John Piper writes in 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die:

One of the greatest heartaches in the Christian life is the slowness of our change. We hear the summons of God to love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:30). But do we ever rise to that totality of affection and devotion? We cry out regularly with the apostle Paul, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). We groan even as we take fresh resolves: “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Philippians 3:12).

Piper continues, referring to this verse. Hebrews 10:14:

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

And so Piper continues:

One of the greatest sources of joy and endurance for the Christian is knowing that in the imperfection of our progress we have already been perfected—and that this is owing to the suffering and death of Christ. “For by a single offering [namely, him-self!] he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). This is amazing! In the same sentence he says we are “being sanctified” and we are already “perfected.”

There is a tension, a dichotomy, going on here. We are both perfect, and being perfected. It is a mystery of sorts. Both are completely true. In Christ, we are perfect and thanks to Christ we are being made perfect.

It’s as if the princess kissed the toad and he is now a prince. He really is a prince. But now he has to learn to act like that which he really is.

Christians have been made perfect in Christ. Now we just have to learn to act like it.

Puritan Henry Smith writes:

All are not saved by Christ’s death, but all which are saved are saved by Christ’s death; His death is sufficient to save all, as the sun is sufficient to lighten; but if any man wink, the sun will not give him light.

The sufficiency of Christ’s death is what is key, not necessarily the intention.

Like the sun’s illumination, Christ’s death bathes all mankind in the opportunity to see, and understand and believe and be saved. Even though there are a huge number of people who will walk though life with their eyes tightly shut, there are still many who will not.

During prayer last night a friend prayed for someone that they would be able to “continue their relationship with God.” The phrase is apt. We most certainly must have a relationship with God. There’s no question about it.

But what struck me was how that phrasing may have, over time, diluted the real concept behind it.

Now, as the friends I was praying with said, you may think that I’m simply nitpicking an arbitrary thing the church uses in its regular vernacular. But I still think that it’s a bit more significant than that. Although well within the grey area.

See, every other thing in our lives which we would describe as having a ‘relationship with’, pales in comparison to what is expected of our relationship with God. I have a relationship with my Dog. I have a relationship with my friends. I have a relationship with my family. Perhaps the closest we come is our relationship with our wife or husband. But even that, at least in today’s culture, is really not even close.

Our relationship with God is actually to encompass absolutely every aspect of our lives. Our thoughts, feelings, actions, decisions. Not a single one is to be outside that relationship with God. Even in marriage, there are some things that remain personal, albeit nowhere near as many as any other relationship. But with God, there isn’t even a single one. If anything, it shouldn’t be, “Do you have a relationship with Christ”, but “Do you have the relationship with Christ”.

But, I think it may be that the word ‘relationship’ simply isn’t strong enough. The term is too broad. And, to use it so consistently to describe what it is between us and God may actually help to numb things that ought to be sensitive.

I submit that a better word may be ‘servitude’ or even ‘slavery’. In scripture, we are repeatedly called to be ‘slaves of Christ’. This is difficult for some people to swallow since those words hold a lot of weight for other reasons. But it’s clearly a powerful metaphor and one that may serve us as a church better than what we currently employ.

But regardless of what words we use to describe it, we have to remember the point is total submission to, trust in, and love for Jesus Christ.

Mark 5: 24:31

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’"

In this story, Jesus is traveling to heal a girl who was sick and would eventually die, then later be brought back to life by Jesus. In transit, Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd who is pressing up against him, attempting to hear what he might say or see what he might do.

In the midst of this crowd was a woman who was suffering from a constant discharge of blood. The physicians of the day only served to drain her finances and leave her health worse off than when she started. Discovering Jesus, she wanted to get close to him. If nothing else, only to touch the fringes of his clothing. She succeeded and was healed. But when this happened, Jesus took notice. Even in the midst of a huge crowd that was obviously pressing up against him at times, he noticed the woman who had been healed.

Do you suppose she was the only one in the crowd afflicted with something? Perhaps she was the only one who was written about. But it could also be that, though there were many other people touching him, she was healed, while their experience was irrelevant.

She, presumably unlike the others, went to touch his garment in faith that she would be healed, while the others perhaps just out of hype or personal curiosity.

For me, this reminds me that simply knowing about Christ, or being in close proximity to the truth (i.e., in church every Sunday) isn’t enough to bring significant change to our lives. We have to press up against him actually believing that something will happen.

This is hard to do. But  remembering is a good step in the right direction.

With good reason David reckons God to be his comfort. Looking to the higher promises of God to carry him through trying times. Psalm 61:1-3:

Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth I call to you
   when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock
   that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
   a strong tower against the enemy.

God’s promises to, and covenants, with his people are rocks which are higher than we are. Greater than our own best promises to God. Like David, when we are in trouble from the world and from ourselves we can seek those and find confidence. This appears to be the classic interpretation of this passage. And it is an encouragement, to say the least.

But for me, when I read this passage, I couldn’t help be see Christ as the “Rock that is higher than I”.

When I am weak and lonely, struggling to live a life worthy of the Gospel (as fantastic a feat as that is), I can pray to God that he would lead me to a Rock that sits far above me. Christ is an immovable rock whose footing is far beyond anyone’s natural reach. But by God’s power and Christ’s sacrifice, it is a place we will (and in one sense have already) ascend.

It is sanctification. A conforming to Christ’s image which cannot happen except if we cry out to God. Incidentally, something we rarely do before our hearts grow “faint”.

Jeremiah 50:20:

“In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.”

What it is really saying is not that Israel will be free from iniquity or that Judah will be altogether sinless, but that the guilt of their iniquity and sin will be absolved and paid for by Christ.

But I really love the phrasing which is present in most translations.

Iniquity and sin shall be sought for, but none shall be found because God has pardoned the remnant. For me this serves as a reminded that God’s pardoning work through Christ is the first and most important element in our sanctification.

God’s pardon produces sanctification, never the other way around.

I just started 1 Peter yesterday in my Bible Reading Plan. Today I came across the familiar verse, 1 Peter 1:13:

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

The word used here for “sober” is “napho”. It basically means stay calm, don’t panic. When I considered that, it offered some encouraging insight.

Peter began his writing talking about the various trials his readers would face and that they should take heart in them because it was testing the genuinness of their faith. Then he goes on to reaffirm that salvation is found solely in Christ.

Then he comes in with this “therefore,” be sober. Or in a sense, “don’t panic”, you can set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought at the revelation of Jesus Christ.