Author: Ben Taylor

“There remains a rest for the people of God”

“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.” Numbers 14:22-23

O God, at all cost, may we not be of the class of people who see your glory and your signs, and move about in the congregation of saints, yet continue to relentlessly test God and never full believe his voice. May we never be like those who have not followed fully, and so will die in the wilderness, having received but never imbibed the promises of God, and who never enter the remaining, still-future “rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).

Mark Chapter 4

“And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.'” – Mark 4:12

Why in the world would God want to preach the gospel in ways that nobody could understand!? What are you up to, God, that you would make the gospel intentionally opaque to some?

“For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” – Mark 4:25

This seems quite counter-intuitive. Maybe not even fair? But it is the Lord’s rule, so we submit to this way of things. Lord, reveal to me how this works.

“And He was saying, ‘The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows–how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.'” – Mark 2:26-29

This is how people are saved: sometimes there is no definable point of salvation, but we “wake up” and realize that God has sometime during the “night” done a work in our hearts, and we have begun to show fruit. That is a blessed revelation. And when the grain has continued to grow to maturity (like we do), it will be harvested (into heaven), which is the consumation of salvation.

Post-tribulation return of Christ?

Doesn’t it seem contrary to Christ’s methods for him to remove his bride before the greatest trial and pain, which would best serve to purify and beautify her? As it is written, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” (Matthew 5:11)

That’s subjective. Here’s some objective material that spurred me to think along these lines.

In speaking to the disciples in Matthew 24, Christ says, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short…

“For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect…

“But immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light…and He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”

The book of Hebrews on salvation

Hebrews
2:1-3a
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
3:6-11
but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried me by testing me, and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know my ways, as I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest.'”
3:12-14
Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbeleiving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end…
4:1, 9, 11
Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it…. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.
6:3-8
And this we will do, if God permits. For in the case of those who hae once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and make partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
6:9-12
But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
10:19-24
Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful, and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds…
10:26-27, 29
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries…. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?
12:1-3
Therefore…let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith….For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
12:12-13
Therefore strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
12:15
See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.
13:21
[Now the God of peace…] equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The only true obedience is abandon

The Rich Young Ruler: “I want to make my life live forever. How do I do it, teacher?”

God: “Put your life here in my hand.”

“I will do whatever you want me to do with it, Lord. I will give it care and treat it just the way you want me to. Just let me hang on to it.”

“I want it to be perfectly safe.”

“Okay, I will feed it five times a day and put it in a very safe place in the middle of my fortress, and never take my eyes off of it, and you can call every day to check on it, and I will…”

“No, you can’t keep it perfectly healthy. You can’t make it prosper like I can. Put it here in my hand.”

“But God, I’ll be so careful, trust me, just let me keep it…”

“Put it here.”

And he couldn’t bring himself to do it, so he clutched it to his chest and went away. God wants your life. He wants your lifeblood, and nothing less. The only true obedience is abandon.

He who fashions the hearts of them all

The Lord looks from heaven; he sees all the sons of men; from his dwelling place he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all, he who understands all their works. (Psalm 33:13-15)

God watches all men and completely understands why we do what we do, because he made us. He knows the most hidden motivations and impulses of our hearts; he knows us better than we know ourselves. Even our souls, our own heart and mind and will, which may be called our property more than anything else, are in debt to God. Yet we do not acknowledge they derive from God and bear his mark, but demand our right to them, as if we had given birth to our own consciousness. How naked we are before the gaze of God! And yet what is to the resistant soul an invasion of privacy is to the willing soul a rush of intimacy. How peaceful to know that the worries and confusions of my heart, and the fog that sets in over my mind, confined as they are within their own dismal solitude, are pierced by his light of knowledge. Indeed, my inmost parts exult when God looks down from heaven, and incline toward him as plants reach for sunlight.

Anti-yes-man verse

He who is a guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, but he who hates being a guarantor is secure. (Proverbs 11:15)

Do I feel hesitation when I make a guarantee to someone? I ought to be very hesitant to guarantee anything except to those I am very close to, and even then very carefully.

The Sacrifice that goes before us

Considering Genesis 33

Jacob, being afraid of his brother Esau because of the wrongs he had done to him, knowing the vow of Esau’s wrath, wanting to make peace, sent ahead of him offerings of livestock. He sent them ahead of himself so that Esau would come upon them and ask whose they were. He would hear, “They belong to Jacob, who is coming behind.” That way the offering would precede the confrontation, and appease Esau before he had a chance to see Jacob and react according to his wrath.

It is the same way with us and God. (And Jacob later says he saw Esau’s face as a face of God to him.) We know we have sinned against God, so on our way to the inevitable confrontation we send ahead the offering of Jesus Christ by faith, the Firstborn who preceded us to the throne, who is now interceding for us. He is the lamb of offering. He is our preemptive sacrifice, by which, in hope, we satisfy the wrath of God.

The girl with the silk sash

When I saw the girl with the silk sash I ruled myself out. She was probably a prom queen or someone like that, in a society above mine. She approached the doors from one side, my friend Will and I from the other, but we reached the door before her and the other girl. I entered and avoided glancing in her direction.

They came up behind us in the ticket line, and I let a glance slip. I did a double take–she was beautiful. But she also saw me look at her, no doubt. Never mind her, though, just never mind.

Will and me watched the first dance and got accustomed to the atmosphere from the outside ring, leaning on the four-foot wall. I noticed her on the other side, mingling carefree. But never mind. I devoted more effort to ignoring her.

The dance floor cleared to prepare for the next dance, then couples began to gather along the length of the floor. Will said we’d better find partners for the next one, and I agreed. Suddenly, a girl ran up to him and said, “Hey, Will. A friend of mine needs your help.” So he was whisked off to a partner. He came to the dances a lot, though, and this was my first time. I didn’t know a single person here…had to find a partner. The girl with the sash! A burst of excitement caught fire in my veins. But with it came fear like acid. I cowered back, pretending to look at a text message. She was right over there. No…no…, I kept telling myself, hesitating on the brink. What was it that froze me until the violin struck up and it was too late?

The dance floor was full and the outside ring was nearly empty. It seemed like just me and the two girls. I tried to play it cool, to look busy. Could she and the other girl sense me, pacing awkwardly back and forth? She wore a black dress, and I a matching black shirt. Now my mind was consumed by them. I will ask her to dance the next, I thought, my anxiety building with every moment I waited. She was the most beautiful girl in the hall. I should have just approached her then. But still I delayed, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

The dance was over, now was my time. But I bought an instant more by talking to Will—perhaps she would see my friends and I would seem better in her eyes. “Have you found a partner yet?” he asked. “I’m just about to go get one,” I told him. I rounded the entrance from the dance floor back into the outer ring and saw her. But Will was leaning over the wall to talk to her. A smile, a nod. “Oh…you’re going to dance with her?” I asked as he walked past to meet her on the outside. “Yeah,” he grinned. It was that easy. I opened my mouth, but just smiled and managed to mumble, “Cool.” She laid the sash aside. Her first dance was his. I danced with her friend, the second girl.

Later I finally danced with the girl in black. What delight when her smile was toward me. Desire, of a strange kind, appeared that night in me. It evades words—the poets would say that is a good sign. Even if it comes to naught, that night I was alive; all else but her was lost for the while, and afterward my heart buzzed with it. Talking with her, even simply looking and thinking about her, dredged up deep emotion, lingering in my senses like sugar on the teeth. And yet later, it was Will who received her letter, not I.

Note To Self. Remember the fatality of Hamlet’s and my hesitation. Remember the foolishness of false humility. It’s not about if it will work out or not. Looking to the future is trying to control my world and profit from the relationship. What does it mean to love in Christ a girl who you barely know? It means to be free to relate to her openly, without secret reservation or subconscious regard to my appearances. (That is be self-preservation and self-focus.)

Remember, feet, and next time be quick. Tongue, be brave. Self, pursue your desire and do not delay, for fear is doubting the God at your shoulder and that he is willing to delight you. If my life is held safe by another, I will show that I trust him by making myself vulnerable to hurt and failure. If my competence is in God, I will not protect myself from embarrassment. Following my desires is simply running in His fields of freedom. And this running free is trusting in the keeper of the field. In the end It will turn into His glory. So next time, go after the girl in the black dress and the silk sash.