Introduction
John begins his first epistle insisting that life has entered the world, and that life means fellowship and joy and light (1 Jn. 1:1-5). Confessing sin is the life breath of Christian life. When you begin to live the Christian life, you repent and believe, and the only way to keep breathing is to repent and believe. And if you stop breathing, there is only darkness and death and separation.
Repentance unto Life
Repentance is preaching the gospel to yourself every day in every situation: the good news that Jesus is the Christ, our King who has come to set us free from sin, death, and Satan. And in the death and resurrection of Jesus, those powers were thrown down, we were forgiven, cleansed, and set free. We have been adopted as beloved sons and daughters, and therefore are united to Christ by His Spirit and share in His glory and righteousness and power. Repentance means turning away, turning around. Repentance means that if you were going left, you go right. If you were going upstairs, you go downstairs. If you were lying, you tell the truth (Eph. 4:25). If you were stealing, you cease, get a job, and save to have extra to give to those in need (Eph. 4:28). If there were corrupt and bitter words coming out of your mouth, you begin to speak words of kindness and edification and forgiveness (Eph. 4:29-32). Repentance means hating your sin from the bottom of your heart. If you are constantly apologizing for the same things with no measurable improvement, you are not repenting, you are just feeling sorry for yourself in front of other people. Godly sorrow is desperate for freedom and leads to salvation and joy (2 Cor. 7:9-11). People who are forgiven are set free. To go from darkness to light is to go from dead to alive. This is miraculous and it fills people with joy (1 Jn. 1:4). And if you’re going through the actions of repenting and asking forgiveness, and that is not resulting in fullness of joy, then you are not repenting. You are lying to yourself and others. And people who know the power of forgiveness are quick to extend that love and forgiveness to others (1 Jn. 2:2).
Lenten Joy
This is why a season like Lent should be both a profoundly joyful season and naturally evangelistic. If you are fasting in order to cover up your guilt, you are lying to God, and God hates your fasting. If your soul is hallow, and you are not walking in the joy of the Holy Spirit and you think giving up Facebook or Coke is going to help you, you are liar. Propitiation is a big word that means covering; it was the place where the blood was sprinkled once a year in the Most Holy Place. When we confess our sins, the promise of God is that our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus (1 Jn. 1:7-9). And it is God’s faithfulness and justice that does this cleansing, and this necessarily results in profound freedom and fearlessness and relief. Worrying about whether you will fall again or whether this will really work is another sign that you don’t really want out. Forgiveness makes you say crazy things like the Apostle John: “these things I write to you, so that you may not sin” (1 Jn. 2:1). Forgiveness and repentance is a turning away from darkness and guilt and confusion toward light and fellowship and joy. Your days should be growing lighter, your fellowship should be growing tighter, and your joy should be filling up not draining out. If that is not happening, then you are walking in darkness and that is because you are not really confessing your sins, including the sin of not believing the promise of forgiveness. Confessing sin is how we wage war with the world, the flesh, and the devil. When people cease to confess their sins, they are refusing to fight. Being nice to sin is to already admit defeat.
The Fellowship of Repentance
The end of confession is fellowship. But fellowship doesn’t make all differences evaporate. Some differences can be worked out rather quickly (days or weeks), others can take longer (years, resurrection), and still others are not necessarily bad. In fact the body of Christ is full of glorious differences. But without fellowship, differences will collide and clash. But when our differences are woven together in love, they create a harmony instead of a dissonance.
Our great temptation in a sermon like this is to hope that someone else is listening carefully. But Jesus calls that hypocrisy. You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye (Mt. 7:3-5). The principle is that if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. But the flesh loves to blame shift and try to insist that the other guy walk in the light first. Confessing our own sins first, removing the log from our own eye first means taking responsibility, bearing the shame, claiming the fault. This shouldn’t be a fake show of piety, but Christ-like love and compassion, gladly suffering for the sake of others.
Taking responsibility for our own sins and weakness teaches us humility and compassion for the weaknesses and sins of others. When you know how unlovely your own heart is, you can love the unlovely around you, even those closest to you in all of their weakness and shame. This is what the body of Christ is supposed to do more broadly anyway (1 Cor. 12:23). This means helping one another obey, supporting one another where we are weak. Individualism teaches us to hold back and let our brothers crash and burn, but love teaches us to reach out and gently bring our brothers in for a safe landing. Because we have an Advocate, we can be advocates (1 Jn. 2:1); He is the propitiation for our sins and the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2).
Monday, March 21, 2011
Second Sunday in Lent: Repentance for Life 1 Jn. 1-2:2
Monday, February 07, 2011
Parents and Elders
"... since what we teach in catechism is the Scriptures and the confessions, that should properly be considered the official teaching ministry of the church of Jesus Christ. Parents entrusted with the spiritual education of their children fulfill their responsibility under the care and guidance of the church's elders.
. . .
'Two parties,' said Matthew Henry, 'parents in their families and... ministers in more public assembles, are necessary, and do mutually assist each other, and neither will excuse the want of the other.'
We have to take care that the elders do not usurp the role of parents. In God's covenantal structuring of the church he has never set elders or catechism teachers between parents and children or in place of parents. Elders, therefore, may not shove parents aside, nor may parents vacate their position in favor of elders. Instead, by administering a good catechism program, the elders fulfill their role by insisting and ensuring that the parents of the church obey God's command to instruct their children in his ways (Dt. 6:6-9, Eph. 6:4)."
-Donald Van Dyken, Rediscoving Catechism, 91, 101.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Reformission Rev. Review Pt. 4
Driscoll notes that it is easy for leaders to be distracted by their own well meaning people. People call in the middle of the night with crises. People come into the office sobbing with stories of sin and struggle. People have interpersonal tangles that they would like you to dedicate several hours a week to. People want to be "good friends" with the pastor and spend time together regularly.
And the point isn't to be heartless or unfeeling or unavailable. Pastors are shepherds, and they must shepherd the sheep. And sheep wander off. Sheep get into trouble. Sheep need lots of care and love and time.
But every pastor must quickly learn that they cannot do everything. And if pastors cannot do everything for everyone in the church, then of necessity, they must quickly learn to prioritize. And just to be clear, this means saying "no" to some things, some people, some real needs, some hard cases. Sometimes it means not answering the phone, not responding to emails, requests, whatever.
Of course, pastors must remain dedicated to loving their people, must remain "given to hospitality," and must not be rude or unkind. But pastors cannot do everything, and pastors who try to do everything will fail and they will burn out and in the end will actually do their congregations more harm than good.
This principle is always true, even in small churches, but this principle gets more and more obvious and important the larger the church grows. A pastor can know his flock fairly well when it is fairly small. He can fairly routinely make his way around through the congregation, checking in with them, giving counsel, and spending time with them. I remember in the first church I pastored, a mission work, there were maybe 28 people in worship if everyone came. Even in a tiny mission work like that, pastors must not delusionally think that they can do everything, but they can get to know their people and visit with them regularly. But I also remember the last time we had the whole church over to our apartment. Thankfully the weather was nice, and the fifty plus people could spill out into the yard. My wife and I realized we wouldn't be able to do that anymore. And while our hospitality remained regular, the schedule got longer and longer. While we might have been able to cycle through everyone in a month or two when we first arrived, by the time we were preparing to leave, it would have taken three or four months to make it through everyone.
When we arrived back in Moscow at Trinity to serve as one of the pastors here, I believe the congregation was a little over two hundred at the time. I remember Jenny asking at one point (with some trepidation), "How are we going to be able to have everyone over?" She didn't mean all at once, just how could we schedule or plan to visit with everyone in the church? And I told her that we wouldn't because we couldn't. Over the course of the two and a half years since we've been at Trinity, the congregation has continued to grow, and with over three hundred people regularly in worship, it's just not possible to know everyone really well.
Driscoll recounts similar realizations as Mars Hill grew. He relates how at one point they even had close friends drop by one night to tell them that they were leaving the church. And the reason they were leaving was because the Driscolls hadn't been spending much time with them any more. Whatever questions we may have for them, the point is that particularly as congregations grow, pastors can't be best friends with everyone in the church. Just as a side note: Where God provides close friends for pastors and their wives and families within larger congregations, this is itself a particularly significant ministry to pastors and their families. And sometimes these relationships are crucial means of grace at specific times but can also providentially shift and change over time. This must be received with thankful hearts, commended, and people need to guard against any feelings of offense or bitterness or rivalry.
Furthermore and even more importantly, pastors can't do all the work of ministry in the church because that is not how a healthy church will grow. But the point that Driscoll makes that is a really helpful reminder is that this is the way it's supposed to be anyway. Pastors can't and shouldn't do all the ministry because they aren't the only ministers.
In fact, Driscoll points to Ephesians 4 where Paul says that Jesus gave His Spirit to the Church in the form of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers to equip the saints to do the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11-12). In other words, the ministry of pastors and teachers is to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. And I'll just say it one more time to be clear: The saints are to be actively involved in the work of ministry. Of course pastors and teachers are saints too, and they have an important ministry also. But their ministry is to equip the rest of the saints to do ministry. Why? So that the body of Christ might be edified, built up. Literally, the word means to build a house. The way churches get built is by pastors equipping the saints to do the work of ministry. And Paul continues by explaining that this is how the body of Christ will grow up and grow together. If churches want to grow up and grow together, then the saints must be equipped.
Pastors must train and equip by doing and setting an example, but this means that faithful pastors must be training other men to be elders, deacons, and laymen who will then go out and do counseling and evangelism and mercy ministry in the church and outside the church (and likewise the women).
Driscoll fairly candidly admits that at various points in his ministry he was trying to do too much, and it had ramifications for his own health and family life. This is a good warning.
But overwhelmingly, I found this reminder to be freeing and liberating. When Jethro confronted Moses about this same problem, Jethro was a wise elder/father in-law and could see the burn out coming a mile away. Jethro's advice was good news. It was gospel wisdom. And the Jethro principle still stands as basic, essential wisdom for the body of Christ.
Now I'm a big fan of Richard Baxter style pastoral ministry, and I do think that Driscoll's advice should be balanced with Baxter's pastoral heart. It would seem a little strange to me for a pastor to never engage in counseling or pastoral care, though I know in some churches there are pastors who only preach and other pastors who only counsel. I would think that some interaction with the needs and challenges of the congregation remains important and strategic, but the principle of delegation and sharing the load and equipping the saints to do ministry stands. And this is exactly what the apostles did in Acts 6. Whether or not those seven men are "deacons" in the technical sense, they are certainly deacons in as much as they are alleviating the load of the apostles.
Someone might have objected that the apostles were heartless for neglecting the needs of the widows. Wasn't it the apostle James who insisted that pure and undefiled religion was the care of orphans and widows? And there may be some hyper-Baxters who would have a hard time letting go of the ministry to widows: what if it falls apart? What if they don't get cared for? But the apostles (James included) said it would not be right for them to worry about that ministry. They were called to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4). That's a wonderful apostolic example set for many pastors.
Train other saints to do the work of ministry. Train other saints to counsel, to do mercy ministry, to help with pastoral care, to do administrative work, to organize events, whatever. And of course gifts and interests will vary from pastor to pastor and that will color this principle in different ways, but the pastor's job boiled down is to pray and preach.
The last thought on this is that pastors have to remember their own families as the first members of their congregation. The pastoral care must begin there. Pastors who have Richard Baxter as their hero must begin being Richard Baxter in their own homes, dating their wives, loving their children, and not neglecting their physical and spiritual wellbeing. The pastor's home is his first parish. Pastors can't do everything, but it shouldn't even be a question about which members of your congregation you should spend time with first. Love your wife so that she is not a de facto widow; love your children so that they are not de facto orphans. This is pure and undefiled religion.
Anyway, good stuff from Driscoll: Leaders, don't be distracted. You can't do everything. So equip the saints. Pray and preach and love your people. And trust Jesus to build His Church.
Monday, January 10, 2011
First Sunday of Epiphany: 1 Cor. 12:27-13:3, Eph. 4:1-16
Introduction
The Feast of Epiphany is the culmination of Christmas. Epiphany celebrates what it means for God to be present, to reveal Himself, to be manifested to the world. Last week, we considered John’s exhortations to receive the love of God and to walk in that love. We continue a similar theme this morning, thinking about the Church as the Body of Christ, the continuing manifestation of God’s Incarnation in the world.
The Texts:
Eph. 4 and 1 Cor. 12-13 have a number of obvious similarities. Both are concerned about the body of Christ, the gifts of the Spirit, and the primacy of love. Beginning with 1 Cor. 12-13, we should notice that love is the way gifts get sorted out. Not everyone does the same thing (12:29-30), and people can try to do things that aren’t their gig (13:1). And the difference is love (13:2-3). And this love is the love of God filling up God’s people and overflowing to everyone around them. The name of this love is the Holy Spirit (12:6-13). Paul has the same love in mind in Eph. 4:1-2, but Christ manifests His gifts differently in everyone (4:7, 11). But this gift manifests itself in love (4:15-16). Finally, notice how the gifts cascade out in love from apostles to teachers (4:11) for the equipping of the saints for the building of the church (4:12). Pastors don’t build churches; saints build churches. Pastors and elders equip saints to do the work of ministry. To be a Christian is to join the work of ministry. And Paul says that this is necessary for the unity of the Church and the maturity of the Church (4:13-14). In order for the Church to grow up into unity and maturity, the saints must be equipped and the saints must do the ministry. This is why ministry is one of the ways we fight sin and squabbles (Eph. 4:25-32).
Type rest of the post here
Jesus, Gifts, Interests, and Needs
How do you know what you’re supposed to be doing? Should you keep doing what you’re doing now? Should you go back to school? Should you sell the house and move across the country? Across the world? Should you have more kids? Should you give thanks for the ones you have and then look for ways to serve other families? Should you spend more time with your own family? Should you spend more time with your neighbors? Should you invest more energy in your hobbies? Work longer hours to have more to give to missions? And we could extend these questions generally to our congregation: What should Trinity be growing up into? Should we spend more energy and resources on ministry to the poor? Should we spend more energy and resources on missions? Should we spend more energy and resources on Christian education? The Biblical principle is not to worry about these questions but rather to “Seek first the Kingdom…” (Mt. 6:33) and “Delight yourself in the Lord…” (Ps. 37:4). Therefore, we begin with Jesus and His Kingdom and then we prayerfully consider and seek counsel regarding our gifts and interests and the needs around us. The love of God and neighbor orients and directs our gifts.
For the Ministry, For the Kingdom
Regardless, we are a congregation overwhelmed by the love of the Triune God in Christ, and we are therefore committed to returning this love to our King and overflowing to the Palouse. And since the love of Christ is no small thing, we need to be thinking big and long term about how we want to see the love of Jesus transform this community. This means we want to come here and offer all that we are to the Lord (that’s what the offertory means), and then be commissioned to use our gifts for Jesus.
Friday, January 07, 2011
Dealing with Porn and Lust Part 2
I believe in shotgun style repentance, which is to say most people do best to use a scatter shot approach to dealing with sin. And frequently God delivers us from sin through a number of different means all working together, pushing and pulling us into sanctification. And for those who have experienced this grace, we look back and it's never easy to explain how or why we repented of any of our sins. There may be points where specific decisions were made and promises kept, but the cumulative effect of grace is always thankful hearts, overflowing with gratitude, recognizing the miraculous nature of deliverance.
One side of dealing with the sin of lust is amputation -- extreme violence to the limbs and organs facilitating sin. And so on the one hand, sin should be dealt with head on, no holds barred: confession, restitution, moving away, quitting your job, getting rid of your computer, cancelling the internet, cable, phone, etc., whatever it takes.
But repentance is always at least two acts in one: putting off and putting on. And I'll be covering this in more detail in a future post, but the point I want to make here is that both must be done. We must always put off sin and put on Christ. The principle here is found in Ephesians 4:17-32. Paul says to put off the old man and put on the new man. In fact, as Paul gives examples of what he means, it becomes clear that putting on the new man, putting on Christ is one of the central ways we put off sin and put off the old man. In other words, when you grab hold of Jesus, whatever was in your hand before comes loose. You can't hold that sin and hold Christ at the same time. You can't speak the truth and lie at the same time. You can't steal and give to those in need at the same time. You can't be bitter and angry and forgiving and kind all at the same time. Jesus and sin just don't mix.
But this means that one of the things sinners must learn to do is pay no attention to their sin. One of the Devil's strategies is to distract God's people with their ugly hearts. But we must not let our sins distract us. And particularly repulsive sins like porn are not only disgusting but also humiliating. No man delights in the thought of confessing the lust in his heart; because we are descended from Adam, because we have rejected the grace of God, because we have loved the darkness, there is a lot of darkness in our hearts.
But deliverance from sin does not come from looking at our sin; it comes from looking to Christ. Deliverance from our disgusting infatuation with darkness doesn't come from squinting at the darkness. In the darkness, you can't see anything. In the darkness, everything is black, everything is dark. You can only see if you look to the light. And it's the same deal with every sin, but perhaps more pointedly when the sin seems particularly embarrassing.
Masturbating while watching porn is gross and vile and guys who struggle with patterns of this feel guilty, ashamed, humiliated, and disgusting. And the Devil wants you to wallow in that shame. But Jesus wants you to get out of it. He bled and died for our all our disgusting sin, and it's only pride and unbelief that refuses to look to Him.
So what am I saying? I'm saying that in addition to cutting of your hand and plucking out your eye, you need to love Christ, love His people, and get busy living like a Christian. Now if you're in leadership in a church, depending on the severity of the problem you may need to step down or take a sabbatical, but that doesn't stop you from living like a follower of Jesus. There may be real and lasting consequences to sin, but that doesn't stop anyone from loving Jesus, loving His people, and loving the lost and the lonely. Part of the slavery of sin is making sinners feel dirty and defiled such that they pull back, they stop fellowshipping with believers, they stop volunteering to serve, they refuse to share their faith with unbelievers. But that's like refusing medicine because you're sick.
You think you're unworthy; you're a hypocrite; you're a liar. But that's only true if you don't hate your sin, if you're not fighting your sin. Well, you say, I wasn't fighting sin last night when that page popped up on my computer. Yeah, well what are you doing right now? What are you going to do today? Instead of surfing around aimlessly on the web at 2 in the morning, why don't you start going to bed at a reasonable hour and planning to fellowship with some godly friends? Why don't you find a homeless shelter to volunteer at? Why don't you go to a Bible study? Spend time in prayer, memorize Scripture, invite your neighbors over for dinner, go do something constructive, something pleasing to God.
The point is that we always need to repent of sin, but repentance means putting off sin and frequently you cannot put off sin unless you are busy putting on Christ. You cannot let go of sin, unless you are grabbing hold of Jesus.
So don't let your lust distract you. Jesus died to put that sin to death. Amputate the sin and look to Christ. Get rid of your laptop and start going to a Bible study. Drop your cable and start volunteering at the local crisis pregnancy center. Cancel the data plan on your phone and call up one of the deacons and see if you can help with anything.
And don't say you're such a lousy stinking sinner. Of course you are, that's why you need Jesus. And when you recognize the depth of your need, when you see how badly you need the grace of Jesus, what better time to try to convince your unbelieving neighbors of their need for a Savior? That's not hypocrisy; that's honest, heartfelt love for the gospel.
Part 1 can be found here.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Fourth Sunday in Lent: Ephesians 6:1-4: Children and Parents as Priests
Opening Prayer: Gracious Father, we thank you that you have called us to be priests and kings. We thank you that you have given us your Word to teach us wisdom, to equip us for ministry to one another. We ask that you would empower your Spirit now that your people might be built up, and that our families in particular would be glorious testimonies of your gospel, through Christ our Lord, Amen!
Introduction
As we meditate on the way of the cross, following Jesus to Jerusalem during these weeks leading up to Easter, we have particularly considered our calling to be priests in our families. Today, we apply this to the relationship between children and parents. Paul’s instructions are first to children and then to fathers: Children honor; fathers nurture. These are priestly callings and ministries.
To Children of the Covenant:
Paul begins by exhorting children to obey. For support he cites Deuteronomy 5:16, where Moses has re-given the law and given a promise with it. The promises are long life and a good life in the land. Notice that Paul equates honor and obedience. Children are to obey by honoring and honor by obeying. We know from Scripture that first born sons received a double portion of their father’s inheritance because that “honor” would later become support for their parents (cf. Mk. 7:11-13). This establishes the principle that honor is always required but it can and does look differently throughout a lifetime. Children must grow up understanding this; and parents must not put obstacles in the way of children fulfilling this calling. And Paul says that this obedience is “right/just/righteous.”
The second promise is a good life in the land that God is giving us. This promise is empty if you do not believe that we are being given this land or if you don’t think the land is worth inheriting. This is directly related to eschatology, your expectations of what the world is going to come to look like over the next centuries and millennia. And this entails recognizing the emptiness of much of modern culture. Covenant children, we are being given this land (Mt. 28:18-20, Rom 4:13-16, 1 Cor. 15:24-25). That is why we gather here for worship. That is why we celebrate the Eucharist; that is why you were baptized. We truly believe that we are being brought through another great Exodus in Jesus Christ.
To Parents:
Paul exhorts fathers in particular here not because mothers do not have an important role to play in the raising of faithful children but because fathers are held responsible for their families. This means that fathers must recognize this responsibility. This does not mean that fathers are held liable for the guilt of their children’s sin, but it does mean that father’s are held responsible for it (Ez. 18:20, Ex. 34:6-7). This means that fathers must be sin confessing warriors. You must confess your own sins and the sins of your household. You must do this not as nit-picking cranks, but as honest, faithful fathers and husbands following the example of faithful Job (cf. Job 1:5).
Further, you are called to raise your children up not provoking them or making them angry, but in the nurture/culture/lifestyle and instruction/warning/admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). This means that you must raise your children up in the spoken and unspoken ways of the faith. You must show them and tell them. Proverbs 22:6 says that the training of a child stays with him even when he is old. The proverb is intentionally ambiguous referring both to the specific “instruction” and the “way”. But the point is that there is a “way of life” and a “way of the mouth” that make up the training.
Application & Conclusion
Fathers, rather than angering your children, imitate God the Father in delighting in your children (e.g. Mk. 1:11, 9:7). This means that you must imitate the Father by saying this out loud. And teach them how to honor by how you honor their mother.
In our text, the word Paul uses for “bring up” or “raise” primarily means to “feed” or “nourish” (e.g. Eph. 5:29, Rev. 12:6). Are you feeding your children with the nurture and admonition of the Lord or are you starving them? Are you feeding them or are you stuffing it down their throats?
Covenant children, you are called to be priests too. Regardless of how your parents are doing or will do, your calling is to joyful obedience in the Lord that you might inherit the land and take possession of the spoils of our King.
And I want to close by tying all of this together: all of us have crosses to bear, difficulties to endure, hardships to suffer. And this is why God has given us his spirit and called us to priestly ministry to one another. Because remember, you cannot love as a priest until you have been loved by the Priest. And the love of our High Priest is to offer us as sacrifices. As we are sacrificed through sufferings, hardships, and pain, we are equipped to love as Christ. But the goal of all of this is to turn our stories of suffering and pain and hardship into stories of grace and salvation and victory. And the command of the gospel is repent and believe. God has determined to turn our crosses into glory, and the proof of that is in the cross of Christ. And it’s the resurrection that makes all the difference. And it’s our promised resurrection that makes all the difference for us. And this is our priestly calling one to another, to follow Jesus to Jerusalem, and our ministries of grace to one another are the means by which God begins to reveal how he will turn our crosses into glory.
In the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!
Closing Prayer: Our great God and Father, your grace is boundless and free. Your goodness is infinite and your mercy is steadfast and immoveable. We praise you, we worship you, and we bow before you. We give you all thanks and praise. We love you, and we commit ourselves once again to believing you and believing your promises for us. Give us grace to drop our unbelief, and pour out your Spirit that we might know you more and know the power of the resurrection. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who was crucified but has been raised from the death, who taught us to pray, singing…
Monday, February 23, 2009
Last Sunday of Epiphany: Ephesians 5: Priestly Love
Introduction
Ephesians 5 presents Christ as the model for all Christians, loving and sacrificing. Paul applies this specifically to husbands and wives, and today as we prepare to enter the season of Lent, we consider what it means to imitate the sacrifice of Christ as husbands.
A Sacrificing Sacrifice
Paul exhorts Christians to imitate Christ who gave himself in love as a sacrifice and an offering to God, a sweet smelling aroma (5:1-2). This is precisely the way sacrifices are described in the old sacrificial system (e.g. Lev. 1:9, 13, 17, etc.). But in order for a sacrifice to qualify, it had to be without blemish (e.g. Lev. 1:3, etc.). Of course Christ is both the sacrifice and the priest (Heb. 9:11-12), and as the priest he must also be holy and blameless (Ex. 29:1, Lev. 21:6ff, Heb. 7:26). Sacrifices were considered holy, and those who ate them were required to be holy (cf. Lev. 6:18, 27ff). In keeping with this, we need to look at two things briefly: first, notice how the Ascension Offering is prepared. As with all the offerings, a hand is laid on its head (1:4), it is cut up and arranged on the altar (1:6-8), a portion is washed (1:9), and then it ascends in the glory of the fire to the presence of God (1:9). What is striking is that there are a number of parallels with the ordinations of priests: priests were washed (8:6), clothed in garments of glory (8:7-9), in order that they might have access to the presence of God in the tabernacle. This is why the priests wore holy garments (Lev. 16:4) and were anointed with holy anointing oil (Ex. 40:13). Holiness means authorization and access. One last item to note is that during the ordination, blood from the ram was put on Aaron and his sons (Lev. 8:24). Putting all of this together means that priests were to be viewed as walking sacrifices. Priests were living sacrifices. In other words, being a sacrifice is what authorizes you to offer a sacrifice.
Priestly Love
It is the Holy Spirit who makes us holy; he is our seal, our authorization, God’s mark upon us (4:30, cf. Jn. 6:27). Since we are called to imitate the love and sacrificial offering of Christ, Paul calls us to holiness (5:3, 9, 18). But since Christ is both the priest and the sacrifice, it should not come as a surprise that we are called to the same. In fact, Paul insists that the priestly love of Christ is what actually affects this change in us, and that our priestly ministry is and does the same. Paul applies this priestly calling to marriage, and calls husbands to love their wives in imitation of Christ (5:25) which is exactly what he previously called all Christians to (5:2). Again, the love of Christ is sacrificial, but his sacrifice is what qualifies him for the task. He gave himself in order to “sanctify and cleanse her” (5:26). And it may sound a little funny: is Christ preparing his bride to be a sacrifice? And the answer is yes, a living sacrifice “holy and without blemish” (5:27, 1:4). Like all sacrifices, he washes her, sanctifies her, feeds and warms her (5:29). And this applies directly to the calling of husbands. The ministry of husbands is not generic or common; it is specific and priestly. You are holy: you have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit, set apart for ministry to and for particular people. And one of those people is your wife. You are called to walk in love and give yourself for your bride as an offering and a sacrifice to God in order that you may sanctify and cleanse her, in order that she may be holy and without blemish, in order that she may be a sweet-smelling aroma to God (5:25-27, 5:2). And this ministry is in word (5:26) and in deed (5:29).
Conclusion & Applications
In order to cleanse your wife, you must repent of your uncleanness (5:26 cf. 5:3-5). You must be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable in order to turn others into sacrifices (Rom. 12:1, 20).
Cleansing with the “washing of the water by the word” comes on the heels of Paul’s exhortation to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (5:18-19). Reading scripture and singing together is an essential way husbands must cleanse their wives.
Lent is the season in which we meditate on the work of Christ for us. Jesus is the ultimate living sacrifice, because Easter is true. And being united to Him means that we have been set apart as his ministers to follow in his steps, to lay our lives down in order to bestow the gifts of life and light. Therefore put away all fornication and uncleanness, and walk as children of light. “Awake, you who sleep. Arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”
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