Blessed Jesus!

Blessed Jesus!

We can add nothing to you, nothing to your glory; but it is a joy of heart to us that you are what you are, that you are so gloriously exalted at the right hand of God; and we do long more fully and clearly to behold that glory, according to your prayer and promise.


- John Owen, "The Glory of Christ: His office and grace"

I will pay that which I never took

When Adam had sinned, and thereby eternally, according unto the sanction of the law, ruined himself and all his posterity, he stood ashamed, afraid, trembling, as one ready to perish for ever, under the displeasure of God. Death was that which he had deserved, and immediate death was that which he looked for. In this state the Lord Christ in the promise comes unto him, and says:

Poor creature! How woeful is thy condition! how deformed is thy appearance! What is become of the beauty, of the glory of that image of God wherein thou wast created? How hast thou taken on thee the monstrous shape and image of Satan? And yet thy present misery, thy entrance into dust and darkness, is no way to be compared with what is to ensue. Eternal distress lies at the door. But yet look up once more, and behold me, that thou mayest have some glimpse of what is in the designs of infinite wisdom, love, and grace. Come forth from thy vain shelter, thy hiding-place I will put myself into thy condition. I will undergo and bear that burden of guilt and punishment which would sink thee eternally into the bottom of hell. I will pay that which I never took; and be made temporally a curse for thee, that thou mayest attain unto eternal blessedness.

To the same purpose he speaks unto convinced sinners, in the invitation he gives them to come unto him.


- John Owen, "The Glory of Christ: His office and grace"

An addition to Jesus?

Please read this thoughtful and convicting post that my pastor linked in his blog.

Brothers and sisters, it's hard for me to know what is in my own heart. I know that, at this very moment, there is stuff lurking in there that, if I could get even a dim glimpse of it, I would cringe with horror. The closer I draw to Christ, the more I want to cry out with Isaiah, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" The more I understand and grow to love Jesus, the more I understand that what He truly did for me once and for all was something that I could never do for myself.

I believe in the Doctrines of Grace, and I follow the doctrinal convictions that Martin Luther confessed during the reformation of the Church. It is in this sense that I am what may be unfortunately labeled as a "Reformed Christian". But I want to confess to you that what pastor Ortlund is talking about in his post has lurked in my heart from time to time in the past... and may lurk there still. I am sorry, and I would ask for your forgiveness if I have treated you in a way that is not glorifying to Christ, or have made you feel that I have placed a barrier between you and myself because of doctrine.

This is why I no longer discuss doctrine with many. But the times when I cease to put into words how I feel may be the most dangerous, for even if my heart no longer makes itself be heard, it may still grow in silent ways away from a faith that places Christ completely in the center, where only He should be. If my heart is still harboring these thoughts without my knowledge, I am sorry, and I ask that God would graciously continue to refine my heart.

But Christ truly is deeper still, and it is the work and glory of Christ that is at the center of my faith, just as He was at the center of Brother Martin's faith and his reformed view of the Church.

Christ... and nothing else. Amen.

I'm dying.

Good, that got your attention. Now that I have it, I would like you to take the time to read this post and take it seriously. Not seriously, as in an overly cliché "look-at-him-he-thinks-he's-so-emo-who-does-he-think-he's-trying-to-fool" kind of way, but in an honestly serious way. I'll try not to make any jokes, to help you take it seriously. Just take the time to read, and think, whoever you are, even if I don't know you. It may be long, but please read it all, and think.

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For one reason or another, I've been thinking about death lately. I'm not entirely sure why. It's not that it's been crowding my thoughts, in an unhealthy, morbid sort of way. It's just that I've been having an abnormally sober judgment of my own life and the fact that it's ending.

I want to tell you that there will come a day when I'll close my eyes for the last time, my heart will pump its last bit of blood through my body, and my lungs will release their sustaining hold, never to expand again. It will be at that moment that I will no longer be alive, and I will never spend another waking moment in this world as I now know it. A couple days later, perhaps even a week or so, there will be a small section in the newspaper that will try to explain why it happened. It will say that my life ended because of a heart attack, or some sort of cancer, or an incurable disease, or even a car wreck. Who knows, maybe if I'm lucky it will say that I died of natural causes in my old age.

But whatever it says, it won't be true. I want to tell you that right now. Whatever the doctors say is the reason for my death will not be the truth. The true reason why my body will no longer function on that day is because I'm related to you... and because you're related to me... because we're both related to a man named Adam who lived, and died, a long time ago. I'm going to die because of the fallen state that I was born into. I was born to die, actually. I guess it won't really make sense for me to ever have to tell anyone, "I'm dying", or even for anyone to ever react to that statement. The fact is that I am dying now. I've been dying for 26 years. Nothing a doctor will ever say to me can change that.

Because I'm a Christian, I think that people believe that I'm not supposed to be afraid of that day, that I'm supposed to be happy because that's the day when I will get to see my Savior Jesus Christ in all of His glory. But I want to admit to you that that's not true. I'm kind of scared for that day, and it makes me sad to think about it. No matter how much I may think I know about resurrection and heaven, the fact is that I don't really know what it will be like. Will death hurt? Will I be scared on my death bed? What will I think about? Who will be with me? What will they be thinking about?

I get sad sometimes when I leave somebody, not knowing when I will ever see them again. But there will come a day when I will leave everyone around me forever, in a sense. My wife, my children, my friends, my family: I will never again get to see them in the same way that I see them in this life. Sure, I hope to see them in heaven, but I don't even know what that will be like. My wife won't be my wife anymore. What will she be to me? Will I remember the time I spent with her during this life? What will happen to those memories? Will my children know that I'm their father? If not, how will I feel about that?

What about the people I knew and loved who didn't look to Jesus' work on the cross for their eternal salvation, who were misled by the people around them, by their culture, and by their own hearts into thinking that God would have mercy on them because they were "pretty good people"? They will not be with me. Will I cry for them? What will I feel? I don't even want to think about what they will feel.

There's a part of me, deep down inside my emotions, that doesn't want to go, that doesn't want all of this to end. I know that I should want it to end, that I should want all of the the hurt, disease, war, hate, hunger, and worry of this world to be nothing more than a faint memory of something that once happened long ago. I know that I should want to leave and be with God now. But I don't yet. There's so much to do still. There's so much time to spend with my friends and family before I'm gone, or before they're gone. And there are so many people to talk to about Jesus. And I'm scared.

If you're reading this, and you don't know of the good news of ultimate salvation from the sting of death and from the curse of sin, and I talk to you someday (hopefully soon) about it, please don't take offense. Please don't be angry with me for it. The truth is that if I talk to you about it, I will be very scared. My heart will be beating fast in my chest, my palms will be sweaty, and my body will be warm with adrenaline. This will be happening to me because, if I talk to you about Jesus, I will be afraid of what you might think of me, of what you might say back to me. I'm afraid that you will think I'm a freak, or some sort of a brainwashed nutjob. But the very real truth, as honestly as I can tell it to you now, is that for me to find the courage to talk to you about Jesus anyway, in spite of my fear, is because I care for you. If I try to talk to you about your eternal salvation, it's because I wonder about it, and I care about it, because I care about you. If I ask to talk to you about the gospel, it's because I love you. Please don't be mad, because I'm going to be scared enough as it is. But please listen to me, because I love you. If you know that I love you, please listen to what I have to say.

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If you're reading this and you don't know what's going to happen to you on the day that you die; or you think you do, but you're not really sure; or you try not to ever think about it, and put it in the far back of your mind; or even if you once did, but you don't have a confidence or an assurance about it anymore... please talk to me. Send me an email. It doesn't matter if you don't know me. I would like to talk to you about it, even if I'm scared. If you're scared, I won't think you're silly, because I'll be scared, too, but please talk to me anyway. If you do know me, don't be alarmed if I send you an email sometime, or give you a call to talk. Please don't think I'm silly, but talk to me.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." -Romans 1:16

carignanc@gmail.com

Before the Throne of God Above, the Remix

I've posted lyrics from hymns on here before, and I'm sure that I've posted the lyrics from the hymn "Before the Throne of God Above", specifically, but sometimes reading lyrics just can't convey the same information as well as good synopsis in prose!

We sang this hymn again this last Sunday, and I was, yet again, struck by how great the almost unbelievable truth of the Gospel is. So, I'd like to put forth my best attempt at rewriting this hymn in prose, and expanding parts that might benefit from clarification. I hope this might make it a bit easier to read, and strike the point home more clearly!

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In the holy court of God above, before His throne, I have a case that is not only good, not only strong... but perfect. My argument is a Person: He is a great High Priest, whose name is "Love". This Priest lives forever, and He always intercedes for me. I am not only comforted by this case against my sin, but I am assured, because my name - my own name, Chris Carignan - is carved into His hands, and it is written on His heart. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that while He stands in heaven - which will be forever - nobody can bring any charge against me to try to cast me from His presence.

When I am tempted by Satan to give up because of my sin, and when he tells me how I should feel guilty for the things I have done, currently do, and will do in the future, I look up to heaven, and I see this Priest standing there, this Priest who made an end to all of my sin! Because this Savior, who was completely without sin, died in my place, my own soul, sinful as it may be, is considered to be as free as His. I am completely confident in this because God is not only merciful, He is also just, and His wrath against my sin is appeased when He looks at His Son, and pardons me because of His righteousness. Since I am united with Christ, it would be unjust for God to sentence me to a death that His Son already died.

Look at Him there! He is the risen Lamb! He is my own perfect, spotless righteousness! He is the great, unchangeable I AM, Jehovah God Himself, the King of glory and of grace! Since I am united to Him, it is utterly inconceivable, even impossible, that my soul should die, for that soul has been purchased once and for all by His blood. My own life is kept with Christ, on high, in heaven; it is kept with Christ, my Savior and my God!

Is Jesus really God? (part 4)

Whew... it's been a very long day of studying concordances and references, searching Scripture, praying, working out ideas, and writing them here... but it's been an extremely powerful blessing for my faith! Praise be to God for His plan of salvation through Jesus Christ, my Lord!

I only have a couple more important things to say about this topic.

If you took the time to read the first three posts, you have seen that much of the biblical evidence that has been persuasive for me in trying to understand how God's Word depicts the deity of Jesus involves the holy titles that are reserved for Jehovah God, but are also used for Jesus. There are two more important titles, and may be even stronger than the ones I've already looked at.

First, the name "Immanuel". The book of Isaiah is wonderful, and if you haven't had the chance to read it yet, I encourage you to try to do so as soon as you can, because it just screams "Gospel!!" at the top of its lungs. In chapter 7, verse 14, a prophecy of the coming Messiah is made:

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

For some of you reading this, you may know immediately the significance of this name; however, for others, it may pass you by. The name Immanuel literally means "God with us", and this point is made explicit in the beginning of the gospel of Matthew, as Matthew is setting up the genealogy of Jesus, and the prophecies concerning Him:

So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

Now, why would Matthew go through the trouble of transliterating this Hebrew word for Greek readers if it did not hold special importance? And, God be praised, it does! This may be one of the strongest pieces of biblical support for the deity of Jesus yet, since the gospel account of one of His own disciples, a man who spent over three years by his side, begins with an establishment of who Jesus was in his eyes: "God with us"

And yet there remains one more title that is used for Jesus that is the most persuasive for me concerning His deity, and it consists of two famous words: I AM

In Exodus, chapter 3, God (Jehovah God) comes to Moses in the form of a burning bush, calling him to be used as a vessel for God's power and glory, in order to free the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. Here is just a short portion of this holy interaction, verses 13 and 14:

Then Moses said to God, "Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they say to me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?"

And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"

This name is about as holy as they come, my friends. I know of no other being in creation who has ever dared claim this title other than Jehovah God... except for One: Jesus

In the gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 48-59, it is recorded that Jesus is speaking with "the Jews", and, in responding to their accusation that He is "a Samaritan and [has] a demon", He speaks of His Father, and honoring Him. In the debate that ensues they ask if He believes that He is greater than their "father Abraham." In responding, He mentions that Abraham saw His day and was glad, to which the Jews respond:

"You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"

The response?

Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

Wow. This is clear as it gets. Jesus didn't claim to be a mere mortal man, nothing more than a good moral teacher. He claimed to be Jehovah God incarnate. And that's what I believe He is.

The New Word Translation translates "I AM" in this verse as "I have been." This is obviously a gross mistranslation of the Greek text, since the original phrase is "ego eimi", which is the present indicative tense and mood, and most definitely not the past progressive, which is the grammatical form of "I have been."

Furthermore, beyond grammatical arguments (which, for a linguist like me, are very strong!!), there is the immediate reaction of the Jews to these two words (beginning of verse 59):

Then they took up stones to throw at Him.

Jesus had said many things up to this point, but nothing to instill this type of spontaneous act of anger from his opponents. As careful as the Jewish leaders were to keep the crowds from turning on them, eventually planning an undercover plot to arrest and kill Jesus, these words from Jesus caused them to lash out in immediate reaction. Simply stating that He was a being who existed before the world began would not have caused these religious leaders to try to kill Jesus, for they believed in the existence of angels in the temporary form of men on earth.

However, the claim to be God Himself... now that's something completely different...

Be blessed, brothers and sisters.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Is Jesus really God? (part 3)

To continue with the biblical evidence that Jesus, while being fully man, is also fully God, and is, in His essence, one with Jehovah God, I'd like to look again at Isaiah 44:6-

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: "I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God."

Aside from the points I already mentioned, that both God the Father, and "his Redeemer" refer to Themselves as "the First and the Last" (a title which, as we already have seen, Jesus also uses for Himself in the book of Revelation), and that this two-facet portion of the Godhead says, "besides Me there is no God" (which not only confirms that the "Redeemer" is God, but also that there are not individual, separate gods in heaven), there is also this other interesting title used for the Godhead here: "the Lord of hosts"

According the Strong's concordance of the Bible, the Hebrew words Jehovah ("Lord") and Elohim ("God") occur in some combination with Sabaoth ("hosts") over 285 times in the Bible to refer to God, all of them in the Old Testament, but I would like to look at just a couple of these instances.

Jeremiah 46:25 begins with the following words:

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says...

There is absolutely no doubt that "the Lord of hosts" here is Jehovah God, for the title given at its side is that of "God of Israel". Furthermore, the very word used for "Lord" here is Jehovah, which is used in traditional scripture translations, as well as in the New World Translation, to designate God the Father.

Again, in Psalm 46, the title "the Lord of hosts" is used to refer to Jehovah God, since there is a repetition of the following lines:

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

So, what I see in comparing these verses is another instance of a term reserved for God the Father being used to refer to Jesus, since "the Lord of hosts" of Isaiah 44:6 refers to the King of Israel's "Redeemer", but hundreds of other times elsewhere to refer to God the Father.

But, again, if this type of connection is not persuasive enough for you, or if you don't believe that the title "the Lord of hosts" in Isaiah 44:6 actually refers to Jesus (the New World Translation is slightly ambiguous here) let's look at one of the other occurrences of this title used in the Bible, in the book of Isaiah, chapter 8, verse 13:

The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.

The use of "Lord" here is, without a doubt, a reference to God the Father, since the Hebrew word is Jehovah. That being said, let's look at the larger context of verses 13-15:

The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble; they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken.

What's important to understand here is that this "stone of stumbling", this "rock of offense" is Jesus Himself! The evidence for this can be taken from the historical context of God's covenants, specifically, in the reason why this stone would be a "snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem"; but it is also explicitly noted in the New Testament. Beginning in Romans 9:32, we see Paul referring to Jesus in this way. After explaining that the Gospel of Jesus as the Messiah does pose a problem for the Jews, since the Gentiles, and not the Jews, have attained righteousness through Him and not through the law, he continues and says:

Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written:

"Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense,
and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."

It's true that the verse that Paul references here is not Isaiah 8:14, but, rather, Isaiah 28:16. But this is of no consequence, for, in context of the entire book of Isaiah, the terms "stumbling stone" and "rock of offense" in 28:16 refer, themselves, to the same terms in 8:14!

There's even more convincing references than those that Paul makes. First, Peter groups all of these "stumbling stone" verses together in 1 Peter 2:6-8, using them all in reference to Jesus. And you know what? He groups Isaiah 8:14 with them! Yes, Peter recognized that Jesus, being the "stone of stumbling", is the same God who is referred to in Isaiah 8:14 as "the Lord (Jehovah) of hosts."

Furthermore, if you question the validity of the epistles, Jesus refers to Himself as "this stone" onto which men would fall and be broken in Matthew, chapter 21, verses 42-44:

Jesus said to them*, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

I hope that these posts are an encouragement to any who read them, and will serve to strengthen your faith in the ability of Jesus to be a propitiation for the sins of man, since it is God, Himself, who fulfills His own righteous requirements of His own law! But, there will be one more post to follow, in which I will try to provide even more encouragement for your faith in this way.


*The "chief priests and Pharisees" (Matthew 21:45)