Author: pastor: Matthew Pittman

For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Hebrews 10:14

He has now reconciled [you] in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and
above reproach before him. Colossians 1:22

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7

One of the greatest heartaches in the Christian life is the slowness of our change. We hear the summons of God to love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:30). But do we ever rise to that totality of affection and devotion?

We cry out regularly with the apostle Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). We groan even as we take fresh resolves: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12).

That very statement is the key to endurance and joy. “Christ Jesus has made me his own.” All my reaching and yearning and striving is not to belong to Christ (which has already happened), but to complete what is lacking in my likeness to him.

One of the greatest sources of joy and endurance for the Christian is knowing that in the imperfection of our progress we have already been perfected—and that this is owing to the suffering and death of Christ. “For by a single offering [namely, himself!] he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). This is amazing! In the same sentence he says we are “being sanctified” and we are already “perfected.”

Being sanctified means that we are imperfect and in process. We are becoming holy—but are not yet fully holy. And it is precisely these—and only these—who are already perfected. The joyful encouragement here is that the evidence of our perfection before God is not our experienced perfection, but our experienced progress. The good news is that being on the way is proof that we have arrived.

The Bible pictures this again in the old language of dough and leaven (yeast). In the picture, leaven is evil. We are the lump of dough. It says, “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Christians are “unleavened.” There is no leaven—no evil. We are perfected. For this reason we are to “cleanse out the old leaven.” We have been made unleavened in Christ. So we should now become unleavened in practice. In other words, we should become what we are.

The basis of all this? “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” The suffering of Christ secures our perfection so firmly that it is already now a reality. Therefore, we fight against our sin not simply to become perfect, but because we are. The death of Jesus is the key to battling our imperfections on the firm foundation of our perfection.

Reflection

1. Meditate, ponder and if journaling, write your thoughts concerning Hebrews 10:16 that “In the same sentence he says we are ‘being sanctified’ and we are already ‘perfected’.”
2. Like the previous question meditate, ponder and write your thoughts what John Piper mentioned concerning Christian’s being unleavened.

from John Piper: Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die

The apostle Paul declared that he was determined to know nothing save Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2).  This was the apostle’s way of emphasizing the extreme importance of the cross to Christianity. 

The doctrine of atonement is central to all Christian theology.  Luther called Christianity a theology of the cross.  The figure of a cross is the universal symbol of Christianity. 

The concept of atonement reaches back to the Old Testament where God set up a system by which the people of Israel could make atonement for their sins.  To atone is to make amends, to set things right.

Both the Old Testament and New Testament make it clear that all human beings are sinners.  As our sins are against an infinite, holy God who cannot even look upon sin.  Atonement must be made in order for us to have fellowship with God. 

Because sin touches even our best acts, we are in capable of making a sufficient sacrifice.  Even our sacrifices are tainted and would require a further sacrifice to cover that blemish, ad infinitum. We have no gift valuable enough, no work righteous enough to atone for our own sins.  We are debtors who cannot pay their debts.

In receiving the wrath of God on the cross, Christ was able to make atonement for His people.  Christ carried, or bore, the punishment for the sins of human beings.  He atoned for them by accepting the just punishment due for those sins. 

The Old Testament covenant pronounced a curse upon any person who broke the law of God.  On the cross, Jesus not only took that curse upon Himself, but He became “a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13).  He was forsaken by the Father and experienced the full measure of hell on the cross.

Orthodox Christianity has insisted that the Atonement involves substitution and satisfaction.  In taking God’s curse upon Himself, Jesus satisfied the demands of the God’s holy justice.  He received God’s wrath for us, saving us from the wrath that is to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

A key concept in the Bible regarding the atonement is captured in the phrase, “on behalf of.” Jesus did not die for Himself, but for us.  His suffering was vicarious*; He was our substitute.  He took our place in fulfilling the role of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

vicarious: 1. acting or done for another. 2. being able to experience something through the actions by someone else.

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Mark 14:24

I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. Jeremiah 32:40

The Bible speaks of an “old covenant” and a “new covenant.” The term covenant refers to a solemn, binding agreement between two parties carrying obligations for both sides and enforced by an oath. In the Bible the covenants God makes with man are initiated by himself. He sets the terms. His obligations are determined by his own purposes.

The “old covenant” refers to the arrangement God established with Israel in the law of Moses. Its weakness was that it was not accompanied by spiritual transformation. Therefore, it was not obeyed and did not bring life. It was written with letters on stone, not with the Spirit on the heart. The prophets promised a “new covenant” that would be different. It would be “not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The new covenant is radically more effective than the old. It is enacted on the foundation of Jesus’ suffering and death. “He is the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus said that his blood was the “blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). This means that the blood of Jesus purchased the power and the promises of the new covenant. It is supremely effective because Christ died to make it so.

What then are the terms of the covenant that he infallibly secured by his blood? The prophet Jeremiah describes some of them: “I will make a new covenant . . . this is the covenant that I will make . . . I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. . . . For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The suffering and death of Christ guarantees the inner change of his people (the law written on their hearts) and the forgiveness of their sins.

To guarantee that this covenant will not fail, Christ takes the initiative to create the faith and secure the faithfulness of his people. He brings a new-covenant people into being by writing the law not just on stone, but on the heart. In contrast with the “letter” on stone, he says “the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). “When we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). This is the spiritual life that enables us to see and believe in the glory of Christ. This miracle creates the new-covenant people. It is sure and certain because Christ bought it with his own blood.

And the miracle is not only the creation of our faith, but the securing of our faithfulness. “I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jeremiah 32:40). When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it.

from John Piper: Fifty Reasons Christ Came to Die

Reflection

1. According to this reading, what was the weakness of the Old Covenant?
2. What did Christ do that made the New Covenant extremely effective?
3. By what means believers in Christ kept in faith?

“The hiddenness of God is revealed in the crucified Christ.”

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
⁴ In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
⁶ He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
⁷ His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹² Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
    forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
    you have been the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    call his wickedness to account till you find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Reflection

1. Yes or No: “Why do you stand far off?” (verse 1) Has it ever seemed as if GOd is far off, to busy for you?
2. Yes or No: Does it seem at times that the wicked prosper when those pursuing righteousness suffer?
3. Chad Bird said, “The Lord is always the crucified lord. He is the one suffering injustice. When we look at the crucified Christ, we do not say, ‘There is God!’ because there is nothing divine about him.” Meditate on this statement and if you are journaling/writing, describe your thoughts on this.
4. The hiddenness of God is revealed in the crucified Christ. How does God, in Christ, join you in your suffering?

Note: In my opinion, Romans is the greatest book of the Bible. This writing by John Piper is based mostly out of Romans 8 which is right in the middle of the greatest book. As you read this entry, write out the sentences or thoughts that catch your attention.

Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Romans 8:34

The great conclusion to the suffering and death of Christ is this: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). To be “in Christ” means to be in relationship to him by faith. Faith in Christ unites us to Christ so that his death becomes our death and his perfection becomes our perfection. Christ becomes our punishment (which we don’t have to bear) and our perfection (which we cannot perform).

Faith is not the ground of our acceptance with God. Christ alone is. Faith unites us to Christ so that his righteousness is counted as ours. “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). Being “justified by faith” and being “justified . . . in Christ” (Galatians 2:17) are parallel terms. We are in Christ by faith and therefore justified.

When the question is asked, “Who is to condemn?” the answer is assumed. No one! Then the basis is declared: “Christ Jesus is the one who died!” The death of Christ secures our freedom from condemnation. It is as sure that we cannot be condemned as it is sure that Christ died. There is no double jeopardy in God’s court. We will not be condemned twice for the same offenses. Christ has died once for our sins. We will not be condemned for them. Condemnation is gone not because there isn’t any, but because it has already happened.

But what about condemnation by the world? Is that not an answer to the question, “Who is to condemn?” Aren’t Christians condemned by the world? There have been many martyrs. The answer is that no one can condemn us successfully. Charges can be brought, but none will stick in the end. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33). It’s the same as when the Bible asks, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” (Romans 8:35). The answer is not that these things don’t happen to Christians. The answer is: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

The world will bring its condemnation. They may even put their sword behind it. But we know that the highest court has already ruled in our favor. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). No one successfully. If they reject us, he accepts us. If they hate us, he loves us. If they imprison us, he sets our spirits free. If they afflict us, he refines us by the fire. If they kill us, he makes it a passage to paradise. They cannot defeat us. Christ has died. Christ is risen. We are alive in him. And in him there is no condemnation. We are forgiven, and we are righteous. “And the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).

Reflection

1. Look through the sentences and phrases which caught your attention and that you wrote down. For each one, ponder further (you may want to write out your thoughts) why did it catch your attention?
2. There is a difference between condemnation and conviction. Consider these two words and in your own way define both of them.
3. How can our Lord use conviction in our lives and help us grow in holiness?

From John Piper, Fifty Reasons Christ Came To Die

You may have noticed by Thursdays are the typically a bit more weighty day of the week. In my notes they are called Theology Thursday. These entries have a bit more Scripture and tend to be subject focused. Today the attention is directed at the work of Christ and how it was applied to us. This helpful article from David B. Garner that was written in April of 2019.

Born like any other young boy (Gal. 4:4), Jesus grew “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Despite contemporary attempts by some to paint Him as a superhero, Mary’s flesh-and-blood offspring “had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him” (Isa. 53:2). The Son of God became one of us and matured mentally, physically, spiritually, and socially.

Though never disobedient, He learned submission (Heb. 5:8)—by His steps of faith, He grew from immaturity to moral excellence. He was, in the fullest sense, a regular man with a tested and proven life: “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect” (2:17) and was made “perfect through suffering” (v. 10).

Yet as thoroughly ordinary as Jesus is, His life explodes beyond the common. The God-man undertook a divinely appointed, unrepeatable, and decisive historical role. Like the Adam of Eden, the last Adam—Jesus Christ—was a public man. In His representative calling, Jesus became the “merciful and faithful high priest . . . [who made] propitiation for the sins of the people” (v. 17). Only this one man has accomplished that extraordinary, lasting ministry.

Jesus’ human existence thus attains its value by His public function. At every moment, He acted with a look beyond Himself and to His people. The premier Prophet, He spoke to His people. The holy High Priest, He interceded for His people. The King of kings, He reigns over His people. Jesus came to live, die, and rise again for His people. He is the Shepherd; we are His sheep. He is the holy Redeemer; by Him we are wholly redeemed.

Accordingly, the roots of biblical salvation draw life from this glorious Christ-for-us motif. Christ is cornerstone; we are the “living stones” that make up the “spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). The great architectural project of history puts each of us in our God-appointed place—every living stone supported and sustained by the chief cornerstone. Christ is the Vine; we are the branches. Life flows in us, because we draw on Him (John 15:4). Christ is the husband; we are His bride (Rev. 21:2; see Eph. 5:18–33). The Savior lovingly clutches us covenantally, intimately, and irreversibly.

How does the work of this one man actually bless others? According to the Father’s wisdom, the Son of God sent from heaven accomplishes redemption; the Spirit of the Son applies that redemption to His people. By grace, the Spirit unites the people of God to the real Christ of history. The Son works savingly in the Spirit; the people of God participate in His saving acts by the same Spirit. By the will of the Father, the Spirit unites us to the Son.

The Holy Spirit unites us to the ordinary, extraordinary man. We are placed into Christ and He into us. We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.

No theological afterthought, this work of the Spirit possesses three distinct yet inseparable features. This grace toward us commences in the wise and gracious counsel of God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3–6). It gains historical traction in the ministry of Christ, where the Spirit places us in Christ in His own death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation (Rom. 6:1–4; Eph. 2:6). Then when giving us faith, the Spirit effects this gracious union in us personally (Eph. 1:13–14). Summarily, union with Christ originates in divine election and covenant purpose. In the divine accomplishment of redemption, the Spirit binds us to Christ. At the moment of faith, the Spirit applies the work of Christ to us immediately, personally, and savingly.

Appreciation for this ministry of the Spirit will prevent us from conceiving of salvation as an inanimate thing. Salvation must not be viewed first as a gift to unwrap but as the personal Savior we receive. The gift of the gospel is the Giver Himself.

Jesus Christ “gave himself for us” (Titus 2:14), and we receive Him by the Holy Spirit: “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ ” (Gal. 4:6) and, “You . . . are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom. 8:9). The Holy Spirit unites us to the ordinary, extraordinary man. We are placed into Christ and He into us. We belong to Him, and He belongs to us.

This particular passage was the source of some debate during the process of gathering the material to present during this season of Lent. It does not have strong tones for a Lenten reading, however, the message presented was one we should not miss. As Christians we grow in holiness and that growth comes from several sources one of which are fellow believers. Like Peter we can be riding high of our confession that Jesus is Lord (Matthew 16:16-17) only to turn around and be in great need of correction (Matthew 16:23). Psalm 141 is a great reminder of our need of constant correction from a forgiving Savior.

O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
² Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

³ Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
    keep watch over the door of my lips!
⁴ Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
    to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who work iniquity,
    and let me not eat of their delicacies!

⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
    let my head not refuse it.
Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are thrown over the cliff,
    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.

⁸ But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
⁹ Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me
    and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
    while I pass by safely.

Reflection

1. How can you “eat the delicacies of a wicked person”?
2. Meditate on 141:3 and the phrase “keep watch over the door of my lips”. Journal some of your thoughts on how this applies to you.
3. In what way is a serving of humble pie a spiritual slap in the face?
4. In the introduction above two texts from Matthew 16 (v. 16-17 & 23) were mentioned. What stands out in what was said and how close these are to each other?
5. As a believer in Christ, what is your hope in all moments be it Matthew 16:16-17 or Matthew 16:23?

Audio provided by the 1517 podcast

This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Mark 14:24

I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. Jeremiah 32:40

The Bible speaks of an “old covenant” and a “new covenant.” The term covenant refers to a solemn, binding agreement between two parties carrying obligations for both sides and enforced by an oath. In the Bible the covenants God makes with man are initiated by himself. He sets the terms. His obligations are determined by his own purposes.

The “old covenant” refers to the arrangement God established with Israel in the law of Moses. Its weakness was that it was not accompanied by spiritual transformation. Therefore it was not obeyed and did not bring life. It was written with letters on stone, not with the Spirit on the heart. The prophets promised a “new covenant” that would be different. It would be “not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).

The new covenant is radically more effective than the old. It is enacted on the foundation of Jesus’ suffering and death. “He is the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 9:15). Jesus said that his blood was the “blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). This means that the blood of Jesus purchased the power and the promises of the new covenant. It is supremely effective because Christ died to make it so.

What then are the terms of the covenant that he infallibly secured by his blood? The prophet Jeremiah describes some of them: “I will make a new covenant . . . this is the covenant that I will make . . . I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. . . . For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34). The suffering and death of Christ guarantees the inner change of his people (the law written on their hearts) and the forgiveness of their sins.

To guarantee that this covenant will not fail, Christ takes the initiative to create the faith and secure the faithfulness of his people. He brings a new-covenant people into being by writing the law not just on stone, but on the heart. In contrast with the “letter” on stone, he says “the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). “When we were dead in our trespasses, [God] made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). This is the spiritual life that enables us to see and believe in the glory of Christ. This miracle creates the new-covenant people. It is sure and certain because Christ bought it with his own blood.

And the miracle is not only the creation of our faith, but the securing of our faithfulness. “I will make with them an everlasting covenant. . . . I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me” (Jeremiah 32:40). When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security. He will not let them turn from him. He will keep them. They will persevere. The blood of the covenant guarantees it.

from John Piper: Fifty Reasons Christ Came To Die

Reflections

1. John Piper said in our text that the Old Covenant had a weakness. “Its weakness was that it was not accompanied by spiritual ___________. Therefore it was not obeyed and did not bring ______.”
2. According to 2 Corinthians 3:6, how does this differ from the New Covenant?
3. Consider the following passages: Ephesians 2:1-7, Jeremiah 31:31-34; 32:40. What great encouragement do you gain about your security in Christ?