This morning my devotions took me to the final chapters of John (which, to those who know the reading plan I’m using this year, is an admission that I’m a few days behind). We find such poignant little stories in these chapters, stories like Peter and John running to the empty tomb, Thomas falling on his face before the risen Lord, Jesus restoring Peter after his three denials. There is one story among them, though, that I love most of all.

Mary Magdalene has come to Jesus’ tomb and is distressed to see that his body is gone, the stone rolled away. Convinced that someone has taken away his body, she stands outside the tomb weeping. Two angels appear within and ask simply “Woman, why are you weeping?” She replies, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” The words carry with them the pain of her loss. Not only has she lost her Lord, but even his body has been taken away. She is lost and alone.

Then she turns and sees someone else. She does not recognize Him, though it is the very one she seeks. Somehow her eyes are closed so she cannot see who it is. This man says “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She supposes he must be the gardener and says, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” She wants the body back, needs the body back, and begs that this man might return it to her.

But then, in an instant, her eyes are opened. Jesus, as he had called Lazarus out from the tomb, calls to her. He says but one word. “Mary.” It’s one of the best sentences in all of the Bible. At at that very instant she knows. At that very instant she sees and knows and understands that the One she seeks is standing right there behind her. He is alive! He has risen! She turns and cries out “Rabboni!” (which means teacher). I wonder, does she scream this word, run to him, and throw her arms around his neck? Perhaps she can do little more than call out in a whisper as she falls at his feet. We don’t know. But we do know that she clings to Jesus, overwhelmed with his presence, overwhelmed to know that he is alive. She sees and hears and believes. She knows now that Jesus is alive.

As I read these words, I think of the way Jesus called me and the way he has called countless numbers of men and women to himself. Like Mary I was once unable to see Jesus for who he is. I saw a man who may as well have been a gardener. He was a good man, a moral man, and maybe even a great man. But he was just a man. Only when Jesus called me by name was I able to see that him as the God-man. Only then was I able to see him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Only then did I really and truly know him. And only then were my eyes opened so I could see and my ears unstopped so I could hear and my heart renewed so I could believe. Like Mary, he called me by name.

Some time ago, no doubt while I was awake in the middle of the night with one of the children, I saw a documentary about some weird disease that causes a patient’s skin to harden. This disease often sets in during childhood and causes the skin to become hard and shiny. I searched around to find the name of this condition and I think it must be “systemic sclerosis.” “Dermatology Online Journal” describes it this way: “Systemic sclerosis is a clinically heterogeneous, systemic disorder which affects the connective tissue of the skin, internal organs and the walls of blood vessels. It is characterized by alterations of the microvasculature, disturbances of the immune system and by massive deposition of collagen and other matrix substances in the connective tissue.” That doesn’t mean anything to me, but I guess it all adds up to “hard and shiny.” Though most people experience the disease only moderately (these people see hardening of the skin mostly on their hands and forearms) there are some who see the disease progress so that the skin hardens all over their bodies, leaving even their faces set in hard “masks.” Sometimes it will progress to the organs, hardening them and leading to an early death. It is a horrifying illness when it progresses past the point where it can be easily and successfully treated.

I thought of this while reading Gum, Geckos and God by James Spiegel. In this book (to borrow a line or two from Publishers Weekly) “Spiegel, philosophy professor at Indiana’s Taylor University, takes deep issues of the Christian faith and dumps them smack into real life with a little help from his children… Spiegel ponders the great issues of the faith with a light touch, thanks to the innate comedy of kids, but also to his own brand of humor.” In a chapter entitled “How Can God Fix Us” he looks at how God can overcome our sin—how He can fix what we have done to ourselves through our sinful natures. He uses The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to springboard into this conversation, explaining how his son, at only four years of age, was able to draw the connection between the death of Aslan and the death of Jesus Christ. He mentions that, when teaching a faith and culture course at Taylor University, he often asks students to raise their hands if they became Christians at the age of four or younger. Almost invariably at least a few of the hands go up. This is amazing, he says, “considering that comprehension of the gospel demands that one understand such weighty moral concepts as duty, sin, punishment, love, and forgiveness.”

“I am sure,” he says, “there are many parents who are mistaken in thinking that their kids comprehend the gospel. But the point is that many do. And given their stage of cognitive development, this suggests something supernatural is going on.” And truly something supernatural must be going on for children to understand what too often escapes many adults. A child can sometimes grasp deep spiritual truths that are lost on adults who are, in any other wise, far more wise and far more intelligent. Those who hate the Christian faith and who hate religion in general will insist that children believe because they have been indoctrinated. But we know better; we know that God can work his supernatural work of regeneration even in a child.

Here is why it is more difficult for adults than for children to come to know the Lord. “Sin causes cognitive malfunction, and this is especially so when it comes to moral-spiritual matters. The older we grow without being redeemed, the more polluted we are by our sin and the more entrenched we become in our corrupt patterns of thinking. Though by no means pure, children are less corrupted in their thinking and less hardened in faulty thinking patterns simply by virtue of their being younger. So it shouldn’t surprise us that the overwhelming majority of Christians come to faith by the time they are eighteen years old.”

Of course there is a second barrier to coming to Christ and it is a spiritual one. As Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2:14, without the Spirit’s prior work, no one can grasp the gospel. The spiritual nature of the gospel, that part of the gospel message that transcends natural cognitive abilities, must be overcome by the Holy Spirit. “So there are two major barriers when it comes to grasping and accepting the gospel,” says Spiegel. “One is the spiritual nature of the gospel, which transcends natural reason. The other is our sin, which corrupts cognitive function. The Holy Spirit must graciously overcome both of these obstacles in order to work redemption in any human heart. This implies that all Christian conversions are doubly miraculous and doubly gracious. And given that even after conversion Christians continue to struggle with sin, the Spirit must constantly work to keep us faithful. Job really nailed it when he said that God, ‘performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted’ (Job 5:9).”

And this takes us back to systemic sclerosis. A person’s spiritual condition, it seems, is much like the condition of a patient with systemic sclerosis. While all humans are born sinful, children have less of the pollution and less of the hardening of adults. While the extent of our depravity cannot change, for from the moment of conception it encompasses all that we are, the degree will and must change. Life without God progresses much like the disease. It causes increased hardening. What was once soft becomes hard; what was once supple becomes stiff and stretched. The longer a person denies God and the more his internal pollution increases, the more hardened he becomes against God and against His gracious offer of salvation. No wonder the Bible is filled with commands and exhortations that as parents we dedicate ourselves to teaching our children what God requires of them. And what impetus this should give us to obey Him! “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise…”

There are certain things I never get tired of hearing. I never get tired of hearing Tom Cheek’s call of Joe Carter’s home run—the one that won the Blue Jays the World Series in 1993 (“Touch ‘em all, Joe! You’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life!”). I never get tired of hearing the “Hallelujah Chorus” performed by a world-class choir. I never get tired of hearing the laughter of little children (Okay, this is a lie, and especially so when I hear kids laughing and giggling with hyperactivity in that witching hour before dinner). And I never get tired of hearing testimonies of God’s grace in the salvation of his people.

As I read the final page of Finally Alive I realized that I had found a new favorite book by John Piper. Those who have read my reviews of some of his previous titles know that while I greatly enjoy Piper’s ministry and am indebted to him in many ways, I have not always found his books easy to read. Yet I read Finally Alive with relish, enjoying it from the first page to the last. It is an incisive examination of a topic of profound importance. I think it represents Piper at his very best as an author.

Because I am traveling to Chicago tomorrow, I am posting this week’s “Reading Classics” entry a day early. This week brings us to our twelfth reading in Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections and turns to the seventh and eighth signs of true religious affections.

Summary

Here is what we have learned so far about religious affections:

1. They are from a divine influence.
2. Their object is the excellence of divine things.
3. They are founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine things.
4. They arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things.
5. They are attended with a reasonable and spiritual conviction of the reality and certainty of divine things.
6. They are attended with evangelical humiliation.

This week Edwards adds two new signs, the seventh and eighth: they are attended with a change of nature and they tend to, and are attended with, the lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ.

Discussion

I’ll be surprised if any of Edwards’ marks hit deeper than the sixth. I found that section deeply challenging and it has given me a lot to think about, even a couple of weeks later. Having said that, this week also offered some great opportunities for reflection.

The seventh sign is perhaps one of the most obvious—that true religious affections are accompanied with a change of nature. Scripture makes it clear that, though men may love religion and drive themselves to change, those who are Christians are only those whose very natures have been changed and renewed by the Spirit of God. So we can only right expect to see true affections arising from the hearts of those who have been given new natures. Edwards says (in a sentence that displays many of his punctuation peculiarities), “A man may be restrained from sin, before he is converted; but when he is converted, he is not only restrained from sin, his very heart and nature is turned from it unto holiness: so that thenceforward he becomes a holy person, and an enemy to sin.” For those who claim to be converted but who seem to undergo no great change in his bad qualities, “it is greater evidence against him than the brightest story of experiences that ever was told is for him.” Edwards warns against those who claim to be converted by who hold on to their pet sin, their besetting sin. “He that forsakes other sins but saves his leading sin, the iniquity he is chiefly inclined to, is like Saul when sent against God’s enemies the Amalekites with a strict charge to save none of them alive, but utterly to destroy them, small and great; who utterly destroyed inferior people, but saved the king, the chief of them all, alive.” That is an excellent insight and one well worth pondering.

The eighth sign Edwards offers is that true Christians are marked by the lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ. “In other words, they naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness and mercy, as appeared in Christ.” There is abundant Scriptural evidence for this. “Everything that appertains to holiness of heart does, indeed, belong to the nature of true Christianity and the character of Christians; but a spirit of holiness as appearing in some particular graces may more especially be called the Christian spirit or temper.”

Edwards offers this statement and challenge: “Christians are Christlike; none deserve the name of Christians, that are not so in their prevailing character.” Even in times of pain and persecution, Christians are to be marked by such qualities. “The strength of the good soldier of Jesus Christ appears in nothing more than in steadfastly maintaining the holy calm, meekness, sweetness, and benevolence of his mind, amidst all the storms, injuries, strange behavior, and surprising acts and events of this evil and unreasonable world.” He goes on to say, “If we see any of the followers of Christ, in the midst of the most violent, unreasonable, and wicked opposition of God’s and his own enemies, maintaining under all this temptation, the humility and quietness and gentleness of a lamb, and the harmlessness and love and sweetness of a dove, we may well judge that here is a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” However, “when persons are fierce and violent, and exert their sharp and bitter passions, it shows weakness instead of strength and fortitude.”

I enjoyed and was challenged by this reflection: “There is a pretended boldness for Christ that arises from no better principle than pride. A man may be forward to expose himself to the dislike of the world, and even to provoke their displeasure, out of pride. For it is the nature of spiritual pride to cause men to seek distinction and singularity; and so oftentimes to set themselves at war with those that they call carnal, that they may be more highly exalted among their party.” It reminds me of Westboro Baptist Church (and, sadly, a little bit of me).

And let me draw your attention to one more quote, this one speaking about mean and contentious Christians. “The Scripture knows of no such true Christians, as are of a sordid, selfish, cross and contentious spirit. Nothing can be invented that is a greater absurdity than a morose, hard, close, high-spirited, spiteful, true Christian. We must learn the way of bringing men to rules, and not rules to men, straining and stretching the rules of God’s word to take in ourselves, and some of our neighbors, until we make them wholly of none effect.” What a warning this is to Christians who find themselves drawn to conflict!

Next Time

For next week, as you might expect, we will read the ninth and tenth signs of true religious affections. This will leave us just two more to cover!

Your Turn

As always, I am eager to know what you gained from this part of the book (and to know that I’m not the only one left reading). Feel free to post comments below or to write about this on your own blog (and then post a comment linking us to your thoughts). Do not feel that you can only say anything if you are going to say something that will wow us all. Just add a comment with some of the things you gained from the this week’s reading. The discussion in the past weeks really has been very helpful to me and to others. So please keep it up!

After an unplanned holiday hiatus, we continue today with reading through John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation. I should have known that I’d be unable to carve time out of my busy holiday schedule to give the book the time it deserves. Lesson learned. But we continue today with the seventh chapter. If you'd like to know more about this project, you can read about it right here: Reading Classics Together.

For the past three chapters we have been in the book's second section--a section that turns the focus from introductory materials to "the nature of mortification." In this portion of the book Owen is turning to this question: "Suppose a man to be a true believer, and yet finds in himself a powerful indwelling sin, leading him captive to the law of it, consuming his heart with trouble, perplexing his thoughts, weakening his soul as to duties of communion with God, disquieting him as to peace, and perhaps defiling his conscience, and exposing him to hardening through the deceitfulness of sin, what shall he do? What course shall he take and insist on for the mortification of this sin, lust, distemper, or corruption, to such a degree as that, though it be not utterly destroyed, yet, in his contest with it, he may be enabled to keep up power, strength, and peace in communion with God?"

In the past two chapters and those to come he approaches the subject this way:

1. Show what it is to mortify any sin, and that both negatively and positively, that we be not mistaken in the foundation (the fifth chapter provided the negative and this week we look at the positive aspect).
2. Give general directions for such things as without which it will be utterly impossible for anyone to get any sin truly and spiritually mortified.
3. Draw out the particulars whereby this is to be done.

He has already shown both negatively and positively what it is to mortify a sin and this week he turns to one of the two general directions, without which it will be impossible for anyone to truly mortify sin.

Summary

The summary for this chapter is as simple as it gets. Owen simply addresses one area: “There will be no mortification of any sin unless one be a believer.” He also provides an objection that may arise and answers this objection.

Discussion

This is one of those chapters that really should not even be necessary, for its point is obvious. Yet the history of the church shows that we cannot take it for granted. It is clear to those of us who believe that sin can only rightly be mortified if one is indwelt by the Holy Spirit; thus only those who are true believers can truly put sin to death. There can be no mortification unless one believes. Owen makes this point time and again:

• Unless a man be a believer…he can never mortify any one sin.
• There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.
• A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit.
• Men must be gold and silver in the bottom, or else refining will do them no good.
• Mortification is not the present business of unregenerate men.
• Let the soul first be thoroughly converted, and then, “looking on him whom they had pierced,” humiliation and mortification will ensue.
• To kill sin is the work of living men; where men are dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is alive, and will live.
• Be sure to get an interest in Christ—if you intend to mortify any sin without it, it will never be done.

That is but a sampling. Clearly Owen wishes to make this point crystal clear. As one who believes I am certain that no true mortification can happen in those who forsake the Spirit—the one who is the active agent of mortification. I could well end there and close the cover on this chapter. But I’m glad I did not. Owen has things to say, even to those of us who already believe and who already know the truth that without believing upon the death of Christ there can be no death of sin. He cautions us against attempting to persuade unbelievers that they should be about the business of life change even before they have sought and found true heart change. “Unless a man be regenerate, unless he be a believer, all attempts that he can make for mortification, be they ever so specious and promising—all means he can use, let him follow them with never so much diligence, earnestness, watchfulness, and intention of mind and spirit—are to no purpose. In vain shall he use many remedies; he shall not be healed.” He goes on to say, “I wish that some whose trade it is to daub with untempered mortar in the things of God did not teach this deceit and cause the people to err by their ignorance.” Those who pursue supposed mortification but who do so without first turning to Christ, they are deluded and destroyed by their inability to overcome sin.

Christians, I think, are prone to demanding of unbelievers what they cannot supply. Too many Christians seem eager to demand change of unbelievers even before they demand or expect that these people come to Christ. What a tragedy it is if we demand what unbelievers cannot provide even while forsaking the call to the gospel—the only true remedy for their sin. In the “Objection” section Owen deals with those who would then say that unregenerate men are to never attempt to “better” themselves but are to let sin run amok. Through God’s common grace He restrains sin and we rejoice in this. But are primary call for unbelievers is not for men to kill sin, but to turn to Christ. The first things must come first.

Next Week

Next Thursday we will continue with the eighth chapter of the book. Though we are now well into our study, it is not too late for you to join in the fun!

Your Turn

As always, I would like to know what you gained from this chapter. Please post your comments below or to write about this on your own blog (and then post a comment linking us to your thoughts). Do not feel that you need to say something exceedingly clever or profound. Simply share what stirred your heart or what gave you pause. You can also post any questions that came up. Let's be certain that we are reading this book together. The comments on previous chapters have been great and have aided my enjoyment of the chapter. I trust this week will prove the same.

One of the distinctives of a conference geared at youth is that the people in attendance tend to have a kind of youthful enthusiasm. You know what I’m referring to, I’m sure. They are excited to be at a conference, are exciting to be with their friends, and are excited to be learning from good and godly speakers. Sometimes this enthusiasm can last well into the night and, when I got my light off at 11:30 last night, it seemed that the night was still young for many of these people. Some of the older people in attendance remarked about that this morning. I guess I must be getting old—I am identifying more with the parents than the teens; more with the people who can’t believe that anyone would go swimming at midnight this time of year versus the people who’d actually take the plunge.

This morning, after an opening time of singing and worship, Paul Washer is going to bring us the second of his four-part series on the beatitudes and he will be followed by the first session led by Jeff Noblit. At noon there will be a luncheon for any youth leaders in attendance and this will give opportunity for them to ask questions of the various speakers. We’ll then have the remainder of the afternoon to explore Chattanooga.

“Blessed” - This word refers to happiness and joy. A person who is blessed is a person who you would want to congratulate for the blessedness that is in his life. The purpose of walking with Christ is not joy, but in walking with Him how can we not have joy, even when we experience trials and sickeness and when everything we know and love is being torn apart. Our joy is fixed in the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ.

These verses, these beatitudes, are going to teach us how to walk in blessedness and how to increase in blessedness. He is going to teach us how to be happy—one of the most blessed aspects of Christianity.

Washer began by showing the contrast between what Jesus teaches in these beatitudes and what is often taught in churches today. Everyone wants to be blessed, but how do we get there?

• The world says blessed are the self-confident and independent. Jesus says blessed are those who recognize their need of God and live in dependence upon him
• The world says blessed are those with healthy self-esteem and a confidence in mankind. Jesus says blessed are those who mourn over their own fallenness and the fallenness of this world. They mourn enough to turn their eyes from themselves to Christ and then they experience joy.
• The world says blessed are the driven who put themselves first and make their own plans and get anything they want. Jesus says blessed are the meek who seek the glory of God—His purpose in the world—and who submit to His will
• The world says blessed are those who are satisified with the priorities and treasures of this world. Jesus says blessed are those who recognize the temporal nature of this world and hunger and thirst for God, His kingdom, and greater conformity to His will. In other words, blessed are those who realize that this is not their home; blessed are the misfits.
• The world says blessed are those who give others what they deserve and give rewards and punishment based on performance. Jesus says blessed are the merciful and who reflect God’s mercy as they deal with others.
• The world says blessed are those who make self-preservation their highest goal. Jesus says blessed are those who risk themselves and everything they have for the kingdom.

We move now to “the poor in spirit”

When we speak of being poor we say that “nothing in our hands do we bring”—we come to the Lord with empty hands. We recognize that we are powerless to cleanse ourselves with sin or to make ourselves right with God. We are reduced to falling on the mercies of God and pleading for mercy from Jesus Christ. This poverty of spirit begins at conversion but continues to increase throughout a person’s life.

Application: how is dependence upon God manifested? How do we know if we are impoverished in this way? First, dependence upon the Word of God. You are not poor in Spirit if you base your life on visions, dreams or feelings. You are only poor in spirit if you look always and foremost to Scripture to see what God’s will is. “Young person, you have so limited your usefulness to God because you don’t listen to anybody and particularly because you don’t listen to God.” Most of what you know has been put into your life by people who are as young and dumb as you are. So much of your life as a believer will be ruined because you will be independent of spirit. Second, dependence upon prayer and communion with Christ. Third, (and this is possibly your greatest offense against God) God has given you authorities in your life to protect you. He has given government, parents, etc, and so many young people reject and belittle this authority. Fourth, by separation from sin. Your problem is that you are not afraid of yourself and of your sin; but you ought to be.

How can we create poverty of spirit? There are things Scriptures tells us to do to encourage poverty of spirit. We are to esteem Christ higher than self. It is created through fellowship with godly people. “One of your greatest hindrances is that you are surrounded by fools.” Yet even though we need to strive for poverty of spirit, we can rest in God’s ability to finish the good work in us. We can go out and begin cultivating poverty of spirit, or God can take ahold of us and do whatever is necessary to make us poor.

So I think I’ve narrowed down why I find it difficult to encapsulate Paul Washer’s messages. Much of what he says is very pointed, very directed at individuals. Those direct, confrontational exhortations are very difficult to easily transfer. They are difficult to adequately summarize. So I’ve had to resort here to just doing the best I can and hoping you can see that there would be value in getting the audio messages and listening to those.

Before we get to the second sermon, I’ve got a public service announcement for Amy. Amy, Russ and Reagan say “Hi!” They’re sitting right behind me and are trying, with some success, not to heckle me too much.

This evening we are going to have Paul Washer preach to us. Now, I need to confess that I know little about Washer, even though he seems to be very well-known here and is, apparently, a good part of the reason that so many people decided to attend the conference. Sure, I’ve heard a few of his messages, including the infamous sermon that was posted on YouTube and elsewhere—the sermon that earned him the honor of being assured he would not be invited back to a particular youth conference (or that was the description of the video that I read), but beyond that I really do not know a lot about him. But I’m looking forward to hearing him minister to us. He will speak four times over the course of the weekend.

After another time of worship, Paul Washer took to the pulpit to preach a message from Matthew 5 (verses 1-16). It turns out that this text will actually be the basis of all of the sermons he’ll preach this weekend. If you want to know true Christianity, you need to go to these words—they are a Christian manifesto. In four messages he wants us to learn to take seriously the words of Jesus Christ as given in the Sermon on the Mount.

I sometimes think that I’ve gotten pretty good at this liveblogging stuff but his message was actually kind of elusive and I really managed to grab bits of it. So I’ll let you meander through these notes and then recommend that you download it yourself. He simply went through a piece of this text phrase-by-phrase and drew out meaning and application. I guess we know that as expositional preaching.

Here is what he hopes to show this weekend: The importance of these teachings; The privilege that is ours for hearing such teaching; The responsibility that is ours to obey such teaching; What true Christianity and what true Christian discipleship looks like; The true goal and greatest endeavor of the Christian life; What it means to be salt and light in this world; Test the validity of our own profession of faith.

“When Jesus saw the crowds.” For God to care for our temporal needs is a great manifestation of His life and mercy. God demonstrates His grace in this way. But the greatest demonstration of God’s compassion to men, the greatest most loving thing He could ever do for you, is to pull back the veil and to reveal Himself and His will to you. Do you see this? Do you see that the kindest thing God could do is not take care of your temporal needs? If someone were to look at your life, would they say that the greatest thing you appreciate about God is that He, through the Word and Spirit, has seen fit to teach you?

He stressed the importance of the Sermon on the Mount in the life of the Christian. There are two great mountains in Scripture—Mount Sinai and this mountain. You can’t think about Judaism without thinking about Sinai. It’s impossible! But how is it today that the Sermon on the Mount seem so ignored and laid aside?

“After he sat down.” We’re reminded here of His condecension. This can lose its impact, but we need to understand that God here condescends to this—that He enters into relationship with men in order to explain Himself to them.

We are living at a time of true Reformation. Young people are seeing the truths of God’s sovereignty and supremacy. We will be held accountable even more than the generation that preceded us. We are a blessed people. To whom much is given, much will be required.

After Jesus sat down, “His disciples came to Him.” Before Mount Sinai the people stood and trembled so that even Moses trembled with fear. But when Jesus sat on the mountain, His disciples came and sat with Him. What happened to the thunder and to the lightning? All the thunder and all of the lightning was exhausted upon the person of Jesus Christ when He hung on that tree and bore our sin and was crushed by the wrath of His own Father. Do you see now what a privilege it is to come to God? Before no one could come to Him. But since Christ drank down all that thunder and bore in His body all that lightning, you could come. You do not come once, but you continue to come.

This is the difference between true discipleship and what is false. Jesus went up to see who would come to Him. Jesus didn’t walk up to groups, but He walked by groups to see who would follow. When Jesus spoke in parables, neither His people nor the multitudes understood. But the true disciples went to Him to learn—they knew that they must understand.

I doubt you were able to make much of that. But perhaps Washer’s intent will be more clear as you read just a few quotes I drew from his message tonight:

“My greatest regret in life is doing so much ministry and spending so much little in this book [the Bible].”

“My purpose here is not just to teach you, but to warn you.”

“For some of you it would be better that you had never heard of Christ because you treat Him so lightly.”

I’ll be back in the morning and will try to do a better job on his next sermon!

Matt Fowler preached the conference’s first sermon and did so from John 6:22-27. These well-known verses fall shortly after the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water—two of Jesus’ most amazing miracles. This crowd had been privileged to see both of these miracles. People reacted to the feeding of the 5000 by attempting to take Jesus and to force Him to be king. Using these verses, Matt laid down the Reformed (biblical) gauntlet, so to speak. He made sure that the people in attendance know from Scripture that people cannot know God—they cannot be saved—without the prior Sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. And He challenged them to think properly about Jesus and to see Him how He really, truly is.

He looked first at the Blindness of the People which in this passage is illustrated by the question the people ask in verse 25: “Rabbi, when did you come here?” They couldn’t figure out how He got the ten miles to Capernaum and how He did it so quickly. With all the miracles He has already done, we’d think people would be beginning to figure out who Jesus is. Yet they still don’t seem to get it; no one seems to think or believe that He could have just walked across the sea. A Christian’s knowledge of the things of God is an understanding of the reality and relevance of the works of God as testified to in Scripture and in the life of Jesus. Those who don’t believe can see the same things but not understand them. There was no reality of Christ in these people’s lives. And from this we learn that, apart from the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, we’ll never be able to see who Jesus truly is. If anyone could have done without the work of the Spirit, it would have been these people who had seen his miracles. But even they were blind.

He then turned to the People’s Motivation for Seeking Jesus which we see in Jesus’ own words. “"Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” These people were seeking Jesus because of what He could do for them. They sought Him because He had filled their stomachs the day before. They wanted only selfish gain and comfort. That’s all He was for them. And this is exactly what we hear day in and day out from many of the leaders of evangelicalism—a Jesus who does little more than fill temporal needs. They had no concept of Him being the God-man, the very Son of God. The challenge for us is to ask who Jesus is to us. Is He someone who promises to address our temporal needs or is He the One who offers so much more. When you water down Jesus, you water down the gospel. And when you water down the gospel, you water down conversion. The gospel then must start with the real Jesus Christ. Here he quoted John Piper from God is the Gospel, a favorite quote of mine:

"The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever see, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

The third point was Jesus’ Demands on the Seeker. We see that there are two commands in verse 27. “Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." There are two commands—one negative and one positive. First, in the negative, Jesus says, “Do not labor for the food that perishes.” The people, seeing Jesus as a way to a cheap meal, began to labor after food that perishes—the wrong food. There are four reasons we must not labor after that which perishes.

1. That labor is vanity
2. That food does indeed perish
3. That food enslaves
4. That kind of labor for that kind of food leads to death

Jesus doesn’t leave us with the negative but goes on to say, “[Labor] for the food that endures to eternal life.” This is not a laboring that we are to labor to do good works that will earn salvation, but there is something for which we should seek and pursue. There is labor involved in the Christian life. There are four reasons why we are commanded to labor for the food that endures:

1. This food leads to eternal life
2. This food is Himself
3. This food satisfies
4. That kind of labor for this kind of food glorifies Him

This message, a perfect one to begin with, stood as a challenge to everyone here to see and know Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture.