The Vision (12.27.24): Thomas Watson: Eight Reasons to Forgive Others

 

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday afternoon's sermon on Matthew 6:12.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12).

Here are eight reasons to forgive others suggested by the Puritan Thomas Watson (1620-1686) in his exposition of Matthew 6:12:

1.      When we forgive others we resemble God who is always ready to forgive sinners.

 

Psalm 86:5 For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

 

2.      It shows that we have God’s grace in our hearts.

 

3.     The example of our Lord Jesus teaches us this.  What did he say on the cross?  “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

 

4.   If we do not forgive, it hinders our spiritual life and our participation in the ordinances of God.  An unforgiving spirit is “like an obstruction in the body.”

 

5.     God has tied his mercy to this condition.  If we do not forgive others, he will not  forgive us (cf. Matthew 6:14-15).

 

6.      We have the examples of the saints who had forgiving spirits.

Think of Joseph who forgave his brothers: “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20).

Think of Moses who put up with the murmuring and complaining and rebellion of Israel.

Think of Stephen who when he was being stoned, followed the model of our Lord and prayed for his persecutors: “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin’” (Acts 7:60).

It is said that once when Luther had reviled Calvin, that Calvin replied, “Though he call me a devil a thousand times, yet will I love and honour him as a precious servant of Christ.”

 

7.      Forgiveness is the best way to give good for evil and to conquer and melt the heart of an enemy (cf. Romans 12:19-21).

Part of having a forgiving spirit is this knowledge that God is in charge and one day wrongs will be righted by him.  Watson and the other Puritans who were so often maligned by men who disagreed with them in faith and practice were fond of saying that there will be in the end a resurrection of names as well as bodies.

 

8.      Forgiving others is the way to have forgiveness from God and is a sign of that forgiveness.

 

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Vision (12.20.24): We have found water (Genesis 24:32)

 

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 26.

Genesis 26:25 An he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac’s servants digged a well.

 

Genesis 26:32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water.

 

Genesis 26 is focused on events in the life of the Patriarch Isaac. As he sojourned in Gerar, Isaac resolved to dig up the old wells that the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth (v. 15b), and then to give them their old names (v. 18b: “and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.”). This led to tension with the herdsmen of Gerar. Isaac abandoned one well calling it Esek (contention) and then another calling it Sitnah (hatred (vv. 20-21). He moved to another place called Rehoboth (Room) (v. 22), and then he arrived at Beersheba (the well of the oath) where his servants set to dig again (v. 23).

 

This account indicates that for God’s people there will be times when the old wells of the fathers must be dug again. There will always be a process of revival, reformation, and retrieval. This is what happened at the time of the Protestant Reformation. The old wells had been filled with earth by the medieval Roman church. Rather than teaching the doctrine of justification by faith, they were teaching justification by works. Rather than pure and simply evangelical worship, they had added the traditions of men.

We must constantly go back to the old wells that supplied the needs of our godly spiritual fathers and call them by the names that those same fathers used.

We might also consider how this passage, with all its descriptions of digging wells and its climactic description of finding water, points us to Christ. A parallel passage that comes to mind is John 4, when Christ encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. This was “Jacob’s well” at Sychar (John 4:5-6).

 

Christ asks the woman to give him a drink and then tells her that he can give to her “living water” (4:7, 10). She takes his words literally and tells him he has no means to draw this living water. Then John says:

John 4:13  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The woman later leaves her waterpot to go to her city and tell her neighbors of this man she met at the well, saying:

John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

A Christian is simply one who says, after finding the Lord Jesus (or, better, being found by him), “We have found water.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision: Two Nations, Two Manner of People

 

Image: Esau selling his birthright to Isaac, drawing by Rembrandt, c. 1640, British Museum, London.

Note: Devotional based on last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 25.

“And the LORD said unto her, two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels….” (Genesis 25:23).

Genesis 25 is a hinge point in this first book of our Christian canon. The baton is literally passed from Abraham to Isaac. Just as godly Sarah died and was buried (Genesis 23), so godly Abraham also goes the way of all flesh (Genesis 25). Abraham too had his death day.

The focus then shifts from Abraham and Sarah to Isaac and Rebekah to carry forward the covenant promise (Genesis 12:1-3). Just as there was the barrenness with Sarah threatening to stifle God’s promise, so there was the barrenness of Rebekah (“she was barren” v. 21).

Just as Sarah bore Isaac, ending her barrenness, Rebekah will give birth to two sons, who will “struggle” in her womb (25:22).  The two sons will be the father of “two nations,” who will be “two manner of people” (25:23). One, Jacob, will be chosen of God, loved, and blessed, the other, Esau, estranged from the LORD by his own short-sighted hard-heartedness.

If I had to identify the greatest theme of Genesis 25 it would be “Election.” This is not a political term, but it refers to God’s sovereign choosing.

The infallible interpreter of this passage is not Matthew Henry or Matthew Poole, or any other merely human exegete, but the apostle Paul who wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit in Romans 9 :

Romans 9: ¹⁰ And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

¹¹ (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

¹² It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

¹³ As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

God chose to work his plan through Jacob and not Esau, before the brothers were even born. His choice was not conditioned on what they did or did not do. God’s choice of Jacob came about, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand” (Romans 9:11).

Paul used this record to illustrate God’s sovereign election in salvation. Who then is saved? Those whom God chooses. Neither of these two nations deserved God’s love. Neither earned it. Both deserved rejection. Yet God, in his mercy, chose to pour out his affections upon one.

There are two nations, two manner of people. They are the elect and the reprobate. The roots of this go back to Genesis 3:15 when the Lord told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed.”

There was a high Calvinistic Baptist movement in the South back in the 19^th century known as “Two Seed in the Spirit Predestinarian Baptists” who articulated this doctrine. I can’t say I affirm all their beliefs, but they did rightly say there are two nations, two manner of people. There are those who are born again and made sons of God. And there are those who deny and reject Christ. Our Lord said to the latter in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil.”

The final question is this: Where do you stand today? Where is your citizenship? To which nation do you belong? Has God made himself known to you in Christ, not because of any standing in you, but only because of his mercy? Or do you still stand distant and reprobate?

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (12.6.24): The Thing Proceedeth from the LORD

 

Image: Valentin Serov, Abraham's Servant Finds Isaac A Bride, Rebekah (1894)

Note: Devotional taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 24.

“And the man bowed his head, and worshipped the LORD” (Genesis 24:26).

“The thing proceedeth from the LORD” (Genesis 24:50).

Genesis 24 is a rather long chapter (67 verses). The old AV translators divided it into seven sections (vv. 1-6, 7-9, 10-14, 15-28, 29-31, 32-60, 61-67). In the fashion of Hebrew narrative, there is a good bit of repetition in it.

The focus of the chapter is an inspired account of Abraham, in his old age and after the death of Sarah, sending out the godly “eldest servant of his house” back to the country he had left to seek “a wife unto my son Isaac” (vv. 1, 4).

There are various spiritual lessons within this chapter. It has lessons on prayer and worship. This summer the youth of our church looked at a chapter from Peter Masters’ book Steps for Guidance in the Journey of Life which draws lessons from Genesis 24 on courtship and marriage. The overarching lesson of this chapter, however, is upon the providence of the LORD.

The Bible teaches us that there is a sovereign LORD, and he is directing the course of history on both the macro-level (Cf. Romans 13, no civil authority is in place but by his will) and the micro-level (Cf. Proverbs 16:33 “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” And: Proverbs 16:9 “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”).

The God of the Bible is Jehovah-Jireh (the LORD provides) (Genesis 22:14). In Genesis 24 the LORD, in his good providence, brings about the union of Isaac and Rebekah, and the keeping of his covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). This theme is perhaps best stated in v. 50 when Laban and Bethuel (not exactly theologians!) declare, “The thing proceedeth from the LORD.” It is God’s will.

It is also noteworthy, that the godly servant of Abraham constantly prays to and worships the LORD as he seeks the fulfillment God’s providential plans. Before he sets off on his journey he prays (24:12: “O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee…send me good speed”). In the midst of seeking a bride for Isaac, he worships (24:26: “And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD”). Having secured the agreement with Rebekah and her family, he worshipped (24:52: “when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth”). He worshipped before (v. 12), during (v. 26), and after (v. 52) the providential works of the LORD.

Let us be like that godly servant. Let us trust that the LORD is working all things for his glory and for the good of them that love him. And let us pray to and worship him, before, during, and after his accomplishment of all things.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.29.24): Seven Lessons from the Death and Burial of Sarah (Genesis 23)

 

Image: Camelia, "Pink Perfection," Lee County, NC, November 2024.

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 22:20--23:20.

Between the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19) and the marriage of Isaac (Genesis 24), there is Genesis 22:20—23:20. It provides a much less well-known episode related to the death and the burial of the matriarch Sarah. It reports to us the death of a godly woman.

Here are seven practical applications that flow from this passage:

1.     We are reminded that the God of the Bible is a God of providence, who is working all things to His glory and our good.

Genesis 22:20-24 reveals the providential work of God in history. It tells us that God was raising up Rebekah from the line of Abraham’s brother Nahor to be a wife for Isaac after the death of Sarah. He is Jehovah-Jireh, the LORD who provides (Genesis 22:14). We should remember that “God is at work all around us,” even when it seems we are surrounded by frowning providences.

2.     We are reminded that God will keep his Word.

God was at work to keep his promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3). He spared Isaac and will provide through Isaac’s union with Rebekah the raising up of a great nation from Abraham. He will keep his promises to his people.

3.     We are reminded of the shortness and the preciousness of each life.

Genesis 23:1b says, “these were the years of the life of Sarah.” Should Christ tarry we will each have both a birthday and a death day. As Moses prayed, “So teach us to number our days, that we might apply hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

4.     We are taught that the proper response to death is godly grief and sorrow and even tears.

We see this in Abraham’s response to Sarah’s death: “And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her” (Genesis 2:2b). The Christian sees death as a consequence of sin (Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death”), and so it calls for grief and sobriety.

5.     We are shown by example that the proper way to dispose of the body at death is burial in the ground in hope of the resurrection from the dead.

Genesis 23:19: “And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife…”

6.     We are taught that the land promise was fulfilled to Abraham, but an even greater promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Abraham was indeed “a stranger and a sojourner” (Genesis 23:4), but we move toward “a better country” the “heavenly” country, the city God hath prepared for us (Hebrews 11:16).

7.     We are told that a godly woman is to be praised and honored even in her death.

As with all fallen men, Sarah was a sinner. She had concocted the plan to have Hagar serve as a surrogate. She had deceived Abimelech. She had laughed when God promised her a son. She was also, however, by God’s grace, a godly woman. God’s love for her in Christ covered a multitude of sins.

The description of a godly woman in Proverbs 31 begins, “Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies” (v. 10). Sarah was a virtuous woman. Peter put her forward as an example in 1 Peter 3:1-6, noting, “whose daughter ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement” (v. 6). Proverbs 21:28 says a godly woman’s children and her husband will arise to praise her. Of course, no godly woman lives only for the praise of mere men, but she desires most of all the smile and approval of her God.

Finally, we must also note also that our ultimate hope is not that we would be praised in our death. Our hope is that we will be raised from the dead by the same power that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the tomb on the third day. Because he lives, we too have the hope of life eternal. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul asked, “O grave where is thy victory?” (v. 55), declaring, “The sting of death is sin” (v. 56). Yet he concluded, ^“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 57).

Christ is indeed our only comfort and hope in life and death.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

WM 315: Review: Gallagher on Paul, LXX, and Canon

 

JTR

The Vision (11.22.24): Christ: The New and Better Isaac

Image: The Binding of Isaac, by Bartolomeo Cavarozzi, c. 1593, Piasecka-Johnson Collection, Princeton, New Jersey.

Note: Devotional based on last Sunday's sermon on Genesis 22:1-19.

Christians have long seen the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22 as a type (a shadow, a prefiguring, an anticipation) of the cross of Christ.

Consider these parallels:

Isaac is the son of Abraham (see the title given eight times in Genesis 22:2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13). Christ too is “the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1), but also “the Son of God” (Mark 1:1).

Isaac is a beloved son of Abraham (22:2: the son “whom thou lovest”). Christ is the beloved Son of God the Father. Cf. at his baptism and transfiguration, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). See also Ephesians 4:6 where Paul said, “he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

Isaac is the only son (three times in 22:2, 12, 16). Christ is the only begotten Son (cf. John 1:14, 18; 3:16).

Isaac is the servant of his father (22:6 “and laid it upon Isaac his son”). Christ is the Servant of God the Father (Mark 10:45: He came “not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”).

Isaac cried out, “My father” (Genesis 22:7). Christ cried out at Gethsemane, “Abba, Father” (Mark 14:36).

Isaac carried the wood to Mount Moriah (22:6-7). Christ carried his cross to Mount Calvary (Matthew 27:32: “him they compelled to bear his cross.”).

Isaac was told, God will provide himself a lamb (22:8). Christ is the Lamb of God (see John 1:29, 36; and Revelation 13:8: “the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the earth.”).

Isaac was bound for the sacrifice (22:9: “and bound Isaac his son”). Christ was bound and handed over to Pilate (Matthew 27:2, “And when they had bound him”

God provided a substitute for Isaac (22:13: there was “a ram caught in the thicket by his horns… who was offered “in the stead of his son.”). Christ served as a substitute for elect sinners (Romans 5:8). Christ is both the Lamb and the Ram.

Isaac’s ram was caught in a thicket by his horns (22:13). The sacred head of Christ was encircled by a crown of twisted thorns pressed upon his brow (Matthew 27:29).

Perhaps the apostle Paul had Genesis 22 in mind when he said of God the Father’s offering up of Christ, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

Here is one writer’s summary of this analogy:

The Lord Jesus “enters his day of suffering  as the new Isaac, the true son of Abraham in the fullest sense, the one who would offer himself wholly up to death, according to the divine foreordained plan, and bring the blessing of forgiveness and eternal life to all who put their faith in him” (Nicholas P. Lunn, The Gospels Through Old Testament Eyes, 183).

Christ is indeed the New and Better Isaac.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle