Deutero Q

Two of church history’s most effective evangelists were George Whitefield and John Wesley. Whitefield was a Calvinist and Wesley was an Arminian; both proclaimed Christ with passion and power in the eighteenth century.* It is said about Whitefield that Benjamin Franklin often went to hear him preach because he could watch Whitefield burn before his very eyes. Whitefield was ablaze for God, preaching to thousands of people at a time. God used him mightily to lead many people to faith in Jesus Christ.

Wesley was also on fire for God. He wrote more than two hundred books and preached more than 40,000 sermons (sometimes seven or more in a day!), often riding on horseback forty or more miles daily. Like Whitefield, Wesley led many thousands of people to faith in Jesus Christ.

We may not have the same ministry as Whitefield and Wesley, but we can have their fervor and fire for the Lord. In 2 Tim. 1:6-7, the apostle Paul exhorted young pastor Timothy to fan into the flame the gift of God that was in him, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” Is the fire on the altar of our Christian hearts burning low? Might we need to fan into flame the gift of God that is in us? What was true of Whitefield and Wesley can also be true of us—we can be ablaze for God and accomplish much for Him.

Let us then pray that God would raise up modern-day Whitefields and Wesleys—twenty-first century Christians who have a burden for lost souls and an accompanying unction of the Spirit’s power to lead many people to Christ. After all, ten words shared in the power of the Spirit will be much more effective than ten thousand words spoken in the flesh.

*Whitefield and Wesley are prime examples of how Christians can disagree on doctrine and yet still love each other. For example, consider these words from a letter that Whitefield wrote to Wesley: “I love and honour you for his [Christ’s] sake; and when I come to judgment, will thank you before men and angels, for what you have, under God, done for my soul. There, I am persuaded, I shall see dear Mr. Wesley convinced of election and everlasting love. And it often fills me with pleasure to think how I shall behold you casting your crown down at the feet of the Lamb, and as it were filled with a holy blushing for opposing the divine sovereignty in the manner you have done. But I hope the Lord will shew you this before you go hence. O how I do long for that day! If the Lord should be pleased to make use of this letter for that purpose, it would abundantly rejoice the heart of, dear and honoured Sir, Yours affectionate, though unworthy brother and servant in Christ, George Whitefield.” George Whitefield’s Journals (Edinburgh.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1989), 588.

The Westminster Confession of Faith, in its chapter on the providence of God, speaks of God’s purposes in terms of primary and secondary causes:

"Although in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause, all things come to pass immutably and infallibly, yet, by the same providence, he ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently."

In other words, God is the primary cause of happenings in His creation. Secondary causes include the laws of nature (gravity, for instance), which are not independent of God; nature’s laws are God’s laws. Let the reader decide whether or not such distinctions are helpful. As for me, I have made peace with God’s sovereignty over all things, great and small, and am convinced that even those things we call “chance” or “chaos” are somehow related to God’s providential plan.* All things are under His control; not even one little sparrow falls to the ground apart from God’s will (Matt. 10:29).

*In a fascinating article titled “Theological Reflections on Chaos Theory,” John Jefferson Davis makes this perceptive observation about the relationship between secondary causes and chaos theory: “God is the primary and ultimate cause of all that happens, whether the fall of a sparrow, the fall of an empire, the rising of the sun, or the crucifixion of the Messiah. God’s primary causation is usually mediated, however, through the agency of secondary causes, either through human choices or through the operation of natural laws. These secondary causes can act ‘necessarily,’ as in the falling of a stone to the ground; ‘contingently,’ as in the casting of a lot; or ‘freely,’ as in King David’s decision to commit adultery with Bathsheba. Though the seventeenth century worldview of the Westminster divines understood the term ‘contingently’ in terms of what we would now call ‘classical uncertainty’ (i.e., a ‘coin toss’) rather than ‘quantum’ or ‘chaotic’ uncertainty, which were unknown at the time, it is nevertheless the case that their basic standpoint can be extended to encompass the new phenomena of chaos theory. ‘Secondary causes’ can be expanded to include the phenomena described by quantum mechanics and chaos theory as well as those described by Newtonian (or Aristotelian) physics. All events of history and nature are embedded within a lawful, coherent structure ultimately ordered by the providence of God.” John Jefferson Davis, “Theological Reflections on Chaos Theory,” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 49 (1997): 75-84.

Many people answer the question “Who killed Jesus?” by saying it was the Jews, or the Romans, or your sins and mine that sent Him to the cross. And of course there certainly was a human element involved in the death of Jesus. But the Bible teaches that it was God's plan for Jesus to die on the cross. The human factor is best understood against the divine backdrop of God’s sovereignty, for Scripture declares that “it was the Lord’s will to crush him” (Is. 53:10).

Ponder that biblical truth for a few moments: it was the Lord’s will to crush Jesus. In the words of Acts 2:23: “This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” The death of Jesus was not an accident or an afterthought on God’s part; rather, the atoning* death of Jesus Christ was planned by the triune God in eternity past and was carried out in history, in perfect fulfillment of God’s will.

While there are many different theories of the atonement, I believe that the atoning work of Jesus Christ is best understood in terms of substitution; that is, Christ died on the cross as the substitute for sinners. The atoning sacrifices in the Old Testament were substitutionary in nature (the blood of animals was shed on behalf of God’s covenant people) and pointed to Jesus Christ, who is the heart of the Bible and the One to whom the Old Testament Law and prophets bear witness.

Christ was the perfect sacrificial victim—the Lamb of God—who died vicariously for sinners. In the words of Isa. 53:6, “We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Christians would do well to personalize that profound biblical truth: the Lord laid on Jesus our iniquities—every lie, every theft, every injurious word, every immoral thought and deed, every act of selfishness … all of this and much, much more. Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the sin-bearer for wayward sheep. Good Friday is good because Christ died as the atoning sacrifice for sinners on that Friday long ago!

In John 13:1-17, we find a powerful example of love. During the Last Supper, Jesus showed His disciples “the full extent of his love.” He demonstrated His love by His actions. That is an important point. Jesus did not simply say, “I love you.” Instead, He demonstrated His love.

Biblical love is more than words. It is also more than a feeling. “Dear children,” Scripture says, “let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” In John 13 we certainly see Jesus loving with actions and in truth. John records that Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, wrapped a towel around his waist, poured water into a basin, and then began to wash the disciples’ feet.

Notice that Jesus got up during the meal to do this. Normally foot washing was done as an act of courtesy when a person entered someone’s home. The fact that Jesus got up during the meal to wash feet tells us that He had more than a courteous act in mind. Jesus showed the full extent of His love by dying on a cross for sinners. But before going to the cross, He humbled Himself and unselfishly washed the feet of His disciples. The Master was a servant.

And of course the lesson must not be missed: servanthood is the high calling of every follower of Jesus, the Servant-Master.

Today is Palm Sunday, and I once again had the privilege and responsibility of preaching the Word of God to the people of God. This morning's text was from Matthew 21, the passage often referred to as Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. One of the things that stands out to me from the passage is the manner in which Jesus entered Jerusalem: on a colt, the foal of a donkey. That is not the typical mode of transportation one would expect for a king! But in so doing, Jesus perfectly fulfilled prophecy (Zechariah 9). Moroever, entering the city of peace (Jerusalem) on a donkey was in keeping with the humble manner of the Prince of Peace.

By way of striking contrast, John, in Revelation 19, does not speak of the Second Coming of Christ in terms of lowliness and humility--instead, John describes the conquering warrior King riding forth on a white horse to make war. At His Second Advent, the Lord will come as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The donkey will give way to the warhorse!