunday of Epiphany the Sunday, right? A Sunday that many call, ‘Mission Sunday, right’” He went on, “And what are you going to do about this on Sunday?”
Tad: Well, as a matter of fact I will be concentrating on this very message where I will be. The whole service will revolve around the nations.
Tertius: Pretty good. What church is this?
Tad: It’s a small one, and the people are small, you might say. Ages below 15. All of them.
Tertius: I’m curious. What is this church called and where is it?
Tad: We are probably the only church without announcements and with no offering. The church is called “Tadpole’s Tabernacle” and will be at the home of our grandchildren, whose parents will be away for the weekend.
Check out this website for nations that do not know how to find the door:
http://www.globalprayerdigest.org/issue/day/
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