ALL EYES UPON JESUS!
Moses spoke of Him in prophecy over 1400 years earlier -" The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear... I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and I will put My words in His mouth,and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whosoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him" Deut. 18:15,18-19
Isaiah did the same over 700 years before He came- "Behold! My Servant Whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles...He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law." Is.42:1,4
And now "... there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon...waiting for the Consolation of Israel... it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ... And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus...he took Him up in his arms and said: Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared for all peoples, A Light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel". Luke 2:25-32
Ah, Simeon, In your arms you hold that One around Whom time itself revolves. There He is, in your embrace,that very One in Whom God the Father delights. Your eyes gaze upon the Consolation of Israel. What an honor as the very glory of Israel is cradled next to your heart. Yes, even the Gentiles long for His justice; the coastlands His law.
You can die in peace now. Your whole life has been spent, consumed even, waiting to see Him. You've longed for Him because of your intense love for His Father. There He is, your dreams, your heart's longings, your very reason to exist. Your soul is flooded with Thanksgivings and joy.
Simeon, rest in peace now my friend.
Ah, church, What can we learn from Simeon?
posted by mark pierson at 12:02 AM
8 Comments:
His passion for the Lord and complete trust in him was astounding! To have the faith he had in God, to have held the Savior in your arms. What a joy!
November 10, 2005 12:16 PM
Anne,
I'm blessed that you've stopped by. Please come again. Thank you!
November 10, 2005 12:23 PM
Right there in Luke 2:25-32 I count about 12 sermons. All of them centered on Jesus.
November 10, 2005 7:20 PM
Calvinists (emphasis on God's sovereignty) and Armenians (emphasis on man's freewill). When it comes down to it, it's about who was on the cross and why He died for us. Good going bluecollar
November 10, 2005 7:33 PM
Patience in faith.
November 11, 2005 11:25 AM
Uh, oh! Here’s another of those nasty theological words—antinomian! If the word "legalism" is wrapped in obscurity these days, the term antinomianism is enveloped in Stygian darkness!
For instance, my copy of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language has only one definition for this word, which it designates as its meaning in theology. Listen to this: "antinomian n. Theology. A member of a Christian sect holding that faith alone is necessary for salvation." Well, how about that! If that’s all we’re talking about under the term antinomian, I cheerfully confess to being one. But I take great comfort in the fact that under the American Heritage definition, the apostle Paul himself should be classified as an unreconstructed antinomian!
I would like to suggest that today the term antinomian is largely what you make it. That’s unfortunate, but I’m afraid it’s true. But of course the root derivation of the word simply means "opposed to law." Not necessarily to the law of Moses per se, but simply to law as such. It would be nice if all parties in the current debate over the Gospel could agree to confine the term to those who are opposed to all forms of law in the Christian life. That is to say, an antinomian would then be one who held that there are no laws governing Christian behavior so that the Christian is entirely free from commandments and binding obligations. That kind of definition would clarify things a lot.
For one thing, under that definition, Paul was certainly not an antinomian. After all, it was Paul who said (1 Cor 9:21) that in seeking to win to Christ those who were "without law," he became "as without law"—but he hastens to add, "not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ." In another place he can say, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2). Regardless of the precise meaning of this text, it certainly shows that Paul could think in terms of Christian law. In addition, the NT everywhere asserts that our Lord left commandments that are binding on His followers today.
If we were to follow this definition, only those who are willing to bend the truth could accuse me of being an antinomian.
So you see what I mean. If we could confine the designation antinomian to those who will not acknowledge any such thing as a Christian law, we would clarify the situation greatly. But don’t hold your breath waiting for this to happen. Antinomian is too good a Christian "cuss-word" to retreat easily to the fringes of theological debate in the way I am suggesting. It just happens to be a very convenient cudgel with which to bludgeon theological opponents whose attributes and theology offend us. I regret to say that Christian polemicists do not readily retire their most useful brickbats, anymore than the nuclear powers easily discard their nuclear arsenals. It’s nice to have something with which to blow your opponents off the face of the map, and antinomianism serves very well for that purpose in some theological circles, namely Reformed.
If I can be accused of anything here, it would be that the grace of God that brings eternal life is free: fre from provisos, free from caveats, free from strings.
There are consequences to spurning holiness and the "Christian law" after receiving the absolutely free gift of eternal life.
But to say that it takes discipleship and commitment of life to get saved, ultimately conditions eternal life on works.
It was Christ who committed to us because we had nothing to commit to Him. It was Christ who sold out for us.
Commitment of life on the front-side of salvation is made nothing but a contract between the sinner and God:
My responsibility:
I commit my life to you in the hard works of discipleship
Your responsibiity:
You give me eternal life
(as long as I persevere till the end)
Antonio
November 11, 2005 8:44 PM
Antonio,
WE meet again,
''If i can be acused of anything here, it would be that the grace of God that brings eternal life is free: free from provisos, free from caveats, free from strings.''
Antonio, I can say Amen to every thing in that paragraph. I do not believe that the grace of God comes with provisos, or strings, or caveats. This shows me that you have a wrong grasp of my belief system. Of course, the grace of God is free, I can contribute nothing to my salvation.
''But to say, that it takes Discipleship & commitment of life to get salvation ultimately conditions eternal life on works.''
I never said that it takes discipleship and commitment of life to get salvation. I look at the Apostle Paul and his conversion experience, as we see it in Acts 9:1-22. Here I see a man who hated Christ and His disciples. He was out to kill all who called upon Jesus. Suddenly, he encouters Jesus, and now, instead of hating Him, he ends up calling Him Lord. And the rest of the chapter we see the Apostle Paul taking orders from the very One he only moments earlier hated.
It could be said here that the apostle Paul got a new heart. (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
God gave him that new heart. That new heart responds to Jesus as Lord or Commander, as well as Savior. Paul's heart was changed for him. Repentance and surrender of life came as a result of the working of God. This is regeneration... It is God who worked in Paul to will and to do his good pleasure which in this case, was surrender of his life.
Paul later went on to admit that in him dwelled no good thing. The only 'good' in Paul's life, as well as ANY christian, for that matter, comes as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Discipleship and commitment of one's life is subsequent to regeneration. Therefore, God gets all the credit for Paul's discipleship and commitment - Paul had NOTHING to do with it on his own. All the glory goes to God.
There is no contract between the sinner and God. That is a terrible mischarecterization. I don't know where you get that idea. If you read through the synoptic gosples, the call to salvation always went out in the form of the phrase ''follow me''. Those who's hearts God the Father prepaired (John 6:44-45) took up the call and followed Jesus.
There is nothing, no contract on the front side of salvation. Yes, that would be heresy. I don't teach that, and neither does John McArther. So I don't know where you got that from.
..I must go to bed now, and will work msot of the day tomorrow. After some errands, maybe we can finish this later in the evening.
-Mark D. Pierson
November 12, 2005 12:43 AM
"Discipleship and commitment of one's life is subsequent to regeneration. Therefore, God gets all the credit for Paul's discipleship and commitment - Paul had NOTHING to do with it on his own. All the glory goes to God."
Beautifully said Mark!
Mark
December 19, 2005 11:11 PM
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