Month: February 2023

Sackcloth and Ashes

Today begins the 40 day observance of Lent, the somber season in which we Christians traditionally consider our sins as the reason Christ died. Our observance often includes wearing ashes on our foreheads (hence the name, Ash Wednesday), worship with confession and repentance, fasting, and service to others. In our liturgy, we replace the singing of the “Alleluia” with what is called the Lenten Sentence, which calls us to “Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

These Lenten practices have their basis in Scripture, especially, if surprisingly, in the Old Testament book of Jonah. We would do well to consider his story as we journey through Lent toward the Cross and the Empty Tomb.

Jonah was not happy, for he was having a bad week. It all began when God called him to go preach a warning message to the huge city of Nineveh, which happened to be the capital of Israel’s mortal enemies, the Assyrians. Then when Jonah tried to get out of the task by sailing in the opposite direction, God sent a violent storm, and he was thrown into the sea by the pagan sailors who realized Jonah’s God was angry at him for something. Jonah almost drowned, sinking down to the depths of the sea and being entangled in seaweed. But even as Jonah’s death seemed imminent, along came a great fish that swallowed him whole and kept him alive for three days and nights in its belly. Not a pleasant experience for sure: even if you like seafood, the term, “sleeping with the fishes” is not something you really want to do! Finally, the fish spit Jonah up onto land.

Again, this was not a good week for Jonah, because even though he survived that ordeal, from his perspective, things were about to get worse. God came to him a second time and repeated his command for Jonah to go preach to Nineveh. This time, Jonah obeyed: he proclaimed to the city a simple message, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” and then he sat down and waited for God to pour his wrath upon the Ninevites and destroy them.

But something dramatic happened. The people of Nineveh, from the king on down to the lowliest peasant, believed God, and turned to him in repentance for their sins and violent ways. They fasted and wore sackcloth – think burlap bag. The king himself took off his royal robes and put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes to mourn what he and his people had done and what was likely to happen to them if God did not forgive them. The king ordered that man and beast alike must fast and wear sackcloth, in hopes that God would spare them.

And then, to Jonah’s dismay, God accepted their repentance and forgave them. Jonah complained to the Lord, saying why he fled from God the first time: he didn’t want Nineveh to be spared, and was afraid they might repent and be forgiven. He said to the Lord, “For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

So why did God spare Nineveh, when centuries earlier he had destroyed other wicked cities such as Sodom and Gomorrah? Jonah 3:10 tells us: “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.”

Now did you notice what was missing from that explanation for the Lord’s mercy towards Nineveh? It does not say, “When God saw what they did, how they put on sackcloth and ashes and fasted, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them.” What it says is, “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them.” It was not a change of clothing that saved them; it was a change of heart, which showed itself in their new, more righteous way of living.

The main effect of sackcloth and ashes back then, and of all the Lenten disciplines of prayer, worship, service to others, and fasting today, is not on God. He already loves us; he already is by nature gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love; and we cannot manipulate him into forgiving us by what we wear or what we eat. Instead, the main effect of the Lenten disciplines is what those disciplines do to us.

We are the ones who need to be changed. We are the ones who sin and stand in danger of God’s righteous judgement; we are the ones for whom Christ died, and we are the ones called to turn to God in faith and repentance. Lenten disciplines remind us of these facts, and help us to focus on them more than we usually do in our daily lives.

Repentance is what the Lord desires from us. 2 Peter 3:9 says the Lord is patient toward us, “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Matthew 4:17 tells us that from the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, his message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then, just before Jesus ascended to heaven, Luke 24:47 says he taught “that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And on the great day of Pentecost, Peter told the crowd, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. . .” (Acts 2:38)

God’s word clearly says so many times that he desires us to repent. But what does that actually mean? In Part 2 of this blog, I will suggest four things that are essential to true repentance. In the meantime, see what you come up with on your own.

Now, may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Jonah chapters 1-4

Super Bowls of Wrath

We are just one day away from the national extravaganza known as Super Bowl LVII. I think LVII translates to 57 in every language except ancient Latin. To show how old I am, I remember back to Super Bowl I. When that first match up between the champions of the National and American Football Leagues was announced, I thought the name “Super” was a bit pretentious and even corny, and was just a passing fad. Boy, was I wrong!

Now, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying an athletic contest between the best teams and players. Unfortunately, all the attention and hype given to the Super Bowls make it seem as if those bowls are important in the great scheme of things. But they are not; in fact, those bowl games pale to insignificance compared to another series of bowls – the seven bowls of God’s wrath proclaimed in the Book  of Revelation.

The 16th (XVI ?) chapter of Revelation describes seven terrible bowls of God’s wrath that his angels will one day pour out upon the earth. These include sores and boils, the sea and rivers turned to blood, a scorching sun, darkness, demonic spirits, a great war, and city-destroying earthquakes. Similar to the plagues that struck Egypt in the days of Pharaoh, these will demonstrate God’s power and judgment on mankind’s wickedness, prior to Christ’s final, victorious return.

I do not bring up these seven “Super” bowls of God’s wrath in any attempt to explain the Book of Revelation. There are many existing commentaries that attempt to do just that. Differing interpretations have led to various theories and the formation of entire denominations, all certain that their particular understanding is the right one. My purpose instead is to remind people that a day of God’s judgment is coming, and it will not be a game.

Usually, I write about God’s grace and mercy, and how knowing that can shape our lives. We celebrate God’s love for us, and rejoice that he has allowed us to become his children and inheritors of eternal life. His goodness to us calls us to “pay it forward” in acts of love and service to each other as we look forward to Christ’s glorious return.

That’s all good – it is after all, the message of the Gospel – but there’s the other side to what God has revealed in his Word. For he is not only a loving God, he is also a God of judgment, a God who is not mocked (Galatians 6:7), a God who sent a great flood to wipe out most of mankind (Genesis 6), who will destroy the earth with fire (2 Peter 2:10,12), and cast the devil, the demons, and those who are not redeemed into hell (Revelation 20).  These are scary thoughts, but they are necessary to fully appreciate what Jesus did for us on the Cross. If we are to proclaim that Jesus saves, we need to know from what does he save us? If God is just a “kindly old grandfather” who accepts anyone and everything, then what we do in this life doesn’t matter. But, if as Galatians 6:7 says, “for whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” then how we live matters greatly.

Unfortunately, too many American churches today are focused solely on God’s love, to the exclusion of God’s anger and wrath. In an effort to appeal to the widest possible audience, they soft-pedal God’s call to righteousness. Instead of preaching condemnation of sin, and calling for repentance, they teach a smiley-face form of happy living, self-improvement, and blatant acceptance of every sinful behavior in the name of “inclusion.” But how can you have “your best life now” when you are mired in horrible sin and its consequences?

Where is there godly sorrow for what we have done? Where are the voices speaking out against wickedness? Where are the warnings of fire and brimstone falling on unrepentant sinners? They are largely absent, shushed up by our pagan culture so that nominal Christians are afraid to be called judgmental, fill-in-the-blank-phobic, narrow-minded, out of step, or worse: extremists! So they try to keep a low profile, avoiding speaking out against the evils around them. Like the false prophets of old, they cry “Peace!” and lead people astray (Micah 3:5).

In the words of Rich Mullins’ song, “I hope that we have not too quickly forgotten that our God is an awesome God.”*

But the Bible is clear that God detests sin, and will bring severe judgment on all who are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are all sinners and we know that to have sinned in one thing is to be guilty of all (James 2:10); therefore we all deserve God’s righteous judgment. But there are certain egregious sins which the Bible condemns in particular, which are even now rampant in our country today:

  • Abortion. It has gone far beyond a legitimate concern for a young woman who is raped and finds out she is pregnant. Now, protestors carry signs that say, “I’d rather be a murderer than a mother” and brandish red-soaked dolls. And then, congressmen and women wear pins that say “Abortion” to the State of the Union address (with a little heart instead of an “o” – only appropriate since abortion stops a beating heart). But God said we shall not murder (Exodus 20:13), and the Psalmists extol how God knit us in the womb (Psalm 139:13), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), and call those in the womb a treasure and a blessing (Psalm 17:14).
  • Promotion of sexual sins and deviancy. It’s one thing to be compassionate toward those who suffer confusion over their identities, and another to extol and promote such things as normal and good. The Scriptures warn those who would call evil good (Isaiah 5:20), and spell out what some of those sins are that God detests: homosexuality, pedophilia, incest, bestiality, and even cross-dressing. There are more of these sins than I care to even mention, but they are summed up in the commandment, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).
  • Theft and robbery under the guise of inequity and just recompense for past wrongs by previous generations. Theft is expressly forbidden by the Ten Commandments, as is the idea  of punishing people for the sins of their ancestors. Jeremiah 31:29-30 say, “In those days they shall no longer say: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.” In other words, we are each responsible for what we do.
  • Class, race, and political hatreds. Jesus taught us to love and do good to those we perceive as our enemies (Luke 6:27). Scripture also teaches that we are all descended from the same original parents, and are all created in the image of God. To hate each other is to hate God, and if we do not love, then God is not in us (1 John 3:11).
  • Denial of God and exaltation of paganism. In an effort to cast off the “shackles” of God’s law, people deny his authority or existence, and praise whatever they think will affirm their sinful desires and remove any sense of guilt. This goes beyond any specific sin to include all of them. The Book of Judges 17:6 describes our situation with the words, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” And Paul sums it up with the words, “they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,” (Romans 1:25). People have always been guilty of this, but today this is evident in our public culture. You only have to watch the literally satanic performance at this year’s Grammy Awards, or see the horned and tentacled statue honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We have violated the first and chief commandment to worship the Lord God and serve him only (Exodus 20:3, Matthew 4:10).

Revelation 21:8  warns about these and other sins when it says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

God will not wink at sin and wickedness. There will be no place in heaven for much of what our country now celebrates. The question is not whether God will pour out bowls of wrath upon a sinful world – and nation – but whether we personally will escape God’s righteous judgment. Romans 1:18 warns, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

As for our nation, I fear God’s judgment will fall upon America unless we heed the words of 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Short of a national repentance, I fear the super bowls of God’s wrath will destroy us!

The only escape is repentance and faith in Christ, who bore God’s wrath for those who believe in him. It is in that hope that we trust the promise that there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Revelation 16.

* From the song “Awesome God” by Richard Mullins, Reunion Records, 1988.

P.S. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is sometimes referred to as RBG. Interestingly, a different RBG, Ruth Bell Graham, coined the statement, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Of course, God will never owe an apology for anything he does, but her comparison of America to those doomed cities makes its point.