Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
It has been—and continues to be—tempting for people to elevate the spiritual over the material. Historical theologian R. Scott Clark points out how the second-century heresy of Gnosticism attempted to do this very thing by falsely teaching that "those who are ultimately delivered from the evil material world (which, they said, is evil because it is material) are those who gain the secret gnosis (knowledge)."
The Bible, however, teaches us that God made the material world and he called his creation "very good":
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Gen. 1:31)
When it comes to life after death for Christians, people often think they will become angels, or at least like angels. They view a non-embodied state of existence as being somehow more “spiritual” than one with a physical body. What does the Bible say?
God has planned an embodied future for his children in eternity.
Most people are familiar with the trope of people becoming angels and playing harps while sitting on clouds when they go to heaven. Yet, this is not what the Bible teaches about the state of humans after death. It is true that until Jesus' second coming the souls of people who have died in Christ are separated from their physical bodies while in the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8). The day will come, though, when the dead in Christ and those who are alive will receive resurrected physical bodies that will be unable to sin:
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:16-18)
What will our resurrected bodies will be like?
The Bible most certainly gives us some clues regarding the nature of our resurrected bodies. First, the apostle Paul tells us that Christ is the firstfruits of our own personal resurrection:
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor. 15:20-23)
Second, Paul also specifies that our resurrected bodies will be imperishable, unlike our current mortal bodies:
So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:42-44)
Third, we shall bear Christ's image in our resurrected state:
As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Cor. 15:48-49)
Jesus didn't want his disciples to doubt the material reality of his resurrected state.
In the book of Luke we read about how Jesus ate food after his resurrection (Luke 24:42). He walked with his disciples (Luke 24:15). He had the same bodily form as his disciples. Thus, we can reasonably assume that our resurrected bodies will look like human bodies.
In Luke 24 we also read about how two disciples didn't know they were speaking to Jesus on the road to Emmaus: "But their eyes were kept from recognizing him" (Luke 24:16). Their inability to perceive they were speaking with Jesus likely wasn't because he looked significantly different but rather because God chose to delay revealing Jesus' identity to them.
For the rest of eternity Jesus will be truly God and truly human.
When Jesus later appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem, they all readily recognized him (Luke 24:36-37), but at first they thought they saw a spirit because they knew Jesus died on the cross (Luke 23:46). To take away their doubts, Jesus showed them his hands and feet and told the disciples to touch him. He even ate food in front of them to further prove his bodily existence (Luke 24:41-42).
When Jesus was born in the flesh, he didn't take on a human nature for just a limited time. For the rest of eternity Jesus will be truly God and truly human, and he will always have both a divine nature and a human nature. Jesus will always have his resurrected physical body, and believers will always have their resurrected physical bodies. This is truly amazing!
Our good God has a good, eternal, and glorious embodied existence awaiting all who belong to Christ.
Gnosticism and its contemporary forms (such as transhumanism) that still circulate today are direct attacks against the Bible's teaching regarding the goodness of God's creation and his eternal plan for his children's existence in a physical realm. God's creation, while now under a curse because of Adam's fall, will be set free when Christ returns:
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Rom. 8:20-21)
For now all who are in Christ wait with sure hope for their future eternal embodied existence in which they will live forever in glory, eating and drinking and rejoicing and living in the presence of God, our good, loving, and faithful Creator and Redeemer.
This article is adapted from “Embodied in Glory for Eternity” in BCL’s April 2023 monthly newsletter “Our Own Personal Resurrection.”
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
The following is a response to an email I received a while ago. A dear brother contacted me and asked me if I could expand on an entry I had posted.Specifically, he wanted to know if and how the Lord had helped me make progress in dealing with unhealthy introspective tendencies and spiritual depression. Below is the letter with a few slight edits for clarity.
Dear Friend,
Thank you again for your email. An inclination toward severe introspection and spiritual depression is something that has affected me since early in my Christian life, and I still find myself battling introspective tendencies and spiritual depression.
When I first came to Christ, I noticed immediately that I tended toward a severe examination of my inner life—my motives, my affections for God and for others, my faith in Christ, my holiness. Far from bringing me peace and assurance in my relationship with Christ, this propensity to question every inner-working of my heart instead brought much doubt, confusion and, inevitably, depression.
Yet, I can say that, by God’s grace, I have made significant progress in this area. As I reflect on the past several years, I can see specific means of grace that God has used to help me turn from an unhealthy preoccupation with self and sin—with the depression that inevitably follows—to a growing focus on the gospel and others. The following are several disciplines I have found to be particularly helpful in my fight against what Martin Lloyd Jones calls “morbid introspection” and the resultant spiritual depression.
A few words, first, about the following points. First, it is important to remember that overcoming introspective tendencies does not mean that we are to disregard all forms of self-examination. Sober-minded, thoughtful, doctrinally informed self-examination is required for believers (2 Cor. 13:5), and is, when conducted correctly, a means of real joy and peace.
Second, the following list includes those things I have found to be beneficial to me. It is a personal list. I hope and trust that much of what I offer here is grounded in Scripture. Nevertheless, it will be important for you to not receive this as an infallible map to spiritual health but rather as helpful suggestions as you continue to walk daily with the Lord, learning from his Word and from other counselors.
The first point (a robust understanding of the gospel), however, lays the foundation for everything else. Without this important point, our battle against morbid introspection and depression will malfunction at a fundamental level. With those two cautions in mind, let’s turn to considering the following points.
1. We need a robust understanding of the gospel.
I put this first because it is the most important. I have found that my tendency toward severe introspection is compounded to the degree that I am not seeing the gospel in all its beauty and doctrinal fullness. Specifically, this has meant understanding and embracing the important doctrines of justification, sanctification, and indwelling sin.
Justification: Scripture teaches that justification is the act of God by which he declares us wholly forgiven and righteous in his sight and on the basis of Christ’s perfect life and substitutionary death on the cross (Rom. 3:21-26; 5:1; 8:1), not upon any work that we have done or will do (Rom. 4:5; II Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:4-7). This declaration is based solely on the work of Christ and his righteousness which God credits to our account; it is not based upon the righteousness the Holy Spirit works inside of us once he regenerates our hearts.
Nor is faith our righteousness; faith is only the instrument by which we receive the gift of righteousness—a righteousness wrought by Jesus Christ and him alone. This declaration of justification by God occurs at the moment the sinner puts genuine faith in Christ (Rom. 4:5; 5:1) and cannot be undone (Rom. 8:33-39), since it is a work God planned from all eternity (Rom. 8:29-30).
Sanctification: Sanctification is the gradual work of the Holy Spirit in our lives by which he cleanses our hearts from sin, purifies our affections and desires, and makes us more like Jesus Christ. This aspect of our sanctification is often referred to as progressive sanctification. There are several important truths about sanctification that I have found to be particularly helpful in my battle with unhealthy introspection.
First, whether one currently feels like it or not, when they placed saving faith in Jesus Christ, they died to the dominion of sin in their hearts and lives (Rom. 6:6-11). This is called definitive sanctification. Scripture does not say that we have to die continually to the dominion of sin in our lives; it says we already died to sin’s dominion when we trusted in Christ: sin no longer has dominion over us and it never will. This does not mean that genuine Christians will not sin! True saints can and do sin; sometimes even grievously. But what it does mean is that true Christians are not held sway by sin the same way they once were.
Second, our right standing with God is not based on our level of progressive sanctification; our right standing with God is based only on Christ’s life and work on the cross. This is an important distinction to make. Romans 4:5 tells us that God justifies the ungodly. This means that we are in right standing with God on the basis of Christ’s work on our behalf and our union with him by faith, and not on the progress we have made in sanctification. If we are confused here, we can never have any real confidence in our standing with God.
If we think our right standing with God is based in any way upon the progress we have made in personal holiness, we will despair when we commit sin or when our affections are not where they should be. Justification and sanctification cannot be separated—when justification occurs, sanctification inevitably follows—but they must be kept distinct in our overall understanding of salvation.
Indwelling Sin: Understanding what Scripture teaches about indwelling sin is particularly important for those of us who tend toward intense scrutiny of our hearts. If we think sin has been utterly eradicated at our conversion, the only logical conclusion we can draw when we find sin in our lives is that we have not been converted, a conclusion which typically leads to more despair and depression. On the other hand, if we recognize that sin, although it no longer holds dominion over us, is still powerfully active and pervasive in our hearts and that our responsibility is to kill this indwelling sin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:13), then we will not despair when we find sin in our lives—we will do battle against it.
One of the most helpful discoveries I have made is the truth that the sinful flesh, though not dominating me as it once did, is still alive and active (sometimes powerfully so!) and must be mortified. Notice in Colossians 3:5-8 that Paul exhorts his readers to
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry…But now you must put them all away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Paul’s exhortation to mortify the sinful flesh is given to those who have already been “raised with Christ” (Col. 3:1). The implication is unmistakable: sin still resides in believers. Believers do not “walk” or “live” in these sins anymore (Col. 3:7), but these sins still reside in the believer and must be dealt with.
Again, sin is only dealt with by rightly understanding what Scripture teaches about justification. As Michael Horton has written in his book The Christian Faith, “[J]ustification is not the first stage of the Christian life, but the constant wellspring of sanctification and good works” (p. 675).
A growing understanding of the gospel is the most important component in our battle with unhealthy introspection. We need to understand what God has done for us in Christ, so that we will look to Christ and his completed work for us, instead of constantly looking to ourselves. With this in mind, I would like to recommend a few resources to help you grow in this understanding of the gospel.
2. We need to unremittingly pursue fellowship in the local body of Christ.
My tendency toward introspection and depression can often lead to the temptation to neglect fellowship with other Christians. On the other hand, regular worship among and fellowship with believers and active involvement in ministry tend to turn my eyes away from dwelling on my sinful heart or my disappointments or my struggles. I have found that cultivating the discipline of regular fellowship and ministry has been a significant means of grace in this regard. We need each other. That is why Scripture says,
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:24-25)
Without regular worship, fellowship, and service, we will only wallow by ourselves in our depression, and our introspection will only get worse.
This fellowship should also include regular confession of sin to other brothers in Christ (James 5:16). The practice of confession of sin to other faithful brothers in Christ, in correspondence with confession of sin to God (1 John 1:9), exposes our sin, weakens it, and helps us truly repent of it. This weakening of sin and promotion of real repentance most often helps us with our introspective tendencies, since our introspection usually narrows in on personal sin.
3. We need to spend much time outdoors.
Morbid introspection is, by definition, a preoccupation with self—characterized by a focus on one’s own sin, disappointments, struggles, and personal problems. There is a need, then, to turn the focus away from ourselves. I believe God has ordained the glory of the created universe to be a means to this end. If the heavens declare the glory of God (Ps. 19:1), then we should spend much time gazing upon that glory.
I have found that time outside—among the trees, in the mountains, walking beside streams and lakes and in parks—refreshes my soul and has the power to bring me out of myself. Too much time inside, surrounded by walls and computers and cell phones, tends to sap my soul of joy and often turns the eyes of my heart upon itself, instead of upon something much greater.
4. We need adequate sleep and regular cardio-vascular exercise.
Adequate sleep and regular exercise have been unexpected yet significant means of grace as I have battled unhealthy introspection and depression. Whether we recognize it or not, our bodies affect our souls. When I am neglecting sleep or regular exercise, I find it much easier to fall into unhealthy introspection and depression. When I get adequate sleep and exercise, I find that I have the energy and the spiritual wherewithal to turn my eyes away from myself and onto Christ and others. (For more on the importance of caring for the body for the sake of our souls, see Gregg R. Allison’s article Toward a Theology of Human Embodiment.)
5. We need a careful balance between time spent alone and time spent with other people.
If we are already struggling with introspection, our tendency will be to guard ourselves from time with other people—and the more time we spend by ourselves, the more we will find ourselves falling into morbid introspection and depression. It is a downward spiral. Therefore (and this relates to point 2 above), it is important for people like us to make time with others a priority that we intentionally pursue. If we don’t pursue time with others, we run the risk of drawing back into ourselves and succumbing to our introspective tendencies. We were never meant to be alone, especially for long periods of time.
6. We need profitable work.
We are made, by God, to work (Gen. 1:28; 2:15; Prov. 6:6-11; 2 Thess. 3:6-12). When we neglect this fundamental component of our personhood, we tend in most cases toward introspection and depression. Profitable work, however, draws us out of a fixation on ourselves and brings us to concentrate on something outside of us for the good of others. For those of us who tend toward severe introspection, the discipline to pursue faithfulness in work and productivity is especially important, since our tendency to become preoccupied with our inner-life can sometimes tempt us to justify laziness as a cloak for super-spiritual “soul-searching.”
7. We need to practice proactive love toward others.
As I have already noted, those of us who tend toward introspection will, in most cases, also tend toward pulling away from people. Conversely, a proactive love toward others—family members, friends, neighbors, and enemies—is a powerful weapon against an unhealthy preoccupation with our inner life. Love is considered the distinguishing mark of the Christian (Matt. 5:44-49; John 15:17; I John 3:11-15; 4:7-12). Consider these words from Isaiah 58:10-11:
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
It appears from this verse that giving of ourselves for the welfare of others is a means of spiritual refreshment.
8. We need to recognize that some self-examination is necessary.
Some self-examination is necessary and expected (2 Cor. 13:5). It is natural for a Christian to have some concern over his motives, affections, and faith. But these concerns cannot become the overwhelming or even primary focus. Robert Murray McCheyne provides us with wise counsel when he writes, “Learn much of the Lord Jesus. For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ. He is altogether lovely” (Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, 293). This leads us to point 9.
Or, second, we might say, ‘Stop looking at your faith, and rivet your attention on Christ. Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning from Christ to analyze your faith. Let me help you look to Christ. Let’s read Luke 22 through 24 together. Paradoxically, if we would experience the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the greatness of our Savior. (p. 41)
This is a helpful word for me. I have a tendency to examine my faith—to see how well or how much I am believing—instead of fixing my eyes on Jesus, the One who sustains my faith. As Piper observes, it is by not focusing much on faith that we begin to experience the joy of faith. We must look to Jesus, primarily—not our faith in Jesus.
10. We need to locate assurance in the appropriate place.
One of the most important truths I have learned from Jonathan Edwards is that Scripture does not encourage us to find assurance primarily by self-examination, but by obedience. In his book The Religious Affections, Edwards writes,
It is not God’s design that men should obtain assurance in any other way than by mortifying corruption, increasing in grace, and obtaining the lively exercises of it. And although self-examination be a duty of great use and importance, and by no means to be neglected; yet, it is not the principal means by which the saints do get satisfaction of their good estate. Assurance is not to be obtained so much by self-examination,as by action.The apostle Paul sought assurance chiefly this way…He obtained assurance of winning the prize more by running than considering. (1 Cor. 9:23-26; Phil. 3:12-14). (p. 123)
This is not to say that we ground our security in our obedience. Our security is rooted in the finished work of Christ and his promise to keep us (see my article on assurance here). This is why it is vital to understand the doctrine of justification as I noted above. Our obedience, however, testifies to our conscience that we have been the recipients of a secure and everlasting salvation. The objective truth, “No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:29), is subjectively felt as we walk in faith and obedience.
Those of us who tend toward introspection can easily drift into intense soul-searching as the means to finding assurance. What we need to hear is the summons to obedience. Until we start acting on the truth we know, we may not find the assurance for which we are desperately searching, no matter how much reading and heart inspecting we do.
For further help in this area of introspection and spiritual depression, I would recommend the following excellent resources:
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
It is lawful, but is it wise? Is God’s wisdom simply a form of law? What are the differences between law and wisdom in the Bible, and what is their relationship to each other?
These are some of the questions to ponder when reading Scripture. Consider, for example, Psalm 119:97-98, which identifies God’s law making the psalmist wiser than his enemies; or Psalm 111:10 (repeated in Proverbs 9:10) that teaches the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Besides the fact that wisdom and law are closely related to each other because God is their source, there are differences between them.
Wisdom sayings and admonitions are not law commands per se, although keeping God’s law is surely wise. Mostly, we prefer laws since they tell us what to do. Wisdom, on the other hand, takes more effort, so we tend to shy away from learning how the world works and the reasons, benefits, and purposes of living wisely. The similarities and differences between law and wisdom are important, so let us begin with God’s law.
1. God’s Law: Moral, Ceremonial, and Judicial
God reveals his law to us in Scripture, beginning with Adam. The commands to Adam in Genesis 2, “bound him and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience” (Westminster Confession of Faith, 19.1).
God then delivered his moral law on Mount Sinai in the Ten Commandments; they reveal our duty to God and to our fellow humans (Exod. 20: 1-17, Deut. 5:6-21).
God also gave to Israel ceremonial laws, but they have been abrogated under the new covenant (e.g., Col. 2:14-17, Heb. 9:10), since they pointed to Christ Jesus and were subsequently fulfilled by him.
Likewise, the judicial laws God gave to Israel expired with the Mosaic Covenant (e.g., Heb. 8:13), although the general purpose of justice that lay behind them remains.
The moral law of God, however, continues to bind all of us to obedience, but there is a difference in the use of the law between believers who are united to Christ Jesus by faith and unbelievers who reject Christ.
There are three uses of God’s moral law.
While God’s moral law is always in force, it has three specific uses for our benefit:
The first use of the moral law is to reveal human sin to all unregenerate persons by informing them of the holy will of God and convincing them of their inability to please him by keeping it (e.g., Rom. 3:20). It serves the purpose to humble the unregenerate by revealing their sin and misery and thereby drive them to Christ Jesus (e.g., Gal. 3:21-24).
The second use of the moral law is for civil or political use. As God has also appointed government and its leaders (Rom. 13:1-7), he has given the moral law to serve as a means for providing the basic laws of society and to restrain some measure of sin.
The third use of the moral law is as a rule for living the Christian life. Although regenerate believers are no longer subject to and condemned by the law as a covenant of works (see Rom. 6:14; 7:4-6), the law does inform believers of God’s will, their duty, and especially how bound they are with thankfulness to Christ Jesus for perfectly fulfilling the law for them (e.g., Col. 1:12-14). It is the Spirit of Christ who works in our will, enabling us to freely and cheerfully do what God requires (see Rom. 7:22; Heb. 8:10).
Thus, the laws of God reveal our sin, help restrain our sin, and reveal God’s will for how we should live.
2. The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes
Wisdom also reveals how the world works and how we ought to live in it, but in a different way than law. The wisdom of God given to us in Scripture may be found mainly in the Wisdom books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, although wisdom sayings and admonitions are sprinkled throughout the Bible (for some examples see Matt. 7:24; Luke 16:10, Eph. 5:15-17). Yet, unlike the law given at Sinai to Israel as the chosen people of God, the Wisdom books deal with common human experience and are useful to everyone in the skills of daily living.
Like the law, wisdom begins with God (Prov. 9:10) and calls us to holy submission to him (Prov. 14:2). As Christ Jesus fulfilled the law of God, so Christ also embodies the wisdom of God for us (1 Cor. 1:24, 30). Ultimately, it is to Christ Jesus that we should look in order to know, understand, and apply God’s wisdom. Because the wisdom contained in the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes is common to all humans, it is helpful to consider some general principles.
Two main forms of wisdom are sayings and admonitions.
Knowing the two main forms of wisdom—sayings and admonitions—is also helpful when working to understand them.
Sayings are like aphorisms—they are short sayings that express a truth based on experience. For example, Proverbs 17:1 is a saying: “Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife,” as well as Ecclesiastes 7:5: “It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.”
Note in these examples (and other sayings) that the writer is not telling us how to act but is simply revealing the way the world works. This is an important distinction between law and wisdom. Law reveals duty and requires obedience; wisdom sayings observe life in this world and describe it. But what about admonitions, the second form?
Admonitions urge wise, moral conduct by using statements that teach rather than directly command. Proverbs 16:3 admonishes, “Commit your work to the Lord…” and then teaches the reason: “…and your plans will be established” (i.e., endure, succeed). Likewise, Ecclesiastes 7:9 admonishes, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.”
Unlike direct commands (law), wisdom admonitions tend to emphasize reasons and motives for acting wisely. The result leads toward happiness. Life may simply be a little bit better if we heed God’s wisdom admonitions.
In reality, wisdom is not simple.
Consider Ecclesiastes 11:5:
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
Job 12:9-10 tells us:
Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
We ought to be humbled by both writers when they remind us how little we know about the wisdom of God. Roland Murphy writes, “True wisdom never lost sight of its own limitation” (p. 11). He then cites two verses in the book of Proverbs:
The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. (Prov. 16:9)
A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way? (Prov. 20:24)
As much as we study and know wisdom, we cannot escape the sovereignty of God over his creation. We may know his Proverbs, sayings, and admonitions, but they are not simple formulas to be reduced to a list of to-dos. Wisdom takes effort to understand, especially to understand the context where we find ourselves and to be able to apply God’s wisdom in a particular situation. That takes work and humility. As Murphy goes on to say, “The one who is dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom can too easily deem oneself truly wise. The Bible warns about how perilous the pursuit of wisdom is:
“Do you see one who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (Prov. 26:12)
Christ is our wisdom.
After all was said by Job’s three apparently wise friends, God spoke to Job. Then, with the wisdom of God, Job concluded that he knew God can do all things and nothing of God’s purposes can be thwarted, so Job repented in dust and ashes (Job 42:1, 2, 6). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and as Qoheleth writes in Ecclesiastes,
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccles. 12:13)
Although Christians strive to keep God’s commands, doing so perfectly is beyond us as fallen sinful creatures. As knowledgeable about God’s laws and wisdom as we might be, our fallen, sinful, and guilty nature is just too much for us to overcome. But there is a man who perfectly kept God’s commands and submitted to him even to the point of death on behalf of all who confess and believe in him—the man Jesus Christ. He is our wisdom, our savior.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Cor. 1:27-30)
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
After Jesus calls the tax collector Levi (Matthew) to be his disciple, he goes to dine at Matthew’s house (Mark 2:14-15). The scribes of the Pharisees seize the opportunity to criticize Jesus for eating with immoral people:
And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” — Mark 2:15-17 (see also Matt. 9:10-13 and Luke 5:29-32)
Why is Jesus the “doctor exception” when it comes to spending lots of time with people who would be a bad influence under normal circumstances?
The scribes saw Jesus as an unworthy teacher.
In Mark 2 the scribes first condemn Jesus for breaking a moral principle of godly wisdom. As Psalm 1 states, you do not sit with scoffers.
Second, this condemnation of Jesus is a rebuke and warning to the disciples. The scribes are saying to them that it is folly to follow Jesus as he is influenced by sinners.
Third, they shame Jesus as being an unworthy teacher. If a teacher of righteousness hangs with sinners, then he does not deserve the title.
Jesus’ target wasn’t moral reform but rather healing people from sin.
Yet, Christ’s first coming was not concerned with the body; he deals with that in the resurrection. Also, Jesus is not a moral philosopher to conduct therapy classes on the virtuous life. Godliness and moral reform may be fruits, but they are not Jesus’ target. Rather, he came as a doctor for sinners. He came to heal us from sin. Protestant Reformer John Calvin notes how the Pharisees were quick to judge the sinfulness of others while ignoring the same disease in themselves:
It is evident from Christ’s reply that the scribes erred in two ways: they did not take into account the office of Christ; and, while they spared their own vices, they proudly despised all others. This deserves our particular attention, for it is a disease which has been always very general. Hypocrites, being satisfied and intoxicated with a foolish confidence in their own righteousness, do not consider the purpose for which Christ was sent into the world, and do not acknowledge the depth of evils in which the human race is plunged, or the dreadful wrath and curse of God which lies on all, or the accumulated load of vices which weighs them down. (John Calvin, Commentary on Matthew, Mark, Luke — Volume 1; Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
The scribes were quoting Scripture against Jesus.
To be honest, at least at one level, we have to agree with the scribes. The scribes are basically quoting Proverbs against Jesus (see Prov. 13:20). If your teenage daughter was hanging out with people taking illegal drugs, you would be saying the same thing. The scribes highlight a true and important principle of godly wisdom here.
In fact, Jesus himself agrees with them. Jesus, of course, knows what is going on between the scribes and his disciples, so he deals with them head on. And our Lord agrees with their wisdom, because he cites an exception. Doctors are not for the healthy but for the sick. This is a proverb that is widely found in both Jewish and Greek writers.
The doctor is the biggest exception to the wise practice of quarantine.
And it is an exception proverb. That is, normally you stay away from sick people. You don’t have to know the germ theory of disease to realize that illness is contagious. The healthy avoid the ill. Thus, the age-old therapy for the sick has been quarantine, isolation. Long before Covid-19, the ancients practiced social-distancing with the sick.
But where everyone is separated far off, one draws near—the doctor. Due to his expertise and special training, the doctor is the biggest exception to the wise practice of quarantine. The doctor has ability and technical tools to be near and not get sick.
To bend the knee as sinners is to receive freely the everlasting healing of Christ
Jesus confronts the scribes with the uniqueness of his person and office. They must realize that Jesus is the doctor exception to the general truth. Jesus claims the doctor exception and then clarifies what kind of doctor he is. I came not to call the righteous, but the sinner.
To concede that you are a good person is to wave Christ off—no doctor needed. But to bend the knee as sinners is to receive freely the everlasting healing of Christ: forgiveness, justification, and resurrection. Come to Jesus, the only doctor in life and in death, body and soul, for now and forever.
Deciding whether to marry a man is one of the biggest decisions a woman will ever make. Here are ten questions, along with corresponding Bible passages, a Christian woman should ask herself before saying yes (click here for the corresponding article for Christian men; all Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version):
1. Is he a Christian who has overall excellent character along with a consistent desire to love and honor God in all things?
The righteous who walks in his integrity—blessed are his children after him! (Prov. 20:7)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom. 12:1)
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, actlike men, be strong. (1 Cor. 16:13)
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Tim. 6:11)
2. Am I willing to respectfully submit to his authority and judgment as the head of the family, “as is fitting in the Lord” (Col. 3:18), even when I disagree with him?
Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. That is why a wife ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God. (1 Cor. 11:9-12)
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. (Eph. 5:22-24)
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Col. 3:18)
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (Titus 2:3-5)
3. Does he always show me respect, honor me, and protect me from all harm, slander, and appearances of impropriety?
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Gen. 2:24)
But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. (1 Cor. 11:3)
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. (Col. 3:19)
Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Heb. 13:4)
4. Do we love and enjoy each other?
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. (Prov. 5:18-19)
Come, my beloved,
let us go out into the fields
and lodge in the villages;
let us go out early to the vineyards
and see whether the vines have budded,
whether the grape blossoms have opened
and the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love. (Song of Songs 7:11-12)
5. Is he a responsible, hard worker who spends his time wisely, loves his neighbor as himself, and would be a good father to our children should we have them?
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Gen. 2:15)
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Prov. 13:4)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)
“‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4)
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. (2 Thess. 3:10-12)
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim. 5:8)
6. Does he faithfully and sacrificially love me, putting my physical, emotional, and spiritual needs ahead of his own?
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. (Eph. 5:25-30)
Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Pet. 3:7)
7. Am I willing to be a godly example to him and faithfully stand by him until death parts us, in both the good and tough times?
He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord. (Prov. 18:22)
“‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Mark 10:7-9)
A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (1 Cor. 7:39)
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. (1 Pet. 3:1)
8. Am I willing to joyfully participate with him in a God-honoring sexual relationship throughout our life together as health and life circumstances permit?
The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor. 7:3-5)
9. Am I willing to lovingly care for the household we build together?
House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord. (Prov. 19:14)
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.” (Prov. 31:26-29)
10. Do we encourage each other to grow in holiness as we both die to the old self and live unto God?
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. (2 Cor. 4:16)
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Cor. 7:1)
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. (Eph. 4:25-27)
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:1-4)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Pet. 1:14-16)
This article was originally published on March 14, 2019.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
In Matthew 16:19, Jesus makes the following statement to the apostle Peter:
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
What was Christ Jesus referring to when he told Peter he would give him the “keys of the kingdom”? What is the meaning of this metaphor that our Lord is using in Matthew 16:19?
A. The preaching of the holy gospel and Christian discipline toward repentance. Both of them open the kingdom of heaven to believers and close it to unbelievers.
Jesus is referring to the kingdom of heaven, his kingdom that is not of this world.
First, as the Heidelberg Catechism points out, it is important to note that in this verse Jesus is referring to the kingdom of heaven, his kingdom that is not of this world (John 18:36). The loosing and binding he is talking about is his everlasting and heavenly kingdom, not a worldly one.
Second, consider what he means by loosing and binding. Loosing something in the context of the church is opening it—opening the kingdom of heaven to hearers though the words of the gospel of Christ.
The preaching of the gospel proclaims Christ’s kingdom has come to us, opening the hearts and minds of those who hear it to the glory of Christ and the good news of his salvation. On the other hand, binding something is to close it. In the context of Christ’s kingdom, it is to close the kingdom to unbelievers.
The Word preached and Christian discipline are the “keys of the Kingdom.”
Those who reject Christ are bound and kept from his kingdom. The goal of biblical church discipline is repentance and restoration; yet some will obstinately refuse the correction and counsel of Christ’s appointed leaders of his church.
Christian discipline is a means Christ Jesus has appointed to primarily lead people to repentance. In Matthew 18 Jesus uses the same binding and loosing metaphor (v. 18) in the context of how the church should deal with sin among its members. This relates the two passages, Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18, to each other.
The church is God’s agent on earth in this age to preach the gospel and administer Christian discipline. We can rejoice that God has given us both the Word preached and the means to lead us to repentance when sin causes us to stray from God’s good and perfect law.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
Feast or funeral? That’s a major question as we approach the Lord’s Table. What are we here to do? Are we rejoicing, or are we mourning? Is this a festive banquet to which we have come, or is it a funeral service?
You can understand why many have drawn the conclusion that we are coming to a funeral in the Supper (or a “memorial” in other words). For one thing, it was instituted moments before Christ’s betrayal and arrest and subsequent trial and execution. Jesus himself says that the elements of bread and wine are tokens of his gruesome and substitutionary death for sinners.
Furthermore, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” The Apostle is very clear and there’s no getting around it: when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, the theme of Christ’s death is central.
Even so, when we approach the Lord’s Supper we should do so with an attitude marked primarily by joy, and not sorrow. We come singing and rejoicing, not mourning or weeping. Yet, how can this be if the thought of death pervades the very foundations of the sacrament?
The answer lies in the gospel. The gospel flips our thinking about death on its head in every way—especially in two ways when considering the Lord’s Supper.
We celebrate the death of our sin in the Lord's Supper.
First, when we think upon the crucifixion of Christ, it is good and right for us to mourn our sins that caused his pain and death. As the hymn How Deep the Father’s Love for Us puts it, “It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished.” But if we were to simply stop there—at the sorrow over our sins—then we have done a disservice to the death of Christ; because in his death our sin died—and this is greatest news of all! This is news well worth feasting and celebrating!
Paul says in Galatians,
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)
And later he declares,
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal. 6:14)
Paul also revels in this fact in Romans 6:2-3:
How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
As Paul exults in this glorious truth, so should we. This is what it means to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” at the Supper—we proclaim the fact that death and sin died in the death of Christ. What a proclamation! What a joy!
We also celebrate our new birth by the life-giving Spirit.
Secondly, the gospel tells us that the death of Christ is not the end of the story. Indeed, if it were, that death would be no good news at all. Instead, the gospel is the good news of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say in Romans 6:4,
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
Because Christ died, our sinful nature has been put to death. Because Christ was raised, we also live in our spiritual nature by the power of the life-giving Holy Spirit.
Do you see how it would be a perversion of the gospel to only regard the death of Christ in the Lord’s Supper? If we were to do that, at best we would be leaving out half of the gospel story. It is utterly amazing that we come to what seems to be, by all good reason, a funeral or memorial service and yet still feast and celebrate with joy.
Paul makes this point brilliantly in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 where he argues that it is the very fact that Christ was killed that should cause us to keep the feast—in other words, rejoice!
“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival!” (1 Cor. 5:7b-8a)
The only way this makes sense is within the scope of the entire gospel story. Christ’s sacrifice is not all—there’s also his resurrection. This is why throughout church history many congregations have recited “the mystery of the faith” at the Lord’s Supper: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!”
This hopeful expectation is ours as we approach the table. What joy should fill our hearts as we remember that our sin died with our Savior in order that we might live with him—and feast with him!—eternally.
