His Word Today

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ¹⁴     “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”” (Luke 2:8-14 ESV)

The following article is by Dr. Richard L. Ganz. Prior to his retirement, he served as minister at the Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, Canada. He is author of Free Indeed: Escaping Bondage and Brokenness for Freedom in Christ. His article was originally published tin the December 2002 issue of Tabletalk magazine. It is entitled Tidings of Great Joy.

All four gospels record the portion of Jesus’ trial when Pilate examined Him, asking, “ ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ ” Jesus testified that He was: “ ‘It is as you say’ ” (Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3). In John’s gospel, we have a fuller account of this discussion: When Pilate questioned, “ ‘Are You the King of the Jews?’ ” Jesus answered: “ ‘My kingdom is not of this world.… My kingdom is not from here.’ ” Pilate exclaimed, “ ‘Are You a king then?’ ” Jesus declared: “ ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth’ ” (John 18:33–37).

Jesus was born not only to be the King, but to testify to the truth that He was the King! He was born to rule this world—and God would establish His Son’s reign on earth through the Cross. But Jesus also came here to proclaim the truth about Himself, that He was the Son of God, so that all the people might believe in Him and be saved by Him.

When Jesus was born, two sets of heralds were sent forth to proclaim the joyous news of the birth of this great King, whose kingdom was not of this world. How fitting that the first messengers themselves—the angels and the shepherds—were in no way representatives of any worldly kingdom. The mighty angels came from heaven’s magnificent realms; the lowly shepherds were the humble of the earth, men who were living outside, guarding their only material wealth. No, there was no earthly splendor displayed by the heralds of this newborn King.

On the night when Jesus was born, when the shepherds were out in the fields near Bethlehem keeping watch over their flocks, they beheld the glory of the Lord. “An angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9). The shepherds beheld a being and a glory so awesome that they were filled with fear and dread. Later, an entire heavenly host appeared with the angel, and the shepherds beheld angelic splendor seldom seen upon this earth. They were given a glimpse of the glory of heaven; they were overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord; they heard heaven’s host singing and praising God.

But as amazing as these sights and sounds were to their eyes and ears, these were not the greatest glories of that night. The angels were simply messengers. It was the message that they brought from heaven—the Word of the Lord—that was more glorious! The shepherds heard from the lips of an angel the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a Gospel filled with grace and truth, “ ‘good tidings of great joy which will be to all people’ ” (Luke 2:10). God’s greatest promise had been fulfilled that night! The long-promised Savior had arrived! The angel proclaimed: “ ‘There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ [the Messiah] the Lord’ ” (Luke 2:11).

But as gracious and as glorious as God’s Word to them was, this also was not the greatest glory of the Lord that night. The Word of the Lord spoken by the angel sent the shepherds to an ordinary human baby: “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isa. 53:2). The newborn King announced by the angels had neither heavenly glory nor earthly majesty. He was just a funny-looking, wrinkled, swaddled baby—born sadly in a stable, wrapped meanly in rags, and placed humbly in the food trough for the animals. The shepherds had been given a sign by the angel, that they would find a baby lying in a manger. Without that sign, the shepherds would not have recognized Him as the Messiah, so common was His birth, so lowly His looks. But in this Child was the greatest display of the glory of the Lord, for the Son “is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person” (Heb. 1:3). What the shepherds beheld in this Child was a veiled glory, but nothing less than the glory of God incarnate!

Christ’s lowly birth was just the beginning of His humiliation in this world. Although He was “in the form of God, He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:6–8). For this reason Christ was born. What the shepherds saw when they looked at the baby lying in the manger was the beginning of the humiliation of the Son of God. What they beheld was the first glimpse of that most terrible glory—the crucifixion of the Christ.

The shepherds, who first beheld the glory of the Lord by sight in the appearance of the angel, ultimately beheld the glory of God by faith as they looked upon the newborn Babe, believing that He was the Savior, the Messiah, the Lord! They believed the words the angel had spoken to them. They believed the Word of God! Their faith was expressed in their actions. First they hurried to Bethlehem to see what the Lord had told them. Then they “made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child” (Luke 2:17). The Gospel was now being proclaimed, not by the voice of an angel, but through the voices of men. Finally, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). Worship was the shepherds’ response to the angels they had seen, the Word of the Lord they had heard, and their encounter with Christ!

We, too, must believe the message of the angels. We also must follow the example of the shepherds: We must believe the Word of the Lord and the Gospel of Christ spoken to us. We must seek the Savior and look upon Him, but not by the side of the manger. We must seek Him at the foot of the cross, and we must look to Him dying there to save us from our sins. Jesus Himself said: “ ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved’ ” (John 3:14–17). Having looked to Christ on the cross by faith, having placed our trust in the Word of the Lord, we, too, like the shepherds, must go our way through life, spreading the word concerning the Savior, and glorifying and praising God for all the things they heard and saw that night, and for all the things we have seen and heard about Christ.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord. Merry Christmas.

soli deo Gloria!

4 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, ² but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. ³ In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. ⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:1–5 (ESV)

The following article is by Dr. R. C. Sproul (1939-2017). He was founder of Ligonier Ministries, first minister of preaching and teaching at Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. His radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. He was author of more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He was recognized throughout the world for his articulate defense of the inerrancy of Scripture and the need for God’s people to stand with conviction upon His Word.

Today’s article is entitled The Fullness of Time. It was originally published in the December 2001 issue of Tabletalk.

In the beginning God created.…” These five words, the first ones in the Bible, are like a blaring trumpet blasting the ears of secular naturalists, for they assert three foundational truths on which the children of postmodernism always choke. This triad of truths sets the stage for the entire Biblical history of redemption. These truths are: There is a God, the universe was created by God, and history had a beginning in time.

The issues of God’s existence and His creation of the universe are paramount points of conflict with all forms of naturalism. These issues, though worthy of close attention, are beyond the scope of this article. I want to focus on the third point, the truth that the universe had a beginning in time. This reduces my concern from the first five words of the Bible to the first three: “In the beginning.…”

In the conflict between Christianity and naturalism, the popularity of “big bang” cosmology would seem to force agreement on the point of the universe’s having a beginning in time. It is usually argued that the big bang, by which all the energy and matter of the universe exploded from a compressed, infinitesimal “point of singularity,” occurred sometime 12 billion to 17 billion years ago (give or take a billion). However, lurking beneath the surface of the theory is the idea that something antedated the beginning, that matter and energy pre-existed the explosion, as far back as eternity. Thus, for some naturalists the big bang does not really describe the beginning as such, merely a radical change in the form and structure of reality for which there is no beginning.

In the ancient world, the Hebrew assertion of a beginning was somewhat radical. The favorite theory of history, embraced particularly (but not exclusively) by Greek philosophers, was the cyclical view. In this view, history is neither linear nor progressive. Rather, it goes around and around in a never-ending circle. It has no point of origin or any specific point of destination. This often is seen as a schema wherein there is no purpose to history. This pessimistic view is explored and countered in the book of Ecclesiastes. The refrain, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity,” describes a view of history wherein the sun sets and rises, but nothing new appears “under the sun.”

Against cyclical theories of history stands the Judeo-Christian view of a linear-progressive history that has a specific starting point and a future consummation. This assertion is crucial not only to the conflict between Christianity and naturalism, but to critical theories of Biblical interpretation.

Rudolf Bultmann’s neo-gnostic approach to theology was the most influential view of the second half of the twentieth century. He distinguished between the presence of history and myth in the Bible. Working from a naturalistic framework, he denied all things miraculous in the Biblical narrative. In his view, miracles were the mythical husk that needed to be peeled away to reach the kernel of historical truth. It did not bother Bultmann’s understanding of faith to say that the Bible was filled with mythology in its quasi-historical narratives. He sought to construct a theology of timelessness. For him, salvation is not wrought within the boundaries of history. Rather, it is “supra-temporal” or “trans-temporal.” The supra or trans realm is that which is above the realm of history and is not contained within it. Bultmann argued for a salvation that takes place in the “here and now,” on a vertical existential plane, not the horizontal plane of history. In this scheme, the historical content of the Bible doesn’t need to be true in the factual sense. In the final analysis, it doesn’t even matter if there was a historical Jesus.

Swiss Biblical scholar and historian Oscar Cullmann wrote against this radical violation of Biblical Christianity. By examining the time-frame references of the Bible, Cullmann concluded that Biblical Christianity is unintelligible apart from its historical context. The Hebrew-Christian view of history is tied to Judeo-Christian faith. Christianity is about a God who creates history, governs it, and works out His plan of salvation in it. To rip the content of me Bible from its historical context is not to rescue it from naturalistic philosophical criticism but to surrender it to philosophical naturalism. A Christian naturalism is an oxymoron.

Cullmann noted the difference between two Greek words for “time,” chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to the normal moment-by-moment passage of time, to normal history that is “chronicled.” Kairos refers to a specific moment in time that is especially significant. A kairotic moment defines the significance of the past and the future. We approximate this distinction by the English words historical and historic. Everything that happens is historical but not everything is historic. However, everything that is historic is also historical in that it takes place within history. Thus, the kairotic moments of which the Bible speaks are not moments out of time; they take place within the context of chronos.

In God’s eternal purpose, Jesus’ birth took place in the “fullness of time.” God had governed history in preparation for that kairotic moment, which happened in real history. Christianity stands or falls with that real history.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed Christmas Eve.

Soli deo Gloria!

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.—Issac Watts

The following article is by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. He currently serves as the  president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is also host of the podcast The Briefing, where he gives a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview. He preached this message on December 8, 2017. It is entitled Far as the Curse is Found.

Many Christians would be surprised, and perhaps even disappointed, to learn that the song often cited as our favorite Christmas carol is not actually a Christmas carol at all. The famed hymn writer Isaac Watts published “Joy to the World” in 1719. Millions of Christians sing this great hymn at Christmas, celebrating the great news of the incarnation and declaring “let earth receive her king.”

“Let every heart, prepare him room, and heaven and angels sing.” At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of Christ, the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem. But “Joy to the World,” though sung rightly and triumphantly at Christmas, is really about the Second Coming of Christ.

Watts led in the development of hymns in the English tradition, drawing many of his hymn texts directly from the Psalms. “Joy to the World” is based upon Psalm 98, which declares creation’s joy when the Lord comes to rule and to judge. When we sing “Joy to the World, the Lord is Come,” it applies when we talk about Bethlehem and when we rejoice in the gift of the infant Christ. But the song also reminds us that Christmas isn’t over; the promises of Christmas are not yet fulfilled. Earth will fully receive her King when Christ comes again, to reign and to rule.

Think with me about verse three of the hymn, in which we read,

“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.”

The reversal of the curse is promised in the coming of the Messiah and the fulfillment of his atoning work. Implicit in this third verse is the promise of the new creation. We live in light of that promise, even as we look back to Bethlehem and as we celebrate Christmas.

But look carefully at the reference to the curse. Christ’s victory over sin is declared to extend “far as the curse is found.” What curse? How far does it extend? Where is it found?

We find the curse in Genesis, Chapter 3. After Eve has eaten of the forbidden tree, and then Adam also ate, and after they found themselves facing God in the reality of their sin, God first cursed the serpent:

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Then, God cursed the woman:

To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

Then came to curse to Adam, and through Adam to all humanity:

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

By Adam, our federal head, the curse of sin came upon all humanity. We are dust, who must return to the dust, for the wages of sin is death. All creation is under the effects of the curse. “Cursed is the ground because of you,” Adam is told.

The curse is God’s righteous judgment of sin, and the effect of the curse is death. The curse has fallen upon all human beings, first because of Adam’s sin and then because of our own. In Adam, we all sinned. In Adam, we all died.

Where is the curse found? Everywhere we look, we see the curse and its malignant effects. How far does it extend? To every atom and molecule of creation — from coast to coast, shore to shore, sky to sky, and to every square inch of the planet. That’s how far the curse is found.

Most importantly, every single human being is found under this curse. “For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

So, how can we sing about joy to the world? Look with me to Galatians 3:10-14:

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Here is the gospel of Christ, the good news. But first, the bad news. All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. All humanity is born under this curse, and under the law. The congregation that originally received Paul’s letter would have understood immediately where Paul grounded his argument, in Deuteronomy 27 and 28. At the end of the series of curses God delivered from Mount Nebo, we find the most comprehensive of all: “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” [Paul in Galatians 3:10, citing Deuteronomy 27:26]

We are born under the curse, we are cursed by the curse, and the law offers no escape. We cannot work our way from under the curse.

So where is the good news? Where is joy to the world? Look at verses 13 and 14.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. What we sinners could not and cannot do for ourselves, Christ has done for us. He removes the curse and the power of the law to condemn us.

How? He redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. The sinless Son of God became incarnate as the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. That sinless Son of God became sin for us, in order that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became a curse for us, by hanging on a tree, in fulfillment of Scripture.

Christ died on the cross, in our place, bearing our shame and guilt, paying the full penalty for our sin, dying as our Substitute, in our place, by his shed blood. He redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us. He died our death, in our place, bearing our sins, redeeming us from the curse. And on the third day the Father raised him from the dead. The cursed and crucified Savior rose victorious from the grave.

Paul concludes that all this took place so that in Christ the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, and so that we, as Christians, might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Today we celebrate commencement, the graduation of ministers of Jesus Christ who now enter into a new season of service to the church and to the gospel. The main contours of the ceremony would be recognizable to almost anyone. Here you see graduates, diplomas, faculty, academic regalia, dignity, proud loved ones. But this is a distinctively Christian service. This is an academic ceremony, but it is a Christian service of worship.

These graduates are one of the most remarkable sights you will ever see. Who gets to observe such a moment as this, looking at newly minted ministers of Christ and knowing that they are soon to be deployed to the church and to the ends of the earth? No school is worthy of them, and not one of them is worthy of their calling. Everything you observe is by grace, and to the glory of God.

Graduates, you are wearing the gowns of academic and ministry preparation. You will soon hold diplomas as evidence of your seriousness of preparation and devotion to the ministry. You are surrounded by a host of friends and family and faculty. Their own hopes and dreams of ministry go with you and in you. This faculty has taught you with conviction and affection, and now you go to bear the gospel of Christ and to preach the Word.

Why? Because the world is full of sinners who live every day under the curse, and the penalty of the curse is death. You go to preach the gospel and to declare salvation to all who believe in Christ and repent of their sin. You go to feed Christ’s flock and to shepherd the church for whom Christ died.

How far does the gospel reach, and to what lengths must it be taken? Far as the curse is found. Go and preach. Go and tell. Teach the good news that Christ has redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found.

And so, prayerfully and proudly,  we send you out — ministers of Christ, heralds of the gospel, far as the curse is found.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. ² The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. ³  You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil. ⁴        For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. ⁵ For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire. ⁶ For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:1–6 (ESV)

The following article was written by pastor, author, teacher and Christian apologist Timothy Keller (1950-2023). It is entitled Christmas is the Most Unsentimental Way of Looking at Life. It is adapted from his book Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ. Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.

Christmas is the only Christian holy day that is also a major secular holiday. This brings some discomfort on both sides. Many Christians can’t help but notice that more and more of the public festivities surrounding Christmas studiously avoid any references to its Christian origins. The background music in stores is moving from “Joy to the World” to “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas.”

On the other hand, nonreligious people can’t help but find that the older meaning of Christmas keeps intruding uninvited, for instance, through the music of traditional Christmas carols. It can be irritating to have to answer their child’s question, “What does that music mean — ‘born to give them second birth’?”

Christmas does not say, ‘Cheer up! If we all pull together, we can make the world a better place.’

As a Christian believer, I am glad to share the virtues of that day with the entirety of society. My fear is, however, that its true roots will become more and more hidden to most of the population.

The secular Christmas is a festival of lights, a time for family gatherings, and a season to generously give to those closest to us and to those in greatest need. These practices are genuinely congruent with the Christian origins of the celebration. The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it. The giving of gifts is a natural response to Jesus’ act of self-­giving, when he laid aside his glory and was born into the human race. The concern for the needy recalls that the Son of God was born not into an aristocratic family but into a poor one. The Lord of the universe identified with the least and the most excluded of the human race. But the truth is that Christmas, like God himself, is both more wondrous and more threatening than most understand.

Christmas is about receiving presents, but consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on Christmas morning from a friend — and it’s a dieting book. Then you take off another ribbon and wrapper and you find it is another book from another friend, “Overcoming Selfishness.” If you say to them, “Thank you so much,” you are in a sense admitting, “For indeed, I am fat and obnoxious.”

In other words, some gifts are hard to receive, because to do so is to admit you have flaws and weaknesses and you need help. Perhaps on some occasion you had a friend who figured out you were in financial trouble and came to you and offered a large sum of money to get you out of your predicament. If that has ever happened to you, you probably found that to receive the gift meant swallowing your pride.

There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, that nothing less than the death of the Son of God himself could save us. That means you are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life.

Christmas, therefore, is the most unsentimental, realistic way of looking at life. It does not say, “Cheer up! If we all pull together, we can make the world a better place.” The Bible never counsels indifference to the forces of darkness, only resistance, but it supports no illusions that we can defeat them ourselves. Christianity does not agree with the optimistic thinkers who say, “We can fix things if we try hard enough.” Nor does it agree with the pessimists who see only a dystopian future.

The message of Christianity is, instead, “Things really are this bad, and we can’t heal or save ourselves. Things really are this dark — nevertheless, there is hope.” The Christmas message is that “on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

Notice that it doesn’t say from the world a light has sprung, but upon the world a light has dawned. It has come from outside. There is light outside of this world, and Jesus has brought that light to save us; indeed, he is the Light.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!

¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

The Messiah was to be born from the seed of a woman. That is to say, He was to be virgin born! The first biblical text to proclaim this is admittedly rather cryptic. It is found in Genesis 3:14-15 which says, “So the LORD God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on you belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

 Two key Messianic Prophecies from the Prophet Isaiah which parallel Genesis 3:14-15. They are as follows.

• Isaiah 7:13-14 – “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.”
• Isaiah 9:6 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called
  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 The question remains as to whether the New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ met the qualification of being born of a virgin? What does the New Testament account of Jesus Christ’s birth have to say? We’ve already looked at Matthew 1:18-25. Today, we’ll examine Luke 1:26-38.

The text says, “²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, ²⁷ to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” ²⁹ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

 ³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”³⁵ And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

Dr. John MacArthur writes, “The importance of the virgin birth cannot be overstated. A right view of the incarnation hinges on the truth that Jesus was virgin-born. Both Luke and Matthew expressly state that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was conceived (Matt. 1:23). The Holy Spirit wrought the conception through supernatural means (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:18). The nature of Christ’s conception testifies of both his deity and his sinlessness.”

The prophecy from Genesis 3:14-15 is reiterated in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Both accounts teach that the prophecy of the virgin birth was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly sets forth that He is the Seed of the Woman born to crush the head of the serpent.

In light of this prophecy, do you identify yourself as belonging to the Seed of the Woman, Jesus Christ? If not, then you belong to the seed of the serpent. There is no middle ground and no other alternatives. Think about it.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.

Soli deo Gloria!

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” (1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)

This is the final essay on the importance and discipline of prayer. Today’s excerpt is from Waiting for God’s Answer by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981).

I will take my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. – Habakkuk 2:1-3

I. THE ATTITUDE OF FAITH

AFTER telling God about his perplexity in Habakkuk 1 the prophet goes on to say, in chapter 2, `I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved’ (2:1). The last phrase may mean, `what I shall answer when I am reproved by those who will not like my message,’ or ‘when I am reproved by God for what I have said,’ or ‘what He will say unto me when He answers my complaint.’ But the important consideration is that Habakkuk now realizes that the one thing to do is to wait upon God. It is not enough just to pray, to tell God about our perplexities, and just to cast our burden on the Lord. We must go further and wait upon God.

(a) Commit your problem to God

What does this mean in practice? First, we must detach ourselves from the problem. The prophet’s words suggest that interpretation by picturing a tower set upon a high elevation which commands a wide view and a grand prospect, such as is used by military observers in order to anticipate the arrival of an enemy. The watchman is far above the plains and the crowds of people, occupying a point of vantage where he can see everything that is happening. `I will watch to see what he will say unto me.’ Now here is one of the most important principles in the psychology of the Christian life, or the understanding of how to fight in the spiritual conflict. Once we have taken a problem to God, we should cease to concern ourselves with it. We should turn our backs upon it and center our gaze upon God.

Is not this precisely where we go astray? We have a perplexity, and we have applied the prophetic method of laying down postulates and putting the problem in the context of those propositions which we have laid down. But still we do not find satisfaction, and we do not quite know what to do. It may be the problem of what we are to do with our lives; or it may be some situation that is confronting us which involves a difficult decision. Having failed to reach a solution, despite seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is nothing more to do but to take it to God in prayer. But what so frequently happens is this. We go on our knees and tell God about the thing that is worrying us; we tell Him that we cannot solve the difficulty ourselves, that we cannot understand; and we ask Him to deal with it and to show us His way. Then the moment we get up from our knees we begin to worry about the problem again.

Now if you do that, you might just as well not have prayed. If you take your problem to God, leave it with God. You have no right to brood over it any longer. In his perplexity, Habakkuk says, `I am going to get out of this vale of depression; I am going to the watch-tower; I am going up to the heights; I am going to look to God and to God alone’—one of the most important secrets of the Christian life! If you have committed your problem to God and go on thinking about it, it means that your prayers were not genuine. If you told God on your knees that you had reached an impasse, and that you could not solve your problem, and that you were handing it over to Him, then leave it with Him. Resolutely refuse to think about it or talk about it.

Do not go to the first Christian you meet and say, ‘You know, I have an awful problem; I don’t know what to do.’ Don’t discuss it. Leave it with God, and go on to the watch-tower. This may not be easy for us. We may have to be almost violent in forcing ourselves to do this. It is none the less essential. We must never allow ourselves to become submerged by a difficulty, to be shut in by the problem. We must come right out of it— ‘I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower.’ We have to extricate ourselves deliberately, to haul ourselves out of it, as it were, to detach ourselves from it altogether, and then take our stand looking to God—not at the problem.

There are endless illustrations of this important principle in the life of faith in the Scriptures themselves, and in Christian biography. Looking to God means not dealing with a problem yourself, not consulting other people, but depending entirely upon God, and `waiting’ only upon Him.

Habakkuk looked at this problem but he could see no light. He was confronted by the fact that God was going to take up those appalling Chaldeans, people altogether worse than his own nation, and was going to use them for His own purpose. He could not understand it, nor reconcile it with the holiness of God. But he could and did take it to God. Having done so, he looked to God and ceased to look at his difficulty. That is the true basis of spiritual peace. That is exactly what Paul meant in Philippians, ‘in nothing be anxious’ (see Phil. 4:6, 7).

It does not matter what the cause is; never let yourself be anxious, and never let yourself be burdened or worn down by care. You have no right to be perturbed; you must never have that anxious care that is not only spiritually crippling but also physically debilitating. Never be anxious but ‘in everything’—it is all-inclusive— ‘by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.’ And then, ‘the peace of God, which passed all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ Get up into your watch-tower and just keep looking up to God. Look at nothing else, least of all your problem.

(b) Expect an answer from God

But we must go further and we must look for the answer. `I will watch to see,’ says this man. The military watchman’s task is to keep his eye on that landscape in front for the slightest indication of movement on the part of the enemy. Habakkuk is looking for the answer. We so often fail because we just pray to God and then forget about it. If we pray to God we must expect answers to our prayers. Do we in fact, after we have prayed, continue to look to God and eagerly await the answer? Are we like this man on his watch-tower, expecting it to come at any moment?

God, of course, may answer in a number of different ways. For instance, you can expect God to answer you as you read His Word, for it is the commonest way of all in which He does this. As you are reading Scripture, suddenly a strange and wonderful light is cast upon your problem. If you say to yourself, `This is the Word of God through which He speaks to men and I wonder what He has to say to me,’ then you are likely to obtain your answer. Watch and wait for it.

Then God sometimes answers directly in our spirits. The prophet said: `I will watch to see what He will say in me’ (cf. AV margin). God speaks to me by speaking in me. He can so lay something upon the mind that we are certain of the answer. He can impress something upon our spirits in an unmistakable manner. We find ourselves unable to get away from an impression that is on our mind or heart; we try to rid ourselves of it, but back it comes. So, does God answer at times.

Then again, He sometimes answers our prayers by so providentially ordering our circumstances, and the day-to-day happenings of our lives, that it becomes quite plain what God is saying. God never calls us to do any work without opening the door. He may take a long time, but if God wants us to do some special task He will shut other doors and open that particular one.

Our whole life will be directed to that end. This is a common experience of the Christian life. God often allows obstacles to arise, but the way ahead remains clear. God’s will is certain. The point is that we must be looking for these answers, and ready to recognize them when they come. Having committed my problem to God I must expect God to answer. I should also compare one indication of guidance with another, because if God is always consistent with Himself in His dealings with me, I can expect them all to converge.

(c) Watch and wait for the answer

The third and last principle illustrated for us is that we must watch eagerly and persistently, like this watchman upon his tower. We must believe that God is always true to His word, and that His promises never fail. So, having committed myself and my problem to God, I must persist in looking with an eagerness which knows that God is certain to answer. It is dishonoring to God not to do so.

If I believe God is my Father, and that the very hairs of my head are all numbered, and that God is much more concerned about my welfare and my well-being than I am myself; if I believe that God is much more concerned about the honor of His great and holy name than I am, then it is surely dishonoring to God not to look for an answer after I have prayed to Him. It is indicative of a serious lack of faith. Nothing so shows the character of our faith as our conduct and attitude after we have prayed.

The men of faith not only prayed, but they expected answers. Sometimes, in a panic, we pray to God; then, after the panic is over, we forget all about it. The test of our faith is whether we expect an answer. The prophet stood upon his watch, and set him upon the tower. Though he could not understand God’s actions, he took the problem to God and then looked for an answer.

II. FAITH REWARDED

Verses 2 and 3 of chapter 2 contain the answer Habakkuk was given. ‘Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’ This lesson is invaluable. It is an absolute law in the spiritual realm that if we adopt Habakkuk’s method, and behave as he behaved, God will always honor His promises.

In effect, God said, ‘It is all right, Habakkuk, I have heard your prayer, I understand your perplexity. Here is My answer. The Chaldeans whom I am going to raise up to punish Israel will themselves in turn be completely routed and destroyed.’ The greatness of the Chaldeans was going to be short-lived. It was God who for a special purpose raised them up; but they took the glory to themselves and became inflated with a sense of their own power. Then God struck, and raised up the Medes and Persians who utterly destroyed the Chaldeans. God told the prophet to write the prophecy very clearly, so that any one reading it could at once understand and run to obey and warn others.

Soli deo Gloria!

For the next several days, we will present several essays on the importance and discipline of prayer. Today’s excerpt is from Prayer by John Bunyan (1628-1688).

There is no subject of more solemn importance to human happiness than prayer. It is the only medium of intercourse with heaven. “It is that language wherein a creature holds correspondence with his Creator; and wherein the soul of a saint gets near to God, is entertained with great delight, and, as it were, dwells with his heavenly Father.”God, when manifest in the flesh, hath given us a solemn, sweeping declaration, embracing all prayer–private, social, and public–at all times and seasons, from the creation to the final consummation of all things–”God is a Spirit, and they that worship him MUST WORSHIP HIM IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH” (John 4:24).

The great enemy of souls, aided by the perverse state of the human mind, has exhausted his ingenuity and malice to prevent the exercise of this holy and delightful duty. His most successful effort has been to keep the soul in that fatal lethargy, or death unto holiness, and consequently unto prayer, into which it is plunged by Adam’s transgression.

Bunyan has some striking illustrations of Satan’s devices to stifle prayer, in his history of the Holy War.

When the troops of Emmanuel besiege Man-soul, their great effort was to gain “ear gate” as a chief entrance to Man-soul, and at that important gate there were placed, by order of Diabolous, “the Lord Will-be-will, who made one old Mr. Prejudice, an angry and ill-conditioned fellow, captain of that ward, and put under his power sixty men called Deaf-men to keep it,” and these were arrayed in the most excellent armor of Diabolous, “A DUMB AND PRAYERLESS SPIRIT.”

Nothing but the irresistible power of Emmanuel could have overcome these obstacles. He conquers and reigns supreme, and Man-soul becomes happy; prayer without ceasing enables the new-born man to breathe the celestial atmosphere.

Soli deo Gloria!

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” (1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)

For the next several days, we will present several essays on the importance and discipline of prayer. Today’s excerpt is from A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts (1674-1748).   

Prayer is a word which has broad meaning in Scripture. It includes not only a request for mercies, but it denotes the address of a creature on earth to God in heaven about everything that concerns his God, his neighbor or himself, in this world or the world to come. It is the conversation which God allows us to maintain with himself above, while we are here below.

It is that language in which a creature communicates with his Creator and in which the soul of a saint often gets near to God, experiences great delight and, as it were, dwells with his heavenly Father for a short time before he comes to heaven. It is a glorious privilege with which our Maker has indulged us, as well as a necessary part of the obedience which he requires of us at all times and in every circumstance of life. ‘Pray without ceasing’ (I Thess. 5:17). ‘In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God’ (Phil. 4:6).’Praying always with all prayer and supplication’ (Eph. 6:18).

Prayer is a part of divine worship that is required of all men and is to be performed either with the voice or only in the heart, and is called vocal or mental prayer. It is commanded to individuals in their private lives, in a more solemn and consistent manner; and in the midst of the businesses of life, by secretly and suddenly lifting up the soul to God. It belongs also to communities, whether they be natural, as families; or civil, as corporations, parliaments, courts, or societies for trade and business; and to religious communities. When persons meet together for any godly purpose, they should seek their God. It is required of the churches especially, for the house of God is the house of prayer.

Since it is a duty of such absolute necessity for all and of such universaluse.it is fitting we should all know how to perform it aright, that it may be accepted by the great God, and become a delightful and profitable exercise to our own souls and to those that join with us.

I shall deliver my thoughts on the nature of prayer in the following order: (1) as a duty of worship;(2) as it is to be performed by the gifts or abilities God has bestowed upon us; (3) as it must be attended with the exercise of our graces;(4) as we are assisted in it by the Spirit of God; and (5) I shall then conclude with an earnest address to Christians to seek after this holy skill of conversation with God.

Soli deo Gloria!

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” (1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)

For the next several days, we will present several essays on the importance and discipline of prayer. Today’s excerpt is from The Secret Key to Heaven by Puritan Thomas Brooks (1608-1680).  

Dear friends, the following discourse on closet prayer I heartily recommend to your serious perusal. I have many reasons to hope, that when you have once read it over, you will be more in love with closet prayer than ever, and that you will set a higher price upon closet prayer than ever, and that you will make a better and fuller improvement of closet prayer than ever yet you have done. Consider what I say in my epistle to the reader, and labor so to manage this little treatise, which now I put into your hands, that God may be glorified, your own souls edified, comforted, and encouraged in the ways of the Lord, and that you may be “my crown and joy, in the great day of our Lord Jesus,” 1 Thes. 2:19-20.

Christian Reader—The epistle dedicatory being so large, I shall do little more than give you the grounds and reasons of sending forth this little piece into the world, especially in such a day as this is. Now, my reasons are these:

1. First, because God by his present dispensations calls more loudly for closet prayer now, than he has done in those last twenty years that are now passed over our heads. See more of this in the 16th argument for closet prayer.

2. Secondly, because I have several reasons to fear that many Christians do not clearly nor fully understand the necessity, excellency, and usefulness of this subject, and that many, oh that I could not say any, live in too great a neglect of this indispensable duty; and that more than a few, for lack of light, err in the very practice of it.

3. Thirdly, for the refreshing, support, and encouragement of all those churches of Christ that walk in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Spirit, etc., especially that particular church to whom I stand related.

4. Fourthly, to preserve and keep up the power of religion and godliness both in men’s houses, hearts, and lives. The power of religion and godliness lives, thrives, or dies, as closet prayer lives, thrives, or dies. Godliness never rises to a higher pitch than when men keep closest to their closets, etc.

5. Fifthly, because closet prayer is a most sovereign remedy, a most precious antidote of God’s own prescribing, against the plague that now rages in the midst of us, 1 Kings 8:37-39, etc.

6. Sixthly, because every man is that really which he is secretly. Never tell me, how handsomely, how neatly, how bravely, this or that man acts his part before others; but tell me, if you can, how he acts his part before God in his closet; for the man is that certainly, which he is secretly. There are many who sweat upon the stage that are cold in their closets.

7. Seventhly, though many worthies have done worthily upon all other parts of prayer—yet there are none either of a former or later date, that have fallen under my eye, who have written any treatise on this subject. I have not a little wondered that so many eminent writers should pass over this great and princely duty of closet-prayer, either with a few brief touches, or else in a very great silence. If several Bodies of Divinity are consulted, you will find that all they say clearly and distinctly as to closet-prayer, may be brought into a very narrow compass, if not into a nutshell. I have also inquired of several old disciples, whether among all the thousand sermons that they have heard in their days, that ever they have heard one sermon on closet-prayer? and they have answered, No. I have also inquired of them, whether ever they had read any treatise on that subject? and they have answered, No. And truly this has been no small encouragement to me, to make an offer of my mite; and if this small attempt of mine shall be so blessed, as to provoke others who have better heads, and hearts, and hands, than any I have, to do Christ and his people more service, in the handling of this choice point in a more copious way than what I have been able to reach unto, I shall therein rejoice.

8. Eighthly, and lastly, That favor, that good acceptance and fair quarter that my other poor labors have found, not only in this nation—but in other countries also, has put me upon putting pen to paper once more; and I hope that the good will of him who “dwelt in the bush,” will rest upon this, as it has to the glory of free grace rested upon my former endeavors. I could add other reasons—but let these suffice.

Good reader, when you are in your closet, pray hard for a poor, weak, worthless worm, that I may be found faithful and fruitful to the death, that so at last I may receive a crown of life. So wishing you all happiness both in this lower and in that upper world, I rest, Yours in our dear Lord Jesus, Thomas Brooks

Soli deo Gloria!

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling;” (1 Timothy 2:8 (ESV)

For the next several days, we will present several essays on the importance and discipline of prayer. Today’s excerpt is from A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther.

I will tell you as best I can what I do personally when I pray. May our dear Lord grant to you and to everybody to do it better than I! Amen.

First, when I feel that I have become cool and joyless in prayer because of other tasks or thoughts (for the flesh and the devil always impede and obstruct prayer), I take my little psalter, hurry to my room, or, if it be the day and hour for it, to the church where a congregation is assembled and, as time permits, I say quietly to myself and word-for-word the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and, if I have time, some words of Christ or of Paul, or some psalms, just as a child might do.

It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night. Guard yourself carefully against those false, deluding ideas which tell you, “Wait a little while. I will pray in an hour; first I must attend to this or that.” Such thoughts get you away from prayer into other affairs which so hold your attention and involve you that nothing comes of prayer for that day.

It may well be that you may have some tasks which are as good or better than prayer, especially in an emergency. There is a saying ascribed to St. Jerome that everything a believer does is prayer and a proverb, “He who works faithfully prays twice.” This can be said because a believer fears and honors God in his work and remembers the commandment not to wrong anyone, or to try to steal, defraud, or cheat. Such thoughts and such faith undoubtedly transform his work into prayer and a sacrifice of praise.

On the other hand, it is also true that the work of an unbeliever is outright cursing and so he who works faithlessly curses twice. While he does his work, his thoughts are occupied with a neglect of God and violation of his law, how to take advantage of his neighbor, how to steal from him and defraud him. What else can such thoughts be but out and out curses against God and man, which makes one’s work and effort a double curse by which a man curses himself. In the end they are beggars and bunglers. It is of such continual prayer that Christ says in Luke 11, “Pray without ceasing,” because one must unceasingly guard against sin and wrong-doing, something one cannot do unless one fears God and keeps his commandment in mind, as Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is he who meditates upon his law, day and night.”

Yet we must be careful not to break the habit of true prayer and imagine other works to be necessary which, after all, are nothing of the kind. Thus, at the end we become lax and lazy, cool and listless toward prayer. The devil who besets us is not lazy or careless, and our flesh is too ready and eager to sin and is disinclined to the spirit of prayer.

When your heart has been warmed by such recitation to yourself and is intent upon the matter, kneel or stand with your hands folded and your eyes toward heaven and speak or think as briefly as you can:

 O Heavenly Father, dear God, I am a poor unworthy sinner. I do not deserve to raise my eyes or hands toward thee or to pray. But because thou hast commanded us all to pray and hast promised to hear us and through thy dear Son Jesus Christ hast taught us both how and what to pray, I come to thee in obedience to thy word, trusting in thy gracious promise. I pray in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ together with all thy saints and Christians on earth as he has taught us: Our Father who art, etc., through the whole prayer, word for word.

May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a prayerful day in the Lord.

Soli deo Gloria!