"God is For Us!"


(I presented a version of this 9 July 2017 at Heritage Presbyterian Church; and again on 19 July 2017 at the Capitol Bible Forum, Oklahoma State Capitol)

God is For Us: Psalm 56 (Romans 8.31-39) 
I have often used this passage and these thoughts when talking about Baptism. Now that may startle you a bit since the only water mentioned are the tears of David. But if you’ll hold on tight I think you may see how I get there.

The Pressure is Constant (1, 2, and 5): “all day long”.

The Pressure is Fierce (1-2, 5-7): “tramples on me….an attacker oppresses me” (1); “My enemies trample on me….many attack me proudly” (2); “injure my cause….thoughts are against me for evil” (5); “stir up strife…lurk…watch my steps….waited for my life” (6). Fierce Response (7).

Faith-Filled Prayer in the Pressure (1a; 3-4, 8-11): “Faith is seen here as a deliberate act, in defiance of one’s emotional state” Derek Kidner; v. 8-11. ***v.9 “This I know that God is for me…” – and we have a more certain Word of Promise. How do I know God is for me? Christ crucified! That’s exactly what the New Testament is saying in many places, for example: Romans 5.8 and Romans 8.31-39.

In defiant faith, what do you believe? “God is for me!” How do you know? “Christ died for me!”

That’s one of the things your baptism preaches, proclaims and pronounces to you, to those watching, to the world, the flesh and the devil! Baptism is a portrayal and portrait of grace rather than faith. Believe all that your baptism is preaching!

Vows and Vow-keeping (12-13): The vows were made in the thick of it; the vows were made because of God’s promising word; and the vows will be kept in appreciation of God’s his rescuing David (“for“ of v.13). We keep the vows because “God is for me” (v.9c). This principle applies to our wedding vows as well as the vows some of us make when we baptize our children.

So in the end, if you get nothing else out of this presentation today, get this: In defiant faith, what do you believe? “God is for me!” How do you know? “Christ died for me!” And your baptism preaches it to you! Remember your baptism!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?" (Rev. Ed.) by John Fea. A Review

Image
  John Fea is a professor of history at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA. A university founded in 1909 by the Brethren in Christ Church. He originally published "Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" in 2011, and it was revised in 2016. This 328-page paperback is packed full with Colonial and American history, drawing from original sources to answer that question. It is a book written "for the historically minded and thoughtful reader who is looking for help in sorting" out this question, avoiding polemics (xix). Since we live in a sound-bite culture, Fea recognizes that it is difficult to have a sustained dialogue on this topic, but he makes a valiant effort toward having that sustained dialogue. The book reads fairly straightforward, and doesn't seem to get bogged down in the contentious mudpuddles or bogs. In the end, Fea seems to get his point across. To answer the reigning question if America was founded as a Christian...
Read more

Union with Christ - An Application

Image
  (This was my weekly letter to my congregation on Wednesday, 21 February 2024) This morning in my devotional reading, I was working through 1 Corinthians 8. Though I’ve read these words a huge number of times over the years, today one verse caused me to stop and take stock.  Paul wrote, “ Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ ” (1 Corinthians 8:12). What struck me is a couple of things. First, in God’s saving work, we are – by grace alone – united (hitched, bonded, ingrafted) to Christ so much so, that what happens to us happens to him, and what is his becomes ours (think of Galatians 2:20, for example). As Sinclair Ferguson put it, “through union with Christ all that is his by incarnation becomes ours through faith” (“The Christian Life,” 110). Let that percolate in your heart for a while. Your fear, anxiety, tears, and so forth, he feels. And his “ Peace, be still ” is yours. Second, the way we treat one an...
Read more

"Ah, Lord! We are Animated by Anger and Anxiety, Fear and Fury..."

Image
I hesitate to put this out there because of the combative environment we are in at present. But I think some souls will take courage from this, and some will also join with me as we get to the end of this little composition. I am struck by the words of God in Zechariah 8. As he rehearses the waywardness and faithlessness of his people in the past, he clearly declares that he " set every man against his neighbor " (8:10). That got me thinking long ago. I started putting the pieces together and realized that one of God's acts of judgment is division, setting a man against his neighbor. That's what happened when he divided his people into the northern tribes and southern tribes (see 1 Kings 11:26-40). Because of Solomon's turning aside, allowing his wives to turn his heart away from the God of his father, David, the Lord brings about a rift in God's people. And this pattern of divisive judgment runs throughout Scripture. On the other hand, truthful unity is the g...
Read more