Words from the Pastor’s Desk

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." -1 Corinthians 15:1-8OUR FATHER, we thank You for the gospel, the good news You have declared through Your Son: that there is a way for Your enemies to be reconciled to You, to know You not only as God but as Father.We thank You for the truths of the gospel. Your eternal Son took on humanity, became like us in every way except for sin, while retaining His deity, and lived among us in perfect obedience to You. Then, according to the Scriptures, He died for our sins. For those hours on the cross, He bore Your justice, Your anger against the sin of everyone who would ever believe in Him.We thank You that He was buried-proving that He actually died-that He tasted death for every man who would believe in Him. You subjected Him to death-the One who had only been perfectly obedient to You-so that we, who deserve only death, might know life.We praise You that You raised Him from the dead on the third day as evidence forever that You had accepted His perfect sacrifice for sin. You did not raise Him as a spirit or a ghost, but in His full humanity: He appeared to many, was touched, ate and drank with them, and then visibly ascended into Your presence where He is, even now, seated at Your right hand until He returns for His own.Father, we thank You that by Your grace You brought us to hear and understand the gospel, and through that gospel drew us to Yourself so that we responded with repentance for our sins and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.We praise You, we thank You, and we love You. We pray that You would give us hearts that long to understand and obey Your Word.We pray in Jesus' name.Amen.Scripture reading and accompanying prayer taken from Tom's book The God Who Hears: A Book of Pastoral Prayers.

As Americans, we are not used to the concept of having a king. However, through the most unlikely characters, we are taught what it means to respond rightly to the birth of our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Those unlikely men are the Magi. The Magi were members of a Persian priestly caste and were recognized as teachers and experts in science and religion. In science, they taught mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and philosophy. Concerning religion, their primary efforts were steeped in Zoroastrianism, a religion dominated by pagan idolatry. They were involved in astrology and divination, both of which the Old Testament clearly forbids. The Magi were also powerful leaders. In fact, our word "magistrate" comes from Magi. Moreover, they were king makers, which meant that one of their chief tasks in their own country was to appoint the next king who would sit upon the throne.You might be asking, "How did these pagan idolaters become part of the Christmas story?" It is truly a remarkable story of divine providence. Six hundred years prior, devout Jews had lived among the people of Babylon since the time of their captivity (586 B.C). During this time the Jews often told the people of Babylon about their God and about the coming Messiah. Chief among them, of course, was Daniel. He was appointed to preside over all of the wise men of Babylon (Dan. 2:48-49), and He undoubtedly taught them about the true God and the Messiah who was to come. At the time of Christ's birth, God had miraculously informed the Magi that the Messiah had been born. And so, these pagan idolaters traveled to Jerusalem and began asking: "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him" (Matt. 2:2). Of course, no answer was immediately ready. So, Herod, after seeking council from the scholars of his day (Matt. 2:4), told the Magi that the Old Testament Scriptures prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Matthew writes, "After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was" (Matt. 2:9-10). As the Magi headed six miles south from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the star-most likely the shekinah glory cloud that led Israel through the wilderness (Exod. 13:21)-led them to come to the house where Jesus was. Matthew 2:11 records that the Magi came to a house, not a stable as on the night of His birth, where Jesus was with His mother. By the way, the Magi were not there the night of Jesus' birth. If you correctly put together the chronology of gospels, then this scene took place between the forty days after His birth and less than two years when they arrived.God uses these unusual characters to show us all how we ought to respond to the birth of our King. In other words, their reactions should be our reactions. So, how did they respond? First, they responded with joy. Matthew writes, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy" (Matt. 2:10). The Greek text literally reads this way: They rejoiced a mega joy extremely. The Magi were overwhelmed with joy! This was not because they saw the star, which would have been captivating in and of itself. Rather, they had joy because the star was directing them to the divine Messiah-the King. The one that Daniel wrote of who would make an end of sin (Dan. 9:24). As we contemplate the birth of our King this Christmas season, it should fill our hearts with joy.Second, the Magi responded with submission: "After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him" (Matt. 2:11). Matthew records that the Magi fell to the ground and worshipped Jesus. It is worth noting that every time Matthew uses this word "worship" in reference to Jesus, it describes true biblical worship. So, this was not merely normal respect for an earthly monarch. As we have already pointed out, the Magi said that this Child was the divine Messiah, the rightful King of Israel. So their response is a response of genuine faith with full and complete submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. When they bowed before Jesus, they were acknowledging His authority, His right to rule, and His right to rule them-this child was none other than their Lord. And that is the response that each of us should have to the birth of our King.Third, the Magi showed Him honor. They demonstrated their respect and honor for Jesus by bringing Him gifts. Matthew 2:11 says, "Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." It was common to bring gifts to a king whenever you entered into his presence-it was a special way to honor him. Historically, these three gifts had significant and very specific meanings. Why? Because of the use of these words in the Old Testament.For example, gold was rarely used by individuals in the ancient world and it was rarely owned by common people. It was reserved for the rich and wealthy, and was the choice metal of kings. Therefore, it was always associated with royalty. The Magi also brought frankincense. This particular word comes from the Old English "frank incense," which means "pure or sincere, incense." Frankincense is an aromatic resin that comes from trees in Arabia and India. When this word occurs in the Old Testament, it's used almost exclusively in reference to the worship of God. In fact, it was incense that was burned in the temple as an expression of worship to God. Finally, the Magi also brought myrrh. Myrrh is a reddish-brown resin from the dried sap of a tree that is also found in Arabia. It was so valuable in the first century that it was worth more than its weight in gold. It was primarily used for three purposes: as a perfume, as a pain killer, and as an embalming fragrance. Interestingly, the irony of myrrh is that it was used in all three ways during the life of our Lord. At His birth, it was used as a perfume. At His death on the cross, He was offered myrrh as a way to numb the pain (which He refused). And in His death, it was used to embalm His body.All three gifts were perfectly appropriate. Gold, because He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Frankincense, because he is God with us in the flesh. And myrrh, because the reason He came was to die for the sins of everyone who would ever believe in Him. All three of these gifts were extremely rare and incredibly valuable. They were expressions of their honor and adoration of Jesus Christ. The Magi modeled for us the only right response to the birth of our King and that is unrestrained worship. In other words, you must find your chief joy in Him. You must submit your life to Him as your rightful king and you must honor Him with the most valuable gift you have: your very life.The story of the wise men is really a story of redemption. It is a story of divine and sovereign grace. Ultimately, it is not the story of the wise men seeking Jesus. Rather, it is the story of a gracious God seeking them. God sent these men to find their rightful King and He did so in order to accomplish their spiritual rescue. This is an amazing reality because prior to Jesus' birth an angel tells Joseph: " will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Then, in the very next paragraph, we meet some of the most unlikely candidates for that spiritual rescue: the Magi. God sovereignly reached down into the paganism of the former Babylonian empire, and He rescued these men for Himself.This story is also an invitation. It is an invitation to everyone who hears it. In fact, it is a reminder that God has sent His long-promised Messiah into the world. The second member of the Trinity-the eternal Son of God-actually entered time and space. He was born in a place you can visit today. And He was more than a human king; He is your rightful king who deserves all worship.The question is: how have you responded to him? Have you responded in manner like that of the Magi? Is Jesus Christ your chief joy in life? Have you submitted to His rule and reign? Have you responded by honoring Him by giving Him your entire life? As you celebrate Christmas this year, I hope you remember that this is the essence of what we celebrate: your rightful King has come and He demands complete worship and submission to Him.

Today, as we continue studying the book of Proverbs, in particular, the gift of work, I'd like to consider the sin of laziness. Specifically, how to remedy the temptation to laziness. Proverbs 6:6 says, "Go to the ant, you lazy one, observe its ways and be wise." The ant mentioned here most likely refers to the harvester ant, which is a common ant in Israel. As its name suggests, it is an ant which is known for storing or harvesting grain in its nest. In God's wisdom, He uses the harvester ant as an illustration to teach the lazy person three remedies for his laziness. First, do not wait to be forced to work, instead, discipline yourself to work. Proverbs 6:7 states that the harvester ant has "no chief, officer or ruler." Harvester ants do have a social structure, however, they do not have a clear hierarchy of authority or command. This underscores the reality that we as Christians are to work hard at all times, even when situations arise where there is no boss or authority figure instructing us in what we should do.Second, do not wait for a crisis or deadline to kickstart your work, instead, plan ahead. Proverbs 6:8 says, " prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest." This verse teaches that the ant is wise in that it knows the harvest will pass and that winter is soon coming, where no food will be available. Notice how this ant has no intention of waiting for a crisis or deadline. Rather, it works when it can work. Specifically, it works during grain harvest, which in Israel, is a two month period in the early summer. Solomon's point is this: do not wait until you are overtaken by a specific project or assignment. Rather, plan ahead. If you know it is due in four weeks, don't wait until the night before to decide what you are going to do. That is not how the ant behaves and Solomon says, you don't do that either-plan ahead! Third, do not be half-hearted, instead, work hard. How exactly does God provide for the ant? According to Psalm 104:14-15, God provides for the ants just like He does all His creatures. And He does so through the ant's hard work at the right time and in the right way. The God who has decreed the ends, that His creatures be cared for, has also decreed the means, that is, He will give them what they need through their work; through using the gifts that He has given them. Solomon is simply saying, work is a moral imperative. Hard work is the way of the wise and laziness is the way of fools. Moreover, in Proverbs, wisdom always has moral overtones. This becomes even clearer in the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment demands that we devote ourselves to work: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exod. 20:8-10). Unfortunately, that is where most people stop with their understanding of this commandment. They typically say, "Well you know, we're Christians now, we don't have to keep the Sabbath like they did." That is true, however, this commandment has multiple implications. Verse 10 goes on to say, "For six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work." Just like the other nine commandments, this command summarizes an entire category of life-it reminds us that God has supreme authority over that category of life. The fourth command, then, deals with God being the Lord of our time. In other words, He demands that we set aside the time prescribed for worship. For Old Testament Israel, that was the seventh day-the Sabbath-the day God rested from creation (Gen. 2:1-3). For the New Testament believer, it is on the first day of the week-not as a Christian Sabbath-but the day of the week (Sunday) that we are commanded to come together for worship (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Rev. 1:10). God also commands that we devote most of our time to work. He commands that you spend the vast majority of your week working-work is not an option! That does not mean you have to work at your job six days a week, but it is a command to work and engage in meaningful occupation. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 the apostle Paul writes, "For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either." Notice, Paul does not say those who are not able to work (God makes it possible for people who are not able to work to be cared for). Rather, Paul is referring to the person who is not willing-he says, don't let that person eat. In fact, Paul goes on in that same chapter to say that if a person refuses to work then they are to be disciplined out of the church (2 Thess. 3:6-15). When you think about work as a moral imperative and as one of the Ten Commandments, it should be no surprise that our Lord worked a regular job. He worked for 17 years of His short life-by the time He reached the age of 13 and had His Bar Mitzvah, He would have worked until the age of 30. Mark 6:3 says, "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary...?" This text tells us that Jesus did hard, manual labor for at least 17 of the 33 years He was on this earth. J. Oswald Sanders writes, "He saw no incongruity in the Lord of glory, standing in the saw pit, laboriously cutting the thick logs into planks or using a plane and hammer. He was a carpenter, a working man, who earned His living, as others of His contemporaries, by manual skill. If it was not beneath the Son of God to work as an artisan, then surely it is beneath none of His children He has imparted to work, both dignity and nobility." He has imparted to work-by His own example-both dignity and nobility. No one has ever worked harder at ministry than Jesus did for the three and a half years of His public ministry. The gospels give us a clear picture of that. Theologically speaking, Jesus lived in our place. His life was the perfect life of obedience that we could never obtain. How many of us can honestly say we have always worked like we ought to work at our jobs? In other words, can you say that you have always worked with the right attitude? What about with the right heart? Have you always worked hard? Have you ever taken anything from your employer including his time? The truth is, none of us have ever worked perfectly!The good news, however, is that if you are in Christ, Jesus is your legal representative. And in those 33 years of His life-most of them working-He was working in your place. He was satisfying the demands of God for human beings to work. At the cross, He died the death we deserve, not only for our failure to work like God has commanded us to work, but for all the rest of our sins as well. Then, God raised Him from the dead. And our only hope of ever being right with this God-who works and has given us the command to work-is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We must repent of our sins and put our faith in Him and Him alone for salvation!

I trust that our study of the gift of work has been beneficial and profitable so far. The book of Proverbs-and all of Scripture for that matter-is rich in its teaching on work, and I am thankful we have been able to examine it together. For today, I want us to look at a second principle about work that we discover in Proverbs: work is a command that reflects God's will.There are several different categories of fools in the Book of Proverbs. Proverbs 6 introduces us to one of those fools: the sluggard. What is a sluggard? A sluggard is a person who is habitually lazy and disinclined to work. It is interesting, very few people call themselves sluggards. I've never met anybody who has raised their hand and said, "I'm a sluggard." So, how do you know if you are a sluggard? How do you know if you are truly lazy? The good news is that Proverbs reveals three qualities that identify and distinguish a sluggard. First, a lazy person procrastinates starting his work. Proverbs 6:9 says, "How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?" It is important to note that an agricultural society is in view here. Rising early to tend to crops and animals before the sun came up was absolutely imperative. Solomon describes the lazy person as someone who sleeps in instead of getting up to work. Just to be clear, this text is not speaking against occasionally sleeping in, that is not the point. The point is that a lazy person won't begin things. Rather, he repeatedly procrastinates to the degree that he refuses to commit to a definite time to begin working. Pay attention to the sluggard's response in verse 10: "A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest." Take note of the fact that the adjective "a little" is used three times in verse 10. A lazy person rarely refuses to work at all. Instead, to be lazy, you don't have to be the person who says, "I'm just not going to work." Those cases are extremely rare. What a lazy person does is procrastinates at the beginning-he loves to postpone getting started on his work. He says something like this: "Look, I know it's planning season and I'll get started with that soon." Or, "You know, I know I have that huge paper due tomorrow in school and I will get to it just as soon as I finish this Netflix show." Or, "You know, I know that big work project is coming up next week but let me check my social media and the news first." That is how the sluggard works! Derek Kidner correctly notes, " deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders. So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away." So, a lazy person procrastinates starting his work. Secondly, the sluggard often fails to finish his work. In other words, when he actually starts working, he does not finish. Why? Because it is just too hard; it is too much work; it takes too much time. You could say the impulse to work actually dies before he finishes. Proverbs 12:27 says, "A lazy person does not roast his prey". The picture, here, is a guy who finally musters up the energy to go out and hunt to find food for his family, and once he finds that animal and brings it back, he's so lazy that he just leaves it on the doorstep and refuses to clean it. Why? Because it is too much work! Another example of this is found in Proverbs 19:24: "The lazy one buries his hand in the dish, but will not even bring it back to his mouth." This guy is also prone not to finish things, so much so that he lets his meal get cold before he finishes eating it! Third, the sluggard regularly makes excuses for why he does not get his work done. Put this way, he rationalizes his laziness. I love what Proverbs 22:13 says: "The lazy one says, 'There is a lion outside; I will be killed in the streets!'" What a ridiculous excuse! No lions are actually in the street. The sluggard makes bizarre excuses to keep himself from working. And yet, shockingly, he doesn't see what he is doing. In fact, he starts to believe his own excuses, and he starts to believe them to such an extent that he will not even respond to rational arguments to the contrary. Proverbs 26:16 says, "A lazy one is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who can give a discreet answer." Even if you put this sluggard in a room with seven people saying, "That is a really ridiculous excuse," he still defends himself, he still makes excuses. Eventually, his life becomes so disordered that his laziness becomes irreversible. The Scripture teaches that these three qualities are true of the sluggard. Furthermore, there are consequences for such behavior. Proverbs 6:11 says, "Then your poverty will come in like a drifter, and your need like an armed man." That is a powerful word picture! Basically, the lazy person wakes up one day to discover that poverty has arrived, and that poverty has taken everything from him as if a mugger or robber had encountered him. Proverbs 24:30 says, "I passed by the field of a lazy one, and by the vineyard of a person lacking sense and behold, it was completely overgrown with weeds; its surface was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. 'A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,' then your poverty will come like a drifter, and your need like an armed man." You could summarize that proverb this way: laziness is extremely destructive. It is clear that laziness is a problem. So, how do you remedy it? We will work through a number of principles next time.

As we continue to develop a theology of work from the book of Proverbs, in particular, the gift of work, I want us to consider the two primary ways in which our God is still at work today.First, God is working providentially. That is, not only does God continue to sustain everything He created, but He also directs all things to the ends for which He made them. If we think of providence at its most basic level, we must understand that God is currently making sure that everything continues to exist just as He desires it to exist. He sustains this world through His Son Jesus Christ just as equally as He created this world through Him-it's in Him all things hold together; it's in Him that all things consist (Col. 1:16-17). So, God is directing all things to the ends and purposes for which He made them. Second, God is working redemptively. Even though the accomplishment of redemption was done in the person and work of Jesus Christ on the cross, God is still working redemptively today. What exactly does this look like? Simply put, God is redeeming a people by His Son, for His Son, to His own glory. He is currently working to bring His eternal plan of redemption to pass. You may not have thought about this before, but God created you to work just as He continues to work. Genesis 1:26 says, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." At this point in the Genesis narrative, God is deliberating about the creation of mankind. Even though there is a lot of debate about what it means to be made in the image of God, we can be sure that part of what it means is to work like God works. God instructed man to "rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth" (Gen. 1:26). In other words, mankind was created to work. You were created to work! Furthermore, work reflects the image of God Himself. That is why Adam worked before the Fall. Genesis 2:15 says, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it." God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to work. After the Fall (Gen. 3), God cursed work and then it became what it was not before, a struggle. So, now, work is a fight against the cursed earth. That is why Genesis 3:19 tells us that humanity will now work by the sweat of our brow. Not because work is the curse, but because work itself-which was a gift-has been cursed. Thankfully, at a specific time in the future, after God makes a new heaven and a new earth, we will still work. Revelation 22:3 says, "There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him." This text reveals a future removal of the Genesis 3 curse, and the fact that all believers will work in the new heaven and earth. Here is the point: to work is to be like God. Of course, I am not saying that believers become God. I am saying, however, that work itself is a divine gift. Ecclesiastes 5:19 says, "He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God."It was this concept that moved the Reformers to understand that work was not a secular thing, but a sacred thing. Martin Luther writes, "Your work is a very sacred matter. God delights in it and through it, He wants to bestow His blessing on you. The world does not consider work a blessing. Therefore, it flees and hates it. But the pious who fear the Lord, labor with a ready and cheerful heart for they know God's command and will. Thus, a pious farmer sees Psalm 128:2 written on his wagon and plow. A cobbler sees it on his leather and awl. A laborer sees it on wood and iron. What does it say? When you eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy, and it will be well with you." The fact of the matter is, God delights in work and all Christians have been uniquely gifted by God for work. He shaped you in your mother's womb and specifically gifted you to serve Him and to serve others. Work truly is a gift that reflects God's character.Next time we'll continue to look at theme of work by examining how it relates to the divine will of God.

As we begin to examine the book of Proverbs as it relates to work, I want us to first take note of the fact that Wisdom teaches that work is a gift that reflects God's character. In other words, the way we work reflects who God is. Proverbs 8 highlights this reality. In this remarkable chapter, Solomon personifies wisdom. In verses 1-3, he describes wisdom as a woman, a woman that calls out to people everywhere to listen to her. Beginning in verse 4 and running through the end of the chapter, her speech can be broken down into several sections. In this blog, I want us to consider the section that covers verses 22-31. In this particular section, Wisdom explains that her origin is actually in the character of God Himself. She argues for this position by describing her role in creation. In fact, in verses 22-26, the Solomon reveals that God possessed wisdom before the creation. Notice what he writes (Wisdom is speaking) beginning in verse 22: "The Lord created me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. From eternity I was established, from the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. When there were no ocean depths, I was born , when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was born ; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world." I would summarize those verses this way: wisdom predates creation. God possessed wisdom before He made anything, and God used that wisdom when He created everything. Verse 27 goes on to say, "When He established the heavens, I was there." Wisdom is saying that she was present at the establishment of the heavens! That is the message of verses 27-29. Now, don't miss the big picture and Solomon's primary point in Proverbs 8: there is great value in wisdom. Why? Because God is wisdom and God made the world in wisdom! So, in order for believers to thrive in God's world, we must have wisdom because no one knows the created world better than Wisdom. Next, Solomon asserts that God exercised wisdom to create the world through His Son, Jesus Christ. Verse 22 says, "The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old" (emphasis mine). Look at the subsequent verbs that describe God's work: He made the earth (v. 26); He established the heavens and inscribed a circle (v. 27); He made the firm skies and fixed the springs (v. 28); He set the boundaries and marked out the foundations (v. 29). Then, Wisdom adds, "Then I was beside Him , as a master workman ; and I was His delight daily, rejoicing always before Him" (v. 30). Wisdom worked alongside God in the creation of the world. What a profound reality!Don't miss the critical point that Proverbs 8 is making: work is not the result of the Fall in Genesis 3. Put another way, work is not a consequence of the Fall. Instead, work is a fundamental part of the character of God Himself. God worked in creation and He continues to work today! Even our Lord affirmed this doctrine when He said, "My Father is working until now" (John 5:17). The Scripture is clear, God continues to work at this very moment! But, what work is God accomplishing? Next time we'll consider two particular ways in which our God works today.

The past two years have been an unusual time in the history of our country as many people have had to change and alter their work habits. I think it's appropriate, in light of life's recent changes, to spend time thinking about an issue that consumes the majority of our lives: work. On average, a person works full-time from the age of 22-67 (almost half a century!), and that same person spends roughly 47 hours per week working. Unfortunately, although work is a constant part of our lives, most people think very little about it and have no real concept of its value. Sadly, if you ask the average Christian to give you a biblical perspective on work, you will most likely come across deficient answers. Even more concerning is that some will even go as far to tell you that work is part of the curse (Gen. 3). Many have embraced the predominant worldview in which we live-hard work is simply something to avoid. And, if you can't avoid it, just tolerate it until the weekend or early retirement. There are others who work hard but do so for entirely selfish motives-to feed their pride or the idol of materialism. Many see work as just something you do from 9am-5pm and as soon as you clock out and leave the building, life is no longer about work, but merely pleasure and enjoyment. The truth is many Christians see their work as something that is entirely secular, not as an act of deep spiritual service to our Lord. In the Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin writes, "Each individual has his own kind of career assigned to him by the Lord, as a sort of sentry post so that he may not heedlessly wander about throughout life. There will be no employment so mean, that is so low, and sordid as not to appear truly respectable and be deemed highly important in the sight of God." Calvin is essentially saying that your work, whatever it is, matters to God!This perspective was once called The Protestant work ethic. Historically, Christians have been the most diligent, creative, and oftentimes the most successful in their fields. Sadly, the biblical concept of work is one of those foundational truths that was recovered in the Reformation but has largely been forgotten by churches today. It is vitally important that we recapture this truth in our day because work is a divine gift and calling.Ask yourself these questions and then honestly respond: biblically speaking, do you truly understand the origin, value, and reasons for work? Second, do you know how to work every day in a way that honors God? Over the next few blogs we will spend time in an Old Testament book that was given by God to us for this very purpose, to answer these very questions: the book of Proverbs. In fact, the theme of Proverbs is to give God's people wisdom for living and navigating through the details of this life. Therefore, in a practical and profound way, the book of Proverbs lays out the key principles that should govern our work. We will consider the first one next time.

As we continue to look at Hebrews 10, there are some key truths that I do not want us to overlook. The author emphasizes Christ's one sacrifice that atones for all the sins of every believer, which makes repeated Old Testament sacrifices completely unnecessary. "Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET."Hebrews 10:11-13Notice the contrast between the priests standing in verse 11 and Christ sitting in verse 12. The Levitical priests continuously stood because their work was never finished, their work wasn't fully accomplished. They offered thousands of animal sacrifices but not once did the death of any of those animals ever take away a single human sin. On the other hand, our Lord Jesus Christ sat down, which implies that He had completely, finally, and permanently dealt with human sin. This reality has huge ramifications!If you are truly in Christ, you will never be judged for a single sin you have ever committed, because God judged every one of them-without exception-in the body of Jesus Christ at Calvary. For those six hours that Jesus hung on the cross, God treated Him as if He had committed your sins-all of them! That is why the apostle Peter writes, "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness" (1 Pet. 2:24). Peter essentially summarizes the heart of the gospel message!The author of Hebrews goes on to write, "For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified" (10:14). Through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, He satisfied the wrath of God for every sin, of every person who would ever believe in Him. What repeated animal sacrifices could never do in terms of forgiveness and removal of sins, the Lamb of God accomplished through one sacrifice.Hebrews 10:15-16, "And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us. THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM." The New Covenant provides a legally binding promise that comes directly from the Holy Spirit to every person who believes in Christ (Jer. 31:33). If you repent and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, the Spirit of God will change your heart and give you power to obey Him. The author of Hebrews adds divine testimony to this truth by showing that the Holy Spirit testifies to this profound reality. Hebrews 10:17, "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE." That is the Holy Spirit's promise to every person who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (Jer. 31:34). Because the New Covenant promises that kind of forgiveness, the Old Testament sacrifices become obsolete and unnecessary. That's why Hebrews goes on to say, "there is no longer any offering for sin" (10:18). You no longer need repeated animal sacrifices because Christ's one sacrifice has forever dealt with sin. The message of Hebrews 10 reveals the necessity of sacrifice for human beings to approach a holy God. God has established the terms on which you can come to Him, and His Word reveals that only through the person and work of Jesus can you be reconciled to Him. If you turn from your sin and confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, He will cleanse you, forgive you, and will gladly accept Jesus' sacrifice on the cross in your place.

As we continue our series in Hebrews chapter ten, I want us to consider the reality that our Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect human substitute. In eternity past God determined to offer Jesus as a suitable sacrifice for His people. The author of Hebrews captures this truth when he writes, "By this will we have been sanctified" (10:10). It was none other than God Himself who ordained the sacrificial death of His Son. James Buchanan writes, "It was God's eternal purpose to overrule the fall of man for His own glory, by a signal manifestation of all His moral perfections, in justifying the ungodly, through Christ as Mediator."Not only was it God's plan to sacrifice his Son, but He also ordained the salvation of His people. Notice how the author of Hebrews puts the word sanctified in the past tense. Normally, in the New Testament, this word is used to describe the process of daily sanctification where believers are conformed into the image of Christ. However, here, it describes the once for all change for our status before God. In other words, at the moment of salvation your status was changed; you were set apart for God. "By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."Hebrews 10:10There is a contrast that I do not want you to miss in verse 10. First, the Old Testament sacrifice was an unwilling death, meaning that that animal didn't volunteer; it was completely involuntary. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, however, was completely voluntary. The Scriptures teach that Jesus loved us and willingly volunteered Himself for us. For example, Titus 2:11-14 says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."The second contrast found in the Old Testament sacrificial system is that it featured the death of irrational animals not made in the image of God. The cross featured the death of the perfect, rational, obedient God-man. the book of Hebrews reveals that Christ "had to be made like His brethren in all things" (Heb. 2:17). The apostle Paul articulates this same truth when he describes Christ as "being made in the likeness of men" and "being found in appearance as a man" (Phil. 2:7-8). The third and final contrast found in the Old Testament sacrificial system is that the animals died at the hand of a man. At the cross, Christ ultimately died at the hand of God. 700 years before Jesus' crucifixion, Isaiah predicted it would happen this way when he wrote, "But it pleased the Lord to crush him" (Isa. 53:10). Christ volunteered to take our place and to be our perfect substitute, and to ultimately provide what an animal could never do. "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."Hebrews 10:4What was impossible for an irrational animal, was possible in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God used as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all those who would ever believe in Him. As the perfect Son of God, unlike the animals in the Old Testament sacrificial system, Jesus Christ was a sinless, voluntary, human substitute for us. Praise God for that reality!