Tag Archives: shadow

It Is Impossible

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IT IS IMPOSSIBLE

The law is only a shadow of the good things to come – not the realities themselves. For this reason, it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10: 1-4).

We often think that, because God is God, there is nothing impossible with Him. In one sense it is true, but in another sense, it is not true because God will never contradict His own being. There are many things that are impossible for man to do which God can do, but there are many things that man can do, simply because man in sinful, which God cannot do. Hallelujah!

What can God not do?

1. God cannot lie. He is the embodiment of all truth. What He says, He will carry out, be it for our blessing or for judgment. God’s judgment, even though it is delayed because of His mercy, is just as sure as His promises.

When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will arraign you and set my accusations before you (Psa. 50: 21).

2. God cannot be unfaithful. He is utterly steadfast. He is as sure and immovable as a rock. He is trustworthy and dependable. Unlike humans who are fickle and changeable, God remains steadfastly the same. Unlike the gods who are capricious and unpredictable, God always acts within the framework of His own nature.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself (2 Tim. 2: 13).

3. God cannot reject a repentant sinner. It is His nature to have mercy, and He longs for His wayward sons and daughters to return to Him. He takes no delight in the death of anyone. Jesus gave His life for the sin of the world, not just for the sin of the elect. He issues an open invitation to “whoever”. He assures us:

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6: 37).

4. God cannot not love. God is love. The essence of His being is to love. He is true to Himself when He loves. God shows His love by acting. To His wayward people, through the prophet Jeremiah, He declared:

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’ (Jer. 31: 3).

5. God cannot grow weary. God does not need to rest. Though he rested on the seventh day after creation, it was not a rest of weariness but of completion. He rested when His work was done. Jesus rested for three days in the grave because He had completed the work of redemption.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom (Isa. 40: 28).

6. God cannot sleep. He does not need sleep. God is always watching over His work and His word. He keeps watch over His people. Nothing can slip past His vigilance because He is steering His creation towards His desired end.

He will not let your foot slip – for He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep (Psa. 121: 3-4).

7. God cannot be unjust. It is His nature to be perfectly just, always. Though people think they can get away with what they do because He seems not to notice or not to care, we can be assured that He will act to bring justice, even after the end of time. There are no favourites with God either.

And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? (Luke 18: 7).

8. God cannot change. Neither time nor age can change God. He is timeless and consistent.

Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8).

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows (James 1: 17).

Therefore, because of who God is, He cannot justify the sinner on the basis of animal blood. Just as it is impossible for God to act outside of who He is, so it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Sin can only be atoned for by the blood of the sinner – or by the blood of a sinless human whose blood is shed as a substitute for the sinner. Jesus was the perfect substitute for us.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53: 5-6).

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

Better Ministry, Better Mediator

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BETTER MINISTRY, BETTER MEDIATOR

They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle,’ See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’ But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is a mediator is superior to old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another (Heb. 8: 5-7).

“Better” is the watchword of Hebrews. Why is the new better than the old in every way? If we place them side by side, “better” is seen in two ways:

Firstly, the old system with its earthly tabernacle, human priesthood, animal sacrifices and inability to do away with sin was, in one word, incomplete. It was a never-ending cycle of rituals.  There was never an assurance that one day, one bull or one lamb would remove sin forever and that the cycle would come to an end.

Jesus put an end to this cycle of incompleteness. He is the perfect man, throughout His entire earthly life without sin. He is the deathless high priest. There is no need, ever, for a replacement. He is high priest in a new order, the order of a priesthood that has no beginning and no end. He is qualified by virtue of His divine nature, to represent God to man, and by virtue of His human nature, to represent man to God. He is the perfect and irreplaceable mediator between God and man.

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we were healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53: 5-6).

Secondly, the old system was incompetent. However many sacrifices were offered, the people of God were still stubborn, rebellious and disobedient. One look at the track record is enough to convince us that all the animal blood in creation could never change their hearts. Perhaps that was why they could so easily abandon their God for idols. All they had to do was to offer their sacrifices on a different altar and give their allegiance to another god without ever being any different.

Jesus’ sacrifice paved the way for the Holy Spirit to return to God’s people, forever to be both with them and in them. His blood not only forgave sin; it removed sin and allowed the Father to receive His children back into His family with no shadow between them. His promise was fulfilled:

I will sprinkle clean water on you, adieu will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezek. 36: 25-27).

Even the tabernacle in the wilderness was built on a better model, the perfect tabernacle in heaven. Moses was given the privilege of glimpses of that heavenly blueprint of which the earthly tabernacle was only a pale reflection, as beautiful as it was. Every detail of the tabernacle in the wilderness was to be a physical replica of the heavenly reality so that the people of God would at least have a shadow of the real thing.

As magnificent as the tabernacle was, with its interior of rich embroidery and gold, the people never saw it. Only the priests were allowed into the Holy Place. Only the high priest ever gained entrance into the Most Holy Place. Even then, he was not permitted to look upon the “Shekinah” – the visible radiance of God’s presence – which was obscured by the clouds of smoke from the censor of burning incense

As Jesus uttered His last words, “It is finished!” and drew His final breath, the curtain in the temple ripped from top to bottom, leaving the “Shekinah” exposed for anyone in the temple to see. No longer was God’s presence veiled in secrecy. His arms and His heart were open and His invitation extended to all, ‘Come!’ Never before could He do that because of sin . . . sin that polluted, separated, and stained the human race.

But now . . .? Finished! Complete! Better!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Christ Is The Reality

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CHRIST IS THE REALITY

Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Col. 2: 16-17).

This is quite startling! Paul was a Jew and had been a fanatical stickler for the Law, and yet he made a radical statement which contradicted everything he had believed in and taught as a Pharisee and a rabbi.

Religious festivals, New Moon celebrations and Sabbaths were the backbone of Jewish life. They were the weekly, monthly and annual festivals which brought the family and the nation together regularly to cement their unity and to express their faith in God and their anticipation of their Messiah. Elaborate rituals were developed around each celebration which were full of symbolism and meaning for God’s people.

Yet Paul was saying that all of these celebrations and rituals were no longer necessary in their family and national lives? Was he not treading on thin ice by contradicting God’s commands? What right had he to tell God’s people that all of these were fulfilled and done away with in Christ?

As a disciple of Jesus, and an apostle appointed by God, Paul had authority to interpret and ‘bind’ Jesus’s yoke on His followers. The ritualistic celebration of special days was part of the old yoke of Judaism which Jesus fulfilled and abolished by His life, death and resurrection. As his understanding grew, Paul clearly recognised that these special days were prophetic of Messiah. To continue celebrating them was to say, in effect, that they were still anticipating the coming of their Messiah when He had already come.

In what way did Jesus fulfil these prophetic actions? This demands a much more detailed study of the meaning of the Sabbath and the annual festivals which God commanded them to celebrate in Leviticus 23 than we can do here.

However, reading Hebrews 3 and 4 will clear up the issue of the Sabbath, for a start. The command to rest from their weekly labour was prophetic of their perpetual rest of faith in Jesus which sets them and us free from the ‘labour’ of trying to be righteous by keeping God’s laws.

The seven annual feasts were prophetic of the major events of Jesus’s first coming and symbolise what will happen when He returns. He fulfilled the first four feasts in order: He was God’s Passover lamb, sacrificed to deliver us from bondage to sin; He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread by removing our sin from us just as the Israelites were commanded to remove all leaven from their homes; He fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits by becoming the firstfruits of the resurrection; He fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit to begin the ingathering of the harvest – the church.

There are three feasts yet to be fulfilled when Jesus comes again; the Feast of Trumpets – the announcement of His return; the Day of Atonement when sin will be judged and removed forever and Feast of Tabernacles when God will take up residence with His people, not in booths in the wilderness but in an eternal new heaven and new earth where all the effects of Adam’s disobedience will be removed forever.

That brings me to another important topic. If Jesus has fulfilled days, months and annual celebrations, and did away with food taboos, why do some streams in the church still make them obligatory and legalistically hold to them, especially the Sabbath and food taboos? Is this not a denial of what Jesus accomplished on the cross?

Paul said categorically, ‘Do not let anyone judge you . . .’ We cannot help it if people judge us but what we can help is being affected by their judgment. If someone judges us, it comes from their scruples, not ours.

Jesus gave us two sacraments to observe, not as prophetic of what He would do, but as a remembrance of what He has done; the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of His sacrifice to seal the New Covenant; baptism is a celebration of His death, burial and resurrection which He accomplished for us to set us free from our slavery to sin and death.

Even festivals like Christmas and Easter, which have become nothing more than an opportunity for merchants to peddle their wares – their success in the commercial world is reckoned by their profits –  and people to overindulge, are not rooted in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ but in paganism which has been ‘Christianised’ for convenience.

There is no such thing as ‘Put Christ back into Christmas’ which is the hopeless cry of many churches, because Jesus Christ was never in Christmas. How dare we involve Him in the frenzy, overspending, overindulgence, pandering to the demands of children and hypocrisy of the ‘silly season’? There is very little about Christmas or Easter that resembles the Spirit of Jesus. He has been tagged on to paganism to make it acceptable and to hold us in bondage to tradition, and believers the world over have been sucked into this tradition and are enraged by anyone who dares to challenge it.

Come on, church! Let’s get back to the Word of God and to the truth! When you see what goes on at Christmas in the name of Jesus, ask yourself honestly, ‘Is this why Jesus came?’ Does He really identify with Christmas? Even the name of the season, ‘Christmas’ is an insult to Him and trivialises what He did for us. Christ-mass implies the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. How can we wish people a merry sacrifice of Jesus?

If we are true worshippers of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us put Him and His life and death back into perspective. Simplify your life. Live in the wonder of His salvation which we remember in two simple observances, and in the daily reality of the rest He made possible for us by removing our need to satisfy God’s holy requirements.

He is, after all, everything we need!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.