As Far as the East Is from the West
I made reference to Psalm 103:12 in my Good Friday sermon last night:
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
I also included some of Charles Spurgeon’s reflections upon this same verse from The Treasury of David. The quote is so good that I had to post it here, too:
O glorious verse, no word even upon the inspired page can excel it! Sin is removed from us by a miracle of love! What a load to move, and yet is it removed so far that the distance is incalculable. Fly as far as the wing of imagination can bear you, and if you journey through space eastward, you are further from the west at every beat of your wing. If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it must be entirely gone. If this be the distance of its removal, there is no shade of fear of its ever being brought back again; even Satan himself could not achieve such a task. Our sins are gone, Jesus has borne them away. Far as the place of sunrise is removed from yonder west, where the sun sinks when his day’s journey is done, so far were our sins carried by our scapegoat nineteen centuries ago, and now if they be sought for, they shall not be found, yea, they shall not be, saith the Lord. Come, my soul, awaken thyself thoroughly and glorify the Lord for this richest of blessings. Hallelujah. The Lord alone could remove sin at all, and he has done it in a godlike fashion, making a final sweep of all our transgressions.
Jerry Bridges on Propitiation and Expiation
I’m studying the topic of expiation in anticipation of Good Friday and I recently ran across this clear and helpful quote in The Gospel for Real Life by the late Jerry Bridges:
Propitiation, as we saw in Chapter 5, addresses the wrath of God. It is the work of Christ saving us from God’s wrath by absorbing it in His own person as our substitute. Expiation which basically means “removal,” accompanies propitiation and speaks of the work of Christ in removing or putting away our sin. Such is the symbolism of the two goats used on the Day of Atonement. The first goat represented Christ’s work of propitiation as it was killed and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. The second goat represented Christ’s work of expiation in removing or blotting out the sins that were against us. The object of propitiation is the wrath of God. The object of expiation is the sin, which must be removed from His presence.
Bridges finishes the chapter in this way:
The work of Christ in finished. Nothing more remains to be done. God’s wrath has been propitiated. Our sins have been removed. The question is, will we appreciate it, not only for our initial moment of salvation, but for our day-to-day acceptance with God? It is only as we do the latter that we will truly begin to appreciate the glory of the cross and the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Amen.
180+ Christian Blogs
Tim Challies recently shared the list of the 180+ Christian blogs to which he subscribes. I can hear the unread count in my RSS reader rising even as I type this.
2PCNE in Coram Deo’s Weekly Update Video
I’m a little late here, but better late than never.
This was shown at Coram Deo’s Sunday worship gathering on February 21, one week before 2 Pillars Church–Northeast’s public launch. In the video I speak with Coram Deo pastor, Bob Thune, about our first church planting conversation, Coram Deo’s support of 2PCNE, and some of our prayer needs.
My Not-Quite-Ideal Launch Week
2 Pillars Church–Northeast launches this Sunday. Here’s a brief summary of what launch week has looked like so far:
- Monday–Thursday: I was sick for the first four days of the week. I can’t remember the last time I was sick and out of commission for this long.
- Friday (Today): Fever free, I finally got to the office this morning to spend some uninterrupted time working on my sermon for Sunday when…the sewer in our building backed up. A few hours later, the water has been shop vac’d from the carpets, box fans are in place, and I’m sitting at my desk once again.
You can’t make this stuff up! I’m beginning to wonder if this is all part of some church planter hazing ritual I wasn’t told about.
I know God is up to something here, though I’m not entirely sure what it is. At the very least, I suspect it includes teaching me lessons about my sinful desire for control and how critical it is that I trust Him as we launch this 2 Pillars Northeast.
Now, back to that sermon.
The Paradox of the Gospel
David Mathis:
This is one of the great paradoxes of the gospel. It is the poor he makes rich, the weak he makes strong, the foolish he makes wise, the guilty he makes righteous, the dirty he makes clean, the lonely he loves, the worthless he values, the lost he finds, the have-nots who stunningly become the haves — not mainly in this age, but in the new creation to come.