Your reward is secure

I preached yesterday from 1 Peter 5:1-4 which speaks about the duties of elders. Verse 4 provides the motivation for pastors to fulfill these duties. Future reward is an incentive to present faithfulness.

But it’s not just faithful elders who can except a faithful reward. Every believer may expect to receive rewards from a faithful God.  Spurgeon speaks eloquently to this issue as he speaks of another crown which is reserved for all who love the appearing of Jesus Christ!

“There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 4:8

Doubting one! you have often said, “I fear I shall never enter heaven.” Fear not! All the people of God shall enter there. I love the quaint saying of a dying man, who exclaimed, “I have no fear of going home; I have sent all before me; God’s finger is on the latch of my door, and I am ready for Him to enter.” “But,” said one, “are you not afraid lest you should miss your inheritance?” “Nay,” said he, “nay; there is one crown in heaven which the angel Gabriel could not wear, it will fit no head but mine. There is one throne in heaven which Paul the apostle could not fill; it was made for me, and I shall have it.” O Christian, what a joyous thought! your portion is secure; “there remains a rest.” “But cannot I forfeit it?” No, it is entailed. If I be a child of God I shall not lose it. It is mine as securely as if I were there. Come with me, believer, and let us sit upon the top of Nebo and view the goodly land, even Canaan. See you that little river of death glistening in the sunlight, and across it do you see the pinnacles of the eternal city? Do you mark the pleasant country, and all its joyous inhabitants? Know, then, that if you could fly across you would see written upon one of its many mansions, “This remains for such a one; preserved for him only. He shall be caught up to dwell forever with God.”

Poor doubting one, see the fair inheritance; it is yours. If you believe in the Lord Jesus, if you have repented of sin, if you have been renewed in heart, then you are one of the Lord’s people, and there is a place reserved for you, a crown laid up for you, a harp specially provided for you. No one else shall have your portion, it is reserved in heaven for you, and you shall have it ere long, for there shall be no vacant thrones in glory when all the chosen are gathered in.

~ C. H. Spurgeon

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Are the new heavens and earth going to be boring?

Jim Hamilton in his highly recommended commentary on Revelation (pages 381-382):

My friend Denny Burk had prayed a beautiful prayer during our wedding ceremony, and the morning after the wedding I sat at the kitchen tale, reading that prayer. Before long I was weeping. I think it was a kind of emotional catharsis. Before the wedding I was amazed that I might get to be Jill’s husband (I’m still amazed by it!), and I couldn’t wait for it to happen. Now I was overwhelmed that it had really come true.

To be honest, I wondered if there was anything else to look forward to in life. The best day of my life had come and gone. Was there anything left to long for in life? I was too short-sighted to see that life with Jill was going to be even better than our wedding day itself and there were all sorts of things to look forward to, from doing things together to having children to walking life’s pathways and enjoying each other’s company. Just being with her is a blessing unto itself.

Perhaps when you think about what will happen in the new heaven and new earth you wonder if there will be anything else to look forward to. Perhaps you wonder if all suspense, all the drama, all the tension will be gone. To think about the new earth as through there might not be sufficient contrast to make it interesting would be as foolish as a single man being worried that after the wedding day there is nothing left to which to look forward.

HT: Brick in the Valley

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Peddling fiction about the afterlife as non-fiction

Phil Johnson calls “Peddling fiction about the afterlife as non-fiction is the current Next Big Thing in the world of evangelical publishing.”

He’s talking about the books such as Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo and The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, by Kevin Malarkey-both best-selling accounts of children who claim to have gone to heaven.

Phil writes, “No true evangelical ought to be tempted to give such tales any credence whatsoever, no matter how popular they become. One major, obvious problem is that these books don’t even agree with one another. They give contradictory descriptions of heaven and thus cannot possibly have any cumulative long-term effect other than the sowing of confusion and doubt.

But the larger issue is one no authentic believer should miss: the whole premise behind every one of these books is contrary to everything Scripture teaches about heaven.”

Phil talks about an updated, forthcoming book  The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur on heaven in which MacArthur will deal with this new genre of literature.  Read “The Burpo-Malarkey Doctrine” to understand more what is going on.

 

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Longing to be free from sin’s presence and power

“Our joys here are born weeping rather than laughing, and they die weeping. Sin, sin, this body of sin and corruption embittereth and poisoneth all our enjoyments. O that I were where I shall sin no more! to be freed of these chains and iron fetters, which we carry about with us! Lord, loose the sad prisoners! Who of the children of God have not cause to say, that they have their fill of this vain life? and, like a full and sick stomach, to wish at mid-supper that the supper were ended, and the table drawn, that the sick man might win [get] to bed, and enjoy rest? We have cause to tire at mid-supper of the best messes that this world can dress up for us; and to cry to God, that He would remove the table and put the sin-sick souls to rest with Himself.”

~ Samuel Rutherford (Letters)

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Looking forward to visiting this city

Recently we had a missionary speaker who challenged us to think about the importance of the city.  He pointed to texts about the first city in the Bible, how the Apostle Paul’s missionary strategy was to visit and plant churches in strategic cities and how even in the last chapters of the Bible there is an emphasis on two cities: Babylon and the New Jerusalem.

I have lived in some big cities and outside a smaller city.  I enjoy traveling through and visiting big cities which offer much culturally and cross-culturally.  But I am looking forward to the last city mentioned in the Bible: New Jerusalem.  How about you?

Nathan Busenitz has a a great post about this new city that every Christian is going to visit one day. Here’s just a sampling:

Christians rarely think of heaven as a city, and yet that is precisely how God describes it (Heb. 11:16; cf. John 14:2). Cities have buildings, streets, houses, and citizens. They are places of political power, economic industry, higher learning, refined culture, and impressive architecture. These characteristics are true of the heavenly city as well, though the New Jerusalem will far outshine any of earthly city in both its magnificence and its might.

The fact that every major society on earth organizes itself into cities is indicative of the way God designed human beings. He created them to function in community with other people. It is not surprising, then, to learn that life on the new earth will center around a great municipality. As John MacArthur explains, “The concept of a city includes relationships, activity, responsibility, unity, socialization, communion, and cooperation. Unlike the evil cities of the present earth, the perfectly holy people in the new Jerusalem will live and work together in perfect harmony” (Revelation 12-22, 264).

In stark contrast to the harlot city of Babylon (destroyed in Rev. 18), the holy city of the New Jerusalem is free from God’s judgment (21:9). It is the home of the redeemed and the bride of the Lamb (21:2). It is also a realm characterized by the glory and presence of God (v. 11). Like a giant prism, illuminating God’s glory everywhere, the New Jerusalem will light up the entire new universe.

Unlike the dirty, smoggy cities of this world, the New Jerusalem glistens like a massive jewel as it descends from heaven onto the new earth. The Greek word translated “jasper” in Revelation 21:11 does not necessarily refer to the actual gem jasper, which possesses a reddish or brownish hue. Rather, it is a general term that can refer to any kind of precious gemstone. The further description, “clear as crystal,” suggests that John is describing a diamond. Thus, the New Jerusalem descends from heaven onto the New Earth like a jewel-studded crown from heaven. The image of a heavenly crown is appropriate because, as Revelation 22:2–5 describe, it is the very throne room of God Himself.

According to Revelation 21:15–17, the measurements of the New Jerusalem are immense, approximately 1,500 miles long on each side.  By way of illustration, if one corner of the city were placed on Los Angeles, a second corner would sit on Mexico City, a third corner on St. Louis, Missouri, and the final corner on Edmonton, Alberta. If the center of the New Jerusalem rested where the current Jerusalem stands, it would stretch across three continents from Greece to Iran to Saudi Arabia to Libya. The current city of Los Angeles has an area of 468 square miles. The state of California comprises roughly 164,000 square miles. But the New Jerusalem will encompass over 2 million square miles. That is the equivalent of 14 states of California put together; or 4,807 cities of Los Angeles combined.

Keep reading here.

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Take one minute: think about death and hell

Read the following from Mike Wittmer.  Then immediately take one minute (or longer) to think about death and hell.

“Last week I spoke to the adult campers about death and then last night I spoke to a high school group about hell. You’d think such topics would be entirely depressing, and you’d be right. But I’ve discovered something else too. These topics are actually inspiring, for they provide the opportunity to speak about Jesus. Indeed, they supply the only opportunity to speak about Jesus, for if we don’t begin with sin, death, and hell, then we will have no reason to bring up Jesus.

If we try anyway, people will wonder why we’re talking about him. What does Jesus even mean to someone who is untroubled by sin, death, and hell? Why would they ever think they need him?

I didn’t start out to write books and preach on these depressing subjects, but I’m glad I have, for Jesus is more precious now than he ever was before. When your love for Christ begins to cool, stop and think about death and hell. That is the fastest way I know to recover the joy of the Lord.”

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News of a better world

Blessed be God for the news of a better world, where there will be no sin, change, nor defect for ever. And let us praise him, likewise, that He has appointed means of grace and seasons for refreshment here below, for a throne of grace, a precious Bible, and returning ordinances: these are valuable privileges; and so they appear to us when our hearts are in a lively frame. Then everything appears little and worthless, in comparison of communion with God. Oh, for a coal of fire from the heavenly altar to warm our frozen spirits! Oh, for a taste of love and glimpses of glory, that we might mount up as with eagle’s wings! Let us pray for each other.

~John Newton~The Letters of John Newton – To Captain Clunie (Edinburgh, Scotland; The Banner of Truth Trust; 2007) p. 62-63.

HT: The Old Guys

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“I can’t wait for heaven”

These words–”I can’t wait for heaven”–were uttered by a 49-year-old Christian man who was dying from brain cancer.  His son Ian is permanently disabled. Larissa, Ian’s wife, is certain that if her father-in-law could see them today he would whisper, “Keep on going.  It’s worth it!”

Read Larissa’s moving post on “Heaven.”

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Belief in hell lowers crime rate

Interesting article on the correlation between the prevailing views of heaven and hell in a society and that nation’s crime rate.  Of course, the best reason to believe in hell and heaven are because God reveals such truth in His Word.  An excerpt from “Belief in Hell Lowers Crime Rate”:

“The key finding is that, controlling for each other, a nation’s rate of belief in hell predicts lower crime rates, but the nation’s rate of belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates, and these are strong effects,” said Azim F. Shariff, professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Morality Lab at the UO. “I think it’s an important clue about the differential effects of supernatural punishment and supernatural benevolence. The finding is consistent with controlled research we’ve done in the lab, but here shows a powerful ‘real world’ effect on something that really affects people — crime.”

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Round trips to heaven and back

In recent years there have been a number of stories published by Christian publishing houses that relate how one person has gone to heaven and come back again.

Tim Challies offers some suggestions on how to respond to such books as well as to people who have read them and found comfort and peace through them.  Read “Heaven’s Tourism.” An excerpt:

“In the first place, we have no reason to believe or expect that God will work in this way—that he will call one of us to the afterlife and then send us back to our old bodies. The Bible says that it is for man to die once and then to experience the resurrection. There are many experiences we can have in a near-death state I am sure—dream-like experiences that may even seem real—but the Bible gives us no reason to believe that a person will truly die, truly experience the afterlife, and then return. Those who have a biblical understanding of life and death and heaven and hell will know that for a person to die and visit heaven, to experience sinlessness and the presence of Jesus Christ—for that person it would be the very height of cruelty to then demand that they return to earth. None of these books are at all consistent with a robust theology of heaven and hell, of the work of Jesus Christ, of the existence of indwelling sin. On the surface they may seem compelling, but in reality they raise far more questions than the few they may appear to answer.  . . .

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