"The Narrow Road": Blogs By Shane Kastler

Merry Christmas & Political Correctness

It seems that every year a debate is sparked in our politically correct society as to how we should recognize Christmas.  Some stores choose to say “Happy Holidays” and sell “Holiday Trees” and send “Holiday Cards” so as to not offend those who are not followers of Jesus Christ.  Schools and government offices frequently give their people time off for “Winter break” rather than Christmas.  After all “Christmas,” as the name implies, is a celebration of Christ and His birth. So what about those who hold to a different tradition?  Will they be offended by the name of Christ?

            Personally, I would much rather they be offended than enflamed.  Jesus never attempted any ridiculous games of political correctness.  He spoke lovingly, but firmly when He proclaimed “No one can come to the Father apart from me.” (John 14:6)  Likewise when He said, “Repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)  Denying, ignoring, and avoiding Jesus Christ will gain you nothing but eternal punishment.  But Jesus came to “seek and save” the lost (Luke 19:10).  Therefore, if you will repent and place your faith in Christ as Lord, you will be graciously forgiven, spiritually cleansed, and eternally saved.

            We often like to dance around the issue of multiple religious traditions, and pretend like we all worship the same God.  But the fact is we don’t.  Any religious tradition that denies the tenet of salvation through Jesus Christ alone is a “tradition” that will lead to “perdition.”  The road to Heaven is a one way street that runs straight through the cross of Calvary.  Every other road leads to Hell.

            I don’t say that menacingly.  I say it with love.  If I’ve offended you, then (believe it or not) I don’t apologize.  I would rather you be temporarily offended than eternally lost.  One day we will all stand before Jesus Christ as our eternal judge.  You may hold to a different “tradition”…but you will stand before Jesus all the same.  Deny Him here and you’ll be denied Heaven.  Embrace Him here and you’ll get to embrace Heaven. 

            Today, you may be offended by the name of Christ and the celebration of Christmas. But imagine trying to stand before Him at the final judgment and explain why you were so insulted at the mere mention of His name.  Don’t avoid Jesus.  Embrace him.  Worship him.  And follow Him.  Then you’ll be able to say (and experience) what it truly means to have a “Merry Christmas!”

“Let This Cup Pass From Me”: Jesus’ Perfect Obedience In the Garden of Gethsemane

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that God is ONE…but exists in three forms: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They are “co-eternal”; which means they have always existed. The Father did not CREATE the Son….nor did the Son CREATE the Holy Spirit. They are all “GOD”…..but in three constant forms. They exist “three in one” at all times. Which is why you see, for example, the Son praying to the Father; and the Holy Spirit descending upon the Son at the baptism of Jesus. (Matthew 3:16-17) God is ONE, though existent in three forms.

With that said, we must also realize that there is an order within the Godhead. The Son, willingly submits Himself to the Father….and the Holy Spirit willingly carries out the Father’s plan of exalting the Son. While I know this can be a very deep and “meaty” theological issue, it will greatly expand our awe of God if we can try to grasp this truth. And a deeper understanding of God cannot help but change us for the good.

Jesus proclaimed that it was His greatest desire to do the will of His Father. (John 4:34) The relationship between Father and Son is therefore one of perfect obedience on Jesus’ part and perfect commands on God the Father’s part. I think any Father would love to see perfect obedience from his son. But earthly “father-son” relationships are never perfect because they are made up of two sinners. My son doesn’t always “perfectly obey” me…and I don’t always give him “perfect commands” to obey. The sin curse mars the relationship and thus sometimes problems arise. Not so with God. God’s commandments and Jesus’ obedience is perfect because there is no sin curse within the Godhead that causes the Son to rebel against the Father’s authority; or for the Father to “sin” in his giving commands to the Son. But what about in the Garden of Gethsemane?

On the night before his arrest, Jesus prayed to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane that “if possible, let this cup pass from me.” (Luke 22:42) We know that ultimately Jesus was obedient to the Father. But doesn’t this show us an example of the Father and the Son having different desires for a particular act; namely the cross? And if they have different plans or hopes regarding this act, then isn’t that an example of the Son desiring (though not forcing) something that was contrary to the will of the Father? And if the Son is desiring something contrary to the will of the Father….isn’t that sin?

At this point, I’ll ask you to NOT FREAK OUT and reject the Christian faith, nor to consider Jesus as being disobedient in this act. In fact, quite to the contrary, I submit that Jesus’ desire to “let this cup pass” was actually an example of His perfect righteousness, obedience, and respect towards God the Father. Here’s why.

What was “the cup” that Jesus was praying to “let pass” from Him? Answer, the “cup” of wrath that was to be poured out upon Him to pay for the sins of His people. The cross was not just the execution of an innocent man…it was on the cross that the wrath of God the Father was poured out upon the Son who was acting as the atoning sacrifice and mediator between the perfectly Holy Father….and the wickedly disobedient creation. Now I ask you: Is it sinful for a person to desire escape from the wrath of God? Of course not. In fact it is an act of great reverence towards the Father to say in effect, “Father I don’t want to experience Your wrath, nor do I wish to be separated from You for even a moment” which is basically what Jesus was saying. This isn’t a case of two different wills…..rather it’s a case of the Son showing complete and total reverence (and ultimately obedience) towards God the Father.

Look at it this way. Suppose one of my daughters does something wrong and deserves punished. But instead I tell my son that I’m going to punish Him in her place. Furthermore suppose that my son is perfect (which He is not) and says, “Dad, if possible, I would prefer to do this another way. But I’ll go along with whatever you say.” Would he be sinning to say that? Of course not. In fact I would marvel at his grace and obedience, in that he would still be willing to go through with this plan that makes him pay for another’s wrongdoing. In fact, I would be wrong to ask him to do that. But not so with God.

The Triune God’s perfect plan was for the “Father to send the Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14) This entailed the Son living a perfect life of obedience towards the Father, and then dying a sacrificial death on behalf of sinners. This also entailed the Father pouring His wrath upon the Son so that the sin debt would be forever paid. Furthermore this perfect plan involved the Holy Spirit (the often forgotten 3^rd member of the Trinity) convicting the world of sin, and pointing them to Jesus Christ through the witness of Christians and the word of God. It was a perfect plan to pay for imperfect people, executed to the letter by an amazingly gracious, loving, and righteous God. When Jesus said, “let this cup pass” He wasn’t being disobedient….He was showing His Father respect. When He said, “nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done” He was building upon that perfect respect, with perfect obedience.

Now we, as His followers, are to go and do likewise. Perfect respect towards the Father by perfectly obeying the Son, being done by the perfect power of the Holy Spirit. And when we fail in our perfection, we cry out for that perfect grace that only a perfect God can give. And then we accept the perfect forgiveness that was only made possible because Jesus said: “Father, if possible, let this cup pass. Nevertheless, not my will but YOURS be done.”

YAHWEH: The GOD of the Hills AND the Valleys

Do you see the power of God over EVERYTHING? Most people don’t. They think that God controls a certain amount of “religious” matters, but other matters are under the directives of people. We err greatly when we adopt an attitude that limits God’s sovereignty in any way, shape, or form. Without question, there are some aspects of God that are beyond our capability to know….and they always will be. “His ways are greater than our ways.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)----and His ways WILL ALWAYS be greater than our ways…even when we get to Heaven. Because of this, there are times in which we might wonder if God knows or cares about the problems we are facing. But even in the darkest of trials, we can rest with the full assurance that GOD is in control. He’s not shocked….or even mildly surprised at any event, on any day, in anyone’s life. That’s not to say He is pleased with all things (sin, for example). But that is to say that He is not surprised by it…and He is still sovereign over it.

A fascinating, sobering, and indeed deadly example of God’s complete sovereignty can be found in the Old Testament book of 1 Kings, chapter 20. The Arameans had been whipped in battle by Israel, and they assumed (wrongly) that the reason they lost was because Israel’s “gods” were rulers of the hills where the battle took place. Notice what it says:

“Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.’” 1 Kings 20:23 (NASB)

This logic would be OK….if there were in fact “regional gods.” But there aren’t. There are no "gods"...there is only God. He is One (in 3 forms) and He is Sovereign (beyond any question). AND…He proves it to the Arameans in a most interesting way. Read on:

“Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, ‘Thus says the LORD, ‘Because the Arameans have said, "The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” So they camped one over against the other seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left.” (1 Kings 20:28-30 NASB)

Do you think there were any questions about HOW FAR God’s power extended after that day? You might be tempted to think that God was a wee bit harsh in how he proved His point. But let us remember that this is simply an example of a God who exhibits perfect Holiness, and does not take it lightly when His attributes are belittled and insulted.

This also shows an example of another point that I frequently try to bring out in sermons and Bible study: God is not One to be trifled with; and it is HE who makes the rules….and as GOD, He is free to make whatever rules, or judgments He chooses….and we as helpless and worthless sinners have no leg to stand on when we shake our fist in His face. If you can read this right now…then God has withheld a certain amount of judgment towards you….that your sin rightfully deserves. He could have “dropped a wall” on you years ago…..and yet He hasn’t. So, after we read a text like this, we should first be jolted into an awestruck wonder over God’s sovereignty and power. Indeed, we should FEAR (as in revere) the Lord. But we must not stop there. We should go further, and humbly bow before One who is so powerful….and yet also….so gracious. It reminds me of the famous line from Chronicles of Narnia, when the statement is made about Aslan the Lion, who serves as the Christ figure in the story….. “He is no tame lion.” So it is with God. He could destroy us in His righteous wrath….yet He chooses to love us in His gracious kindness. And make no mistake, His grace towards us is underserved. In fact grace by definition…is underserved.

If God is your Master and Jesus Christ is your Lord, then allow yourself to be sufficiently humbled by One who can (and has) wiped out 127,000 people in one day….yet has also chosen to let you live eternally with Him. If God is not your Master, and Jesus Christ is not your Lord, then be forewarned. What he did to the Arameans is nothing compared to the eternal judgment that awaits all who reject Him in this life. Christians and Non-Christians alike would do well to recognize the God who rules over all things…..and they would do better to adjust their lives accordingly. He is the God of the Hills and the Valleys. The Land and the Oceans. The Sun, stars, and moon. The whole world; the universe and all it contains…..and He is even the God beyond that. It's amazing that One SO BIG….and SO POWERFUL….would also be SO LOVING…as to allow nobodies like you and me to know Him, love Him, and be with Him forever.