We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

(Romans 6:6-11 ESV)

Examine the word translated as “consider” (ESV), “count yourselves” (NIV) or “reckon” (KJV) in Romans 6:11: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” An important idea, Paul uses it 19 times throughout Romans and a proper understanding of it is necessary for a proper understanding of the book.

Translated from Greek, consider means to “impute (or put into) to one’s account.” In this case, “consider” doesn’t simply mean to think about or even meditate on. Rather, it states that we are to take account and own two things: (1)we are dead to sin (2)we are alive to God in Jesus Christ We aren’t just to think of these concepts in an academic sense; we must recognize that their reality is the only thing that matters.

A true grasp and embrace of our death to sin (through Jesus’s work on the cross) and resurrection through Jesus is a profound game changer for the Christian. No longer bound by the constraints of guilt and shame, we are free to live for that which will truly satisfy.

Many times, our relationship with God is a corrective one, apologizing, confessing and trying to fix what we’ve messed up. Confession is absolutely necessary, but we must do more than just avert our eyes or move our gaze from sin. For transformation to happen, we must not just look away from bad stuff, but actually gaze into the glorious face of Jesus.

In The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis famously said: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”

As Christians, we often realize that we aren’t supposed to continue to play with the “mud pies” of this life, but our simple avoidance of the muddy field doesn’t automatically mean we enjoy the pleasures of the seaside. If you know Jesus, you are dead to sin. You are alive to God. Nothing else matters. Go today and take your eyes off that which doesn’t matter and gaze into His glorious face.

Aaron Catlin

As we continue reading through our L3 together this Advent season, I am continually reminded of the significance of Christ's arrival here on the earth and in the flesh. His coming signaled hope and a coming peace for humanity, but not without cost. It would require the defeat of sin and death. It would require Christ sacrificially giving His life up for us. It would require a war like none other.

A song that was released a few years ago made me more aware of this concept, and I was really encouraged by it. It speaks of Christ's arrival as a declaration of war against sin, death, and darkness. Christ's coming changed everything. He has won the victory over sin and death. He conquered the grave. That is what He came here to do. He is Lord and King.

Below are the lyrics and a video of Dustin singing this song. 

"This Is War"
Words and Music by Dustin Kensrue

This is war like you ain’t seen.
This winter’s long, it’s cold and mean.
With hangdog hearts we stood condemned,
But the tide turns now at Bethlehem.

This is war and born tonight,
The Word as flesh, the Lord of Light,
The Son of God, the low-born king;
Who demons fear, of whom angels sing.

Hallelujah, a Child is born
He is the rescue we've waited for
The throne of David He will restore
The reign of mercy forevermore

This is war on sin and death;
The dark will take it’s final breath.
It shakes the earth, confounds all plans;
The mystery of God as man.

May the true significance of Advent stay at the forefront of our minds as we celebrate it with our friends and family this weekend. We have peace and hope because Jesus Christ declared war on sin and death, and became sin for us, so that we could be reconciled to God. Jesus is our peace.

May God bless you with the awareness of His presence during this Advent.

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship Arts Pastor

This week in our L3 journal, we read through the end of the Gospel of Matthew. In this portion of Matthew's Gospel, we find what is often called, the "Passion Week," where Jesus experiences the difficult journey to the cross for our redemption. In chapter 27:27-44, we see the focal point of the entire gospel message - the crucifixion of Jesus.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and puta scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. (Mt. 27:27-44 ESV)

The phrase that I highlighted here is what sticks out to me most from this passage today, and this is why: what the chief priests, scribes, and elders were saying in their mocking of Jesus was more true than they knew. Jesus could not both save us and save himself at the same time. In order for any of us to be rescued from our sin and from death, Jesus had to die. There was no other way for us to be rescued. The penalty for our sin could only be removed by the death of the perfect Man (aka "The Spotless Lamb"). Any other sacrifice would have been insufficient. God's righteous wrath against sin was poured out completely on Jesus in our place. He was condemned for our sin, despite His perfect innocence. If He came down from that cross and saved Himself the suffering, He could not have saved us. He stayed on the cross because of His great love for us, and His perfect obedience to the Father. This was the only way, and He would see it through, so that we could be redeemed.

When we choose to place our faith and trust in Jesus' finished work on the cross, where He took the penalty for our sin, we receive His gift of salvation. We can either choose to depend on our own goodness to attempt to earn heaven, but in so doing we also choose to bear the wrath for sin on our own. Or we can trust that Jesus paid it all, recognizing that we have nothing to offer God, and are completely dependent on His gracious gift of salvation through the cross. Truly, "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Praise the mighty name of Jesus Christ, because He endured the cross and the wrath for sin in our place, and did not save Himself. May we each examine ourselves and know how truly desperate we were/are for His saving work on the cross. There was no other way for us to be saved. "He saved others; he cannot save himself."

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship & Arts Pastor

This week in our L3, we have been reading through Psalms 120-132. In these Psalms, we find songs of prayer for deliverance (120, 129, 130), songs of confidence in God's providence and power (121, 124, 125 - the Psalm from which the song "Those Who Trust" was written, 127, 132), songs of celebration (122, 126), a cry for mercy (123), a song of wisdom (128), and a song of peace (131). In your Bible, you may see a heading over each of these Psalms: "A Song of Ascents." These were songs that the people of Israel sang as they ascended the hill on which Jerusalem was situated, "the mountain of the Lord" (Isaiah 30:29 ESV).

My favorite of these Psalms is 130. In this Psalm, we see the Psalmist mourning his sin and guilt, and his resulting desperation for God's mercy. We can also see the teaching of a righteousness given by faith. The beginning of this Psalm is where each of us truly begin our relationship with God - we need to recognize the depth of our sin, and our desperation for God's mercy. Self-help is not an option for our redemption. God must do it. Verse 3 shows the gravity of the situation, recognizing that if God decides to count all of our transgressions against us, we don't have a chance! It is only because of His grace and mercy that we have hope.

In verse 4, we also get a clearer picture of what "the fear of the Lord" looks like. Notice that forgiveness is the cause of the Psalmist's "fear" of God. If the Psalmist's relationship with God were like that of a slave or servant to a master, this "servile fear would have been diminished, not increased, by forgiveness" (Derek Kidner, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms, 482). Instead, "fear" in the Old Testament "means reverence and implies relationship" (Kidner, 482).

Through the rest of the Psalm, the Psalmist speaks of his hope in the Lord and his word. He speaks of God's "steadfast love" and "plentiful redemption" (v. 7). And then there is the bottom line: God "will redeem Israel from all his iniquities." Notice who is the one doing the redeeming and forgiving. It is God. Not us. Not the Psalmist. He is well aware that he cannot rescue himself from his sin. The Psalmist must to turn to God and trust in Him to forgive us through His mercy, His steadfast love, and His plentiful redemption, even though the Psalmist was not yet aware of the means of this ultimate forgiveness (Jesus Christ).

This Psalm takes us through the journey that we all must walk, from desperation and guilt in our sin to hope, forgiveness, and redemption in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

To think on this Psalm further, listen to this recording of a piece from composer John Rutter's Requiem, entitled "Out of the Deep," which comes almost verbatim from Psalm 130:

Out of the Deep

About a decade ago, this song made me take a close look at Psalm 130, and helped me to see its beauty and value for us today. Enjoy!

May we each recognize our desperate need for mercy, forgiveness, and redemption from our deep sin. We have no hope without Christ! May we each remember and thank Him for His work on the cross to rescue us and to wash away our sin.

In the Son,

Bill Horn
FBC Worship & Arts Pastor

Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Hebrews 12 comes on the heels (not surprisingly) of Hebrews 11, the great hall of faith chapter. Therefore, in light of the testimony of such a great cloud of witnesses (think Hebrews 11 and the faithfulness of God), we can be sure of things hoped for and certain of things we do not see. Hebrews was written to a group of people who were on the fence between Judaism and Christianity. They liked Jesus, liked the body of Christ, but were scared and hesitant to leave behind their heritage, not fully understanding that Jesus was the fulfillment of their faith. The writer of Hebrews is telling them to let go. Their heritage of faith (Hebrews 11) has pointed them to this, and now it is time to pursue Christ by...

Throwing off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...what are the things in your life that are keeping you from abundant life in Christ? This is not a trick question. Name them. If you are being honest, you know them easily. Name them. Confess them to God and find a brother or sister in Christ to walk life with you, keeping you accountable and celebrating growth in your life.

Run with perseverance the race marked out for us...God is trying to get you to a point B. You started at point A, and he is taking you to the location he has destined. IF YOU ARE LUCKY, this road will NOT be easy. Suffering in life, times of wilderness and desert are invitations to hold tightly to the hand of God. There is no greater moment in your life to run with perseverance, or be transformed in your faith, than when times are tough. We do not rejoice in the sufferings themselves, but in our God who can get us through. Run your race. I know that for many of us, we are going through tough situations, tough decisions and real pain. I am in no way belittling these experiences, just merely calling you to follow hard after the one who is able to save.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...The rest of the verse describes his greatness and worthiness, but he must be our gaze. When he is not our vision, our lives are dictated by lesser things. CS Lewis calls this "lovers less wild." Our eyes must be on Jesus, because he is our standard. Our eyes must be on Jesus, because there is no one else worthy to be followed. Our eyes must be on  Jesus because only through him, will our lives have value.

Our circumstances might be different than the 1st century Jews, but our call is the same. This week in our homes, in our schools, in our places of business, may we pursue Christ above all else.

Brian Tryhus
FBC Family Pastor