Believe (Easter 2013)

John 20:24-31

There is a lot of Skepticism in our world today and that's not always a bad thing. We ought to be skeptical of a fisherman’s claims about the size of the fish he caught. We have to teach our children to be skeptical of strangers to keep them out of danger. We are naturally skeptical of our government/politicians because they've shown duplicity at times in their dealings. We know all the claims of advertisers can't be true so we're skeptical of what they promise. Uninvited guests at our door are usually met with skepticism no matter what they are selling or giving away.

As you can see, skepticism can be a good thing in the right settings. If it motivates you to protect yourself from harm...then it’s clearly a good thing. But, if it prevents you from investigating important, life-altering facts...it’s a bad thing.

There have been things/people of which I have been skeptical in the past, but upon further examination, learned their truthfulness or worthiness of consideration. And, some matters are just too important not to investigate the claims and never is that more true than with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You nor I are the first ones to question the resurrection of Christ. Long before any of us ever considered the claim that Jesus rose from the grave there was another man named Thomas that was skeptical about Jesus’ resurrection. He had been with Jesus for nearly three and a half years listening to Him teach and seeing the miracles He performed. And, even though Christ had repeatedly indicated He would die and rise again, Thomas remained skeptical.

I for one am glad that John included this story of Thomas’ skepticism because it allows us to consider a central question about Christ's resurrection. Did Jesus really rise from the grave? If He did, then that changes everything about what I believe and whom I will follow.

Larry King was once asked who he would most want to interview if he could choose anyone from all of history. He answered, “Jesus Christ.” The questioner asked, "And what would you like to ask Him?" King replied, "I would like to ask Him if He was indeed virgin-born. The answer to that question would define history for me." (from Just Thinking, RZIM, Winter 1998)

I agree Larry King’s question is central to the claims of Christianity, but I contend that the question is also answered in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If He really did rise from the dead then that validates the claims about His virgin birth and declares Him to be God.

One of the things you discover when you study the characters surrounding the events of Christ's resurrection is that Thomas wasn't the only one that had questions about the resurrection of Jesus.

For instance, after Mary Magdalene encountered the risen Christ she reported to the disciples that He was alive, but they were not convinced by her testimony.

And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. (Mark 16:11)

When the two men on the road to Emmaus reported to the disciples that they had seen Jesus alive, they didn’t believe their report either.

After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either. (Mark 16:12)

So skeptical were the disciples that first Easter that Jesus on the evening of His resurrection rebuked them for not believing the witness of the others.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. (Mark 16:14)

And, even though Jesus was standing right there in their very presence they still initially had difficulty grasping His reality, probably because they were shocked/joyous at seeing Him alive (i.e., “this is too good to be true...,” “this is unbelieveable...”).

But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. (Luke 24:37-43)

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20:20)

But, finally, ten of His disciples were fully convinced that the One standing in their presence speaking with them was the risen Christ. He was alive! These men were originally skeptics that had to be convinced by the evidence.

One of the harshest skeptics concerning Jesus was His own half-brother, James. He had lived with/around Jesus for probably twenty-five or thirty years but he never believed the claims His brother made for Himself from the very beginning.

When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said. (Mark 3:21 NLT; cf. 6:1-3)

His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did not believe in Him. (John 7:3-5)

And yet, after Christ's resurrection, James became a fully devoted follower of Jesus; wrote one of the NT books that bears His name and became a significant leader in the Jerusalem church. What could have effected such a dramatic change in Jesus' brother that alleviated his earlier skepticism? The answer is found in 1 Corinthians when Paul revealed that Jesus had specifically appeared to James following His resurrection. The reality of Jesus' resurrection changed him, just like it changes people today. He finally believed what Jesus had told him all along about His person and purpose.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. (1 Corinthians 15:3-7)

It wasn’t only James that needed to be convinced; there was another famous Jew whose skepticism may have surpassed that of Jesus' own brother. His name was Saul (changed to Paul after he became a believer in Christ) and he was filled with zeal for his Pharisaic religious traditions. He was reared in Tarsus and exposed to the most advanced philosophical teaching of his day. He studied under one of the greatest Rabbis of his time: Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He said about himself, “...I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” (Galatians 1:14) While Saul was actively involved in trying to destroy Christianity, he had a conversion on the Damascus road and his life was dramatically changed (Acts 9:3-9). Consequently, the one that had formerly arrested and executed Christians (Galatians 1:13) became an ardent follower of Jesus. And to what does Paul attribute the transformation in his life? He saw the resurrected Christ!

Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? (1 Corinthians 9:1)

Perhaps, no greater polemic against the skepticism surrounding Jesus' resurrection exists than Paul’s on words in 1 Corinthians 15. It is incontrovertible that Paul believed Jesus rose from the grave, proven by the testimonies of those that had seen Him and His own experience with the living Christ.

Or, consider John, the author of the text we are reading. He was thoroughly convinced that Jesus was resurrected and wrote about it in his Gospel account and his first epistle forty to sixty years after the fact. Just listen to the words about the resurrected Christ that unmistakably declares that this was more than a mere apparition or hallucination.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you... (1 John 1:1-3)

Look carefully at two specific phrases in this text (...which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon...) The two verbs literally mean: to scrutinize; examine carefully; to behold intelligently; they...express a 'definite investigation by the observer’” (Westcott)]. (John R.W. Stott, The Epistles of John, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1977], p. 60.) In other words, there was no mistaking the fact that Jesus was alive and the apostles had carefully investigated the facts of His resurrection.

Arguably, though, the best known skeptic to most people is the man Thomas. Think about how he has been known throughout a great portion of Christian history: “Doubting Thomas.” Not a very flattering title! He was clearly not the only skeptic among the apostles immediately following the resurrection of Jesus, but he is the one John chose to highlight at the end of his Gospel account. It took Thomas eight days longer than the other disciples to come to faith in the resurrected Christ. Even though the other ten apostles continued to tell (“The other disciples therefore said to him...” -- imperfect tense indicates that they kept on saying...) him that they had seen the risen Christ (John 20:25), he refused to accept anything other than material evidence. No eyewitness testimonies were good enough for him. If he couldn’t touch the nail prints in Christ’s hands and put his hand in His side...he would not believe.

What is so remarkable is that Jesus allows him the proof he asked to see, which led to one of the greatest declarations about Jesus in scripture: My Lord and My God (John 20:28). These two names are commonly juxtaposed in the OT speaking of the one true God. But, stop and consider the significance of this assertion in light of the Jewish law of monotheism. The deification of any mere human being was considered utter blasphemy (John 10:33). However, because of the resurrection evidence, Thomas ascribed to Jesus two names that demonstrate His deity. In other words, he now believed that Jesus was all he had witnessed Him to be during the three plus years he had followed Him.

When you put it all of Christ’s appearances together, there at least twelve occasions that He was seen following His resurrection. Is it any wonder that so many first century Jews came to faith in Jesus? We know that He appeared...

1. To the women as they returned from the tomb after seeing the angel who informed them Christ had risen (Matthew 28:1-10).
2. To Mary Magdalene at the tomb, probably during her second visit to the tomb that morning (John 20:10-18; Mark 16:9).
3. To Peter sometime before the evening of the resurrection day (Luke 24:34; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
4. To Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus on Easter afternoon (Mark 16:12; Luke 24:13-35).
5. To ten of the apostles (Thomas is absent) and others whose names are not given gathered together at their evening meal on the eve of Easter day (Luke 24:36-40; John 20:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
6. A week later to all eleven apostles, including “doubting Thomas” (John 20:26-28).
7. To a number of the disciples fishing at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-23).
8. To the apostles on a specific mountain in Galilee (Matthew 28:16-20).
9. To James (1 Corinthians 15:7).
10. To the apostles on the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem just prior to the ascension (Mark 16.:19; Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:3-9).
11. To 500 witnesses all at once (1 Corinthians 15:6).
12. To the apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8; Acts 9:1-9).

And, these may not be all of His appearance, but only the ones that were recorded in the biblical record (John 20:30).

Add to the above evidence the fact that the resurrection of Jesus was the central theme of the ministry of the early church. The very people that could have proven the eyewitness accounts wrong knew that the evidence was incontrovertible. Listen to the appeal of the early church witnesses:

This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. (Acts 2:32)

But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. (Acts 3:14-15)

But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree...And we are His witnesses to these things...”  (Acts 5:29-30, 32)

Even Paul argues from the empirical evidence about the resurrection of Christ when he stands before the Roman Procurator Festus.

But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. (Acts 26:25-26; cf. 2:22)

In essence, he says, check out the evidence for yourself. Investigate the facts of the resurrection and you'll find what you’ve been told is true. This wasn’t “done in a corner,” i.e., in an out of the way place where no one could corroborate the evidence. The resurrection proof is right there before you and out in the open.

There is simply no way the resurrection of Jesus could have been fabricated and survived for two millennia as the centerpiece of Christianity. There's just so much evidence proving its reality from numerous sources. After all, Jesus’ appearances involved a variety of circumstances, times, places and people. He appeared to women, men, groups, and individuals. He was seen at the lake, on a mountain, on a road, in a closed room, in the country, in town, and on a hillside. He didn’t appear just once to one person, but numerous times and in different locations to individuals and groups. You just can’t make this stuff up and it survive the scrutiny of the first century (or later) and the people that could check out the facts.

This undeniable and unassailable evidence about Christ’s resurrection is the cornerstone of the church and the foundation on which our eternal salvation rests.

Dr. Merrill Tenney comments: Confronting a learned and hostile hierarchy who had opposed Jesus bitterly during his lifetime, the apostles did not dare to make indefensible assertions. To claim falsely that Jesus had risen from the dead would expose them to ridicule and would invite disaster to their cause. They were too astute to offer to the public baseless legends or wild dreams as the initial proof of their new faith. (Merrill Tenney, The Reality of the Resurrection, Chicago: Moody Press, 1972. pg. 123-124)

You can reject or accept Jesus, but it’s impossible to deny the evidence that He is alive. That’s why Jesus told Thomas, “...because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

John went on to say, And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:30-31)

Acknowledging the resurrection is central to anyone becoming a Christian. If there is no resurrection of Christ there is no truth to the claims of Christianity. There’s no hope of our sins being forgiven (1 Corinthians 15:17) or a life with God beyond the grave (1 Corinthians 15:18). Everything about the central truths of the Christian faith rests on the claims of the resurrection of Jesus...even His virgin birth. That’s why so many of us today exclaim with the apostle Peter, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead... (1 Peter 1:3)

Now, the question is...will you believe that He lives and submit your life to Him? There is no other hope of being made right with God except through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul laid down the terms of eternal life and forgiveness with God when he wrote, ...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

What you have been feeling throughout this message is the tug of God on your heart to trust His Son.

A famous professor of theology came upon a young boy flying a kite. The kite was so high that it couldn’t be seen; it was out of sight in the mist, in a low cloud. The professor asked the boy, "How do you know it’s there?" And the boy replied, "I can feel the tug of it." Not long afterwards, someone asked the professor, "Why do you believe in God and in spiritual reality?" He said, "I believe because I feel the tug of it."

If you’ll respond to the tug of God calling you to believe the evidence of His resurrection then you can be a new person, with your sins forgiven, reconciled to a holy God, and your eternal destiny settled with God in Heaven. It's decision time...what will you do with the living Christ?

Your Spiritual Identity #6

Galatians 2:19-20

I read a story recently about a heavily booked commercial flight out of Denver that had to be cancelled. Unfortunately, there was only a single gate agent trying to rebook a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the front and slapped his ticket down on the counter. He insisted, "I have to be on this flight and it has to be first class!" The agent kindly replied, "I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to help you, but I have to take care of these folks first." The passenger was unimpressed and replied in a voice loud enough for the other passengers to hear him. "Do you have any idea who I am?" Without hesitating, the gate agent smiled and picked up the public-address microphone and broadcast throughout the terminal. "May I have your attention, please? We have a passenger here at the gate who does not know who he is. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to the gate immediately." As the man retreated, the people in the terminal burst into applause.

Did you know that identity theft is rampant in our nation. This experience is frightening and overwhelming, especially when you consider that usually the victim is the one that has to prove his own innocence. You would naturally think the police, creditors, and credit-reporting agencies would come to your defense in these situations. But, it’s estimated that victims have to spend an average of $1500 and approximately 175 hours recovering their good name.

Today’s message brings us to the close of this series about our true spiritual identity. It’s a subject you could pursue for weeks and still have plenty of material left over. The Bible is very clear about our standing with God and how He sees us. However, too often we allow someone/something to steal our spiritual identity or we simply don’t know who we are in the first place.

Consequently, instead of living in the joy of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we spend our entire lives living at the level of spiritual mediocrity. Some of the sources that steal or confuse our spiritual identity are:

1. Basic ignorance of the truth of our identity in Christ.

2. The deception of Satan reminding you of your past or present failures.

3. Friends/family that berate you, rather than build you up.

4. Weak faith that fails to believe what God says about you.

5. Stubbornness in yielding to God’s refining work (so your identity can be revealed).

6. A love for this world more than a love for God.

7. Spending too much time looking into self rather than looking up to the Savior.

This list isn’t meant to be exhaustive, but it shows some of the prominent ways that people’s spiritual identity is lost or stolen from them.

Thus far in this series we’ve learned that we are saints, possessors of spiritual life from above, new creations in Christ Jesus, God’s mobile temple, and God’s spiritual masterpieces. Today we learn that we are also “crucified with Christ!”

Crucifixion was among the cruelest forms of capital punishment ever invented by men and only the worst criminals were subject to it in Paul’s day. By the time of Christ the Romans had perfected crucifixions, making them as torturous as possible. From the beatings, blood loss, physical exhaustion, and strangulation that occurs as the lungs fill up with fluid, a crucifixion death was excruciatingly painful.

There are some modern examples of crucifixion torture, though they pale in comparison to first century crucifixions.

In an effort to draw attention to world peace, Patrice Tamao of the Dominican Republic allowed himself to be crucified in 1973 as thousands watched on TV. Patrice had three six-inch stainless steel nails driven through his hands and feet and intended to stay on the cross for 48 hours. However, after 20 hours he requested to be taken down because he had developed an infection.

In 1965, a man in Kenya convinced his wife to crucify him "for the sins of all Kenyans." After reluctantly obeying, his wife collapsed and died, apparently from shock. The man was rescued by neighbors, but later died from an infection.

As these illustrations demonstrate, crucifixion is a horrendous process leading to the death of the crucified. But, for Paul, rather than loathe the crucifixion of Christ, he now lived because of it. Incredibly, the crucifixion of Christ was an event that he celebrated.

In addition to Galatians 2:20...6:14 says,

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

What had been known only as an instrument of death was now Paul’s (and our) means of eternal life and freedom from religious legalism.

As the context (Galatians 2:20) shows, Paul had attempted to appease God by living up to the perfect standards of the law. Instead of finding that the Law brought him life, he discovered that it only led to his death. He could not live without breaking God’s Law and therefore, found himself a condemned criminal. Now he knew that his only hope was in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross. It wasn’t until Paul the Pharisee identified with Jesus in crucifixion (by faith) that he found the liberty, forgiveness, peace and joy he had longed to know. It was through the cross that Paul (and all that have lived since Christ) have entered into a relationship with God. That personal relationship cannot be found in the Law, but only through faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ.

It’s important to note that the Greek word for “crucified” is a perfect tense verb, denoting a past action with a continuing effect. Whether or not Paul had realized the full ramifications of his new position in Christ, this was his spiritual identity forever as a believer. Sometimes Christians don’t realize/remember this identity (“crucified with Christ”) and Paul reminds them of a very important truth in Romans 6:11 that must be applied, if your position is to be translated into practice.

“Likewise you also, reckon (consider, count, i.e., put to one's account) yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It is also interesting that this verb translated as “crucified with” is used only five times in the NT. Three of those are in the Gospels dealing with the criminals that were crucified with Christ (Matthew 27:44; Mark 15:32; John 19:32) and twice Paul uses it in his epistles (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20). Unlike the criminals of the Gospel stories, Paul is clearly indicating that his “crucifixion with” Christ was voluntary. No one bound him kicking and screaming against his will, forcibly making him trust Jesus Christ as his Savior.

And, by saying he (“I”) was crucified with Christ he was declaring that his “old man” had died with Christ. In other words, the old self-righteous, self-centered Saul died, and the new Christ-centered Paul lives. When speaking of the “old man” (“I”), we mean the worn out, useless, and unconverted sinful nature corrupted by deceit. It is the dominating control of the Adamic nature whose power over him had been broken.

Unlike crucifixions that cause physical death, Paul’s crucifixion with Christ caused the death of his self-centered life. But, he was still very much alive physically! However, by yielding to the Holy Spirit he was able to have a life that was pleasing to God. In other words, this new life Paul lived was in the flesh, but it was not lived by the flesh.  

Someone has paraphrased the way Paul might have given his testimony in light of Galatians 2:20:

“I was brought up under the strict laws of my religion.

“I tried to satisfy the law, but I couldn’t. I realized that I could never find God’s favor by trying to obey the letter of the law, since I kept failing. I fought myself even as I struggled to be good (Romans 7). Eventually I gave up.

“Then something wonderful happened. When I gave up, I learned that there is a way to please God. It wouldn’t be through all my vain efforts, but by believing in Jesus Christ and letting Him live in me.

“So I am now dead to the law and it is dead to me. It no longer has any jurisdiction over me...

“...I have only one hope, therefore. I hope in Christ. I live in Him. I don’t trust intellect or religion or money or glamor or power or anything else to save me. I live in Him who alone can save me.

“Only what Christ wants do I want. He lives in me, rules me, directs me. You see, I can’t be bothered with the outdated rules of an outdated and powerless religion.

“Christ lives in me. He’s been resurrected. God lifted Him high above the power of death and the authority of any human law. He has lifted me along with Him (Romans 6:1–14). I’m not subject any longer to the rule of this world but am triumphant over it in Christ.” (Lawson, L. [1987]. Galatians, Ephesians: Unlocking the Scriptures for You. Standard Bible Studies [50]. Cincinnati, OH: Standard.)

Herein is the practical significance of the wonderful truth about our crucifixion with Christ as it relates to our spiritual identity! We who have believed on Christ have had the power of sin and self broken so that we are able to live a new life that pleases God. Instead of trying to earn His favor by living in obedience to His law, we now live yielded to the Holy Spirit Who indwells us in order that He might produce through us the kind of life that pleases Him.

It is like a glove, for example. A glove cannot do anything by itself. It needs a hand to fill it. When the glove has a hand inside, it is enabled to do all sorts of things. We are like a glove. What we need is the Lord to fill us with His power, which God does when we are “crucified with Christ.” That’s why Paul says, “...it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...”

Baptism is a visible illustration of what happens when we trust Christ as our Savior. When a new believer is immersed beneath the water, he/she is symbolically saying that the old life is “crucified with Christ.” And, when they come up out of the water they symbolize that God has given them a new life to live for Him and through Him.

A military chaplain that was deployed in Iraq once told about how he improvised on the field in order to baptize soldiers that came to faith in Christ. He would take a wooden coffin intended to be used for the remains of a soldier killed in combat and line it with a plastic body bag. He then filled it with water and used it as a makeshift baptistry. The symbolism couldn’t have been more stark than when a soldier was immersed into the coffin filled with water only to be raised out of the water to live a new life for Christ.

That is the exact visual image God is giving to us in Galatians 2:20, which is part of our spiritual identity. You can live in victory over sin because you’ve been crucified with Christ. You are not a slave to your flesh anymore. There isn’t anything God gives you to do that you cannot do because He lives in you and provides everything you need to live for Him. Your spiritual identity is that of one who has died to his old self and has been raised to live a new life by God’s grace. The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ means everything to the believer in Christ!

History records that during the Civil War, many acts of violence were committed by both the armies of the north and the south. Once such act occurred in October of 1862 in the town of Palmyra, Missouri. According to W. E. Sutterfield, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Palmyra, the town was under military law at the time....occupied by one of the armies involved in this conflict.

The commander of the army ordered ten men shot in reprisal for the work of an informer in the town who leaked information to the enemy. Several men were being detained in Palmyra jail as prisoners of war at that time, and ten were selected from among them. One of the number was William T. Humphrey, the father of several children. His wife pleaded for his release because of the children and her poor physical condition. Because of this, the commanding officer struck Humphrey’s name from the list and chose the name of Hiram Smith, a young man without a family. Hiram agreed to take the place of Humphrey, stating that perhaps it was better for a single man to die than a man with a family.

The ten men were shot on October 17, 1862, in what has come to be known as the “Palmyra massacre.” At the Mount Pleasant Church cemetery, there is a stone erected at the grave of Hiram Smith by G. W. Humphrey, the son of the reprieved man. It reads:

“This monument is dedicated to the memory of HIRAM SMITH, the hero who sleeps beneath the sod here, who was shot at Palmyra, October 17, 1862 as a substitute for William T. Humphrey, my father.”

In a very real way our lives are living, breathing monuments to the One who rescued us from imminent danger and set us free to live for Him out of love, not legalism...the Lord Jesus Christ!

Conclusion: Thanks To Calvary - Bill Gaither

Verse #1

Today I went back to the place where I used to go

Today I saw the same old crowd I knew before

When they asked what had happened I tried to tell them

Thanks to Calvary I don't come here anymore.

Verse #2

And then we went back to the house where we used to live

And my little boy ran and hid behind the door

I said “son never fear, you've got a new daddy”

Thanks to Calvary we don't live here anymore.

Chorus

Thanks to Calvary

I am not the man I used to be

Thanks to Calvary

Things are different than before

While the tears ran down my face

I tried to tell them

Thanks to Calvary I don't come here anymore.

Your Spiritual Identity (#5)

A Sports Illustrated article dated July 5, 2010, tells the story of a one-time rising tennis star by the name of Jennifer Capriati. She won 14 singles titles, including the Australian and French Opens in 2001, and in the same year reached the WTA's No. 1 ranking. From a young age she was groomed for stardom but constantly struggled with her weight, personal problems and repeated injuries, which finally led to her retirement. As she struggled to maintain her place in tennis, she fell into the world of drugs and alcohol, unable to cope with failure. She was hospitalized, on one occasion, following a failed suicide attempt. After her release reporters questioned her about the incident. She said, “It all started to crumble when I quit playing tennis. After that I could not figure out: who am I? What am I?”

Now that tennis no longer defined her, she had no answer for one of the most important questions in life. It’s a question that resonates in the hearts of every person alive: Who am I, really?

Too often the answer comes back: I’m a minister. I’m a banker. I’m a student. I’m Bill’s wife or Jenny’s husband. I’m an activist. I’m a vegetarian. I’m a quadriplegic. I’m an alcoholic. I’m a single parent. I’m a Democrat. I’m a Republican. I’m a nobody. I’m somebody. I’m lost. I’m alone. I’m an athlete. I’m a computer geek.

People tend to define their identity according to their career. Their sense of self worth is too often driven by their perceived status or reputation. It is often grounded in some past success or failure.

A well-known football player was suspended for several games because he was arrested for domestic violence. Upon returning to the game, he stood before the microphones and said, “I am glad to be back. I know what I did was wrong, but the person who did that—that’s not me. It’s just not me.” Essentially what he was saying was, “That behavior was not indicative of my true identity. My true identity is something else. I am not what I did.”

So, how do you answer the question: “Who are you, really?”

For Christians, the answer is best found in their spiritual identity received from Christ. Our true identity is a matter of what God has made of us and what He’s done in us.

Consequently, we’ve discovered, thus far, that we are saints. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. We are born from above with a supernatural life within us. We are God’s sacred mobile home...His temple. And, we learn today that we are God’s special masterpiece.

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10

The Greek word (ποίημα) translated “workmanship” literally means, “something that has been made.” It’s from a root verb that means, “to make, cause, do, or perform.”

Different Bible translators render the word as, “handiwork,” “workmanship,” [NKJV, NASB, NIV], “creation” [BAGD], and “work of art” [NJB]. The noun form is also translated as a clause: “what he has made” [BAGD, NRSV, TEV].

The only other place where this specific word is used in the NT is in Romans 1:20, speaking of God’s work of creation in the beginning. It’s also used in the LXX in this same fashion (God’s work of creation). Listen to the verse:

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse...” (Romans 1:20)

We derive our English word “poem” from the Greek word ποίημα (“workmanship”). But, that translation alone can be misleading as the word refers to any work of art. It could be a statue, a song, a painting, a poem, architecture, or any other form of artistic expression.

Maybe the best translation for the word is the one that’s given by scholar  F. F. Bruce. He translates the word as “his work of art, his masterpiece.”

Following that translation, I don’t believe there is any more exalted description of a follower of Christ than this one. We are God’s works of art — His masterpieces!

A couple of other things to note about this key phrase: "we...are His workmanship” means every born-again child of God. And, the possessive pronoun "His...workmanship” means it the Lord God Himself that makes the masterpiece. The pronoun is emphatic by its position at the beginning of the clause (“His handiwork are we.”). Just as we contributed nothing to our physical creation, so we contributed nothing to our spiritual creation; both are totally the works of God. Therefore, Christians are the subjects of His two most significant creative acts (physical-Gen. 1:27 & spiritual-Eph. 1:10). Consequently, our true spiritual identity is wrapped up in being His ultimate workmanship, His masterwork!

Further, this clause (“For we are His workmanship...”) gives us the reason why our salvation is “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Because we are GOD’S “workmanship,” our salvation is due to Him...not to our works, “lest anyone should boast.”

Consider how Paul works out this great truth of our being God’s “workmanship” in Ephesians 2:1-10.


1. What we were before salvation. (2:4-6)

A. We were dead in trespasses and sins. (v.1)

B. We once walked according to the prince/power of the air. (v.2)

C. We conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh. (3a)

D. We were by nature children of wrath. (3b)

Not necessarily the types of raw materials you would think of using for making a masterpiece. However, the entire pericope turns on the first two words in 2:4...”But God.” He can make something beautiful out of nothing! Or, He can take a mess and make it into a beautiful work of art...which is what He does with our lives!

2. What we are in Christ right now. (2:4-6)

A. He made us alive. (2:5)

B. He raised us up. (2:6a)

C. He made us sit in the heavenlies. (2:6b)

D. He secured us in Christ (‘together” -- three times “with/in Christ”). (2:5-6)

3. What we should be now and in the future. (2:7-10)

A. We are to be testimonies of His grace (“created...for good works”).

B. We shall be trophies of His grace (“in the ages to come...”).

The truth is that none of us feels like “trophies of His grace,” let alone masterpieces of God. We know what we sometimes do and how we sometimes behave, which only serves to reinforce our feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness. But, consider how God goes about releasing our inner spiritual identity so that we and others can see it, as He intends.

One day the famous artist, Michelangelo, was said to be chipping away at a shapeless piece of rock. When someone asked him what he was doing and he replied, “I’m liberating an angel from this stone.” That’s what God is doing in each of our lives, too. The Master sculptor is chipping away at the stone (un-Christlike ways) that hides our true identity. He uses tools like the Holy Spirit, His Word, preaching, difficulties/difficult people, great saints, His church, providential events, etc., to peel away the things that are hiding our true spiritual identity.

Realizing the fullness of your spiritual identity requires you operating in faith (to believe what He says about you) and cooperating with His divine shaping process. When your inner spiritual identity begins to emerge into view, you’ll know it and others will, too.

Author David D. Swanson writes about a young man named Joel whose life was transformed as he learned to see Himself through God’s eyes rather than through the eyes of others or himself. He discovered that his true identity was not found in how he looked, what he did, or how others treated him. His true identity was found in Jesus Christ and what Christ had done for him.

Listen as he tells this story of Joel.
“I was busy backstage when I saw him for the first time. I was leading a youth conference at Jekyll Island, Georgia, and was planning details for the evening program. One part was a testimony by a young man named Joel. Someone on the staff had heard his testimony months earlier and invited him to speak, but I had never met him.

“He wore a plaid button-down shirt, jeans, flip-flops, and a baseball hat. His eyes were deeply expressive, sharp, and clear. When he looked at you, it was as if he saw your heart. Honestly, it felt intimidating.

“While he looked at me, I found it hard to look at him. My difficulty was not because of his piercing eyes but because he had no hair, no eyelids, no ears, and no lips. His rebuilt nose breathed oxygen into his body—a body that had been burned over 90 percent of its surface... The details of the accident were of no consequence in light of their result: a body so badly burned, so grossly disfigured that he barely resembled a human being.

“It was hard not to stare, but he acted as if everything was perfectly normal. He did not seem the least bit self-conscious but instead was confident, poised, and calm. He had endured hundreds of hours of plastic surgeries and skin grafts, physical rehabilitation, painful bandaging, the formation of scar tissue, and constant infections that threatened his life, yet here he was, ready to speak to 1,500 high school students.

“Since I was going to introduce him, I asked questions about his story, trying to wrap my mind around what I should say. As we chatted, I discovered a young man who was warm, engaging, bright, funny, self-effacing, and articulate. And Joel loved Jesus. My goodness, did he ever love Jesus.

“He talked about the agony of his recovery, how he came to know the Lord, how the love of Jesus had filled his life, and how he had learned that his beauty was defined by how God saw him, not how the world saw him. That was his testimony. His words were often accompanied by a warm, wide smile as he thought about all that God had done in his life.

“I found it almost too much to believe. How does someone burned over 90 percent of his body ever smile about anything, much less act as if he is the most blessed man on the planet—all at the age of eighteen? Here’s what I found amazing: in a twenty-minute conversation, I went from feeling shocked by his physical appearance to feeling drawn to this young man’s heart and life. In a word, Joel was attractive.

“Here’s the other thing: when Joel spoke to those 1,500 students, they were absolutely mesmerized. They couldn’t understand it either. When he finished, they erupted in thunderous applause. But Joel was not done impacting our camp. He didn’t leave, and over the next two days he participated in camp activities. He went to the beach. He played volleyball and Ultimate Frisbee. As he did, he was a rock star. He had students following him all the time, and not just the male students. The female students surrounded him everywhere he went.

“By worldly standards, this young man was ugly and disfigured. He had none of the exterior look that defines cool for his generation, and yet there he was, acting like the Pied Piper. How was such a thing possible? It became quickly apparent to all of us... His identity had been transformed, presently and eternally, by one simple truth: God loves him. God’s love is so powerful that he no longer views himself through the eyes of the world but through the eyes of God. And because he sees himself that way, the beauty of God’s love pours out of him so that others see him exactly that way: he is beautiful. (Swanson, David D. [2012-09-01]. Learning to Be You: How Our True Identity in Christ Sets Us Free [Kindle Locations 2011-2014]. Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.)

Following is Joel’s story in his own words: