A Great Debt. Who Can Pay?

An illustration showing the great gift we have in the death and resurrection of Jesus. He came to pay a debt that we could not pay.

Harry Ironside used to tell about a young Russian soldier. Because his father was a friend of Czar Nicholas I, the young man had been made paymaster in one of the barracks.

The young man meant well, but his character was not up to this responsibility. He took to gambling and eventually gambled away a great deal of the government's money as well as all of his own.

In due course the young man received notice that a representative of the czar was coming to check accounts, and he knew he was in trouble.

That evening he got out the books and totaled up the funds he owed. Then he went to the safe and got out his own pitifully small amount of money. As he sat and looked at the two he was overwhelmed at the astronomical debt versus his own small change. He was ruined! He knew he would be disgraced.

At last the young soldier determined to take his life. He pulled out his revolver, placed it on the table before him, and wrote a summation of his misdeeds. At the bottom of the ledger where he had totaled up his illegal borrowings, he wrote: “A great debt! Who can pay?” He decided that at the stroke of midnight he would die.

As the evening wore on the young soldier grew drowsy and eventually fell asleep. That night Czar Nicholas I, as was sometimes his custom, made the rounds of the barracks. Seeing a light, he stopped, looked in, and saw the young man asleep. He recognized him immediately and, looking over his shoulder, saw the ledger and realized all that had taken place.

He was about to awaken him and put him under arrest when his eye fastened on the young man's message: “A great debt! Who can pay?”

Suddenly, with a surge of magnanimity, he reached over, wrote one word at the bottom of the ledger, and slipped out.

When the young man awoke, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was long after midnight. He reached for his revolver to shoot himself. But his eye fell upon the ledger and he saw something that he had not seen before. There beneath his writing: “A great debt! Who can pay?” was written, “Nicholas.”

He was dumbfounded. It was the Czar's signature. He said to himself, “The czar must have come by when I was asleep. He has seen the book. He knows all. Still he is willing to forgive me.”

The young soldier then rested on the word of the czar, and the next morning a messenger came from the palace with exactly the amount needed to meet the deficit. Only the czar could pay, and the czar did pay.

We compare [God's righteousness] with our own tawdry performance, and we ask the question: “A great debt to God! Who can pay?” But then the Lord Jesus Christ steps forward and signs His name to our ledger: “Jesus Christ.” Only Jesus can pay, and He did.

By Greg Koukl, Stand to Reason

Long live the King!

The Incarnation

'Adoration of the Shepherds, Gerard van Honthorst, 17th century'

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Life Redeemed

John Newton went to sea at the age of 11 and was forced to enlist on a British man-of-war seven years later. He was captured after deserting the intolerable conditions and exchanged to the crew of a slave ship. He began reading a book he found on board— Imitation of Christ—which began to sow the seeds of conversion. Newton eventually gave his life to Christ during a storm which threatened the ship. For the rest of his life he observed May 10, 1748, as the day of his conversion. He was promoted to captain of a slave ship traveling between North Africa and England. Slave ships left England empty and anchored off the African coast. Tribal chiefs would deliver men and women captured in raids and wars to the buyers, who would select the finest specimens. Then the captives would be loaded aboard ship, packed in like sardines below deck and chained to prevent suicides. Those that survived the voyage to the New World were traded for molasses and sugar to make rum, which the ships would take back to England. Then the ships were off to Africa to begin their miserable trade all over again. It took six years for the inhuman aspects of the business to force Newton to leave the sea for good.

Newton studied for the ministry and used the last 43 years of his life to preach the gospel. He wrote over 200 hymns, with “Amazing Grace,” “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken,” and “How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds,” being several of his most loved and sung works. At 82, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.” Newton truly understood God’s amazing grace, for he had experienced it first hand.

Jail Time for Homeschooling Parents

We made it back from a week long family vacation in Switzerland (a post on that later); and are getting ready to move from Mannheim to Wiesbaden which is the state capital of Hesse.

Speaking of Hesse...I read an article posted on Worldnetdaily.com about some German homeschooling parents living in Hesse, that are getting prison time for homeschooling their children. Read it here. The German government is anti-homeschooling to say the least and according to this article federal prosecutors are taking it to these parents.

A mother and father who have been homeschooling their children each have been ordered by a German judge to serve three-month prison terms after a prosecutor said he was unhappy with fines the family paid and he wanted the parents jailed. It was just a year ago when WND reported the prosecutor, Herwig Muller, appealed a lower court's imposition of fines against the Dudeks.

I'm a little concerned (more about the perception of 'homschoolers') but thankful my family and I do not fall under German jurisdiction for homeschooling. BTW, there is a large American homeschooling community serving here. However, this should not be a big surprise. Afterall, Germany is a socialistic state.

Of note: One of the first acts by Hitler when he moved into power was to create the governmental Ministry of Education and give it control of all schools and school-related issues. In 1937, the dictator said, "The youth of today is ever the people of tomorrow. For this reason we have set before ourselves the task of inoculating our youth with the spirit of this community of the people at a very early age, at an age when human beings are still unperverted and therefore unspoiled. This Reich stands, and it is building itself up for the future, upon its youth. And this new Reich will give its youth to no one, but will itself take youth and give to youth its own education and its own upbringing."

What gives big government? I like what Joerg Grosseleumern, a spokesman for the the Netzwork-Bildungsfreiheit, a German homeschool advocacy group, said: in Hesse a family's failure to follow the mandatory public school attendance laws violates not only administration regulations but the criminal code.

"It is embarrassing the German officials put parents into jail whose children are well educated and where the family is in good order," he wrote in an earlier alert about the situation. "We personally know the Dudeks as such a family."

What does the government have to fear about well educated, good citizens? Nothing.

But according to Wolfgang Drautz, consul general for the Federal Republic of Germany, has commented on the issue on a blog, noting the government "has a legitimate interest in countering the rise of parallel societies that are based on religion."

The government certainly doesn't want your children to be socialized in religion (read Christianity; perhaps Islam and others are on the hit list too); but it's ok to socialize your children into secular humanism, materialism, etc-- the religion of atheism is straight all right for your children.

I'm raising and teaching my children to be followers of Jesus Christ, students of God's word, and to be good citizens of whatever state they serve. This is not a parallel society; at least not according to our founding Fathers (read what some of them had to say about Christianity and citizenship). In the end, my family lives in two cities: The City of God and the City of Man. We will do our civic duties for the rulers of the City of Man but ultimately we serve the Christ, the ruler of the City of God .

He is Risen!

The Incredulity of St Thomas by Caravaggio.

19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." --John 20:19-29

He is risen indeed!

In the Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio depicted the moment the disciples recognize their risen lord.

About the artist:

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (September 29th 1571 – 18 July 1610) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610. He is commonly placed in the Baroque school, of which he was the first great representative.

What is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is traditionally the day on which Jesus was crucified. Why is Good Friday referred to as good? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27).

Calling the day of the Crucifixion ‘Good’ Friday is a designation that is peculiar to the English language. In German, for example, it is called Karfreitag. The Kar part is an obsolete word, the ancestor of the English word care in the sense of cares and woes, and it meant mourning. So in German, it is Mourning Friday; and that is what the disciples did on that day—they mourned. They thought all was lost.

However, the result of Christ’s death is very good! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 1 Peter 3:18, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”

The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ’s death by honoring a certain day. It does give us freedom in these matters (see Romans 14:5). The Bible instructs us to remember Christ’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:26 declares, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. -Luke 23:44-49

What is Palm Sunday?

The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem, fresco in the Parish Church Zirl, Austria.

Palm Sunday is the day Christians remember the "triumphal entry" of Jesus into Jerusalem, exactly one week before His death and resurrection. For many Christian churches, Palm Sunday, often referred to as 'Passion Sunday,' marks the beginning of Holy Week, which concludes on Easter Sunday.

Some 450-500 years earlier, the Prophet Zechariah had prophesied, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (Zechariah 9:9).

Matthew 21:7-9 records the fulfillment of that prophecy: "They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

'The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem' mosaic by the Master of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Italy
(Greco-Byzantine workshop, gift of Roger II, c. 1150)

Jesus the Messiah, enters Jerusalem on a donkey, an animal of a man of peace. A conquering king would ride a horse. The people seem to have recognized the kingship, but not to have seen the emphasis on peace. Jesus Christ makes peace with God the Father by sacrificing Himself on our behalf; thus He has paid our debt and granted us peace with the Father.

The biblical account of Palm Sunday can be found in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; and John 12:12-19.

America's Greatest Mind

Jonathan Edwards (1703 – 1758) is best remembered for his masterful sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” In addition to his achievements as a pastor, Edwards was a father to eight daughters and three sons, missionary to the Housatonic Indians, revivalist, philosopher, and accomplished scientist. From a very early age, Jonathan was mesmerized by the beauty and order of God’s world. In fact, he was especially fond of studying spiders. So much so that his accurate observations have been preserved and are acknowledged in the scientific community today. Even more remarkable is that these observations were made when he was a boy with no tools, training or body of knowledge with which to compare and test his findings. In his childhood work, “Of Insects,” Jonathan wrote “Multitudes of time I have beheld with wonderment and pleasure the spiders marching in the air from one tree to another… their little shining webs and Glistening Strings of a Great Length and at such a height as that one would think they were tack’d to the Sky by one end were it not that they were moving and floating.” As a young man, Jonathan wrote seventy resolutions. One of these resolutions was, “To live with all my might, while I do live.” That he did. Blessed with a brilliant mind, Jonathan Edwards used his brief 55 years to advance the Kingdom of Christ.

Many believe Jonathan Edwards was the greatest mind in American history.

Artist of Faith

Mention the name Michelangelo and frescoes of the Bible’s creation story on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel come to mind. Three million people a year flock to the Vatican to gaze at the famous masterpieces. The frescoes are a magnificent example of how a Christian artist interpreted Scripture through his art. Though it is one of the most studied and well known works of art, the Sistine Chapel is one of the least understood. It has become a temple to art, but Michelangelo intended it to be a place to worship God.

In his later years, the artist concentrated on the free and priceless gift of salvation entirely dependent on God’s grace. Michelangelo emphasized God’s grace through his art, which was in contrast to the prevailing system of gaining salvation through indulgences and good works.

For Whom Did Christ Die?

Christ Carrying the Cross (1737-38) by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

Just finished a Sunday school class on the Essentials of Reformed Theology or "What We Believe". This was a good course that sparked much discussion. As we went through the Five Points of Calvinism (TULIP: Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints), several students had problems with the third point, limited atonement.

John Own, one of my favorite theologians of all time, summed up the issue rather nicely:

For Whom Did Christ Die?

The Father imposed His wrath due unto, and the Son underwent punishment for, either:

1. All the sins of all men.
2. All the sins of some men. Or,
3. Some of the sins of all men.

In which case it may be said:

1. That if the last be true, all men have some sins to answer for, and so, none are saved. 2. That if the second be true, then Christ, in their stead suffered for all the sins of all the elect [His people] in the whole world, and this is the truth. 3. But if the first be the case, why are not all men free from the punishment due unto their sins?
You answer, "Because of unbelief."

I ask, is this unbelief a sin, or is it not? If it be, then Christ suffered the punishment due unto it, or He did not. If He did, why must that hinder them more than their other sins for which He died? If He did not, He did not die for all their sins!

The author of Psalm 111 writes in verse 9: 'He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.'

The Foundation of Civilization

“The Battle of Britain,” said Winston Churchill on the 18th of June 1940, “is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.”1 Churchill saw something in his nation’s history and moral composition that made him identify Christianity with the preservation and advance of civilization. England had a long history of Christian influence that resulted in the advance of civilization around the world. America’s earliest founders did not break from their English heritage. In fact, they sought to establish old England in New England. Samuel Eliot Morison writes the following in his Builders of the Bay Colony:

New England was founded consciously, and in no fit of absence of mind. Patriots seeking the glory of England first called the attention of their countrymen to these shores. Commercial enterprise made the first attempts at settlement. Puritanism overlaid these feeble beginnings by a proud self-governing commonwealth, dedicated to the glory of God and the happiness of a peculiar people. These three main streams in the life of old England, the patriotic, the commercial, and the religious, mingled their waters on every slope.2

It’s no wonder that John Winthrop described colonial America as a “City on a Hill,” a light to the nations.

1 Quoted in John Baillie, What is Christian Civilization? (London, England: Oxford University Press, 1945), 5.

2 Samuel Eliot Morison, Builders of the Bay Colony (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, [1930] 1981), 3.

Harvard Ain't What She Used to Be

HAPPY NEW YEAR! The past few days I've been getting a healthy dose of NFL and NCAA football. Although my Broncs had a dismal season, they ended on a win against the Vikings (or as they say in Deutschland...Wikings). Now I eagerly await my Sooners taking on the WV Mountaineers in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 2. Anyway, I regress; as I was watching these college football games, I began thinking of some of the Ivy league schools and their histories. In particularly Harvard (now I weren't smart enuff to get into an Ivy league skool- BA at Colorado State U and an MA from U of Oklahoma).

So here's what I found out about the origins of Harvard:

Harvard University was founded in 1636 with one instructor and nine students with the goal of establishing a school to train Christian ministers. The school was named after John Harvard, a 31-year-old clergyman from Charlestown, Massachusetts, who died and left his library and half his estate to the fledgling institution. In accordance with its original vision, Harvard adopted a set of “Rules and Precepts” in 1646 that stated the following (spelling has been modernized):

—Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning. And seeing the Lord only gives wisdom, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him (Prov. 2:3).

—Every one shall so exercise himself in reading the Scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of language and Logic, and in practical and spiritual truths, as his Tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing the entrance of the word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

In 1692, Harvard adopted the motto Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae—“Truth for Christ and the Church.” The phrase was embedded on a shield and can be found on many buildings around the Harvard campus and various dorms in Harvard Yard.

The books on the shield represent revelation and reason. The top two books that are shown face up represent the Word of God revealed to us in the Old and New Testaments. The book on the bottom of the shield, which faces down, symbolizes the limits of reason and the need for God’s revelation.

A second and earlier (1650) Harvard motto carried the Latin phrase, In Christi Gloriam, “For the Glory of Christ.” Samuel Eliot Morison, in his history of Harvard, writes, “Like the Medieval schoolmen, [the founders] believed that all knowledge without Christ was vain. Veritas to them, as to Dante, meant the divine truth. . . .”

What once was Harvard is no more. Harvard, like so many of our nation’s earliest colleges, has left its “first love” (Rev. 2:4).

Tolle Lege - Take Up and Read!

We are closing in on the end of 2007. Most folks will look at the past year's events. Here's a look at the top five books (recommended by Kim Riddlebarger of White Horse Inn fame and found on The Riddleblog) :

1). Michael Horton's stellar Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ (Westminster John Knox). Michael's response to Wright, Dunn, and Sanders is outstanding. Click here: Amazon.com: Covenant and Salvation: Union With Christ: Books: Michael Scott Horton

2). G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker). This is one of the most important reference books to come down the pike in years. I'm already finding it indispensible. Click here: Amazon.com: Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Books: G. K. Beale,D. A. Carson

3). Ken Samples' A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth Claims to the Worldview Test (Baker). Ken Samples is doing yeoman's work in making the critical philosophical and apologetic issues accessible to larger audiences. Ken's also a great writer. Click here: Amazon.com: A World of Difference: Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test: Books: Kenneth Richard Sa

4). Dennis Johnson's Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures (P & R). This book should be read by every preacher as well as everyone who sits in a pew! How should ministers prepare to preach and what should God's people be looking for in a sermon? Click here: Amazon.com: Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures: Books: Dennis E. Johnson

5). Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology (Zondervan). A great overview of redemptive-history during the Old Covenant era. Click here: Amazon.com: An Old Testament Theology: A Canonical and Thematic Approach: Books: Bruce K. Waltke,Charles Yu

I've read #3 on the list and it's good; a basic guide to worldview thinking, examines the a handful of worldview philosophies, and makes a case for the Christian worldview. I'm going to begin reading Michael Horton's Covenant and Salvation next.

Liberty's Pioneer

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, individual freedom, either political or religious, was virtually unknown. Geneva was a good example. Before the city council had disestablished Roman Catholicism, the Church ruled the State through the Roman Catholic bishop. Afterwards, the State ruled the Church through the council. When John Calvin arrived at Geneva in August 1536, he was confronted with this unbiblical approach to government. Calvin's goal was to establish a Church governmentally independent of the council while assuring that the council would not be independent of God's law as it pertained to its civil jurisdiction. His tool in accomplishing this difficult task was the Word of God. He preached and lectured from the Bible every day. He knew that when changes came they would come from the bottom up--from the people who desired a true Reformation without revolution. Calvin drew a clear line of distinction between the civil magistrate, whose authority was confined to civil matters, and the elders of churches, whose authority was confined to ecclesiastical matters. He established in Geneva the biblical idea of the jurisdictional separation between Church and State. Contrary to popular opinion, Calvin did not set up a system of government in which the clergy dominated the city council. He was not even a citizen of Geneva until 1559, and he appeared before the council when he was called on to offer his opinions on theological issues. He never occupied a political or civil office in Geneva.

The Black Regiment

The clergy helped lead the resistance and independence movement in America. They were often described as the “black regiment” because of the black robes they wore while preaching. Before marching off to join Washington’s army, Lutheran pastor John Muhlenberg delivered a powerful sermon from Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 that concluded with these words:

The Bible tells us there is a time for all things and there is a time to preach and a time to pray but the time for me to preach has passed away, and there is a time to fight, and that time has come now. Now is the time to fight! Call for recruits! Sound the drums!

Then Muhlenberg took off his clerical robe to reveal the uniform of a Virginia colonel. Grabbing his musket from behind the pulpit, he donned his colonel’s hat and marched off to war.

There is a war going on in America today. It has not come to the force of arms, but it is a war nonetheless. Pastors should thunder from the pulpits where the battles are waging, and what we can do to engage in the fight.

Stonewall on Prayer

Stonewall Jackson — his very name evokes the image of the solid, immovable Confederate general whose sobriquet, earned at the Battle of 1st Manassas, no longer requires quotation marks. His pious Christian character, service to the church, unwavering commitment to duty, affectionate role as husband and father, as well as his magnificent service to Virginia were carefully recorded by his close friend Robert Lewis Dabney. Labeled by some a religious fanatic, General Jackson was simply a consistent biblical Christian who lived out his faith every day, seriously and without compromise. The battle accounts in The Life and Campaigns of Stonewall Jackson resonate with the first-hand knowledge of a man who has seen the face of battle, as Major Dabney often did as General Jackson’s adjutant in the Valley Campaign. His account of military life in the field with General Jackson provides poignant insight into the character of the General as they discuss theology and military history, pray together, and gallop to the sound of the guns. Jackson’s theology was supremely orthodox, being rooted in the biblical tradition of Knox, Calvin, and Edwards.

Dabney writes of Jackson (pg. 106-107), “Devotion was the very breath of his soul. Once only was he led to make a revelation of these constant aspirations, to a Christian associate peculiarly near to him; and his description of his intercourse with God was too beautiful and characteristic to be suppressed. This friend expressed to him some embarrassment in comprehending literally the precept to “pray always,” and to “pray without ceasing,” and asked his help in construing it. He replied that obedience ought not to be impracticable for the child of God. “But how,” said the other, “can one always be praying?” He answered that if it might be permitted to him, without suspicion of religious display, he would explain by describing his own habits. He then proceeded, with several parentheses, deprecating earnestly the charge of egotism, to say that, besides the stated daily sessions of secret and social prayer, he had long cultivated the habit of connecting the most trivial and customary acts of life with silent prayer. “When we take our meals,” said he, “there is the grace. When I take a draught of water, I always pause, as my palate receives the refreshment, to lift up my heart to God in thanks and prayer for the water of life. Whenever I drop a letter into the box at the post-office, I send a petition along with it, for God’s blessing upon its mission and upon the person to whom it is sent. When I break the seal of a letter just received, I stop to pray to God that he may prepare me for its contents, and make it a messenger of good. When I go to my class-room, and await the arrangement of the cadets in their places, that is my time to intercede with God for them. And so of every other familiar act of the day.” ‘But,” said his friend, “do you not often forget these seasons, coming so frequently?” “No,” said he, “I have made the practice habitual to me; and I can no more forget it, than forget to drink when I am thirsty.” He added that the usage had become as delightful to him as it was regular.”

Stonewall's gallant deeds, virtuous conduct, and fervent prayer still move our hearts with admiration. He shows us how a Christian soldier should live and die.

The Christology of Chalcedon

Today we begin the Advent or the coming of Christ to Earth. I wanted to begin our family celebration by looking at the Chalcedonian Creed, talking about Christ's nature, and the importance of the incarnation. This creed was adopted at the Fourth Ecumenical Council, held at Chalcedon, located in what is now Turkey, in 451, as a response to certain heretical views concerning the nature of Christ. It established the orthodox view that Christ has two natures (human and divine) that are unified in one person. As the church grew, heresies also grew, and the early Christians needed to clarify the defining boundaries of the faith.

We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.

The Incarnation lies at the heart of the gospel. Any attempt to redefine it is an attempt to replace Christianity with another religion and Jesus with another Christ. For if Jesus Christ is not truly human, then we have in Him no Mediator or Substitute. If He is not a divine Person, then His death was mere martyrdom and no help or value to us who stand in need of atonement. In either case, His salvation is inadequate. We must find another Savior, one more relevant and useful. If Jesus Christ is a man who became God, then other men can become God. Salvation becomes a matter of works, of moral effort or magical manipulation, and its goal is deification. If Christ's two natures are confused or if one is absorbed into the other, then there is no final distinction between Creator and creature. Satan was right: God is fundamentally no different from man, and we are all potentially or actually divine. "Who will play God?" becomes a legitimate question.

The Christology of Chalcedon recognizes an infinite gulf between the being of God and that of His creatures. Man cannot become God; God became a man exactly once, and even there, in the Person of Christ, there is no mixture or confusion of being. Deity remains deity; humanity remains humanity. The political and sociological implications of this doctrine are profound.

Chalcedon leaves no room for private or collective mysticism. Put simply, no man, group of men, or human institution can become God or act with divine sovereignty. None of us is God. None of us will become God. Our thoughts, actions, and feelings will never be anything more than human. Salvation is not deification, but the restoration of man to his proper role within creation. Jesus Christ alone is the Son of God; He alone has all power in heaven and earth. All human authority is, therefore, necessarily derivative, limited, and under law. Chalcedon is thus crucial to constitutional, decentralized government and to Western liberty.

Furthermore, the Incarnation means a good creation. The Son of God took to Himself a body "and was united with the Dust and made it glorious forever." He did not abhor the Virgin's womb, nor does He abhor our humanity, our creatureliness. Whereas every other religion tries to rescue man from creation and history, Biblical Christianity says that God came into His creation and united Himself with it forever.

The Formula of Chalcedon answers the mysticism and pietism that is so prevalent in the modern church. It answers statism and political liberalism. It points us to one Savior, one Lord, and bids us place all our confidence in Him.