When bad things happen to the baptized children of God, we mustn't think that we are undergoing the wrath of God because of sins, as some false teachers proclaim. Indeed, the truth is as Jesus Himself states,
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7-11)"
God our Father will not give us a stone if we ask Him for bread, for He loves us and gives us good gifts as our Heavenly Father. We may not always understand the good things our Lord is providing to us, but yet He meets our every needs. He isn't about handing us a snake when we ask for our daily bread!
The Apostle Paul writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)"
When bad things happen to the baptized children of God we have a great comforter in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who freely gives us His means of grace for the forgiveness of sins. He is, indeed, our bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:35-40).
When bad things happen to the baptized children of God we have a great comforter in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who freely gives us His means of grace for the forgiveness of sins. He is, indeed, our bread of life come down from heaven (John 6:35-40).
Thanks be to God!
For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings I firmly believe I shall never hear a theologian of glory preach on this verse (nor Matthew 10:38). There seems to be a number of Lutherans holding to a different exegesis of makarioi preferring an interpretation of happy instead of the ESV's blessed as found in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-11). Yet not one of these people have yet to address verse 10; "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." We seem to prefer running away and hiding rather than admitting this world is thoroughly corrupted by sin - and it's our sin that did this. Being baptized into Christ does not drown the sins of the world, only the sin which separates us from God. We can now rejoice in our affliction secure in the knowledge that, on that glorious day, we too will share in the peace of the Lord. Maranatha.
ReplyDeletePax,
Dennis