1996 issue 3 - the establishment of the sovereignty of jesus part 4

8/12/2019 1996 Issue 3 - The Establishment of the Sovereignty of Jesus Part 4

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Luke 5:12-6:16

he

Centrality of Faith in

the Old Testament

The Patriarchal Religion

The religion of the Old

Testament is obviously as

fundamentally a religion of faith

as is that

of

the New Testament.

--- ...the

religion

of

Israel was a

religion

of

faith...not

merely

because faith

was more

consciously its

foundation ,

but

because its

very essence

conSisted in

faith ,

and

this

faith was the

same radical

self-comrnitment

to God, not merely as the highest

good

of

the holy soul,

but

as the

gracious Savior of the sinner,

which m.eets us

as

the

characteristiC feamre of the

religion the New Testament.

The entire patriarchal narrative

is

forth with the design and effect

of

exhibiting the life of the

servants

of

God as a life of faith ....

---

..

.faith was for them (the

patriarchs) the precondition of all

obedience. The patriarchal

religion is ....characteristically

described

as

a walk 'with God'; its

peculiarity consisted preCisely in

tl?-e orderip.g

0

life.by entire trust

in God, and it expressed itself in

conduct growing out of this trust,

Gen. 3:20; 4:1; 6:22; 7:5; 8:18;

12:4; 17:23; 21:12,16. The

righteousness of the patriarchal

age was thus but the manifestation

in life of an entire

self-commitment

to

God, in

unwavering trust

in

His

promises.

- Warfield, pg . 406f.

The Mosaic Religion

The piety of the Old

Testament thus began with faith.

And though, when the stage of the

law was reached, the emphasis

might seem to be thrown rather

on

the obedience of faith, what

has been called 'faith

in

action,'

yet the giving of the law does not

mark a fundamental change in the

religion of Israel, but only a new

stage in its orderly development.

t (the giving of the law)

is

therefore grounded upon the

promise, and it grounds the whole

religious life of Israel

in

the grace

of the covenant of God, Exod.

20:2. It is only because Israel are

the children of God,

and

God has

sanctified them

unto

Himself and

chosen them to be a peculiar

people unto Him, Deut. 14: 1, that

He proceeds

to

frame them by His

law for His special rreasure, Exod.

19:5. Faith, therefore, does not

:

THECOUNSEL of Chalcedon April 1996

appear

as

one of the precepts.of

the law, nor as the virtue superior

to its precepts, nor yet as a

substitute for keeping them; IT ,

(FAITH) LIES BEHIND THE LAW

AS

ITS PRESUPPOSITION.

Warfield, pg. 407.

he

Definition

of

Faith

in

the Old Testament

Faith in the Old Testament

is

a reverential, Exod. 14:31; Num.

14:11; 20:12, and loving'faith,

which rests on the strong basis of

firm and unshaken conviction of

the might and grace of the

covenant God and

of

the '

trustworthiness

of all His

words, and

exhibits itself

in

confident

trust in

Jehovah and

unwavering

expectation of

the fulfillment

of,

no doubt,

all His

, promises, but

more

especially of

His promise

of salvation,

and in consequent faithful and

exclusive adherence to Him. In

one word, it (faith) consists in an

utter commitment of oneself to

Jehovah, with confident trust in

Him as guide and savior, and

assured expectation of His

promised salvation. - Warfield,

pg 410

he Doctrine

of

Saving Faith

FIRST, fa

ith

is not merely

belief

on

the part of man,

but

rather God's work in man's life,

Rom. 10 :17 ...

.

- Rushdoony,

SALVATION AND GODLY RULE,

pg 290

SECOND, faithrecogIi.izesat


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once its condemnation in God's

sight, because faitn assents to

God's law and the

judgment

of

that law. s Bellamy declared,

'Saving faith consists

in

looking to

free grace, through Jesus Christ,

for salvation;

thu

s viewing God's

law,

and

your own case, as they

really be; and he that dlus

believes, shall

be

saved.'

Rushdoony, pg. 290.

THIRD, faith is saying Amen

to Christ and His salvation; it

means accepting the verdict of

death on ourselves

trust, reliance, or dependence

on

Jesus Christ, the great Mediator,

his satisfaction and merits,

mediation

and

intercession,

which

the humbled sinner has, whereby

he is

em

boldened to return home

to God in hopes of acceptance,

and

is encouraged to look to

and

tl1lst in God through him for that

complete salvation which is

offered

in

the gospel. --- Faith

emboldens the heart ..begets new

courage, lays the foundation for a

new

kind

of hope-- a hope

springing entirely from a new

Justifying faith is a saving grace,

wrought

in the

heart of

the sinner,

by the Spirit

and Word

of God,

whereby he, being convinced of

his sin

and

misery, and of the

disability in himself

and

all other

creatures to recover him out of his

lost condition,

not

only assents to

the tl1lth of the promise of the

gospel,

but

receives

and

rests

upon

Christ and His righteousness

therein held forth, for

pardon

of

sin,

and

for the accepting and

accounting of his person righteous

in

the sight of God for

salvation.

which

the law

pronounces to

lawbreakers, and

accepting the atoning

work

of Christ as

our

vicarious substitute. I t

means also the response

of gratitude

in

the forms

of works of law, the

obedience of faith, as the

Jesus was alienated from God on

the cross and suffered and died

Conclusion

f the Son of Man,

a

nd

He

alone, has the

divine authority on

earth to forgive all the

sins of everyone

who

places his faith in Him

under

the

condemnation

of

sin,

as

the Substitute for all those

who

tru t

in

Him for 6alvation.

means of setting forth God's

kingdom. Leon Morris says of

faith: 'Central to the New

Testament is the thought that God

sent HisSon to be the Savior of

the world. Chrtst accomplished

man

's salvation by dying an

atoning death on Calvary'S cross.

Faith is the attitude whereby a

man abandons all reliance in his

own efforts to obtain salvation, be

they deeds of piety, of ethical

gqodness, or anything else. It is

th

e attitude of complete trust in

Christ, of reliance on Him alone

for all that salvation means. '

Rushdoony pg.414.

FOURTH, faith . .is more than

belief, and more than knowledge:

it is a God given life and boldness,

When it is reduced

to

an act of

will or an act of intellect, it is

made man-centered and weak, or,

rather, invalid. --- Bellamy

stressed this factor, writing:

'Saving faith consists

in

that entire

foundation. Faith

in

Christ

emboldens the heart to look to

and trust

in

the free grace of God

through Him, for all things that

just such a poor sinner wants

(lacks). - Rushdoony, pg. 290.

FIFTH, this boldness of faith

lies in the assurance of being

forgiven

and

accepted by God in

Jesus Christ, Rom. 8:1 When

we know that we are THE

FORGIVEN, that we have been

released from the prison-house

of

sin

and

guilt

and

the totality of

death, then we are empowered by

the holy boldness of faith. A basic

aspect of this holy boldness is the

exercise of dominion; another

aspect of it is the exercise of

forgiveness. - Rushdoony, pg.

291. .

The Nature o True

Saving Faitlt ccording to the

Westminster Larger Catechism

Question

72.

What is justifying faith?

A

as his Lord and Savior,

then you have warrant

to believe that

if

you believe in

Him, He will forgive you

and

bring

God

into your life. If you

are

not yet a believer in Jesus,

then your sins are alienating you

from God and have placed you

under His condemnation. Jesus

was alienated from

God

on the

cross and suffered and

died under

the condemnation of sin, as the

Substitute for all those who

tlUSl

in Him for salvation. Repent of

your sins. Trust

in

Him

as

your

Lord and Savior.

f you are a believer, praise

God forthe constant forgiveness

of your every

sin

that continues to

come

into

yo

ur

life, with all its

healing power, as you trust

in

Christ for continued salvation

from sin. IJohn 1:9 says, Ifwe

keep

on

confessing our

Sil1.5 He is

faithful and just

to

keep

on forgiVing

us

our

sins and to

heep

on cleansing

us from all unrighteousness.

April 996 TH COUNSEL of Chalcedon

5


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(5:27-28) The Demands of the

Sovereignty ofJesus

on

His Disciples

The

Attentive Look of

Jesus at Levi

"And after that He went out,

and

noticed .a tax-gatherer

named

Levi . .. 1 The Greek for "noticed"

denotes "looked at t t e n t i ~ l y

contemplated," often also

denoting enjoyment

in

looking at

that person, Lk. 7:24;Jn. 1:14,

;n

38; IJn. 1:1. Asj 'SUs looked

at the man, he looke4

disgrace extended to his family."

Lane on

MARK, pg

. 102.

The Unmerited

Kindness ofJesus

In the choice of

Levi,

(Matthew), into the

kingdom-family of Christ, and to

the office

of Apostle, we have a .

striking illustration of the sheer

grace of

jesus

Christ.

It was

the

intention of Christ to choose

simple and ignorant persons of

that rank, in

order

to cast down

dramatic response. Not ,only does

this reveal to us thatjesus'

word

is

a powerful word, able to move a

man to ab a

ndon

his entire life and

to surrender himself totally

to

the

will and command of Jesus; Jesus'

word

is also a sovereign ward,

because, in choosing His apostles,

"He ..summoned those whom He

Himself wanted, and they came to

Him,"

Mk.

3:13. Moreover, .

disciples did not become diSCiples

by their own free choice, but by

the calling ofJesus. "The Gospels

into hiS very being and

read

his

true character.

The Identity ofLevi

Levi was another

name of Matthew, Mat.

9:9; 10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk.

6:15; Acts

1:13,

Other

of the apostles had two

names,jn.

11:16; Mat.

Levi hears Christ's call with the ears

of his heart, and Christ then draws

him into

the

closest

personal

relationship with Himself. Everything

depends on

Jesus

sovereign word

of

grace to this unclean man.

state ~ e r y c l e a r l y that

the fact of o o n ~

becoming ilcliscipJe or

being adiscipler

depends

on

jesus'

sovereign deciSion, and

not on the free choice

of individuals who are

especially drawn to

Him. This is shown

in

10:3; Mk. 3:18; Lk.

6:14. His father was Alphaeus,

not to be confused with the father

ofjallles

the Less,

Mk.

3:18;

15:40.

Levi (Matthew) was a

tax"collector. In fact when jesus

found him he was Sitting at his

desk at the tax-collector's toll

booth located

in

Capernaut:n. He

was a

jewish tax-collector

in

the

service of Herod Antipas. Such

bureaucrats were detested by

everyOl1e and were cqnsidered t)w

vilest of human beings. "The

practice ofleasing the customs

duty

of a district at a 'fixed sum

encouraged gross oppression

by

tax officers anxious to secure as

large a profit as possible.

When

a

jew entered the customs service,

he was regarded'as an outcast

from society:

he

was disqualified

as a judge or a witnesS

in

a court

session, was excotnmunicated

from the synagogue, and in the

eyes of the community his

'the wisdom of the

world:

I Cor.

2:6. But this publican, who

followed

an

occupation little

esteemed and involved

in

many

abuses, was selected for additional

reasons, that

he

might be an

example of Christ's undeserved

goodness, and might show in his

person that the calling of all of us

depends, not on the merits'of

our

own righteousness, but on His

pure kindness. Matthew,

therefore, was not only a wimess

and

preacher,

but

Was also

a

proof

and illustration of the grace

exhibited

in

Christ."- Calvin

The Power

in

the

Word

of

Jesus

The Power and Sovereignty

in the Word ofJesus

"And He said to

him

, 'Follow

Me.

'

Mankind has always been

impressed with the brevity and

urgency ofJesus' call of Levi

to

discipleship; and with the total

and immediate obedience of Levi's

6

m

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon April,

1996

all stories concerning

the call of a disciple, Mk. 1:15f;

2:14f; Lk. 5:lf;jn. 1:35f."

Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth, pg.

145. "Not that all in whose ears

He utters His voice afe equally .

affected in their hearts:

but

in this

man

Christ intended ta give a .'

remarkable example, that we

might know that his calling was

not from

man. -

Calvin

The Demand of DiSCipleship

in

the Word

ofjesus

The Greek word for :'follow"is

AKOLOUTHEO, the ordinary

word for the intellectual; moral

and

religious follOwing of

someone or something. In the

O.T., God's people were

forbidden to "follow" or "go after"

other gods, Judg. 2:12; Dt. 4:3;

jer.

11:10, beci3,use

it

was

considered spiritual adultery,

Hosea 1:

2;

2.:7. Rather, God's

people were to "follow" or "go

after"Jehovah, Deut. 1;6.


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"Following" God was "walking in

God's revealed ways," Deut. 5:30.

The focus of this incident is on

the Master who calls Levi to

discipleship. Levi hears Christ's

call with the ears of his heart, and

Christ then draws him into the

closest personal relationship with

Himself. Everything depends on

Jesus' sovereign word of grace to

this unclean man. Jesus calls Levi

"to abandon everything and, in

the first instance quite literally, to

follow Jesus from place to place,"

(Bornkamm, pg. 146) , as His

disciple. What He demands from

His apostles, He demands from all

His disciples: "to repent in light

of the coming \


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was sublimely simple. "He said to

him, 'Follow Me. 'Christ spoke

and

levi

followed. It was

not

luke who said it, nor was it

anyone of the apostles. HE said

It is

not

my preaching, or your

pre ching, or an archbishop's ,

preaching,

that

can save souls;

it

is

'HE said,' and it is when th Lord

Jesus Christ,

by

the pivine Spirit,

says to a man, 'Follow Me,' .that

then the decisive work is done.

Did He not say to the primeval

darkness, 'Ught be '

and

light was;

and

God, the Omnipotent and

Eternal, has

but

to speak to man,

and a ,like result will follow. --

That

is the

way of

salvation;

Christ

bids

thee, whilst thou art at

thy

sin, leave it,

and thou

leavest

it. He bids thee trust Him, and

thou

dost trust Him;

and

trusting

Him thou art saved .

..

" Charles

Spurgeon, Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 42, pg.

571.

Finally, the call of Christ to

discipleship is'immediately

effective.

Christ called and Levi

immediately responded. "The call

of

Matthew

(Levi)

was the call

of

effecnialgrace. 'Where the word

of the king is, there is power;' and

Jesus Christ spoke to MattheW the

word of THE king. --- And ) .

preaching

to

you in His

name

; we

do NOT say, 'Dear friend, do be

converted, if you will;' but we say,

Thus

saith the Lord: 'believe on

the lord Jesus Christ and thou

shalt

be

saved;' and with that

command goes the power of the

word of a King, and so'sinners are

saved."- Spurgeon', pg

573.

(5:29-32) The Sovereignty of

Jesus

in

the Choice

of

His Friends

The Literary Form

pf

this Story

There are three parts to this

story, a tripartite form shared with

at least six other Gospel stories,

Mk.

2:1;

Mk. 2:23f; Mt. 12:22f;

Mt. 21:15f; lk. 11:37f: Lk. l3:1Of.

FIRST, Jesus performs a radical

action; SECOND, th Pharisees'or

scribes protest His action; and

THIRD, Jesus makes a

pronouncement that silences

them. "This form,

with

its direct,

dramatic presentation, was well

suited to emphasize the startling

character of the Kingdom of God

which broke

in , step by step, as

Jesus and those around Him

performed their task. The FIRST

PART

of the form described an

action performed on some defmite

occasion ... The MIDDLE PART

of the form, the protest issued

in

the form of a challenge, assumes

that Jesus and His disciples ought

to behave as the scribes do.

BecauseJesus is judged as

essentially belonging to the same

camp as His remonstrants, His

actions appear offensive to them.

The THIRD

MEMBER

of the form,

the silencihg of the remonstrants,

confirms this observation. Jesus

justifies His action by addUcing a

traditional proverb which His

opponents

recognize as valid, ...

Jesus starts from the same baSis as

do His antagonists; if He did not,

He

would

be unable to silence

them. Where He differs from

them is in His interpretation of

the teaching adduced. The

THIRD

MEMBER of

the form

describes the defeat of the scribes

by an argument resting upon a

basis they acknOWledge. It is the

FIRST PART of this form, Jesus'

radical action, which brings into

focus the theologicali

y

significant'

elements in this incident. To the

scribes Jesus' conduct was

offensive 'because it was improper

for a teacher of the Law to share

meal fellowship with outcast and

ignorant

common

p.eople. Jesus':

action was actually more

8 TilE COUNSEL of Chalcedon April, 1996

revolutionary than they could

imagine. When Jesus

shared

meal

fellowship with the

tax

officials

and

the common people, it was .

the Messiah who was sitting with

sinners."- Lane on MARK

The .Feast for Jesus with

Tax-collectors

and

Sinners

The Feast

of oy

It was an exhilarating thing for

Levi to Jorsake everything to

follow

h ~ i

He "took the step

not

in

a spirit of grim resignation

but

with

banners flying. He had

no

regrets, but on the contrary

gathered ;a large company' for 'a

great feast' in celebratiofl ..."

Leon Morris: He also wanted to

introduce some of his friends

and

associates to his new Lord,

because a convened man will not

wish to go to heaven alone. -j.c.

Ryle

"Instead of feeling sorry at

leaving

hiS

well-paying business

and acting 'as though he was

making a sacrifice for Jesus, Levi

feels the opposite way; like

celebrating the event of his call by

Jesus. He

must

have

had

wealth to

own a houSe that was ~ p l e .

enough' to 'accommodate

such

a

crowd at a feast.... - Lenski , .

The Feast for JesliS

Luke

pu t

' on

thiS

expensive

banquet

for hiS many friends ahd

associateS, Mk. 2:15, to honor

Jesus a.nd to introduce them to

Him. "So :filled with deep, inner "

delight

Was

he

that

he " " '

immediately arranged a feast

in

honor of the One whom he

considered his Benefactor "

Hendriksen

The e4St

of

all Abundance

of

rood and

W j n ~

Levi's party is called a great

banquet", ,}v:ith reference,not , o

the mult itude of guests; but to the


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1996 issue 3 - the establishment of the sovereignty of jesus part 4

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