Tag Archives: Jesus

June 23, 2013 · 3:07 PM

Did Eve Leave a Mark on Adam?

God made the first man and put him in the Garden of Eden. The man, Adam, enjoyed the perfect environment: no housing bubbles or global warming, no overcrowding or energy shortages. All was good, apparently.

Adam not only had the pleasure of living in the garden, he also had the responsibility of taking care of it. It was the perfect job: no unemployment or labor disputes. He didn’t even have to pay taxes or worry about his retirement account. He was free of worries, or so it seemed.

Religion was good for Adam, too. God gave him only one command. He was free to eat from every tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He only had one verse to memorize and obey. Who could ask for anything better?

So Adam had a beautiful home, a great job, and a simple religion. Nevertheless, God noted that something was not right. He said that it was not good for Adam to be alone. And God had the perfect solution.

First, animals appeared before Adam so that he could name them. Apparently this was God’s way of making Adam aware of his need, his loneliness. All the animals had mates but Adam did not. And none of the animals could serve as his closest companion.

Then God caused a deep sleep to come over Adam. While Adam slept, God took something from Adam’s side. Most English Bibles call it a rib. Rib or not, it was definitely part of Adam’s body.

God took the living tissue that he removed from Adam’s side and fashioned it into a woman, the first woman. He then closed up Adam’s side and presented the woman to him.

Adam was thrilled. “At last! This is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She will be called woman because she was taken from man” (Genesis 2:23). Adam was no longer alone, problem solved.

But wait a minute. God performed surgery on Adam. Did that leave a scar? God closed him up but did he do so without leaving a mark? What place does a scar have in Paradise? After all, scars are echoes of pain and suffering, right?

And another thing: God could have made Adam and Eve at the same time, but he made Adam first, lacking his lover. Moreover, he sent Adam out on a search for a mate, knowing that his search would be unsuccessful. What is happening here?

Loneliness, failure, and scars are what we expect in the world today. Our world struggles with the tragic consequences caused by countless generations of rebellion against God. But why would God allow these things in the Garden of Eden, even just a little bit?

It’s clear; God made Adam incomplete. Adam was forced to change in order to become all that God wanted him to be. He needed the perfect helper made just for him, a woman, but he had to engage in a failed search first. He had to experience loneliness before he could appreciate her affection.

Then he had to trust God enough to give up a part of himself in order to have this mate. He really did have some “skin in the game!” And he had to put himself in God’s hands without seeing a picture of the woman first so that he could decide if she would be worth the trouble, the very first blind date.

Surely Adam’s struggle was far easier than the agony that people face now. After all, he was in Paradise. Human suffering now is far worse due to centuries of defiance against God. But it seems that God’s original design for humanity included some struggling for growth, even in Paradise.

If God’s surgery left a scar on Adam, then Adam was able to see his investment in Eve for the rest of his life. He could simply glance down at the mark on his side and remember that she cost him a bit of himself. That scar would be a good thing.

And even if Adam was not scarred from God’s surgery, he could remember the failed search for a mate, perhaps giving him his first sensation of anxiety. He had to realize that something important was missing in his life and that, apart from God, he was helpless to do anything about it.

Those who say that God never wishes for us to undergo any suffering are telling a half-truth. The whole truth is this: God does not want us to suffer meaninglessly. He does, however, desire that we experience real growth in our struggles.

If we mistakenly believe that God never allows us to suffer, then we will be tempted to conclude that our suffering is unnecessary, leading to despair. But when we trust that our suffering is used by God not to crush us, but to build us up, then we have hope. Our scars, be they physical, mental, or spiritual, are proof that we have a personal investment in growing stronger and wiser.

God’s greatest work resulted in scars. On the hands and side of Jesus are the permanent marks of the greatest victory in all of time and eternity: God’s salvation for all who will trust him completely.

Jesus obeyed God and suffered on a Roman cross. And for anyone who wishes to do things God’s way, Jesus challenges, “Let him take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). That leaves marks. That leads to eternal victory.

Richard Foster, Grace Baptist Church
Published by the Camden News in Religious Reflections April 21, 2013

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May 26, 2013 · 4:51 PM

Our First Freedom

We exist on a very tiny island in the vast ocean of history. Surrounding us are hundreds of millions of people who face persecution for their personal religious convictions. Stretching back for millennia are the stories of untold billions of souls who lived in fear and persecution, denied the right of religious freedom.

For most of human history in most every culture or society, religious beliefs have been imposed by coercive measures. Those who dared to dissent endangered themselves and their families. Religious freedom was not even a consideration. Conformity was demanded. Any deviation from the accepted religious belief and practice was seen as a threat to order, a threat to society.

Then Jesus uttered revolutionary words, insisting that people should give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He surprised the powers of this world when he announced that his Kingdom is not from this world. Clearly he was introducing an innovative idea: the notion that two distinct kingdoms exist in the world, the church and the state.

Jesus also stunned his followers by defining his disciples not by nationality, or ethnicity, or ability, or geography, or politics, or wealth, or any other human status, but simply as those who are willing to accept the demands of discipleship. He invited social outcasts to be his followers and he allowed powerful and privileged people to reject his invitation and simply walk away.

So our Lord introduced two ground-breaking truths. First, church and state have distinct missions in this age. Second, people should be free to accept God’s truth without coercion and to reject God’s truth without persecution. Upon these two fundamental realities a new vision for religion in this age rests: individual God-given freedom of religion.

After centuries of political and religious oppression, the founding fathers of our country forged a new nation that incorporated and applied Jesus’ revolutionary ideas. In keeping with his revelation about two kingdoms, they adopted a Bill of Rights that prohibits government from establishing religion or from prohibiting the free exercise of religion.

America has experienced a season of religious freedom that is stunning in its contrast to the rest of world history. What people in Europe bled and died for, we have come to take for granted. And now our complacence seems to be resulting in a steady erosion of this precious first freedom, our freedom of religion.

Jesus warned his followers that they would be hated in the world on account of their loyalty to him. John’s Apocalypse foresees a time when God’s people will be universally ostracized and persecuted. These things must happen before the Lord comes and establishes his kingdom, a kingdom no longer divided into civil and religious realms.

When our Lord chooses to turn the page of history and remove the invisible hand of protection that keeps us from suffering the mistreatment of government, so be it. But until then, let us not give up our precious, hard-won first freedom simply because so many people are uninformed, uninvolved, and uninspired.

May the Lord of our salvation continue to bless us with freedom and with the wisdom to use it for his glory,

Brother Richard

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April 16, 2013 · 3:15 PM

Are We Our Brother’s Keeper?

Cain killed his brother Abel because he was jealous. When God asked Cain about his brother’s whereabouts, he fired back at the Lord in anger, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). Cain meant that he was not responsible for his brother, but God disagreed.

Cain’s question has become a symbol for issues far greater than the tragedy between two brothers from the ancient past. The question is now asked in relation to the Church’s responsibility to society. Is the Church called to eradicate all injustice in this world?

God’s command in the Old Testament to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17) could be seen as an answer to Cain’s question. God’s people have a responsibility not just to their own family members, but also to neighbors. Does that include the society at large?

In the New Testament, a man asked Jesus about this command to love one’s neighbor. He wanted to know where to draw the line. How does God define “neighbor”?

Jesus answered the man’s question with a parable. A traveler was robbed and left for dead on a dangerous road. Two religious Jews passed by and denied the man any assistance. A Samaritan, however, went out of his way to help the dying man.

Jesus told his listeners, Jews, to be like the Samaritan, a people considered inferior by the Jews. Clearly Jesus expects his followers to help those who are in need, and not just those within one’s own socio-economic or ethnic group.

God’s people should reach across the multitude of lines that divide humanity in order to help anyone who is in need. But did Jesus expect his followers to establish a just and equitable society?

Jesus was a prophet like those in the Old Testament. They spoke truth to power. As bold messengers from the Lord, they stood against exploitation and oppression. They were advocates for the poor and disenfranchised in their culture.

Did not Jesus carry on the tradition of exposing and denouncing the sins of the ruling class? He did. Jesus excoriated the leaders in his day for using their places of privilege to enrich themselves at the expense of the marginalized.

The prophets’ fiery denunciations against abuses of power are a good model for the Church today, but only if their full message is understood and imitated. The prophets clearly saw that a just society depends upon a God-fearing and God-obeying people. Trying to remove injustice is not enough. The prophets’ ultimate goal was to turn the hearts of the people to the Lord.

Jesus condemned social injustice, but he left no mandate for redeeming cultures, societies, or governments in this age. He predicted that Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed, and it was. He also predicted that all kingdoms in this age will fall and they will. Why? Every new generation battles with sin and injustice because this world is broken by sin; and this broken world needs not just progressive social reform, but radical spiritual change.

Jesus expects his followers to denounce social injustice, but not as part of an attempt to establish heaven on earth because that would be an impossible task. Every generation starts over with a fresh crop of sinners whose hearts are drawn toward disobedience to God, leading to another harvest of injustice.

Despite the perpetual and inevitable failure of humanity to achieve a just and righteous society, God’s people are not allowed to be pessimistic. Instead, the Lord expects his followers to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. In fact, the Bible asserts that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). But good works without faith are futile.

The man who asked Jesus how to define “neighbor” had first asked Jesus’ opinion about God’s greatest command. Jesus answered by noting the command to love one’s neighbor, but he said that it was second in importance, not first. The primary command is to love God with all one’s heart, soul, mind and strength. Loving one another is not a substitute for loving God.

A rich man asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give all the money to the poor, but not so that first-century Palestine would be a more just and equitable place. The young man needed to rid himself of all that would keep him from following Jesus. To be a follower of Jesus was the ultimate goal then as it is now.

Jesus attended to the sick and poor, but he did so in order to bring attention to his message. At the end of his time on earth he gave his followers instructions for carrying on his work. “You all will be my witnesses,” he told them, to everyone everywhere (Acts 1:8). The record shows that Early Christianity’s main focus was placed on announcing the truth about God’s salvation.

Moments before Jesus surrendered his life on a Roman cross, he said, “It is finished.” What was finished? Surely he was not referring to the work of social justice, because as he uttered those words the world was filled with war, poverty, sickness, violence, and despair.

Jesus’ finished work was to give his life as a sacrifice for sin so that all who trust in him will be right with God and spend eternity with the Lord in a place without social injustice and without sin. Help those in need, but put your faith not in social reform, but in the Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord.

Richard Foster, Grace Baptist Church

Published by the Camden News in Religious Reflections April 12, 2013

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March 27, 2013 · 10:25 AM

Offended or Overjoyed?

It was a legal hearing to determine the charges against him.  The Roman commander had called for the Jewish ruling council to investigate Paul.  If the council was able to prove its charges against him, then the Roman commander would probably turn Paul over to them, and they would almost certainly execute him.

With his own life hanging in the balance, Paul stood to defend himself.  He started by claiming his innocence but the council refused to hear that.  What would he do?  What could he possibly say to a group that was so hostile toward him and bent on ending his life?  Here’s what he did say, “I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” (See Acts 22:30-23:10)

For the Apostle Paul, everything he believed and everything he lived for came down to the resurrection.  The resurrected Jesus Christ had appeared to Paul on that road to Damascus and everything changed.  Since Jesus was really resurrected, then the resurrection became the most important thing in life.

Not everybody agreed with Paul about the importance of the resurrection.  Paul’s Gospel made many people angry but at the same time it brought great joy to many others.  The message of a resurrected Lord Jesus who is the only Savior sent from God still has the same effects today.  Some are offended that Jesus is presented as the only way to eternal life.  Others are overjoyed.

At Easter we make it a special point to emphasize this one great truth: Jesus was raised again so we will be, too.  Jesus said that a day is coming when all will be raised, the just and the unjust.  Those who did good will rise to live and those who practiced evil will rise to be judged (John 5:28-29).  We rejoice about the resurrection because Jesus himself is our guarantee of goodness.

May God’s Spirit lift you up and fill you with the joy of his salvation,

Brother Richard Foster

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March 19, 2013 · 8:01 AM

The Last Word

Jesus stood before Pilate.  A humble Jewish carpenter who had become an itinerant preacher was at the mercy of the powerful Roman governor.  Jesus stood bound by the chains of disgrace and Pilate stood adorned in the robes of honor.  The preacher was in submission and the statesman was in control—so it seemed.

Jesus had made some powerful enemies among the religious leaders in the city.  Pilate had forged some powerful connections in the ranks of the ruling elite.  Jesus apparently represented nothing more than a small spiritual movement confined to a relatively limited region, a movement that was embraced by just a handful of followers.  Pilate represented the mighty Empire that ruled much of the civilized world.

A lowly preacher was delivered into the hands of a powerful government official.  History thrust these two men against each other, but their conflict appeared to be one-sided.  As events unfolded that busy day in Jerusalem, anyone watching would have given the victory to Pilate and his Empire.  Before the day was done, Jesus had been brutally executed and Pilate still occupied his seat of authority.

Despite his honored status and impressive authority, despite the magnificence of his culture with all its wise laws and brilliant architecture and military might, Pilate and his Roman Empire would fade from its exalted place, left behind by the unstoppable advances of history.  On that Friday morning he seemed to be in command, but his power was not the last word.

Despite his public shame, his painful wounds, his broken body, his spilled blood, and the heavy stone that sealed his corpse in a tomb, Jesus would rise up and give birth to a spiritual movement that would challenge the powers and authorities of this world for two millennia, a movement that continues to challenge the powers and authorities of this world today.  On that Friday morning he seemed to be defeated, but his crucifixion was not the last word.

The turning point was Jesus’ resurrection.  Jesus, it turns out, was not simply a lowly preacher who left behind the life of a carpenter in Nazareth.  Jesus was, and is, the Leader of God’s Kingdom.  His resurrection firmly establishes his vital place in time and eternity.  All kingdoms and empires, all powers and authorities, every leader and every ruler, will not only step aside, but they will bend the knee and they will confess the supremacy of the One Lord sent by God: Jesus Christ the resurrected Savior.

Jesus’ resurrection makes everything clear.  Now we know which kingdom will finally be victorious.  Now we know which kingdom to support and to serve.  Now we know, despite any appearances in the meantime, that citizens of God’s Kingdom will share the ultimate victory for all of eternity.  Now we know that our participation in Christ’s Kingdom, no matter what the cost, is not in vain.

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we should never lose heart, despite the apparent victories of the powers and authorities in this world.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection we know that all such victories are temporary, fleeting shadows in this passing age.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection we should gather on every Lord’s Day and worship, but especially on Easter.

Easter reminds us that Jesus Christ is the Living Word, the Word of Truth, and the Last Word—we need not wait for another Word from God, Christ is the fullest revelation of God’s glory.  The chains that bound him and the nails that pierced him have long since crumbled.  Jesus the Crucified and Risen One is seated at the right hand of God in glory!  What could possibly keep us from praising him?

May God’s Spirit fill us with the power and the joy of Christ’s resurrection,

Brother Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Camden, AR

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January 28, 2013 · 3:16 PM

The Battle For Life

The fortieth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the court case that legalized abortion in the U.S., is a reminder of some sobering truths. First, more than 55 million babies have been denied life over the past four decades. In addition, millions of women have been wounded by a society that promotes a cheap version of freedom; a “choice” that falsely promises to erase personal responsibility.

The ongoing struggle over abortion has demonstrated that political and legal efforts often fail to yield significant changes. Nevertheless, some limited victories have been won. Laws have been passed that enforce reasonable regulations on the horrible practice of abortion, but abortion is still the law of the land and millions still suffer each year.

Advances in technology have consistently eroded the argument that an unborn child is nothing more than a blob of tissue invading a woman’s body. Three-dimensional sonograms now yield images of a fetus that are so detailed that one feels as if the baby’s privacy is being infringed.

The photo of a tiny hand reaching out of its mother’s womb to grasp the finger of the surgeon working to save his life is worth far more than a thousand words. The burden of proof is increasingly on those who say that unborn babies are not persons.

Sadly, the accumulating data also proves that abortion is harmful to women. But this is also a reminder of the great grace of our Lord Jesus. As is true with any sinner, anyone who has been involved in abortion can turn to God and experience his mercy. To leave behind the violent ways of this deceptive world and follow Christ is the path to true freedom.

One encouraging development in recent years is the changing attitude of young people toward abortion. A new generation is making their views known and they are more pro-life than the general population. They are expressing reservations about the views of their parents, views that have led to a massive and prolonged killing spree.

The new attitude among young people is a reminder that we can lose political battles and still win the war. The societies and cultures of this dark and broken world establish institutions and traditions that are often dysfunctional. Yet the gospel of Jesus Christ changes individual lives, bringing new life, new hope, and new direction.

Finally, the abortion issue reminds us that our spiritual battles are very real and that they have very real consequences. Lives are at stake. The astronomical numbers can render the issue faceless but we cannot let that happen. Each child and each mother are of untold value.

Recently a baby was born so early that she had to be weighed before doctors could decide if they should help her to survive. The scales said 1 pound, the minimum weight, and so they kept her alive. Later someone discovered that a pair of scissors had been on the scales, tipping the balance in little Maddalena’s favor. A lot of other babies need someone to tip the balance in their favor, too.

Many young people still need to hear the truth. Many not-so-young people still need to experience God’s mercy. And this is only one of many pressing issues we face. What a comfort it is to know that our Lord is capable of the impossible and that our labor in the Lord is not in vain. Let’s fight the good fight!

May the light of God’s love shine clearly through us despite the darkness,

Brother Richard Foster
Grace Baptist Church, Camden, AR

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January 28, 2013 · 2:53 PM

Jesus Died To Unite Black and White

The Bible presents Jesus’ death on an old rugged cross as the crown jewel of God’s salvation and the climax of his revelation. As a precious diamond unveils numerous spectrums of beautiful light when turned slowly in the sun, Jesus’ sacrifice unveils multiple layers of truth about God’s salvation when we study the pages of the New Testament.

True, Jesus died so that any person can be forgiven of every sin and spend all eternity in the very Presence of Almighty God. His voluntary sacrifice is sufficient to save anyone who believes that God raised Jesus from the dead and confesses that Jesus is Lord.

But the Bible presents other important facets of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus’ sacrifice revealed God’s love, demonstrated God’s righteousness, established God’s law, liberated creation from death and decay, satisfied God’s anger, defeated Satan, and more.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus’ death on the cross removed the barrier between Jews and Gentiles. “He is our peace, who made the two groups one, who destroyed the dividing wall of hostility by his body” on the cross (Ephesians 2:14).

The Temple in Jerusalem was surrounded by courts, divided from each other by walls. Only the Jewish priests were allowed to enter the innermost court immediately surrounding the Temple. Only Jewish men could enter the court outside that inner court. Jewish women could only come as far as the next court.

All non-Jewish men and women, Gentiles, were restricted to the large outer court that surrounded the Jewish areas. Signs on the dividing wall were posted, threatening Gentiles with death if they tried to enter the Jewish courts nearer the Temple.

Soon after Jesus died on a Roman cross just outside of Jerusalem, mighty Roman armies led by Titus surrounded the city in order to crush a revolt. When the fighting was finished the Temple and all of its walls and courts were completely destroyed.

But a dividing wall still existed in the hearts of many early followers of Jesus. Jewish Christians did not want to worship with Gentile believers. They insisted that the Gentiles must change and become like them before they would accept them into their fellowship.

The sometimes bitter division between Jewish and Gentile Christians is a subject that occurs often in the New Testament. But after much arguing, praying, and soul-searching, the Early Church realized that established cultural divisions in their world had no place in the Church.

In Christianity “there is not Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female,” for all Christians are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Jesus’ death destroyed the dividing wall of hostility that existed between different groups in the ancient world, even the acrimonious division between Jew and Gentile.

Jesus had already been preparing his followers for the day when cultural barriers would be removed in the Church. For instance, he took the time to speak with a Samaritan woman. Jews considered Samaritans to be unclean half-breeds and did everything they could to avoid contact with them.

When Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman, commonly called the Woman at the Well, his disciples were stunned into silence. They were accustomed to treating some people as hopelessly unclean. And not only was she a Samaritan, she was a woman, definitely a second-class member of humanity in the first century.

But the cross of Christ broke through the ancient barriers built and reinforced by the hostility of sinful men and women, including racial barriers. Racism is not only a sin against people, it is an insult to God, the Maker of all races, and a denial of the power of Christ’s cross, the Savior of all nations.

John’s vision of heaven, which we call the Book of Revelation, tells us that Christ spent his precious blood on Calvary in order to purchase a people for God “from every tribe, language, people, and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

Jesus’ cross is not too weak to save us from our sin and reconcile us to God. Neither is the cross of Christ too weak to tear down the walls of hostility and reconcile us to one another, young and old, rich and poor, men and women, black and white.

It is true: many different groups exist within Christianity. Differences in doctrine, worship styles, schedules, and other matters make it easier for us to worship and serve our Lord in various local churches. Nevertheless, to use race as a dividing line between Christian and Christian is to deny the power of the cross.

Jesus died to provide victory over sin for his followers. Christians still struggle with sin, but Jesus’ death and resurrection guarantees success, so the battle is worth fighting.

Jesus died to remove the dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles. The first-century church struggled with desegregating themselves, but Jesus’ death and resurrection guaranteed them success, so the battle was worth fighting.

Jesus died to remove all the dividing walls of hostility, including the one between white and black. Believers struggle with desegregated worship, but Jesus’ death and resurrection guarantees success, so the battle is worth fighting.

Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, January 2013

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January 7, 2013 · 7:00 PM

Lord, Teach Us To Pray

Some people have a way with prayer. They are wonderful to hear, but they can also be intimidating. Listeners may get the idea that their own prayers are not worth hearing, or worse, that they need not try praying at all.

Surely Jesus had the most impressive prayer-life of anyone who ever walked the dusty roads of Israel, or of any country. But his prayers were not only impressive, they were inspiring. Once, after he finished praying, one of Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray.

Jesus could have told his disciples that they had no need to learn about prayer. He could have told them that their prayers were good enough. But he did not.

Or, Jesus might have told his disciples that they were not able to get any better at prayer. He could have said that his level of prayer was beyond them and so it would be futile for them to aspire to praying like him. But he did not.

Jesus apparently believed that his disciples could get better at prayer and so he gave them instruction. His disciples were ready and willing to learn from their Lord about how to improve their prayer. As a result, they learned from the Master about how to talk to God.

We, too, can get better at praying. Like Jesus’ first disciples, we can be inspired by the prayers of our Lord. His prayers create a desire within us to improve our ability at communicating openly and effectively with God.

Learning to pray better is something we can and should do together. Jesus’ disciple did not say, “Teach me to pray.” He said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus’ disciple apparently understood the importance of learning about prayer with his fellow disciples.

True, Jesus prayed alone and he taught his followers to have a private place of prayer, a prayer closet. But Jesus also prayed with his followers, where they could hear his prayers. And he taught them as a group how to speak with God through prayer.

Prayer is fundamental to our spiritual life. Prayer is our lifeline to the Lord. As we learn from our Savior how to get better at talking to God, we will grow stronger spiritually both as individual followers of Jesus and as a church family.

Pray often on your own, pouring out your heart to the Lord. Participate regularly in a local church family, learning how to communicate more effectively with the Lord. Attend prayer meetings, praying for others as they pray for you. And watch for opportunities to pray for anyone in need whom the Lord places in your path.

Lord, teach us to pray.

Brother Richard

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December 11, 2012 · 11:29 AM

The Face of God

An astounding description of heaven is recorded in John’s Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation, chapters 21 and 22.

Under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, John notes the things that will not be in heaven. First, he says that there will be no sea. Then he makes the wonderful proclamation that there will be no death, which means no mourning. John goes on to say that heaven will have no night, so the gates of heaven’s city, the New Jerusalem, will never close.

One thing missing in heaven, John writes, is the temple. In heaven there will be no temple. This would have been a shocking statement to many of John’s first-century readers, especially his Jewish readers. No temple in heaven?! Why not?

The Book of Revelation teaches us that God’s people will have no need for a Temple in heaven because God the Father and Jesus the Lamb of God will be there in person. Because of the secular madness that surrounds us in this life, we need a sanctuary to help us focus on God’s invisible Presence. In eternity, in the New Jerusalem we will be able to open our physical eyes and see the Almighty.

John writes that God’s people in heaven will see God’s face (Revelation 22:4). When Moses encountered God at the burning bush he hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Later, God told Moses, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). The Old Testament saint had a healthy fear of God’s blazing holiness.

In his Gospel, John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known” (John 1:18). He is pointing out that Jesus has made God known. Paul wrote that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). When Jesus’ disciple, Philip, asked to see God the Father, Jesus answered, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

It is true; Mary was looking into the face of God when she cradled Jesus in her arms that night in Bethlehem. Christmas foreshadows heaven. For a brief moment in history humanity beheld God’s face in the gaze of a carpenter-turned-preacher from Nazareth. Then he was gone.

The day is quickly approaching when all God’s people will see him face to face. This Christmas let’s look back again at the time when “the Word become flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). As we do, let’s rejoice in the knowledge that God is preparing a place where we will live with him in peace forever.

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,

Brother Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Camden AR

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December 11, 2012 · 11:18 AM

The Truth of Christmas

A crowd of people asked Jesus what it takes to please God. Jesus told them to put their trust in him, because he was sent by God. The crowd wanted Jesus to do some sort of miracle in order to prove that he was worthy of their trust. Ironically, Jesus had fed more than 5,000 people with only 5 barley loaves and 2 fish just the day before (John 6). If that was not enough, then miracles would not convince them, so he taught them.

Jesus told the crowd that he is the Living Bread which came down from heaven in order to give life to the world. He came down from heaven to do God’s will. Jesus assured them that whoever trusts in him will have eternal life. He told them that on the Last Day he will raise up all who trust him.

They were skeptical. They began to grumble and complain about Jesus’ teaching. After all, they knew Jesus’ family. Wasn’t he the son of Joseph and Mary? How could he now say that he came down from heaven?

The people rejected Jesus because they could think of him only as a man, the son of a carpenter, not the Son of God. Apparently they were unaware of Jesus’ miraculous birth. They knew nothing about the wonderful events in Bethlehem a little more than 30 years earlier. They were blind to the power of his miracles and unmoved by the authority of his teaching.

Many of the people in that crowd were unable to see Jesus as more than a man. The idea that he came from heaven to give his life for the life of the world was offensive to them. But some who were listening to Jesus that day did not walk away. They knew that he was the only one with the words of eternal life. They had come to trust and to know that Jesus is the Holy One of God.

Christmas is a time to remember that Jesus is more than a man, that he is the Living Bread which came down from heaven, from God. Many people still cannot see him as anything more than a man, and so they have no real interest in the truth of Christmas. But some have come to trust and to know that Jesus is the Holy One of God, and we look forward to Christmas because it reminds us that Jesus came down from heaven to do God’s will, to give us eternal life. Merry Christmas!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men,

Brother Richard Foster, Pastor
Grace Baptist Church, Camden, AR

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