Some Key Words (12/26/04)

Exhortations (parakaloon [3870]):

To call to one’s side. Any calling made to a person with the intent of producing a particular effect. To strongly beseech. An appeal, encouragement. | from para [3844]: near or beside, and kaleo [2564]: to call aloud; to call near. Invite, or invoke. | To summon. To speak to. To admonish. To beg (a usage once reserved for those imploring the gods). To console, encourage, and strengthen. To comfort or be comforted. To instruct.

Preached the Gospel (eueengelizeto [2097]):

To evangelize. To speak of the Son as He is declared in the Gospels. | from eu [2095]: well, and aggelos [32]: a messenger; to announce good news. | to bring good news. To instruct in matters of Christian salvation.

Reproved (elengchomenos [1651]):

to reprove with conviction. To deliver a truthful charge which is acknowledged by the one charged. | to admonish. | To convict with suggestion of shame upon the one convicted. To expose. To reprimand severely. To show one his faults, chasten, punish.

Wicked things (poneeroon [4190]):

morally or spiritually evil. Maliciously evil. | hurtfully evil. Evil in effect and influence as opposed to evil as an innate characteristic. Morally derelict, vicious. | Full of annoyances and hardships. Causing hardships and peril. Bad by nature or condition. The word’s usage in describing what is bad or evil comes from ‘its association with the working class’ not as a derogatory for the class itself, but for the unending toils associated therewith. Vices.

Paraphrase: (12/26/04)

Lk 3:18-20 John made strong appeals to the people, inviting them, instructing them, beseeching them in all manor of ways as he declared to them the good news that the Christ, the Son of God, was come. In the course of time, he even charged Herod to his face with the crimes that were his – taking his brother’s wife as his own, and any number of other malicious acts of moral dereliction. Herod felt the sting of these charges, for he knew they were true, but rather than repent, he added to his crimes by imprisoning John.

Key Verse: (12/27/04)

Lk 3:18 – With many exhortations to repentance, John declared the Good News.

Thematic Relevance: (12/26/04)	The message of repentance was not delivered alone, but in company with the good news of the Gospel. The nearness of the kingdom and the King was not declared solely as a cause for fear, but also as a declaration of hope.
Doctrinal Relevance: (12/26/04)	No man is above repentance. No position is high enough to hide one’s sins. The preacher must not be cowed by any man’s rank.
Moral Relevance: (12/26/04)	When conviction comes, we have a choice: allow the soul to respond, or allow the flesh to respond. The flesh will always seek to silence the voice of righteousness and conscience. The soul, the spirit, if truly in the hands of God will always seek to silence the tears with earnest repentance.

Symbols: (12/26/04)

N/A

People Mentioned: (12/26/04-12/27/04)

Herod [Antipas] (12/26/04)

“Hero”. This forms our introduction to Herod Antipas, the third of the Herods involved in the unfolding of the Gospel. [ISBE] Son of Herod the Great and a Samaritan, thus not even partly Jewish. He was tetrarch over Galilee “of the Gentiles” and Peraea from about the time of Jesus’ birth (4 BC) until several years after His death (39 AD). He is shown to have been a superstitious man, of great cunning, but no morality. He contested his father’s will, and sought the kingdom from Rome, but was denied. He was raised in Rome and well versed in Roman tastes and vices. He rejected his first wife (an Arabian princess) to take his brother’s wife, a woman also his own niece, increasing the sinfulness of his actions. The rejection of the princess bride brought war from her father. The stolen wife he preferred became the domination of his life. He shared his father’s passion for building. The only reason he did not exceed his father’s capacity for evil was lack of opportunity, as he was restrained by Rome’s imposed limits. However, his influence on the people he ruled was sufficiently baneful. The account given of his part in the death of the Christ shows incidentally that he was thoroughly ineffective as a ruler. While these events bound Pilate and Herod together in some sort of friendship, they also proved the destruction of both men, who were stripped of power and died in exile. Herodias convinced her husband to demand the right of rule from Caligula when his rival Herod Agrippa was declared king, but Agrippa succeeded in laying charges of treason against Antipas, and he was banished to Gaul.

Herodias (12/26/04)

same derivation “heroine”. [M&S] Daughter of Aristobulus, himself son of Herod the Great and Mariamne. Also, sister of Agrippa I (see above). First married to her father’s brother Philip, she was involved with Herod Antipas while still married to Philip, and eventually left the one for the other. Antipas was, meanwhile, married to the daughter of the king of Arabia. Herodias’ dancing daughter was hers by Philip, not by Herod. So many laws were broken by Herodias connection with Herod, that John is only expressing the outrage of the Jewish nation at large in the charges he lays at Herod’s feet. That he chose Herod, rather than Herodias to charge is indicative of the fact that there remained some hope of repentance in Herod’s case. The Arabian king, incensed at the insult to his daughter declared war on Herod, and defeated him soundly. John’s execution, spoken of here, occurred in a fortress on the border of the kingdoms of Herod and the Arabian king, on the south side of the Dead Sea. In the end, Herodias willingly shared the exile of her second husband, rather than staying with her brother. It is noted that the birthday celebration during which Herodias succeeded in procuring John’s death was in itself a pagan custom, abhorrent to the Jews. The oath of Herod, by which he felt himself bound to deliver John to death, was in fact non-binding, being an illicit oath. Solomon is cited as having determined this. (1Ki 2:20-24 – I ask one thing of you, oh king. Don’t refuse me. “I will not.” Let Adonijah, your brother take Abishag as wife, then. “Why ask this only? You might as well ask for my kingdom to be given to him. He is after all my older brother. Why not ask also that I give him the temple and the army!” Solomon turned to God, and swore on His Name that he would have Adonijah’s life for having prompted this treachery. Indeed, he would be put to death that very day.)

John (12/27/04)

[M&S] A man of great character, as was attested to by Jesus, Himself (Lk 7:28 – Among men, there has been none greater than John. But, the least child of God’s kingdom is greater yet than he.) Born to parents who were both of priestly descent, he was Jesus’ elder by six months. John’s ministry fulfilled prophecies made by Isaiah and Malachi. His birth was a matter of miraculous intervention, and the right of his naming was taken by God. He was declared one like Elijah in boldness and power, who would speak Truth and rebuke sin, and would bring reform to Israel. Even before his birth, John began his ministry, acknowledging the presence of the Lord Jesus when Mary came to visit the pregnant Elizabeth. The events surrounding John’s birth left people with no doubt that God was on the move once more in Israel. Given the angelic declaration that John would be a Nazarite from birth, and the brief summary Luke gives us of his maturing, it seems clear that he lived in strict self-denial, and in relative solitude. There are tales which tell of John being taken into the desert to escape Herod’s murderous spree in Bethlehem, as well of Zacharias dying under Herod’s interrogations. These are, however, but unconfirmed tales. It appears that he grew up in the regions surrounding the Dead Sea. When he emerged into ministry, he was in every way a lesson unto Israel. He dressed after the fashion of the prophets, he fed himself solely as God’s creation provided. From Josephus’ description of his own teacher’s experiences, we can get some limited sense of John’s life in the wilds. He ate whatever could be found growing there, and sought out cold pools of water in which to bathe often. There are those who think John may have been with the Essenes, but this, too, is unproven. Although John never did a single miracle, the general expectations in Israel combined with his reputation and appearance to make him a powerfully attractive voice in the land. The sum of his message was repentance – not legal expiation, but real heart-change. While this message was largely at odds with the current trends in Jewish religion, it was very much one with the prophetic tradition. He warned against trusting in externals, in any supposed benefits of ‘formal righteousness.’ His requirement of baptism was not entirely new, having been required of proselytes for some time. Neither was it indicative of the remission of sins. It was solely a symbolic token of real repentance without which forgiveness is impossible. Neither did his baptism confer regenerate life in the spirit. His was a preparatory baptism. John preached a practical message against the covetous and self-centered attitude of his culture. “It was his great work to prepare the mind of the nation.” John could doubtless have abused his position, had he wanted to, but he remained faithful to the role God gave him, and ever pointed to the Messiah whose servant he was. So widely was his fame spread that Jesus, at the opposite end of the country was made aware of it, and knew it for the sign that it was time for Him to begin His own work. Thus, He came to John to be baptized – not because of any personal need for purification on His part, but because He would require nothing of the nation as a whole that He would not submit to Himself. Questions arise as to how John could have shown reticence at the idea of baptizing Jesus, and yet claim at a later date that he did not recognize Jesus until the Spirit had come upon Him. This text considers the idea that John and Jesus were not familiar with each other out of the question. However, it’s quite likely that they had not seen very much of each other, given their disparate geographical locations, and John’s particular upbringing. It would seem, from the testimony, that God had declared a very specific sign to John, by which he might know the Messiah with certainty. Yes, he knew his cousin was his cousin. Yes, he knew his cousin was something special, perhaps had his suspicions that He was the One, but until the baptism was completed, the sign was not given. He was not authorized to make any declaration regarding Jesus until that sign was come. The baptism of Jesus signaled the end of John’s function as herald, although he continued to minister thereafter. Indeed, the evidence shows that John’s church or school continued even after his death, working alongside Jesus’ ministry. Even as of the writing of this text, there remain a sect who identify themselves as John’s church, and stand at odds with Judaism and Christianity alike, and preaching a John and Jesus ‘altogether different from the characters bearing these names in our evangelists.’ The Scripture accounts cannot be used to prove the claim that John never quit his office. That his disciples continued is not indication that he remained active, and that his disciples may have got his message horribly wrong is always possible in the human condition. Many have likewise got Jesus’ message horribly wrong. The authors suggest this as the motive behind John’s sending of his disciples to speak to Jesus – not a doubt on his part, but a way of settling some miscomprehension on their part. The author also concurs with my own thought that John was the second disciple noted as joining Jesus from John’s ministry. John’s stance against all irreligion brought him up against Herod Antipas, whose sins were many, and John did not back down from accusing the governor of his crimes. This landed him in prison. Josephus claims that Herod had John imprisoned and killed for fear that he might use his popularity to start an uprising. This does not necessarily contradict the Gospel version of matters. Herod’s mind may well have been made up already, and Herodias’ actions but a convenient pretext. The war which some blame on Herod’s ejection of his first wife, others blamed on his execution of John. John’s execution appears to have happened in a fortress on the borders of Peraea, and it was here that word of Jesus’ own miraculous works reached John and Herod alike. When John sent his own disciples to Jesus, he was likely seeking to overcome their unwillingness to transfer their allegiance to the rightful King. Jesus, after sending these disciples back to John, made clear to the crowds that this was no sign of John’s own unbelief. As John fulfilled the role of Elijah, so Herod played the role of Ahab. John’s death likely came in 28 AD, just prior to the third Passover of Jesus’ ministry. It should be noted that Herod was a Sadducee, and therefore, not a believer in resurrection, yet he still thought Jesus to be John resurrected. John’s reputation is such that even the Koran makes mention of him. His strict abstinence was such that some thought him possessed, his humility sufficient to empower him to refuse the honors that the people sought to force on him. The mode of John’s death does nothing to discredit him as the return of Elijah. It merely sets the example that the disciple of Christ is not above his master.

You Were There (12/27/04)

We are not told any details of the events surrounding John’s accusation of Herod and Herodias. It may be that he decried the vices of the governor during the course of his ministries by the Jordan, but that seems a little out of character for him. We later find that Herod had been seeking an opportunity to see Jesus. We can question whether it was for the stated purpose of being entertained by Him, or for other, more nefarious purposes, but it was in his character to seek out these novel men. Can it be that he had also invited John to come speak to him?

The record seems to indicate that John was taken to a prison far from where he had been laboring. Why? If Herod had simply wanted him arrested, he could have done so in a more convenient fashion. But, Herod was at war, and as yet had no real charge to lay against John. Legitimate charges might not have been an obstacle for the governor, but fear of public reaction would be. So, an invitation. Would the good prophet be so kind as to come speak to the governor, that he, too, might benefit from this man’s message?

I rather doubt John had any real opportunity to refuse the invitation, and I rather doubt he had any real desire to do so. John was not one to back down from facing sin. He knew the power of the One he served. He had faced the desert, and seen God’s provision. He could face the spiritual desert that was the governor, and know that God would provide. So, he went, to all appearances willingly, and the many who came to see him, though disappointed by his absence, were not given cause to riot.

Can you imagine, though, the scene at the fortress? Here, the prophet, all rags and destitute by appearance, was brought into the presence of royal finery. This was, after all, one of Herod the Great’s palaces, and though it were a time of war, the governor was being well cared for. His father’s constructions tended to combine great security with great opulence. What a contrast between these two! Herod invites John to speak, perhaps to tell him about what this ministry of his was. Surely, he expected the same deference from John that he received from all the others who came to him. He may have expected it, but he didn’t get it. John, the fearless advocate of righteousness, gave Herod no more quarter than he gave those that came to him at the river. Here are your sins. Shall I list them for you? You call yourself governor, but know the King is come. You ask that we prepare to come into your court, well prepare yourself for His. See to your wicked ways! Let me recount them to you! These must be dealt with if you expect to stand before the King.

Can you imagine the shocked hush that must have fallen on that place? Can you imagine the horror on every face? This was a son of Herod. He may have been more stable than most, but that wasn’t saying much! What would come of it? How great would his rage turn out to be? Can I say this? John, I suspect, knew exactly what the outcome would be before ever he spoke a word. He knew what the outcome would be for himself, and he knew what the outcome would be for the couple he denounced. God does not leave His prophets unaware. But, John had counted the cost, and knew his own life was worth nothing if he lost the goal of heaven.

Some Parallel Verses (12/27/04)

3:18
3:19

Mt 14:3 – When Herod arrested John, he had him bound and thrown in prison for what he had said regarding Herodias. Mk 6:17 – Herod had sent to have John arrested and imprisoned for his words regarding Herodias. Mt 14:1 – It was around this time that Herod began to hear news about Jesus. Lk 3:1 – John began preaching when Herod governed in Galilee, and his brother Philip ruled over Ituraea and Trachonitis.

3:20

Jn 3:24 – At this point, John had not yet been imprisoned.

New Thoughts (12/28/04-12/29/04)

McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia makes much of the fact that Herod, though a Sadducee, still evidenced a certain amount of belief in the possibility of resurrection. Personally, I don’t make much of this at all. It is one thing to be a member of some sect or faith, and quite another to believe. There are any number of Presbyterians out there who don’t believe in predestination – at least not as it is known in the Reformed circles that their denomination is part of. There are any number of folks in the Assemblies of God who do not believe that speaking in tongues is a necessary mark of being a Christian. More often than not, the problem is not, as with Herod’s example, that one believes what the sect does not. It is far more common in our society that the members disbelieve what the sect claims.

Frankly, I think Herod’s ‘belief’ was more superstition than theological stance. I don’t think Herod had a theological stance. I don’t think he cared the least little bit for theology and religion. He was a political creature, a worshipper of power and self. Quite frankly, nothing else much mattered to him but him. Whether Sadducee or Pharisee were right didn’t matter to him, because it didn’t appear to immediately concern him. Whether his subjects approved of his personal choices didn’t much matter to him, so long as they could be held in subjection. If it became revolt, well, that would be dealt with, but if it was just opinion, who cares?

This is the state of our culture today. Religious belief is not seen as having much of anything to do with Truth, and therefore, it is seen as not having much to do with me. What you believe is just that: what you believe. It’s all nothing but opinion, and your opinion is no more valid than mine. If what I do offends you, don’t look. But, don’t you dare judge me for who I am. Don’t you dare claim to have the right to say I’m wrong! This is not just the view of secular culture anymore, either. It’s become the view of large slices of the Church, even the Church that will lay claim to the title of “Christian.” A vast portion of Christianity no longer believes the basic tenets of Christianity in any form. Never mind the arguments over what baptism should look like. Never mind the debate over free will. Never mind Calvin vs. Armineus. These are nothing! We live in an age where so-called Christian churches deny the deity of the Christ they preach! We live in an age when the men in the pulpit proclaim a Jesus who was nothing more than a good example! We live in an age when the preachers that lead God’s people by and large don’t believe the Bible that is still displayed as decoration in their sanctuary!

Centuries after John’s death, there were still folks claiming to form his church, yet they proclaimed things he would never have said. The preached, as the McClintock & Strong article puts it, a John and a Jesus that are ‘altogether different from the characters bearing these names in our evangelists.’ Let me tell you, there are more churches today that preach a Jesus ‘altogether different’ from the Jesus who was and is and is to come than could have been believed even a few short decades ago! The dream of the liberal seminaries is largely coming to pass. The Unitarian ideal has slipped into every denomination to some degree, and falsehoods are declared from the house of God with shocking regularity. A brother of mine spoke recently of the ‘plastic, blow-up Jesus’ that these folks are preaching. That about fits the bill! They preach a Jesus who isn’t there and doesn’t care. They preach a Jesus who accepts everybody just as they are, could care less about their sins, and never set them free from a damn thing! They preach the Jesus they want, not the Jesus that is. And through it all, they continue to declare that they are Christians. They are about as Christian as Herod was a Jew. He may have been circumcised, but it was by force, not choice. He may have used the title Sadducee, but he was wholly Roman in faith and practice, more wholly Roman than most of Rome.

Woe to us if we allow the erosion to continue! Woe to us if we will not take up the mantle of John and declare the Truth! Woe to us if we join the crowds that refuse to call sin sin! Woe to us if we continue to allow modern culture to define us, when we were left in the world to define the world by God’s terms!

This is exactly what John came to do battle with. And, imagine this: He never performed a single miracle! We in the charismatic church are so caught up with signs and wonders! We have taught ourselves to neglect the warnings of Scripture, even as the dead denominations have taught themselves to ignore them! We have become as selective in our reading as have they. We’ve just chosen a different set of sins to specialize in. In our case, it’s idolatry. We idolize the signs and wonders. We idolize our worship. We idolize everything that stirs our emotions, and don’t bother a bit about whether it’s real or not. Were John to appear in our midst, we’d ignore him because he had no signs and wonders to show us. We’ve become like the Pharisees. “Show us a sign and maybe we’ll believe you.” Stir our emotions and maybe we’ll give you some money. Perform for us. Entertain us.

John didn’t need a miracle to vouch for his message. His own reputation vouched for his message. His way of life, his example, his commitment to the fierce pursuit of true holiness made plain that here was something different, something real. His ministry had a powerful voice for one reason only: it was the voice of Truth. When Truth is spoken, people cannot help but listen. Herod did not want to hear Truth. He didn’t appreciate hearing Truth. But he heard it, and he recognized it for what it was.

John wasn’t concerned with the latest trends in religion. John didn’t care whether his message was attractive. John wasn’t ruled by tradition. He was wholly committed to God and God alone. He was not impressed by external appearances, and he knew better than to trust in the ‘formal righteousness’ that the religious institutions had to offer. This was the problem his contemporaries faced. They actually thought that this ‘formal righteousness’ was enough. They thought the signs and appearances were enough. Today we would call them the ‘once saved, always saved’ crowd – the ones who figured they had been christened as a child, so they could pretty much do as they pleased for the rest of their lives.

John shouted “NO!” It’s not about externals. It’s not about rituals. It’s about real heart change. It’s about casting off the covetous, self-centered attitude of this day and age and living a life of real, radical repentance. It’s about recognizing what God’s Law always demanded of us. It’s about understanding what it is we’ve fallen short of the mark on. It’s about not just recognizing ourselves as sinners, but actually doing something to change. It’s about doing more than saying, “gee, God, I’m sure sorry about that. Oops! Sorry again.” We’ve got that litany down, but it’s a hollow litany. John called for action. He still calls for action. Stop trusting in your consistent attendance record at church to be enough. Stop trusting your tithe to be enough. Stop trusting your singing and dancing to be enough. Stop trusting in externals, and change. Change yourself, and you will change society. Anything less, and you will be overwhelmed by the flood tide of a corrupt and corrupting culture.

On a different thought, it struck me as being important that the war most blamed on Herod’s sending his first wife back home to her father, others saw with a different significance. They saw it as retribution for Herod’s execution of John. Now, a study of the events surrounding John’s death would seem to indicate that the war started before his execution, which would in turn seem to indicate that the first reason given for the war was the right reason. But, this fails to take God and His Providence into proper account. It stops short of the full import. It finds an immediate cause, but fails to find the true cause. What is proposed is true enough, as far as it goes. Aretas, offended and rightly so at the rude rejection of his daughter takes the course open to a national head, and declares war on the one who has insulted not only his daughter and not only himself, but his nation as well. There remains, however, the question of why all this has occurred. That answer we might find in the power of lust. We might find it in the devious yet inept schemes of Herod, or we might find it in his depravity. But, we still will not have chased the issue to its real cause.

We must understand that God is at the helm. Like Pharaoh, Herod’s heart was hardened. Like Pharaoh, God permitted Herod his own way, and Herod took it. Like the kings of foreign powers before him, Aretas was stirred into action as the tool of God’s wrath. He was not any more righteous for being used. He was simply the tool God chose to use to chasten the sins of Galilee’s governor.

Now, when I set this point down as something to pursue, my immediate thought was the correlation to current events in America, particularly the war in Iraq. Many lay the cause for that war on a thirst for oil. Others see in it nothing but a misguided son seeking to finish what his father had started. There may or may not be any truth to these suggestions. There may indeed be a part of the President that wishes to vindicate his father, although I doubt that has had any real impact on the decision-making process. There may be some in positions of power who really don’t see the war as more than an oil-grab. Maybe. But, quite frankly, what they think the war is about isn’t all that interesting. It’s no more interesting than what Herod and Aretas thought their fight was about.

The key to current events lies in recalling that there is a Creator, that He is sovereign over all, and that His Providence still holds the reins over the great and the small. If we really hold to the belief that there is no such thing as coincidence (and we really should), then we must start looking beyond the purely temporal reasons; we must look for more than the scientific explanation. If the question is “why,” we need to stop settling for answers that only tell us “how.” The “why” in this case is not far different than the “why” of Israel entering the land of Canaan. The sins of the Canaanites had exceeded all bounds. The patience of God, which we like to think is infinite, proved to have definite limits, and those limits had been reached. The cries of the innocent who had died at the hands of the Canaanites as they worshiped their devils had reached the throne room of the Eternal King, and He was taking action.

In this action, Israel was the army of the Lord. In other actions, they would be the ones to suffer God’s wrath, and that at the hands of nations less righteous than themselves. If, in this current action, America is in the role of God’s army of retribution, we must take on that role with the utmost fear, with the greatest of care for the holiness of the God we serve. He is not willing that holiness should be abandoned in His wrath. He is not willing that those who serve His purposes should exceed His purposes, should perpetrate acts as criminal as those being punished. The abuses that are being reported, if they are true (as it seems that some, perhaps the majority are), will not go unpunished. This is not a matter of the superiority of the American system of governance. It’s a matter of there being a God in heaven, and He is a just God. He is an impartial Authority. If American justice will not see to it that the abuses of American power are properly punished, and appropriate reparations made to those harmed by the abuses, we can surely expect that the hand of God will be against us. Like Babylon and Assyria, we will find that though we were part of God’s plan, we have been marked for His wrath ourselves.

Now, this analysis of the war in Iraq may shock and offend some. I understand. I was faced with an equally shocking and offensive comprehension yesterday, one I was just as unwilling to attribute to its proper source. Reports have been coming in regarding the lives lost to the tsunami that hit southeast Asia this week. Tens of thousands confirmed dead, and we have not even begun to hear about the missing, or those lost to the disease that will surely follow on the heels of this disaster. I heard about this, and I must confess that my ears stopped at the physical, the temporal impact. What a horrible, horrible disaster. What terrible misery for the survivors. It took my wife’s comments to jerk me to attention. She said something to the effect of, “well, I guess God’s had enough!” My immediate reaction to that was offense. I was offended that she was being so judgmental. But, coming back to the topic for study this morning, I am forced to come face to face with my own beliefs. Jeff’s second theorem of God is being tested, here. If there truly is no such thing as coincidence, if God’s Providence is real, then His hand is assuredly in these events somewhere. There is more reason for the incredible loss of life than simple scientific data about tectonic plates. There’s more at play here than fluid dynamics.

Yes, those who lost their lives were human beings, just like me, just like you. Yes, like us they were created in the image of God. They occupied just as high a rung on the ladder of creation as do we. The fact is, though, that the convicting words of Romans apply. This is a region violently opposed to Christianity. They have, by and large, exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They worship creatures rather than the Creator (Ro 1:25). This is a land that will starve as their next meal walks the streets, because their demonic beliefs have convinced them it might be Uncle Hari. And, as they have been so rigid in their determination not to acknowledge the God who Is, God has given them free rein to pursue their abominations (Ro 1:28) for a time. Now, the verdict is come. “You have taken His abundant patience and kindness for granted. You have ignored the fact that His kindness is to bring you to repentance. And because of your stubbornness, your unrepentant heart, you have stored up wrath for yourself. Today is your day of wrath. Today is revealed the righteous judgment of God, rendering to each according to his deeds" (Ro 2:4-6).

This is the spiritual reality. It sounds harsh because it is harsh. But, this is what’s happening. Like the war in Iraq, it is no more and no less than the wrath of God, His judgment coming upon a people who have stubbornly refused to acknowledge Him for centuries now. They have not only refused faith in themselves, but have been an active force corroding the faith of nations that once believed. Not satisfied to be condemned sinners themselves, they labor hard, they insist violently, that all around them join them in their sins. The tactics may differ. The Muslims seem to prefer violent jihad, a bloody death for all who refuse their evil. The Hindi would prefer to so twist the truth that ‘all roads lead to God.’ They have succeeded entirely too well. The Buddhists put forth a man and call him ‘god,’ the creation raised above the Creator. God will not be mocked!

Woe to us, though, if we look upon these things and rejoice at their sorrow. They remain, in spite of the wrath being poured out upon them, God’s creation, made in His image, and He is in no way pleased to have them destroyed in His wrath. God took no pleasure in the Flood. It was not pleasing in His sight that of all humanity, only eight should survive. But, the holy and pure core of His essence required it. Justice required that sin not go unpunished. Mercy required that the annihilation not be total. Faithfulness required that the line of promise extend through the Flood to come out on the other side. Love required that where there was even one left who might be considered righteous in His sight, that one be preserved.

If we look upon the destruction of life in far away nations today and find it in ourselves to gloat over them, we are storing up our own stockpile of holy wrath. Far better that we look upon the evidence of God’s wrath and look to our own estate. Can He be well pleased with the condition of American morality today? Can He be well pleased that we no longer seek His opinion on the ethical dilemmas of our day, but ask scientists to tell us instead? How is this different from Buddhism? Can He be pleased with our enshrined rights of destroying the lives He created, as we kill of babies to preserve the ‘rights’ of mothers? How is this different from the Canaanites offering up their first born on the altars of Molech? Can He be pleased by a nation whose biggest exports are sin and death? By a nation that insists on calling what is good bad, and what is bad good? The warning shots are being fired. For a time, they will doubtless remain at a distance. But, woe to us if we think they will remain so forever! Woe to us if we think our status as one nation under God will preserve us when our every action denies the God we say we are under! Woe to us if we continue to trust in our money, rather than the God it proclaims our trust to be in! Woe to us if we have become so convinced of our own intelligence that we must be proven fools by the Omniscient One in Whom and because of Whom we move, and breathe, the One by Whom we have any being at all!

Truly, the kingdom of God is drawing near once more. Truly, it must be cause for fear, for our offenses against a holy God cannot go on. His wrath is come not only on a select few, but upon all unrighteousness. I tell you, so long as we repeatedly refuse to stand for righteousness, the Righteous One will be absolutely Righteous in refusing to stand for us. If we are so completely wrapped up in watching His judgment fall on others that we fail to take stock of ourselves, then His nearness must be cause for fear in us, for everything we are seeing is evidence that our turn cannot be long in coming.

But, it need not be so. We need not find His nearness reason to fear. He has told us the way to be reconciled. He has provided the means by which we might find hope and joy in His kingdom. There is yet time to lay hold of the Salvation He offered once for all, but it will not always be so. In the events we are witnessing, God is not solely bringing about His justice. He is not solely punishing those who have with great determination placed themselves beyond all hope of redemption. He is also bringing conviction to the hearts of those who still recognize His Name. He is bringing conviction to those who still know God, but who have thought Him distant from the events of man. Like Israel two thousand years ago, we are being given the chance to repent and return. John’s cry has come once more to the nations of the earth: “Repent from your sins, that you may be forgiven!”

Conviction has come, and we have a choice. Each and every one of us must make this choice for ourselves. The choice is: will we respond with a soul-wrenching, heart-changing, cry of repentance, or will we respond with the rebellious flesh? Herod had one last chance. It stood before him in the form of John. John laid out his sins before him and repeated the age old call to crisis: “Choose you this day.” Herod chose, and in choosing sealed his eternal fate. He had determined that his own will would be done, and God’s will would have to give way, and God, in His perfect justice, allowed Herod his way, and his way led inevitably to a damnation without end. The war with Aretas was but a warning shot. There was still time to change, but he would have none of it. Lusts must be satisfied, and sins must have their final price of death. The enormity of his sins would destroy many around him. He would even have a hand in the death of the King.

Truly, the charges of treason his brother bore against him were accurate, although the grounds were far different than Rome inferred. No, the sentence had come and the heavenly court had been adjourned. Rome would play its part in the meting out of justice, but it was only a bit part. The real judgment, the eternal consequences remained in the hands of God.

Herod gave up hope in exchange for lust. Our choice is no different. Hope is still being held out to us. But, hope requires repentance. Hope requires belief in the God who Is. Hope demands that we set aside our make-believe gods, demands that we give up trying to make God look better in our sight, and begin making ourselves look better in His. Hope requires that we die to our lusts now, that we die to our sins now. It is given to man once to die, and after that the judgment (Heb 9:27). Judge yourselves truly and honestly now, while there is time to change your ways! Don’t condemn yourself to an eternity of death. The kingdom comes with an offer of hope, real hope, a hope that will not, can not fail, for it is a hope not founded on the weakness of the flesh, but on the Rock of Christ Jesus, a sure foundation!

Here is one last thing I wish to say about John at this point. He counted the cost. When he stood up and decried Herod’s sins, he knew what would come of it. He knew it was the death of his flesh to stand up for righteousness, but he stood up! There was a time when the Church understood this, when the Church knew that it must stand up for righteousness, must oppose the work of the evil one, no matter what the personal cost, because life itself was worthless if one had lost the goal of heaven. That was and is the power of the Church, a people so wholly committed to righteousness that they will fearlessly stand up and declare not only the sins of those around them, but their own. They will stand up and confess with God that they are unrighteous in themselves. They will acknowledge God’s just determination of their own case, and they will accept the decision of the Holy Court. But, they accept the decision knowing they have laid hold of the amnesty which the blood of Jesus has procured. They accept the decision, and they go forth offering that same amnesty to one and all.

Amnesty is available, but it comes with a price. We must confess. We must acknowledge that God has been entirely right about us. We must admit our own powerlessness, that it is utterly beyond us to change. We must lay ourselves upon the mercy of the court, and know that He is faithful to forgive us if we will but be honest with Him and with ourselves.

More than amnesty, He offers us status as members of His own household. He adopts us into His own family! We are made royalty, because we are brother to the King of kings! We are given official position in His kingdom. We are ambassadors one and all. As ambassadors, we are called to stand as John stood, as the apostles stood, as every martyr in the history of Christendom has stood: declaring God’s truth against all the unrighteousness of man, declaring God’s truth with the same impartiality He Himself displays. We are called to count the cost of being God’s children, God’s officers, and to recognize with those who have gone before that the cost is our life, but a life without heaven is as worthless as dirt.

In the midst of this society into which God has placed us, we must stand up. Does it take the form of political action? Maybe, but I’m not so sure about that. I think maybe it begins with standing up in the house of God and demanding that God’s house be restored to order first. I think it demands cleansing the pulpits and altars of the land first. I think it requires returning to declaring the basic truths, the simple message of the Gospel. Perhaps, just perhaps, if the Church is restored to order, it might once more have its proper impact on society. Perhaps, just perhaps, real morality might once more shape the governance of this nation. I rather doubt, though, that we can ever expect the governance of the nation to truly, properly shape morality.

If it is true that we get the government we deserve, then it behooves us to make ourselves deserving of better.