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Q. If all of our sins - past, present, and future are forgiven, then how does God chastise us in the dispensation of Grace?
- Henry of Pennsylvania

A. The preface - "If all of our sins - past, present, and future are forgiven" seems to imply a connection between God's forgiveness and his discipline or chastisement, which is certainly not in view in the dispensation of Grace. Paul writes the Ephesians:

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. - Ephesians 4:32

And again to the Colossians:

And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power, in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, - Colossians 2:11-13

It should be clear therefore that God does not chastise by withholding forgiveness, but discipline is through the chastening ("child-training") of the Word. In Hebrews, Paul writes,

"For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and He scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the father does not chasten? But if you are without chastisement, of which all are partakers, then you are bastards and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For truly they chastened us for a few days according to their own pleasure, but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now chastening for the present does not seem to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are exercised by it." - Hebrews 12:6-11

The word chasten in this passage is from the Greek paideuo (pahee-dyoo'-o) - to train up a child, to educate, to discipline. The word in verse 11 the English renders is exercised is from the Greek gumnazo (goom-nad'-zo) - to practice (naked - in the games), to train. It is the word from which we get our word gymnasium and Paul is referencing the preparation of the Greek athlete. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul uses the word paideia (noun form of the above) in the same way,

"All Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, -- II Timothy 3:16.

Of course there are, and always have been, natural consequences of our sins. Frequently, life chastises us through the results of our own stupidity. This is not construed as a direct action of God, however, as the world we live in, the world God created is one of cause and effect. If we ignore, abuse, or neglect the laws of nature's God there will be consequences. The man, for example, who has lost permanently the love of his wife and the respect of his children by committing adultery has done so not because the hand of God has made it so. The drunk driver falls asleep at the wheel and crashes into a tree, not because God was steering the car. The dope fiend who contracts a disease from a dirty needle, the gambler whose house is foreclosed upon, the sexually active teenage girl who gets pregnant - have themselves to blame.

Every true believer has an in-born desire to please God. This is how one can distinguish between an act of the conscience (human morality) and an act of the new nature (spirit control) -

"I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do." - Galatians 5:16,17

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Sunday April 14th at 11:40 pm is the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The following is an excerpt from the Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, by Paul Lee Tan, Assurance Publishers, 1982.

In the early morning of April 15, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg. Modern analysis now tells us it was a glancing blow that buckled her plates (not tearing a gash in her side). Two days steaming from her ultimate port-of-call, New York, the Titanic met her fate and sank off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The majestic queen of the White Star fleet disappeared into the black, cold waters of the North Atlantic.

The ship took less than three hours to enter its watery tomb, taking with it 1517 souls. Only 706 survived. Within days, however, the name Titanic would not go down as one of the fastest, and the most luxurious ships afloat, but it would simply go down. A victim of nature's dominion over man.

One of the Hero's . . .

The Reverend John Harper, a Scotsman, was traveling to the United States with his daughter, Nina Harper, and Miss Leitch. He was the pastor of Walworth Road Baptist Church in Glasgow. On the evening of April 14th Rev. Harper and Miss Leitch were standing on deck admiring the sunset. "It will be beautiful in the morning," remarked Rev. Harper before retiring for the night.
After the collision, Rev. Harper awakened his daughter, picked her up and wrapped her in a blanket before carrying her up to A deck. There he kissed her goodbye and handed her to a crewman, who put her into boat number 11 with Miss Leitch.
John Harper, the newly called pastor of Moody Church, Chicago, in the early 1900's, manifested his Christian character in the sinking of the Titanic. Dr. W.B. Riley related the death of Harper. "We have the history of John Harper's end, for survivors, brought to harbor in safety, told the same. When the Titanic was struck by the iceberg that drove in her sides, and sent the ship to the bottom, John Harper was leaning against the rail pleading with a young man to come to Christ . . ." (Ministers' Research Service) As the dark, freezing waters of the Atlantic crept slowly up the decks of the Titanic, John Harper shouted, "Let the women, children and the unsaved into the lifeboats." Harper took his life jacket - the final hope of survival - and gave it to another man. After the ship had disappeared beneath the dark water, leaving Harper floundering in the icy waters, he was heard urging those about him to put their faith in Jesus Christ. John Harper went down with the ship.
Four years after the Titanic went down, a young Scotsman rose in a meeting in Hamilton Canada, and said, "I am a survivor of the Titanic. When I was drifting alone on a spar that awful night, the tide brought Mr. Harper of Glasgow, also on a piece of wreck near me. 'Man,' he said, 'are you saved?' 'No,' I said. 'I am not.' He replied, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.'"
"The waves bore him away; but, strange to say brought him back a little later, and he said, 'Are you saved now?' 'No,' I said, 'I cannot honestly say that I am.' He said again, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,' and shortly after he went down; and there, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper's last convert." - (Aquilla Web)

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"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" (II Cor. 2:14-16)

Within these verses the Apostle Paul is speaking of the ministry of making known the gospel and he does so by using a metaphor of the Roman Triumphal Procession and applying it to the Christian life and the gospel going forth. The Roman army, when victorious in battle (if the victory was significant enough), would be given a triumphal entry into the city of Rome, similar to our ticker-tape parades here in the United States. They would march through the streets of Rome burning incense as they went, which filled the streets of Rome with an aroma, signifying to all that victory had been gained. But also, within the Triumphal Procession there would be captives from the battle, and for them the incense that filled the air signified death and impending doom.

Using the image of incense ("savour") Paul is picturing the gospel going forth and showing us that through our lives and labors in spreading the good news about Christ "we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ" (II Cor. 2:15). Paul says here in this passage that as the gospel is presented and spread abroad, it is a savour of life to some and a savour of death to others, but it is always a sweet savour to God and He is pleased every time it is presented (cf. Eph. 5:2).

And this leads Paul to the question stated in verse 16: "And who is sufficient for these things?" Paul is not questioning if anyone can comprehend these things, but rather who is really equal to this task, that is, the responsibility of dealing with the souls of men. The word "sufficient" used here is translated in other places: "meet," "worthy," "able," "capable." Paul is asking, "Who is meet, who is worthy, who is able, who is capable for these things?" Paul understood the seriousness of what we are called to do in making known the gospel.

We see here Paul's humility. It has been said that "true humility is not to think low of oneself, but to think rightly and truthfully of oneself," and Paul thought truthfully of himself. Commenting on his apostleship in I Corinthians 15:9, he says, "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." We also know from numerous other passages that Paul really had a humble spirit, but being humble didn't mean he was timid because on many occasions he was as bold as a lion when it came to defending the message committed to him (cf. Gal. 1:6-12).

Paul knew that within himself he was not worthy of the tremendous and noble responsibility of dealing with men's souls. This is really a soul-searching passage for all who read it, because any of us would say, and should say: "Lord, I'm not worthy to be dealing with the eternal destiny of men and women!" The Christian life starts with a realization that we are not worthy that Christ would die for us, and it should continue throughout our lives realizing that we are not worthy to be in His service and not worthy to be dealing with the souls of men in the gospel ministry.

Verse 16 says that we are to one "the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." And this shows us that the ministry of making the gospel known is truly a matter of life and death. The way we serve Him and live for Him and make Him known can mean eternal life or eternal death to a lost world around us. It should cause all of us to cry out with Paul: "Who is sufficient [who is worthy] for these things!" Paul didn't consider himself sufficient for these things and nor should we.

II Corinthians 3:5 says, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God." Paul felt unfit for the work that God had called him to do because, I believe, he had a deep sense of the magnitude and importance of the responsibility that he had before him (I Tim. 2:3-6; Eph. 3:8,9). He realized that he could never do it in his own strength. In his ministry, Paul looked to God for aid, so that He would sustain him and strengthen him for the work he was called to do. You see, Paul wasn't self-sufficient and self-confident in himself to do these things. He placed his confidence, his trust, and his dependence in God, who is more than capable to rely upon for the strength that Paul so desperately needed in his ministry (II Cor. 4:7).

We are to be the same way, not relying on ourselves and being self-sufficient in our labors for Him, simply because we will fail if we do. Instead we are to place our trust and dependence in God, that He will sustain us and give us the boldness and strength we need for the work that He has called each of us to do. Our sufficiency must be of God to help us in every area of our Christian life, so that we may be found faithful (I Cor. 4:2).

We find here in this passage that we always triumph in Christ when we are faithful to make the gospel known (Ver. 14). When the gospel of salvation is presented, it is always a sweet savour to God. You will recall how Paul had wonderful success evangelizing in Ephesus. Acts 19:10 says, "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus." Many were saved, the gospel went forth with power transforming lives. It spread like a fire. However, in Athens, it was a different story. In Acts 17:32 we read that "some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter." In the eyes of men Paul was not as successful in Athens in preaching the gospel.

However, according to II Corinthians 2:14, Paul triumphed in Christ in both Ephesus and Athens! He triumphed in Christ because he was faithful to make known the gospel and therefore God was pleased. When we make Christ known, we also triumph in Christ, in success or failure as men view it. We are called to make it known that salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and that a person is saved and is complete in Christ by simply believing the gospel of salvation that "Christ died for our sins, was buried and rose again the third day" (I Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 2:8,9; Col. 2:9,10). And when we do God is pleased and we "triumph in Christ." It is not our success that God looks at when we make the gospel known, but instead it's our faithfulness! You see, the triumphant ministry is the gospel ministry, in making the good news known to a lost and dying world, God "always causeth us to triumph in Christ"!

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"The next day John sees Jesus coming to him and says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29

Palestinian terrorists, adherents of Islam invade the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and involve themselves in a standoff with the Israeli military. Muslim terrorists aiming their rifles at Jewish soldiers on the supposed sight where Jesus was born. God becomes man at a point of time, and comes into the world at a given spot to bring redemption to mankind - the shadow giving way to the object - and he is rejected and killed. His credentials ignored or unnoticed and to this day, possibly near the very spot of the incarnation men having ears - do not hear, and having eyes - do not see. The irony is beyond human expression.

"He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own received Him not." - John 1:10,11

A few miles away and a number of days before, a Palestinian 'homicide' bomber walks into the middle of a Jewish Seder and detonates - taking him and, at this time, twenty-seven others with him into the grave. There is little doubt that the victims of this barbaric act were sincere people trying to observe what is for them a most 'holy' time of the year; as for their murderer that is a subject for another day. Had these people (both the terrorist and the terror-stricken) known the meaning of their occasion that night and to whom it pointed the outcome would have been radically different. The answer to the madness that plagues mankind is not land for peace or formal recognition of sovereign states, but knowledge, knowledge of a person, the very person whose shadow falls on every Passover meal - Jesus Christ.

The real question that must be answered is what did God intend these rites and feasts to represent, if anything at all? Did these celebrations and observances only have historical implications or was there prophetic significance as well?

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The feasts of Jehovah, which you shall proclaim, holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts." - Lev 23:2

The Hebrew word here for feasts is mow`ed - (mo-ade') - an appointment, a fixed time or season. It also means - a signal. The word for convocation is - miqra' (mik-raw'), something called out, a public meeting, a rehearsal.

An appointment? A signal? A rehearsal? I wonder how many of the participants down through the ages understood that events like Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were not just memorials to recognize historical events of the past, but also, a supreme teaching aid to point to events that would unfold in the future. They are signposts, and if you follow any one of them or all of them together you will find that they all lead to the person - Jesus Christ. The feasts, the rituals, the sacrifices, the tabernacle all point out either the person or the work of Jesus Christ. They are the type, Christ the anti-type, they are the shadow, and Christ - the object that casts it.

"therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or in respect of a feast, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbaths. for these are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16,17

The special message that Passover teaches is redemption - the redemption of the cross. There are a number of words in scripture that shed light on this doctrine. LUTROSIS means redemption / deliverance. ANTILUTRON - the substitution of money for a slave or prisoner. EXZAGORAZO - to purchase out of a slave market. The historical backdrop for this divine lesson of course was the captivity of the Hebrews in Egypt. In this divine lesson God uses the Egyptian slave market and the tyranny of the Pharaoh to demonstrate the redemptive work that His Son would complete many centuries in the future.

The study of the plagues is fascinating in itself, for each of the judgments God sent through Moses and Aaron was pointed at either Egyptian gods or objects of veneration in the Egyptian religion. The account of this, in Exodus is full of sanctified sarcasm directed at the foolishness of the Egyptian religion; especially when studied in the original Hebrew against the backdrop of the religious beliefs of the Exodus dynasty. From the worship of the Nile, to the veneration of frogs and calves; from the judgments on their agrarian prosperity to the worship of the Sun god, the God of the Hebrews sat amused at the arrogance and contempt of Egypt and then he judged them - "and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD." - Exodus 12:12

It reminds me of that passage in the 2nd Psalm that speaks of a similar judgment in the end times,

"He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision." - Psalm 2:4

One must remember however, when studying this account, that each judgment was tempered with mercy - an opportunity for Pharaoh to repent. God could simply have destroyed all of Egypt as he did a whole Assyrian army (in one night), or He could have replaced Pharaoh, but He chose not to. Time and again when God would demonstrate His power and sovereignty over that of the Egyptian gods, Pharaoh would ask for clemency, God would grant it and then Pharaoh would harden* his heart. God, in His omniscience, knew that Pharaoh would reject Him (that certainly does not mean that he determined it to be)*, even having told Moses so before he ever approached Pharaoh's throne (see Ex. 3, 4). So the plagues were sent to demonstrate to the world God's power over the Egyptian gods, but sending them all at once could have done this. God, in his mercy, sent them one at a time to give all who witnessed (Egypt - Ex. 7:5; the world Ex. 9:16) an opportunity to repent. We know that this mercy was not without fruit (Ex. 9:20) because it was a mixed multitude that left with Moses (Ex. 12:38).

It is the tenth and last plague that gives us the expression and the institution of Passover.

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. - Ex. 12:13

There are many interesting peculiarities involving the modern Passover Seder and even it's evolution down through the centuries, however for our brief study here, we will look exclusively at the initial institution given in Exodus 12. The first thing to notice is the magnitude in which God treats it. He tells Moses in verse 2 that from this moment on the Jewish calendar will recognize this month as the first (Abib or Nisan, - previously Tishri was the first). He goes on to say that in the tenth day of this month they shall take 'a lamb.' It is interesting to note the progression in verses 3 to 5 concerning the lamb: in verse 3 - 'a lamb', in verse 4 - 'the lamb' and in verse 5 - 'your lamb.' This implicitly is the reason for selecting out the lamb on the 10th even though the offering of the lamb would not be until the 14th - not only to observe that the lamb be 'without blemish' but surely to know it, to get used to it being around, to grow somewhat attached to the lamb so one would no doubt notice it's worth and the sting of it's offer. Remember this institution points to the cross, and just as the lamb was selected out and presented to the family so too did Christ present himself up just before Passover. The lamb must be without blemish and Pilate after examining Christ said, "Behold, I bring him out to you so that you may know that I find no fault in him." Peter tells us,

"knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." - I Peter 1:18,19

"Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth" - I Peter 2:22

and Paul says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." - II Cor. 5:21

Some of the plagues were directed exclusively at the Egyptians and the Israelites were exempt, however this plague was universal. The people needed the blood of the lamb to secure redemption:

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses . . . and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you. - Ex. 6,7,13

Animal blood was the means of teaching the doctrine of redemption prior to the cross (Gen. 3:21, Job 19:25,26; Heb. 9:22). Moses wrote of this blood redemption in Lev. 17:11 "For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul." Animal blood was the type, the blood of Christ, the anti-type, is the purchase price of redemption (Eph. 1:7) and it is analogous of Christ's saving work on the cross. Just as the children of Israel were purchased out of the Egyptian slave market by the blood of the lamb, so too Christ has purchased the human race (born spiritually dead) out of the slave market of sin and set them free. Just as only the unblemished lamb was qualified, only Christ was qualified as redeemer, by His miraculous birth (Matt. 1:23; I Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3) and His impeccable life (Isa. 53:9; John 8:46; 19:4; II Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 7:26-28). The unleavened bread speaks to the purity of Christ, as leaven always speaks of sin or corruption in Scripture. Just as the lamb was slain, so must Christ be. It is no coincidence that Christ was crucified on Passover and raised on First fruits, as His is the body that cast the shadow.

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up - John 3:14;
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. - Rev. 5:12

John adds in Rev. 13:8 - "the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world," indicating that God provided a remedy before there was even a malady. The prophecy buffs among you will keenly note that not a bone was to be broken of the Passover lamb (Ex. 12:46 cf. Ps. 34:20; John 19:33, 36). There are far too many more associations that we could observe in just this short article, that reveal that Jesus Christ is the object of the shadow and I certainly hope this brief study has whet your appetite, however, I would like to mention one more thing and that is that the lamb was to be remembered. God repeatedly advised His people that this was to be a memorial (Ex. 12:14, 24, 26, 42). His order of teaching for the Jew was as a child in his minority - appealing to the senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, sound) and of course repetition. This is part of God's way of progressive revelation. This was not so people would become entranced with tradition or hypnotized by ritual, but it was a way to communicate infinite truth to a mostly illiterate people; it was a way to prepare them to notice He who casts the shadow. How sad that the majority of the Jews in prior to and leading up to the cross were blind to God's object lesson:

"But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And my eye shall weep sore and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock was captured." - Jer. 13:17

"And as He drew near, He beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, even at least in this day of yours, the things for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." - Luke 19:41,42

It is even more tragic now, after so much has been revealed in the person and work of Christ to miss the one important lesson that all of Scripture points to, tangling ourselves in our manmade web of tradition, a stubborn people choosing the shadow rather than the substance, and darkness rather than light.

*It is a fascinating study to observe the 3 different verbs God uses in this Exodus account for harden. Much confusion could be avoided if men would only study the word of God in the original languages in light of the Historical research of the time and the culture. Those who preach that God picks and chooses who He will save in Eternity past often quote these scriptures about God hardening Pharaoh's heart. They usually never regard context or the original language and they do damage both to the doctrine of the omniscience of God (He would have foreknowledge of Pharaoh's belief/unbelief) and to the divine institution of human volition (God's first gift to man - free will to choose). There are 3 verbs used in this section for harden:

• chazaq - to brace or tighten up. Used in 4:21; 7:13, 22; 8:19; 9:12, 35; 10:20, 27; 11:10; 12:33; 14:4, 8, 17.
• kashah - to make sharp, hard, severe, cruel. Used in 7:3; 13:15.
• kabed - to become heavy. Used in (7:14; 8:15, 32; 9:7, 34; 10:1)

In the Egyptian religion of the Exodus dynasty, when an Egyptian would die he would go into the afterlife to make a confession in front of the gods and then Osiris would judge his soul. The heart of the Egyptian would be put on a scale and in the other side of the balance a feather representing truth and righteousness. If the man had sinned greatly and his sins outweighed the good he had done his heart would be 'heavy'. If his heart outweighed the feather he would be damned and consumed (rather terribly) by another god who awaited the judgment. In Pharaoh's case, after each time that God granted him clemency and forbearing that Pharaoh would harden his heart. In Ex. 10:1 (see above) God finally says that He has hardened Pharaoh's heart (lit. has made it heavy). This is sanctified sarcasm and God is revealing to all that Pharaoh has damned himself in reality and also in his own religion (Egyptian method of reckoning).