Category: Reflections

The Tenth Commandment forms a fitting conclusion to the law that God spoke at Sinai. It also shows you something about your relationship with God, as the apostle points out in 1 John 1:8–10.

Don’t claim to be without sin. God is light. The Word revealed this. Rather than quoting a specific saying of Jesus, John seems to be reflecting Jesus’ teaching about the Father. He sums it up in one sentence: “God is light.” Jesus, as the eternal Word, not only describes God as light, he is light, cf. John 1:4, 9, 14, 18; 8:12. God reveals himself as light. Light describes God’s character. This is one of a number of John’s brief statements about God: “God is love,” 1 John 4:8, 16; “God is Spirit,” John 4:24. “God is light” is not a comprehensive, exhaustive, definition of God (He is greater than our words or concepts), but is one of the ways that God describes himself. Why “light” to describe God? Light was the result of God’s first creative word. The shekinah cloud of glory led Israel through the desert. God clothes himself in light, Psalm 104:2. The promised Messiah would rise as the “sun of righteousness,” Malachi 4:2. Jesus proclaims himself “the light of the world,” John 8:12. God “lives in unapproachable light,” 1 Timothy 6:16. Because he is light, in him there is no darkness at all. God’s holiness is unqualified.

Continue reading “The Heart of the Matter”

The Ninth Commandment calls you to love and speak the truth, both in judicial settings and in the rest of life. Paul reflects that in Ephesians 4:25–32.

Do not lie. Do justice. God’s law outlines basic principles of justice: judges and public trials were established, Deuteronomy 16:18. Justice was not to be swayed by outside considerations, Exodus 23:1–9. The duty of witnesses was important. There were to be a plurality of witnesses, Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15, and they were to be participants in the judgment, Deuteronomy 17:7. Maliciously false witnesses were to be punished, Deuteronomy 19:16–21. True witness is impossible without the fear of God. Nothing but the truth must be spoken in testimony. Justice needs God’s law, 2 Chronicles 19:6,7. In an age when the name of God has become an expletive, is it any wonder that the truthfulness, even of sworn testimony, is often in doubt?

“[S]lander is often praised under the pretext of zeal and conscientiousness. Hence it happens that this vice insinuates itself even among the saints, creeping in under the name of virtue.”

John Calvin, Commentary on the Pentateuch, at Exodus 20:16

Continue reading “Love the Truth”

What is the right thing to do? Jesus gives you a brief standard, called the Golden Rule, which is always available for you to use. It is found in Matthew 7:12.

Do to others what you would have them do to you. Jesus gives the Golden Rule. This principle is found in other religions, usually in negative form. The Rabbi Hillel said, “What is hateful to yourself do not to your neighbor; for this is the whole law, and all else is its exposition.” Confucius: “Do nothing to your neighbor which afterward you would not have your neighbor do to you.” The bare negative is certainly far less than what Jesus teaches. Doing nothing at all might satisfy that form. But it is probably not fair to assume that the negative does not expect the positive as well. But this is not a principle that equalizes all religions. What Jesus says is profoundly deeper than what other teachers said. Too often people treat this simply as a principle to use because it works. But Jesus ties it in with the attitude and actions of your Father in heaven.

Continue reading “The Golden Rule and Your Wallet”

Following the morning worship service, we will sit down to a meal, not simply a meal of barely enough to eat, but something that could be described as a feast. It may not be an extravagant meal, but it is a feast. But is it appropriate for Christians to be feasting? Would we be more holy, more pleasing to God were we to fast instead? The question is not new. Jesus’ response to a question (see Mark 2:18–22) gives you, his New Testament followers, guidelines on how feasting and fasting fit together. It’s particularly important to reflect on that as we have been invited to a day of fasting and praying this coming Saturday.

Rejoice in Christ’s presence. Rejoice because the bridegroom is present! Some fasted. The Pharisees added to the one day of fasting commanded in Leviticus many additional fasts, as you learn from the “prayer” of he Pharisee in Luke 18:11–12. Often this became a relatively public matter in order that others could know that they were fasting, Matthew 6:16. The disciples of John the Baptist also fasted (perhaps because of the imprisonment or death of John?). The fact that Jesus and his disciples did not fast was noticeable enough to raise comment and questions. Jesus is the bridegroom. The wedding guests (his disciples, all of his followers) are with him. That is no place for fasting or mourning. The background of the imagery Jesus uses is the picture frequently drawn in the Prophets, that the Lord is the husband of his bride, Israel. The response to the presence of the groom ought to be thankfulness, rejoicing, and even feasting. The Lord has come, bringing salvation for his people. The coming of the messianic King is a time for feasting, not only for Israel, but for the nations as well, Isaiah 25.

Continue reading “Feast or Fast?”

Ephesians 5:21–33 is a passage that is often used as a text for a message at a wedding. But even those of us who’ve been married quite a while need to review it. And in our broken, sin-cursed world, here is an area where God’s grace can shine.

Rejoice in the profound mystery of marriage. Marriage is a covenant relationship. The marriage covenant reflects the way God deals with his people throughout history — covenantally. Notice how frequently in the Old Testament the relationship between Israel and her God is compared to a marriage. In the New Testament, the church is the bride of Christ. As you see God’s faithfulness to his people, that gives you grounds to rejoice at this union. In contrast to the popular notion that the Bible treats sex as bad, Paul assures you that God considers it something good. It grows out of our being made in God’s image — with a need for love and fellowship. The doctrine of the Trinity is mysterious. God is one God in three persons. At the beginning of human history, as God created mankind, male and female in his image, he made us to reflect his character.

“Genesis 1:26 is the only time Elohim is paired with a plural verb (Let us make) as well as two plural referrants (our). In making one mankind, male and female, God is revealing something very basic about his own nature. He is one and he is many. His oneness and his manyness are equally fundamental to who he is. Like him, our oneness and manyness are equally foundational to who we are as mankind, male and female, directing our thoughts back to him as our source and greatest blessing.”

Anna Anderson, “The Mystery of the One and the Many,” https://substack.com/home/post/p-137621743

Continue reading “A Profound Mystery”