Does God Hate You?

by | May 11, 2015 | Bible, Preaching

Does God hate you?

In Jeremiah 11, the prophet lays out God’s covenant lawsuit against Jerusalem. The logic of the chapter is pretty simple: God said that if you disobey him and turn to idols, then he will destroy you. Well, for generations now Israel and Judah have disobeyed God and turned to idols. Therefore, God will now destroy you.

Sometimes we hear this and think that God is just a cosmic sadist, watching our misery for his good pleasure! If God is a God of love, then how come he allows this to continue?

We need to keep reading. In Jeremiah 12, verse 7, the LORD says:

“I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.”

Think about this! The temple where I said I would dwell with my people forever? I have forsaken it.
My beloved bride – the one who I called “my people”? I have given her into the hands of her enemies.

You can hear the grief in the LORD’s voice – even as you hear the anger:

“My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.” (Jeremiah 12:8)

What does a lion do – when she “lifts up her voice against me”? When does a lion roar? Lions do not roar before they pounce. Lions are silent stalkers. They only lift up their voice after they have subdued their prey!

God has been mauled by his people! You – and I – mauled God. Our sin sent Jesus to the cross. WE might as well have bee the ones who spit on him, beat him, and hammered the nails into his hands!

“Therefore I hate her.”

Wait. God hates us? Yes, he cannot help but hate us! For we have sinned.

But doesn’t God love us? Oh yes, but that is precisely why he must also hate us. For we have sinned. He loves the good that he created. And therefore he hates that which has marred his good creation.

But take heart, for if God only hates us because he loves what he made us to be, then we can trust him to do what it takes to remove the evil.

Indeed, only a love so deep that it is willing to hate is worthy of being called love! I knew a man who did not seem to care that his wife had cheated on him. That man did not love his wife. A man who loves his wife will hate her for cheating on him. Only such a man will be able to bear the cross needed to restore the marriage!

Only when you understand the depth of God’s hatred and sorrow over our sin and rebellion can you truly understand the beauty of John 3:16 — “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.”

You can listen to the whole sermon here

 

 

Catechetical Preaching

by | Dec 5, 2013 | Catechesis, Preaching, Westminster Shorter Catechism

I am just in the process of finishing a catechetical sermon series, preaching through the topics of the Shorter Catechism. Since I have sometimes been asked how I do this, I figured I should put the whole outline right here!

If you want to hear or read any of these sermons, go over to our sermon page…

  1. SC 1                        Is 60/Ps 45/Rev 21               What Are You Doing Here?                October 7, 2012
  2. SC 2-3                     Jer 31/Ps 40/Heb 10            How Do You Know What to Believe and Do? Oct 14, 2012
  3. SC 4-6                     Dt 6/Ps 2/1 Cor 8                Why Does the Trinity Matter?              November 4, 2012
  4. SC 7-8                     Lam 3/Ps 148/Eph 1           What Are the Decrees of God?            November 11, 2012
  5. SC 9-11                   Gen 1/Ps 104/John 1          How Does God Govern the World?  November 18, 2012
  6. SC 12                      Gen 2/Ps 8/Col 1                 The Covenant of Life                            November 25, 2012
  7. SC 13-15                 Gen 3/Ps 127/1 Jn 3/Lk 1  What Is Sin?                                          December 2, 2012
  8. SC 16-19                 Gen 6/Ps 24/Rom 5/Lk 1   Why Am I Condemned in Adam?      Dec 9, 2012
  9. SC 20                      Jer 31/Ps 131/Heb 8/Lk 1   Covenant and Election                         December 16, 2012
  10. SC 21-22                 Is 7/Ps 80/Heb 2/Lk 1        Why Was He Born of a Virgin?           Dec 23, 2012
  11. SC 23-24                 Is 61/Ps 45/Luke 4               How Is Christ Our Prophet?               December 30, 2012
  12. SC 25                      Gen 14/Ps 110/Heb 7          How Is Christ Our Priest?                    January 6, 2013
  13. SC 26                      Jer 22-23/Ps 72/Lk 17          How Is Christ Our King?                    January 13, 2013
  14. SC 27-28                 Is 53/Ps 113/Phil 2              Humiliation and Exaltation                 January 20, 2013
  15. SC 29-30                 Ezek 36/Ps 19/Rom 6         Union with Christ                                 February 3, 2013
  16. SC 31                      Ezek 37/Ps 84/Jn 3              The Call                                                  February 10, 2013
  17. SC 32-33                 Lev 16/Ps 32/Rom 3            Justified in Christ                                  February 17, 2013
  18. SC 34                      Ex 3-4/Ps 2/Gal 3-4             Adopted in Christ                                 February 24, 2013
  19. SC 35                      Jer 17/Ps 1/1 Cor 10            Sanctified in Christ                                March 3, 2013
  20. SC 36                      2K 19/Ps 102/Rom 5          The Benefits of Christ in This Life      March 17, 2013
  21. SC 37                      Dt 30/Ps 118/1 Th 15          The Benefits of Christ at Death           March 24, 2013
  22. SC 38                      Is 25/Ps 16/1 Cor 15            The Benefits of Christ: Resurrection    March 31, 2013
  23. SC 39-40                 Amos 1, Ps 119, Rom 1-2    The Moral Law                                      April 7, 2013
  24. SC 41-42                 Dt 6, Ps 110, Mt 22               The Summary of the Law                     April 14, 2013
  25. SC 43-44                 Dt 11, Ps 105, Heb 3             Grace before Law: the Preface               April 28, 2013
  26. SC 45-48                 Ez 8, Ps 44, 1 Cor 10             The Lure and Cure of Idolatry             May 5, 2013
  27. SC 49-52                 Dt 4, Ps 96, Col 1                  The Image and the Word                     May 19, 2013
  28. SC 53-56                 Dt 14, Ps 106, 2Cor 6            God’s Holy Name                                 May 26, 2013
  29. SC 57-59                 Ex 31, Ps 84, Heb 4               God’s Holy Day                                    June 2, 2013
  30. SC 60-62                 Neh 13, Ps 92, Mt 12             Our Holy Rest                                       June 9, 2013
  31. SC 63-66                 Prov 1, Ps 128, Eph 5-6        Honor Your Father and Mother          June 16, 2013
  32. SC 67-69                 Gen 4, Ps 10, Lk 11               You Shall Not Kill                                July 7, 2013
  33. SC 70-72                 Prov 5, Ps 45, Matt 5             You Shall Not Commit Adultery        July 14, 2013
  34. SC 73-75                 Dt 23-24, Ps 15, Eph 4         You Shall Not Steal                               July 21, 2013
  35. SC 76-78                 Prov 6, Ps 64, 3 John            You Shall Not Bear False Witness       August 25, 2013
  36. SC 79-81                 1 K 21, Ps 119:33-40, Lk 15 You Shall Not Covet                             September 1, 2013
  37. SC 82-84                 Gen 6, Ps 14, 2 Pet 2-3          What Does Sin Deserve?                      September 8, 2013
  38. SC 85                      Dt 29-30, Ps 40, Acts 2          The Way of Salvation                            September 15, 2013
  39. SC 86                      Numbers 21, Ps 78, Phil 3    What Is Faith?                                       September 22, 2013
  40. SC 87                      Hos 13-14, Ps 51, 1 Jn 1       What Is Repentance?                             September 29, 2013
  41. SC 88-90                 Ez 20, Ps 81, Rom 10           How Does God Use Preaching to Save You? Oct 6, 2013
  42. SC 91-93                 Ex 24, Ps 27, 1 Co 10            How Does God Use the Sacraments to Save You? Oct 13
  43. SC 94                      Gen 6 Ps 42 1 Pet 3               How Does God Use Baptism to Save You?      Oct 27, 2013
  44. SC 95                      Jon 2, Ps 29, Col 3              Why Baptize Babies?                             November 3, 2013
  45. SC 96-97                 Prov 9 Ps 104 Mk 14             How Does God Use the Lord’s Supper to Save You? Nov 10
  46. SC 98-99                 2 Chr 6, Ps 116, Mt 6             How Does God Use Prayer to Save You?           Nov 17, 2013
  47. SC 100                    Ex 4 Ps 103, Jn 1                   The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father              November 24, 2013
  48. SC 101                    Is 6, Ps 99, Lk 1                     Hallowed Be Thy Name                       December 1, 2013
  49. SC 102-103             2 Sam 7, Ps 72, Lk 1              Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done           Dec 8, 2013
  50. SC 104                    Is 55, Ps 138, Lk 1                 Give Us Our Daily Bread                      December 15, 2013
  51. SC 105-106             Is 9, Ps 130, Lk 1                   Forgive Us Our Debts                          December 22, 2013
  52. SC 107                    1 Chr 29, Ps 73, Lk 2             Thine Is the Kingdom                         December 29, 2013

 

RJB as a Preacher

by | Jul 25, 2013 | Breckinridge, Preaching

April 10, 2010

 

RJB was a Christ-centered preacher. I include below selections from my notes on a sermon he preached around 1850 while he was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Lexington, Kentucky. It was published in Elijah Wilson, The Living Pulpit: or Eighteen Sermons by Eminent Living Divines of the Presbyterian Church (Philadelphia: William S. & Alfred Martien, 1865).

His text was one of my favorites: “Christ, who is our life” Colossians 3:4. I’ll give you a few excerpts to show that R. J. Breckinridge, for all his faults, had a firm grasp on the gospel!

“The grand point of view in which we should habitually contemplate the Scriptures, is as a divine revelation of the only mode in which lost sinners can be saved. As a history…As a spiritual system…As a code of morals…As a source of support, of consolation, of peace, and of joy…it can avail us nothing, except as we receive its precepts, and accept its doctrines, and believe its statements, as one and the other bear directly upon the grand conception of the Gospel—salvation for lost sinners. Every thing short of this is little better than trifling with our own souls. Every thing inconsistent with this is little else than handling the word of God deceitfully.” (263-364)

“Amongst ten thousand other passages, my text is all alive with this precious Saviour, and this great salvation. To him as our life, and to the nature of the life we enjoy in him, in our spiritual, or mortal, and our eternal being, the apostle, in this passage, directs our thoughts…” (266)

Then RJB took them through a brief summary of the history of creation, fall and redemption, before showing three aspects of our life in Christ:

First, Everything else in scripture hinges on this new spiritual life created by the Spirit in our regeneration. Warns against low view of the Spirit, because “the life of God in the soul remains the fundamental necessity of every renewed heart, as it is the first and simplest element of practical Christianity.” (274-275) And Paul “does not content himself with saying, that we have a life derived from Christ, nor yet that Christ has bestowed on us a life essentially like his own; but he mounts to the loftiest height, and declares that Christ is himself our life! Christ is found in his people, the hope of glory. In receiving, accepting, and relying upon him, there is a lofty and hallowed sense in which they are nourished by him.” (275)

Second, it shows that the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is necessary (and the imputation of Adam’s sin). “you will perceive how absolutely our life depends on Christ, and how completely the whole scheme of the resurrection rests upon him and terminates in him. Since the fall, we are as essentially mortal as we are depraved.” (283) But in Christ, “Death and resurrection will produce on the bodies of the righteous a change so far analogous as is possible to the change wrought upon their souls by regeneration and sanctification.” (284)

Third, “Christ as the life of our eternal being. The Scriptures hardly recognize what we ordinarily call life, as an estate worthy of that name.” (286) God alone has life in himself – which is also in the Lord Jesus. Turns to the glorious resurrection of the just, and then the judgment of the just made perfect – not to ascertain whether they will be saved, nor worthy of eternal life-“for every one of them has already received it at the hands of Christ.” At this judgment all the good and ill of his life are revealed – and the glorified savior pronounces them blessed and welcome. And then the judgment of the unjust. (291)

RJB concludes his sermon by summarizing the rest of Colossians 3 in the light of this central truth. “We ought, says he, to seek those things which are above, and set our affections on them, and not on things on the earth; remembering that we are dead, and that our life is hid with Christ in God. We ought to mortify our members which are upon the earth; for the lack of doing which, we are prone to fall into those sins, for the sake of which the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, and in which we once lived ourselves. But now, seeing that we have put off the old man, with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him; we ought continually to shun all evil, and pursue all good; under the fixed and felt conviction, that to us Christ is all and in all.”
I am beginning to understand why Breckinridge was so well beloved by the congregations where he preached, and by the young men who studied under him (whether at Jefferson College in 1845-1847, or at Danville Theological Seminary in 1853-1869). As a preacher he always sought to hold forth Christ. He once commented that he preferred not to divide the “exposition” from the “application” but tried to weave the two together.