Hugh Hewitt spent an insightful three hours on some distrurbing news from the Netherlands. I will publish first his brief blog, as well as the articles he references.
A quick observation: this is just the outcome predicted by the late Francis Shaeffer back in in the 1970s in his classic How Then Shall We Live?
The Groningen Protocol
There are three kinds of people in the world: Those who will react with horror and alarm to this story; those who will applaud it; and those who will shrug it off as of no interest to them. I am uncertain which of the latter two groups is in worse moral condition.
Even the title "the Groningen Protocal" is creepy. It ought to remind you of the Wannsee Conference --both waystations on the same road. Once "an independent board" exists to "review cases for terminally ill people 'with no free will'" the project is launched. Just hope that you get a seat on the board or know somoeone who does who likes you.
Here's the story, which also got play on Drudge:
Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies
Nov 30, 4:24 PM (ET)By TOBY STERLING
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A hospital in the Netherlands - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.
The announcement by the Groningen Academic Hospital came amid a growing discussion in Holland on whether to legalize euthanasia on people incapable of deciding for themselves whether they want to end their lives - a prospect viewed with horror by euthanasia opponents and as a natural evolution by advocates.
In August, the main Dutch doctors' association KNMG urged the Health Ministry to create an independent board to review euthanasia cases for terminally ill people "with no free will," including children, the severely mentally retarded and people left in an irreversible coma after an accident.
The Health Ministry is preparing its response, which could come as soon as December, a spokesman said.
Three years ago, the Dutch parliament made it legal for doctors to inject a sedative and a lethal dose of muscle relaxant at the request of adult patients suffering great pain with no hope of relief.
The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital's guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.
The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child's medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it's best.
Examples include extremely premature births, where children suffer brain damage from bleeding and convulsions; and diseases where a child could only survive on life support for the rest of its life, such as severe cases of spina bifida and epidermosis bullosa, a rare blistering illness.
The hospital revealed last month it carried out four such mercy killings in 2003, and reported all cases to government prosecutors. There have been no legal proceedings against the hospital or the doctors.
Roman Catholic organizations and the Vatican have reacted with outrage to the announcement, and U.S. euthanasia opponents contend the proposal shows the Dutch have lost their moral compass.
"The slippery slope in the Netherlands has descended already into a vertical cliff," said Wesley J. Smith, a prominent California-based critic, in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Child euthanasia remains illegal everywhere. Experts say doctors outside Holland do not report cases for fear of prosecution.
"As things are, people are doing this secretly and that's wrong," said Eduard Verhagen, head of Groningen's children's clinic. "In the Netherlands we want to expose everything, to let everything be subjected to vetting."
According to the Justice Ministry, four cases of child euthanasia were reported to prosecutors in 2003. Two were reported in 2002, seven in 2001 and five in 2000. All the cases in 2003 were reported by Groningen, but some of the cases in other years were from other hospitals.
Groningen estimated the protocol would be applicable in about 10 cases per year in the Netherlands, a country of 16 million people.
Since the introduction of the Dutch law, Belgium has also legalized euthanasia, while in France, legislation to allow doctor-assisted suicide is currently under debate. In the United States, the state of Oregon is alone in allowing physician-assisted suicide, but this is under constant legal challenge.
However, experts acknowledge that doctors euthanize routinely in the United States and elsewhere, but that the practice is hidden.
"Measures that might marginally extend a child's life by minutes or hours or days or weeks are stopped. This happens routinely, namely, every day," said Lance Stell, professor of medical ethics at Davidson College in Davidson, N.C., and staff ethicist at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. "Everybody knows that it happens, but there's a lot of hypocrisy. Instead, people talk about things they're not going to do."
More than half of all deaths occur under medical supervision, so it's really about management and method of death, Stell said.
Here's the story of the Wanasee Conference, which Hewitt references:
The Wannsee Conference and the "Final Solution"
On January 20, 1942, fifteen high-ranking Nazi party and German government leaders gathered for an important meeting. They met in a wealthy section of Berlin at a villa by a lake known as Wannsee. Reinhard Heydrich, who was SS chief Heinrich Himmler's head deputy, held the meeting for the purpose of discussing the "final solution to the Jewish question in Europe" with key non-SS government leaders, including the secretaries of the Foreign Ministry and Justice, whose cooperation was needed.
The "final solution" was the Nazis' code name for the deliberate, carefully planned destruction, or genocide, of all European Jews. The Nazis used the vague term "final solution" to hide their policy of mass murder from the rest of the world. In fact, the men at Wannsee talked about methods of killing, about liquidation, about "extermination."
The Wannsee Conference, as it became known to history, did not mark the beginning of the "Final Solution." The mobile killing squads were already slaughtering Jews in the occupied Soviet Union. Rather, the Wannsee Conference was the place where the "final solution" was formally revealed to non-Nazi leaders who would help arrange for Jews to be transported from all over German-occupied Europe to SS-operated "extermination" camps in Poland. Not one of the men present at Wannsee objected to the announced policy. Never before had a modern state committed itself to the murder of an entire people.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Here's last week's message.
THE MISSION OF CHRISTMAS
Galatians 3:26-4:7
November 28, 2004
Dr. Glenn Layne
Why do we have Christmas? I had a friend who worked in a campus ministry in Louisiana who set up a table outside the student union. Above the table was a big sign: LET’S CANCEL CHRISTMAS BREAK. Obviously a sign like that attracted a lot of attention, mostly, shall we say unsupportive.
The point was to generate some discussion. Of course, many schools now call it “Holiday Break” or “Winter Break” to skirt the issue. But the reality is that something happened over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem that is still dictating our calendar and shaping our culture.
What I want to do over the next three weeks is look at what Christmas is all about, and to do it by asking three questions:
· What is the MISSION of Christmas?
· What is the MARVEL of Christmas—why is it so attractive and appealing to us? And…
· What is the MYSTERY of Christmas? What’s the story behind the story of Christmas?
Some of the most well known words to a Christian are the first six words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who is in heaven . . .” Our Father–God is known as our heavenly Father. We pray to God as our Father, speak of him as our Father, and even sing to him as our Father. This morning we are going to talk about why we are able to call God our Father and why we are indeed his children. Because if you understand that, then you understand the mission of Christmas—the mission of why Jesus Christ came into the world.
To do that, we’re going to look at a passage from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, 3:20-4:7:
That passage answers three questions:
· How does a person become a child of God?
· Is anybody excluded from being a child of God?
· How does Jesus’ coming—the first Christmas—make it possible for us to become children of God?
You see, the big question is “What is the Mission of Christmas?” Then next week we’ll look at “The Marvel of Christmas” and then “The Mystery of Christmas.” But really, all the time we have to keep those three before us:
· Christmas is God’s MISSION
· Christmas is a demonstration of the MARVEL of His works
· Christmas is still a MYSTERY of God’s love and plan
First question:
How does a person become a child of God? (3:26-27)
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.
Paul is talking about how we become part of God’s family. The idea of family is all over this passage. In the space of ten verses, he uses the word son 4 times, sons 3 times, child once, and children once.
We’re not called to be God’s abject slaves. We’re not called to be mindless robots. God wants us to be his children. As we were reminded during the 40 days of purpose, God’s intent is to build a forever family for himself.
(By the way, in case you wonder why Paul doesn’t use the term “sons and daughters” (as some paraphrases do), it’s because sons had more legal rights in that times than daughters did. So it’s not a matter of Paul being a sexist. Instead, by using “sons” to refer to all of God’s family, he’s actually raising up the status of women.)
So how does a person become a son, a child, of God? Not by ethnic membership, or by ritual, but by faith, faith directed in and through Christ:
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…
And Paul has an interesting way of finishing that thought:
…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.
Now remember, all these believers in Galatia could relate to these words. Baptism was (and is) the mark of conversion. There are many symbols inherent in the act of baptism. Being washed is an obvious one. Paul in Romans tells us that baptism also points to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But there’s also the symbol of being “clothed with Christ.” As a person is baptized, he is completely surrounded by water—clothed in water, you could almost say. Paul says that just as the water surrounds the baptized believer, so also now and forever, Christ also surrounds and envelops the believer.
This makes me think of a portion of the beautiful prayer of St. Patrick:
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when sit down, Christ when I arise…
We are surrounded by Christ!
Paul then answers a Second Question:
Is anybody excluded from being a child of God? (3:28-29)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If you belong to Christ, then you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Paul’s answer is a resounding NO!
That is, no one is excluded based on ethnicity, status or gender.
But there are limits, and some are excluded:
You see, he says that believers are all one in Christ. You have to “belong to Christ.” Then you are Abraham’s true spiritual “seed” (descendants).
This is a revolutionary teaching. On the one hand, nobody’s left out due to ethnicity, gender or status. On the other hand, there’s only one way to be made part of the family of God—through faith in Christ. It’s a teaching that is inclusive on the one hand—and exclusive on the other.
This was a teaching that turned the world upside down. It turned Roman and Greek racism upside down. It turned Jewish exclusiveness upside down. It turns the Hindu caste system upside down. It turns the world upside down.
But don’t overlook the toughness of this teaching: this kind of oneness is not achieved by singing Kum-by-ya or Rodney King saying, “Can’t we all just get along.” It’s achieved in Christ and in Christ alone.
The third question:
How does Jesus’ coming—the first Christmas—make it possible for us to become children of God? (4:1-7)
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of this world.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a women, born under the law, that we might receive the full rights as sons,
to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the full rights as sons.
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
What Paul wants us to imagine is a child of a wealthy father. The son lives under the authority of appointed guardians, teachers, trustees, and so forth until the age set by his father for him to come into the fullness of the inheritance.
Two-part experience:
1. Underage/Childhood/Minority
· “No different than a slave”
· Under the rule of “guardians and trustees”
· Until a set time
· For us, that “set time” was the first Christmas
In these verses Paul said that those people who accepted Jesus as Savior were heirs to God’s kingdom, but that those people were at one time no different from slaves. Why was an heir, which would have been a son, no different than a slave? To answer this question we must realize that Paul was speaking here of sonship in ancient Rome. In Roman law sons were raised under their father’s power, which was known as patria potestas. Patria potestas was the father’s power of absolute possession and control over a family member. The son was no greater than a slave in his father’s eyes until an appointed age. The son was under his father’s control just as a slave would have been. Until the appointed age, which was about age twenty-five, the son was placed under guardians and stewards appointed by the father in order to teach him the ways of his father and proper moral conduct. One of these guardians was called a tutor. Back in Galatians 3:24 Paul stated that God’s children, the Jewish people, were all placed under a tutor, which was the law. The law that Paul referred to here was the Law of Moses, which included the Ten Commandments and numerous other minor laws. According to Paul, in Galatians 3:23-25, the law was necessary to instruct God’s people in righteousness before Jesus came into the world to bestow the law of the Spirit. When Jesus came into the world, this time was the coming of age for all of the Jewish people who chose to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They were ready to move from childhood to adulthood or from slavery to true sonship and inheritance in the kingdom through the Spirit of God.
2. Of Age/Adulthood/Majority
· “When the time has fully come”
· THE SON comes to make us fully sons
To anyone today who does not know Jesus Christ, he or she is still under the law and is seen as a slave in God’s eyes. Today we are not under the Ten Commandments, but under the laws of men and common rules of social morality. The laws that we are under, which are taught by our parents and the government of our country, are necessary to instruct us in morality. But, as Paul said in verse 3, the laws of men are of the “elements of this world”, and if we still live by these laws then we are held in spiritual bondage. We are slaves to sin. If we do not know Jesus Christ as Savior then the Spirit of God does not dwell within us. Though the laws of men can teach us to be good people, we are incomplete and are like slaves without the Spirit of God, which teaches us the laws of the Spirit. If we do not know Jesus Christ then we are still slaves to the laws of men and are lacking the freedom found in the laws of the Spirit.
But now—Jesus’ coming “flips a switch” in the plan of God.
It reminds me of the line in C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which we are told that Narnia is a place where it’s always winter, but never Christmas. Winter is the same as the child under the rule of guardians and trustees.
Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, was born of a woman, meaning that God came in the form of a man to dwell on this earth for a short time among mankind. He was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. He was born to set us free. He was born to make us part of God’s family. The great Bible scholar F. F. Bruce says that when God came to the earth in the form of Jesus Christ that, “…He entered into the prison house where his people were held in bondage so as to set them free.” In other words, Jesus went to prison and then led the greatest jailbreak in history!
We just heard that sons were as slaves to their father until they became a certain age. What God did was to enter the house of another father and ask to adopt that father’s sons, or should we say that he demanded to adopt them if they so desired to go with him. In ancient Rome a father adopted a child by paying for him. The price for our adoption was paid in full with Jesus’ death on the cross. Once a father chose to adopt a child there followed a ceremony called vindicatio. The adopting father went to the praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, and presented a legal case for the transference of the person to be adopted into his own household. After the vindicatio ceremony the adoption was complete. What English word does vindicatio sound like? It sounds like “vindication.” The word, “vindicate” means, “To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof.” If we choose to follow God through Jesus Christ, then we will be cleared of any accusation of sin placed upon us, and we will be cleared of the accompanying consequence of sin, which is eternal death. Paul said that our sonship with God is like being adopted from the father of one family by the father of another family. If we do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then we are not a part of God’s family but a part of the family of the elements of this world. When Paul spoke of the elements of this world back in verse 3 he was referring to the realm of Satan. Satan is the ruler of this world, and the elemental powers involve evil spirits and demons. If we do not know Jesus then our father is the father of lies, Satan himself, and the inheritance we will receive from the father of lies at our coming of age in him is hell and damnation. The laws of men cannot save our souls, only the laws of the Holy Spirit of God can. If we follow Jesus, we are redeemed from being under the power of the laws of men, and we will be adopted as sons of the living God. In Roman law, there were four main benefits of adoption, that are ours as well.
1.) The adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family. In the most binding legal way, he got a new father.
2.) It followed that he became heir to his new father’s estate. Even if other sons were afterwards born, it did not affect his rights. He was inalienably co-heir with them.
3.) In law, the old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out; for instance, all debts were cancelled. He was regarded as a new person entering into a new life with which the past had nothing to do.
4.) In the eyes of the law he was absolutely the son of his new father.
If we accept Jesus as our Lord then we will receive a new Father, God the Father, and we will become heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and all of our former debts, or sins, will be wiped out and our past ways forgotten. Our new Father in heaven will not hold our past against us.
Now this is interesting. During the process of adoption there were seven witnesses required to be present. If anyone later accused a son of not being adopted then one of these seven witnesses were to step forward and declare his true sonship. Paul said that God’s Spirit witnesses with our spirit to declare that we really are God’s children. Because the Holy Spirit testifies on our behalf we can cry out to God with confidence and say to him, “Abba!” What significance is there in the word “Abba?” Abba is a word that could not have been spoken by a mere slave, for it is a very intimate word reserved only for the closeness between a father and his son that is earned either after the child’s coming of age or after his adoption. Verse 6 tells us that the word Abba means, “father,” but Abba actually can be translated, “Daddy” or “Poppa.” That’s a very special word, especially today, because there are many people who don’t know what it is to have a Dad. If you want someone who will always be there for you and be a true father to you, then call upon the Lord as your Daddy. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, then God will accept you as his own son or daughter. That’s the mission of Christmas. God sent His Son into the world to adopt us as His children.Paul says something similar in Romans 8:15-17: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”And that is the mission of Christmas. At great price, Jesus, God’s Son, comes into the world to pay the price to make us part of the family of God. And that is what Christmas is really all about.
© Glenn Layne 2004
THE MISSION OF CHRISTMAS
Galatians 3:26-4:7
November 28, 2004
Dr. Glenn Layne
Why do we have Christmas? I had a friend who worked in a campus ministry in Louisiana who set up a table outside the student union. Above the table was a big sign: LET’S CANCEL CHRISTMAS BREAK. Obviously a sign like that attracted a lot of attention, mostly, shall we say unsupportive.
The point was to generate some discussion. Of course, many schools now call it “Holiday Break” or “Winter Break” to skirt the issue. But the reality is that something happened over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem that is still dictating our calendar and shaping our culture.
What I want to do over the next three weeks is look at what Christmas is all about, and to do it by asking three questions:
· What is the MISSION of Christmas?
· What is the MARVEL of Christmas—why is it so attractive and appealing to us? And…
· What is the MYSTERY of Christmas? What’s the story behind the story of Christmas?
Some of the most well known words to a Christian are the first six words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who is in heaven . . .” Our Father–God is known as our heavenly Father. We pray to God as our Father, speak of him as our Father, and even sing to him as our Father. This morning we are going to talk about why we are able to call God our Father and why we are indeed his children. Because if you understand that, then you understand the mission of Christmas—the mission of why Jesus Christ came into the world.
To do that, we’re going to look at a passage from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, 3:20-4:7:
That passage answers three questions:
· How does a person become a child of God?
· Is anybody excluded from being a child of God?
· How does Jesus’ coming—the first Christmas—make it possible for us to become children of God?
You see, the big question is “What is the Mission of Christmas?” Then next week we’ll look at “The Marvel of Christmas” and then “The Mystery of Christmas.” But really, all the time we have to keep those three before us:
· Christmas is God’s MISSION
· Christmas is a demonstration of the MARVEL of His works
· Christmas is still a MYSTERY of God’s love and plan
First question:
How does a person become a child of God? (3:26-27)
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.
Paul is talking about how we become part of God’s family. The idea of family is all over this passage. In the space of ten verses, he uses the word son 4 times, sons 3 times, child once, and children once.
We’re not called to be God’s abject slaves. We’re not called to be mindless robots. God wants us to be his children. As we were reminded during the 40 days of purpose, God’s intent is to build a forever family for himself.
(By the way, in case you wonder why Paul doesn’t use the term “sons and daughters” (as some paraphrases do), it’s because sons had more legal rights in that times than daughters did. So it’s not a matter of Paul being a sexist. Instead, by using “sons” to refer to all of God’s family, he’s actually raising up the status of women.)
So how does a person become a son, a child, of God? Not by ethnic membership, or by ritual, but by faith, faith directed in and through Christ:
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus…
And Paul has an interesting way of finishing that thought:
…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.
Now remember, all these believers in Galatia could relate to these words. Baptism was (and is) the mark of conversion. There are many symbols inherent in the act of baptism. Being washed is an obvious one. Paul in Romans tells us that baptism also points to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But there’s also the symbol of being “clothed with Christ.” As a person is baptized, he is completely surrounded by water—clothed in water, you could almost say. Paul says that just as the water surrounds the baptized believer, so also now and forever, Christ also surrounds and envelops the believer.
This makes me think of a portion of the beautiful prayer of St. Patrick:
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when sit down, Christ when I arise…
We are surrounded by Christ!
Paul then answers a Second Question:
Is anybody excluded from being a child of God? (3:28-29)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
If you belong to Christ, then you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Paul’s answer is a resounding NO!
That is, no one is excluded based on ethnicity, status or gender.
But there are limits, and some are excluded:
You see, he says that believers are all one in Christ. You have to “belong to Christ.” Then you are Abraham’s true spiritual “seed” (descendants).
This is a revolutionary teaching. On the one hand, nobody’s left out due to ethnicity, gender or status. On the other hand, there’s only one way to be made part of the family of God—through faith in Christ. It’s a teaching that is inclusive on the one hand—and exclusive on the other.
This was a teaching that turned the world upside down. It turned Roman and Greek racism upside down. It turned Jewish exclusiveness upside down. It turns the Hindu caste system upside down. It turns the world upside down.
But don’t overlook the toughness of this teaching: this kind of oneness is not achieved by singing Kum-by-ya or Rodney King saying, “Can’t we all just get along.” It’s achieved in Christ and in Christ alone.
The third question:
How does Jesus’ coming—the first Christmas—make it possible for us to become children of God? (4:1-7)
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.
So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of this world.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a women, born under the law, that we might receive the full rights as sons,
to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the full rights as sons.
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
What Paul wants us to imagine is a child of a wealthy father. The son lives under the authority of appointed guardians, teachers, trustees, and so forth until the age set by his father for him to come into the fullness of the inheritance.
Two-part experience:
1. Underage/Childhood/Minority
· “No different than a slave”
· Under the rule of “guardians and trustees”
· Until a set time
· For us, that “set time” was the first Christmas
In these verses Paul said that those people who accepted Jesus as Savior were heirs to God’s kingdom, but that those people were at one time no different from slaves. Why was an heir, which would have been a son, no different than a slave? To answer this question we must realize that Paul was speaking here of sonship in ancient Rome. In Roman law sons were raised under their father’s power, which was known as patria potestas. Patria potestas was the father’s power of absolute possession and control over a family member. The son was no greater than a slave in his father’s eyes until an appointed age. The son was under his father’s control just as a slave would have been. Until the appointed age, which was about age twenty-five, the son was placed under guardians and stewards appointed by the father in order to teach him the ways of his father and proper moral conduct. One of these guardians was called a tutor. Back in Galatians 3:24 Paul stated that God’s children, the Jewish people, were all placed under a tutor, which was the law. The law that Paul referred to here was the Law of Moses, which included the Ten Commandments and numerous other minor laws. According to Paul, in Galatians 3:23-25, the law was necessary to instruct God’s people in righteousness before Jesus came into the world to bestow the law of the Spirit. When Jesus came into the world, this time was the coming of age for all of the Jewish people who chose to follow Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They were ready to move from childhood to adulthood or from slavery to true sonship and inheritance in the kingdom through the Spirit of God.
2. Of Age/Adulthood/Majority
· “When the time has fully come”
· THE SON comes to make us fully sons
To anyone today who does not know Jesus Christ, he or she is still under the law and is seen as a slave in God’s eyes. Today we are not under the Ten Commandments, but under the laws of men and common rules of social morality. The laws that we are under, which are taught by our parents and the government of our country, are necessary to instruct us in morality. But, as Paul said in verse 3, the laws of men are of the “elements of this world”, and if we still live by these laws then we are held in spiritual bondage. We are slaves to sin. If we do not know Jesus Christ as Savior then the Spirit of God does not dwell within us. Though the laws of men can teach us to be good people, we are incomplete and are like slaves without the Spirit of God, which teaches us the laws of the Spirit. If we do not know Jesus Christ then we are still slaves to the laws of men and are lacking the freedom found in the laws of the Spirit.
But now—Jesus’ coming “flips a switch” in the plan of God.
It reminds me of the line in C.S. Lewis’, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which we are told that Narnia is a place where it’s always winter, but never Christmas. Winter is the same as the child under the rule of guardians and trustees.
Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, was born of a woman, meaning that God came in the form of a man to dwell on this earth for a short time among mankind. He was born under the law to redeem those who were under the law. He was born to set us free. He was born to make us part of God’s family. The great Bible scholar F. F. Bruce says that when God came to the earth in the form of Jesus Christ that, “…He entered into the prison house where his people were held in bondage so as to set them free.” In other words, Jesus went to prison and then led the greatest jailbreak in history!
We just heard that sons were as slaves to their father until they became a certain age. What God did was to enter the house of another father and ask to adopt that father’s sons, or should we say that he demanded to adopt them if they so desired to go with him. In ancient Rome a father adopted a child by paying for him. The price for our adoption was paid in full with Jesus’ death on the cross. Once a father chose to adopt a child there followed a ceremony called vindicatio. The adopting father went to the praetor, one of the Roman magistrates, and presented a legal case for the transference of the person to be adopted into his own household. After the vindicatio ceremony the adoption was complete. What English word does vindicatio sound like? It sounds like “vindication.” The word, “vindicate” means, “To clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting proof.” If we choose to follow God through Jesus Christ, then we will be cleared of any accusation of sin placed upon us, and we will be cleared of the accompanying consequence of sin, which is eternal death. Paul said that our sonship with God is like being adopted from the father of one family by the father of another family. If we do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then we are not a part of God’s family but a part of the family of the elements of this world. When Paul spoke of the elements of this world back in verse 3 he was referring to the realm of Satan. Satan is the ruler of this world, and the elemental powers involve evil spirits and demons. If we do not know Jesus then our father is the father of lies, Satan himself, and the inheritance we will receive from the father of lies at our coming of age in him is hell and damnation. The laws of men cannot save our souls, only the laws of the Holy Spirit of God can. If we follow Jesus, we are redeemed from being under the power of the laws of men, and we will be adopted as sons of the living God. In Roman law, there were four main benefits of adoption, that are ours as well.
1.) The adopted person lost all rights in his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate son in his new family. In the most binding legal way, he got a new father.
2.) It followed that he became heir to his new father’s estate. Even if other sons were afterwards born, it did not affect his rights. He was inalienably co-heir with them.
3.) In law, the old life of the adopted person was completely wiped out; for instance, all debts were cancelled. He was regarded as a new person entering into a new life with which the past had nothing to do.
4.) In the eyes of the law he was absolutely the son of his new father.
If we accept Jesus as our Lord then we will receive a new Father, God the Father, and we will become heirs of the kingdom of heaven, and all of our former debts, or sins, will be wiped out and our past ways forgotten. Our new Father in heaven will not hold our past against us.
Now this is interesting. During the process of adoption there were seven witnesses required to be present. If anyone later accused a son of not being adopted then one of these seven witnesses were to step forward and declare his true sonship. Paul said that God’s Spirit witnesses with our spirit to declare that we really are God’s children. Because the Holy Spirit testifies on our behalf we can cry out to God with confidence and say to him, “Abba!” What significance is there in the word “Abba?” Abba is a word that could not have been spoken by a mere slave, for it is a very intimate word reserved only for the closeness between a father and his son that is earned either after the child’s coming of age or after his adoption. Verse 6 tells us that the word Abba means, “father,” but Abba actually can be translated, “Daddy” or “Poppa.” That’s a very special word, especially today, because there are many people who don’t know what it is to have a Dad. If you want someone who will always be there for you and be a true father to you, then call upon the Lord as your Daddy. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, then God will accept you as his own son or daughter. That’s the mission of Christmas. God sent His Son into the world to adopt us as His children.Paul says something similar in Romans 8:15-17: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”And that is the mission of Christmas. At great price, Jesus, God’s Son, comes into the world to pay the price to make us part of the family of God. And that is what Christmas is really all about.
© Glenn Layne 2004
How do I publish a message for Dec. 12 on Nov. 30? Easy--I work ahead!
THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS
Luke 2:1-20
December 12. 2004
Dr. Glenn Layne
Charles Simpson, a great Southern Baptist preacher, joked about his attitude as a young preacher. “That Bible is only 3 inches thick. I’ll have it preached out in 3 or 4 years!”
But that is nonsense. You can never get to the bottom of Biblical truth. You can’t exhaust it. You can’t wear it out. God’s word says, in Isaiah 55:9,
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
How high is heaven about the earth? Well, the known universe is at least 30 billion light years in all directions. We’re like ants crawling around trying to understand Einstein’s theory of relativity. There’s just no way to fit God-knowledge into our little pea-brains.
We aren’t lost in space, though. God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. That’s the key to it all. The God revealed in the Bible is the God who chooses to make Himself known, not a god we made up.
So we have two opposite realities: God’s ways and thoughts are a mystery to us, but God has chosen to show enough of Himself so we can receive His love and worship Him and become part of His forever family.
It was a process over time. Hebrews 1:1-3a says,
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
God spoke through prophets, like Moses and Isaiah and Malachi. But all these guys were the opening act to the biggest self-revelation of God of all time: the Son of God. The Son is no mere prophet; He’s “the heir of all things” (everything belongs to Him); He’s how God made the universe; He’s the “radiance” of God, and the “exact representation of God’s being.” Now that’s a mystery—a wonderful, thrilling mystery. How can God become a man?
Simple fact is, while I can say the words, I can’t fully wrap my brain around this. How is it possible for eternal God to be born? How can the God who fills the universe also fit into a feeding trough? God, by definition, needs nothing to sustain Him, but this Jesus didn’t just eat—there was a time He nursed at Mary’s breast.
Last week, when we looked at the marvel of Christmas, we did so through the account of Jesus’ birth in Matthew. You may recall that Matthew’s account is written from the standpoint of Joseph. A “marvel” is deep, but a mystery is even deeper. Luke’s account relies on Mary, and is told from her point of view. Luke probably interviewed Mary around 60 AD, which means that she was probably in her late 70s or early 80s, and had had a long time to ponder the story. And that’s the story—the mysterious story—that we look to today.
The Background (Luke 2:1-3)
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
In the Roman Empire censuses were taken every fourteen years for assessing taxes and figuring out who’s eligible for military service. There’s evidence this was done every 14 years, so Luke makes it clear that this is the first census done under Quirinius, which would make it 6 BC. That’s right; when a medieval monk tried to figure out the year Jesus was born, he was off by at least four years, more likely 6. So if you really want to be technical, I guess that this is really 2010 AD, not 2004!
That census forced Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem, which must have been Joseph’s hometown. It means he also probably had property there, some land. It was also a city of significance for both of them, since both were descendants of King David, and Bethlehem is David’s hometown. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem also fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would descend from David and be born in David's hometown. Micah 5:2 says,
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
So just as Paul wrote in Galatians, the passage we looked at two weeks ago, Jesus was born at just the right place, and at just the right time. Galatians 4:4-5 says,
4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
You see, God had been preparing for this moment from all eternity. The coming of Jesus was not a back-up plan. It’s the only plan. Jesus, the Son of God, is eternal, as is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. In God’s plan to make a family for Himself from the peoples of earth, it was always the plan for God the Son to become one of us. Why? Only a human being can die for the sins of human beings. But no man was worthy—no one could bear that price. I can’t and you can’t. I can’t even atone for even one of my own sins. But a man who is also God can! That’s why John the Baptist called Him “the lamb of God”—the sacrifice that God supplies for the sins and wrongdoing of everybody who in days to come would put their trust in Him.
Let’s move on to the story of His birth.
The Birth (Luke 2:4-7)
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Joseph and Mary traveled eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. What a lousy time to travel: her baby was due any day now! And Bethlehem was crammed. They had to settle for an open stall for animals, which is even worse than the Bethlehem Motel 6. You probably know that a very strong ancient tradition that this stable was in a cave, which was a common thing in that area. Jesus didn’t arrive the way we’d expect the King of the universe, but in the incredible humility. Born in a 1st century BC barn!
The Boys in the Field (Luke 2:8-14)
Now if this were a movie, the script would say SCENE TWO. We cut from a cave to a field nearby.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Not only would it be a new scene in the movie, but we’re going to need some pretty good special effects!
You have to hear this story like you’ve never heard it before. Interrupting this quiet, dark night was the BANG of the shining presence of angels and the glory of the Lord. The angels brought good new to these shepherds, who were regarded as the skuzziest people around, kind of like a homeless guy living on a grate somewhere today.
Their reputation was that of petty thieves. There was even a law on the books that banned them from giving testimony in the law courts. That’s how long on the totem pole these guys were.
The angels announce the birth of a Savior, which is exactly what we all need. Funny thing, in all four gospels, Jesus is called Savior only twice—here and in John 4:42, where the Samaritans tell the woman at the well that they believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. We don’t need another prophet, or another king, or a reformer, or a philosopher, or a politician or a committee, we need a Savior!
What’s a Savior? A savior is a rescuer—a spiritual rescuer. It means that on our own we’re in big trouble, but that God didn’t leave us there.
What’s the trouble? Remember three weeks ago when we looked at the Mission of Christian: the Son of God was coming into the world as a mere human to bring mere human beings into the family of God. There would be a terrible price to pay—the price of death on the cross—to make us God’s children, because on that cross He took all the wrong things in us, what the Bible calls sins, the things that keep us from being God’s children. That’s why we need a Savior.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God… After the single angel’s announcement, a whole group of angels appeared. This was a heavenly host (that means a band of soldiers, an army. What is their message? Look at verse 14:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
This is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible! And the reason is that the traditional King James Version didn’t get the translation quite right:
Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.
It makes it sound like the message of the angel is that people ought to be nice to each other: “peace, goodwill toward men.” But it’s really all about God’s peace and goodwill toward the people of the world: “…and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Real peace comes only from God, only from the coming of Jesus. Even the pagans of the first century world sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century Roman writer, said this: "While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearn for more than even outward peace."
Do you have a peaceful heart? Everybody has storms in the soul from time to time. Jesus is the one and only way to know the kind of peace that lasts—all throughout life and forever. That’s the message of the angels. When Jesus was born, God’s peace had come into the world.
The Baby (Luke 2:15-20)
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
So these guys rush into town and they find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, and the blabbed about it all over the place. These guys were permanently changed. Smelly shepherds became God-praisers and ambassadors of truth. That’s what happens when you run into Jesus. He always changes you. He meets you out in left field and brings to the manger. He changes your priorities. He puts a song in your heart and in your mouth. He makes you His witnesses.
The mystery of Christmas is this: the Son of God, eternal and all-powerful, came into the world to die so that we can live as God’s adopted children. He traded heaven for the hell of the cross so we could be with God forever. He left a palace of glory to live in a garbage dump so that he could take those who unite their lives by faith in Him into that same heavenly palace. That’s a love that I can’t get over. That’s a love I really and truly can only describe—not really understand.
This I know: Jesus came into the world for you. He came as Savior for you. He had you in mind when He left the Father’s side and became one of us.
God has a Christmas present for you, and you can unwrap it today. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Now go to Him, go to the Savior. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Lord, we can’t understand it all, but we sure can see your love in Jesus’ coming. That You would come into this world for me blows my mind, Lord. Thank you so much.
If you don’t know Jesus as you Savior, would you pray with me? Lord, thank you for coming just for me. Thank you for dying for all my sins. Thank your for rising from the dead. Today, by faith, I unwrap the gift of a new life with you. From this day on, I will follow you. Thank your for the best Christmas present of all. Amen.
© Glenn Layne, 2004
THE MYSTERY OF CHRISTMAS
Luke 2:1-20
December 12. 2004
Dr. Glenn Layne
Charles Simpson, a great Southern Baptist preacher, joked about his attitude as a young preacher. “That Bible is only 3 inches thick. I’ll have it preached out in 3 or 4 years!”
But that is nonsense. You can never get to the bottom of Biblical truth. You can’t exhaust it. You can’t wear it out. God’s word says, in Isaiah 55:9,
As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
How high is heaven about the earth? Well, the known universe is at least 30 billion light years in all directions. We’re like ants crawling around trying to understand Einstein’s theory of relativity. There’s just no way to fit God-knowledge into our little pea-brains.
We aren’t lost in space, though. God has chosen to reveal Himself to us. That’s the key to it all. The God revealed in the Bible is the God who chooses to make Himself known, not a god we made up.
So we have two opposite realities: God’s ways and thoughts are a mystery to us, but God has chosen to show enough of Himself so we can receive His love and worship Him and become part of His forever family.
It was a process over time. Hebrews 1:1-3a says,
1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
God spoke through prophets, like Moses and Isaiah and Malachi. But all these guys were the opening act to the biggest self-revelation of God of all time: the Son of God. The Son is no mere prophet; He’s “the heir of all things” (everything belongs to Him); He’s how God made the universe; He’s the “radiance” of God, and the “exact representation of God’s being.” Now that’s a mystery—a wonderful, thrilling mystery. How can God become a man?
Simple fact is, while I can say the words, I can’t fully wrap my brain around this. How is it possible for eternal God to be born? How can the God who fills the universe also fit into a feeding trough? God, by definition, needs nothing to sustain Him, but this Jesus didn’t just eat—there was a time He nursed at Mary’s breast.
Last week, when we looked at the marvel of Christmas, we did so through the account of Jesus’ birth in Matthew. You may recall that Matthew’s account is written from the standpoint of Joseph. A “marvel” is deep, but a mystery is even deeper. Luke’s account relies on Mary, and is told from her point of view. Luke probably interviewed Mary around 60 AD, which means that she was probably in her late 70s or early 80s, and had had a long time to ponder the story. And that’s the story—the mysterious story—that we look to today.
The Background (Luke 2:1-3)
1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
In the Roman Empire censuses were taken every fourteen years for assessing taxes and figuring out who’s eligible for military service. There’s evidence this was done every 14 years, so Luke makes it clear that this is the first census done under Quirinius, which would make it 6 BC. That’s right; when a medieval monk tried to figure out the year Jesus was born, he was off by at least four years, more likely 6. So if you really want to be technical, I guess that this is really 2010 AD, not 2004!
That census forced Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem, which must have been Joseph’s hometown. It means he also probably had property there, some land. It was also a city of significance for both of them, since both were descendants of King David, and Bethlehem is David’s hometown. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem also fulfilled the prophecy that the Messiah would descend from David and be born in David's hometown. Micah 5:2 says,
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
So just as Paul wrote in Galatians, the passage we looked at two weeks ago, Jesus was born at just the right place, and at just the right time. Galatians 4:4-5 says,
4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
You see, God had been preparing for this moment from all eternity. The coming of Jesus was not a back-up plan. It’s the only plan. Jesus, the Son of God, is eternal, as is God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. In God’s plan to make a family for Himself from the peoples of earth, it was always the plan for God the Son to become one of us. Why? Only a human being can die for the sins of human beings. But no man was worthy—no one could bear that price. I can’t and you can’t. I can’t even atone for even one of my own sins. But a man who is also God can! That’s why John the Baptist called Him “the lamb of God”—the sacrifice that God supplies for the sins and wrongdoing of everybody who in days to come would put their trust in Him.
Let’s move on to the story of His birth.
The Birth (Luke 2:4-7)
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Joseph and Mary traveled eighty miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. What a lousy time to travel: her baby was due any day now! And Bethlehem was crammed. They had to settle for an open stall for animals, which is even worse than the Bethlehem Motel 6. You probably know that a very strong ancient tradition that this stable was in a cave, which was a common thing in that area. Jesus didn’t arrive the way we’d expect the King of the universe, but in the incredible humility. Born in a 1st century BC barn!
The Boys in the Field (Luke 2:8-14)
Now if this were a movie, the script would say SCENE TWO. We cut from a cave to a field nearby.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Not only would it be a new scene in the movie, but we’re going to need some pretty good special effects!
You have to hear this story like you’ve never heard it before. Interrupting this quiet, dark night was the BANG of the shining presence of angels and the glory of the Lord. The angels brought good new to these shepherds, who were regarded as the skuzziest people around, kind of like a homeless guy living on a grate somewhere today.
Their reputation was that of petty thieves. There was even a law on the books that banned them from giving testimony in the law courts. That’s how long on the totem pole these guys were.
The angels announce the birth of a Savior, which is exactly what we all need. Funny thing, in all four gospels, Jesus is called Savior only twice—here and in John 4:42, where the Samaritans tell the woman at the well that they believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world. We don’t need another prophet, or another king, or a reformer, or a philosopher, or a politician or a committee, we need a Savior!
What’s a Savior? A savior is a rescuer—a spiritual rescuer. It means that on our own we’re in big trouble, but that God didn’t leave us there.
What’s the trouble? Remember three weeks ago when we looked at the Mission of Christian: the Son of God was coming into the world as a mere human to bring mere human beings into the family of God. There would be a terrible price to pay—the price of death on the cross—to make us God’s children, because on that cross He took all the wrong things in us, what the Bible calls sins, the things that keep us from being God’s children. That’s why we need a Savior.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God… After the single angel’s announcement, a whole group of angels appeared. This was a heavenly host (that means a band of soldiers, an army. What is their message? Look at verse 14:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
This is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible! And the reason is that the traditional King James Version didn’t get the translation quite right:
Glory to God in the highest; and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.
It makes it sound like the message of the angel is that people ought to be nice to each other: “peace, goodwill toward men.” But it’s really all about God’s peace and goodwill toward the people of the world: “…and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Real peace comes only from God, only from the coming of Jesus. Even the pagans of the first century world sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century Roman writer, said this: "While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearn for more than even outward peace."
Do you have a peaceful heart? Everybody has storms in the soul from time to time. Jesus is the one and only way to know the kind of peace that lasts—all throughout life and forever. That’s the message of the angels. When Jesus was born, God’s peace had come into the world.
The Baby (Luke 2:15-20)
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
So these guys rush into town and they find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, and the blabbed about it all over the place. These guys were permanently changed. Smelly shepherds became God-praisers and ambassadors of truth. That’s what happens when you run into Jesus. He always changes you. He meets you out in left field and brings to the manger. He changes your priorities. He puts a song in your heart and in your mouth. He makes you His witnesses.
The mystery of Christmas is this: the Son of God, eternal and all-powerful, came into the world to die so that we can live as God’s adopted children. He traded heaven for the hell of the cross so we could be with God forever. He left a palace of glory to live in a garbage dump so that he could take those who unite their lives by faith in Him into that same heavenly palace. That’s a love that I can’t get over. That’s a love I really and truly can only describe—not really understand.
This I know: Jesus came into the world for you. He came as Savior for you. He had you in mind when He left the Father’s side and became one of us.
God has a Christmas present for you, and you can unwrap it today. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Now go to Him, go to the Savior. Let’s pray.
PRAYER
Lord, we can’t understand it all, but we sure can see your love in Jesus’ coming. That You would come into this world for me blows my mind, Lord. Thank you so much.
If you don’t know Jesus as you Savior, would you pray with me? Lord, thank you for coming just for me. Thank you for dying for all my sins. Thank your for rising from the dead. Today, by faith, I unwrap the gift of a new life with you. From this day on, I will follow you. Thank your for the best Christmas present of all. Amen.
© Glenn Layne, 2004
Here's last week's sermon....I will publish the new few weeks' messages as well.
The Marvel of Christmas
Matthew 2:1-12
December 5, 2004
Glenn Layne
Kings and wise men and a baby and a slaughter, a guiding star—such is the story of the first Christmas as told by Matthew. It’s a story that never ceases to hold the fascination of children and old men as well. Once a year it gets recycled like fruitcake and reruns of “Home Alone” and we perk up again like a dog that’s just heard the can opener and we trot in to see what’s going on.
And there is the story, and there is the story behind the story, and there is the story behind the story behind the story. It’s this layering that really gets us. It’s kind of like a child’s rhyme that we learn when we’re kids, and then years later we learn the real meaning of it. That’s the way it is with the Christmas story—layer upon layer upon layer. And you can never get it all.
So that’s what makes the story so marvelous. It’s not a coincidence that that people who make the Spider-man comics are called “Marvel” Comics. There is something marvelous and larger than life about a guy who can shoot webs from his wrist. But that’s nothing compared to the marvel in the manger. The story attracts us like bugs to a light.
We really have two Christmas stories. Matthew’s version tells things from Joseph’s point of view. Luke’s tells the story from Mary’s point of view, which makes perfect sense when you consider that there’s evidence that Luke had the opportunity to interview Mary as he prepared to write his gospel. This morning, we’re sticking with Matthew’s story—the story of wise men, a star and a wicked king—but both accounts are needed to know the whole story, and together they make more sense than they do separately.
So what we’re going to do today is peel away the layers in Matthew’s story, three layers deep, so see
THE STORY
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY and
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
THE STORY and THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY hang together. This isn’t a fable set in Far, Far Away Land, but in Judea in 4 BC—with real people in a real place, described realistically.
We join the story midway. In Matthew 1, Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, and decides to cut off their engagement until he has a dream of an angel telling him exactly what Mary had no doubt told him: that the child she carries was conceived by an act of the Holy Spirit. The child is born and He is named Jesus, a name that means “Jehovah saves”—the same name that we know in the Old Testament as Joshua.
And they lived happily ever after.
No? Of course not! Remember, this is not a fable. Their little happy family in Bethlehem is about to become the center of unwanted attention and a world of trouble.
Then we have the coming of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-2):
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to read was Mad Magazine. And my favorite feature was Spy vs. Spy: two guys identical to each other except that one was totally white and the other guy was totally black. They were always finding lame brain ways to blow each other up that would inevitably backfire on the one who started it.
Well, it’s easy to miss, but there’s a “versus” situation being set up in the story. We’re told that this takes place in the time of KING Herod, and that these guys arrive from out of town looking for the newborn KING of the Jews. Check me if I’m wrong, but that’s one king too many!
Do think Herod was happy about a rival king being born? No way! You have to understand that Herod had fought and clawed his way into becoming king to begin with. And he was willing to kill anyone who threatened his reign. The death toll eventually included his first wife and two of his own sons. This was not a nice guy.
On the other hand, we have these Magi. These men were astrologers from the east, the neighboring Parthian empire. To get the full picture, you need to know that Herod hated the Parthians. The Parthians had actually kicked Herod and the Romans out of Judea in 40 BC, sending Herod in exile to Rome, where he lobbied the Romans to strike back, which they did three years later. Herod was made king then, and he never forgot what the Parthians had done.
So these Parthians Magi arrive, and what’s the reaction to these Iraqi soothsayers? Look at Matthew 2:3-8:
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6" `But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Herod is playing these guys. He no more what to worship the child-king than Usama bin Ladin wants to run for mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He’s killed before to maintain his rule, and some kid isn’t going to stand in the way this time.
And you know his endgame: he sends his thugs into Bethlehem and has all little boys age two and under killed, but it’s too late. Two more dreams—one to the Magi, another to Joseph tells them to flee. The Magi go east, while Joseph, Mary and Jesus go west, to Egypt.
But before that, the Magi do make it to see Jesus (Matthew 2:9-12):
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
These men arrived looking for a king and don’t find Him in a palace, but in a carpenter’s house in an old village called Bethlehem. Putting Matthew and Luke together, it seems that after Jesus was born, they settled down in Bethlehem—until these events broke everything open.
Now I told you that there’s the story, the story behind the story, and then the story behind the story behind the story. The story is what we read here. The story behind the story is when you fill in the details about who Herod was and who these Magi are and how this story really does fit what we know about conditions in this place and time.
What’s the story behind the story behind the story?
Let me put this in terms of three marvels of Christmas that this story points to:
1. First some bad news: the story tells us that the rulers of this world are always at war with God.
Ever hear the Christmas song, “Do you hear what I hear?” Sure you have. At the end even “the mighty king” draws attention to the newborn Jesus.
But that’s not what the mighty king does in this story. The mighty king wants Jesus dead. Mighty kings generally don’t want rivals—even God.
Back in the Old Testament, Psalm 2 speaks of this fact:
1Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One [Messiah, Christ].
3"Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
And so it goes. Mighty kings from Herod to Nero to Mao and Stalin and Saddam Hussein and Castro always make war on God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And they always lose. Ever time. No exception. You just have to give it some time.
2. Next some good news: when people set out for spiritual truth, God meets them and takes them farther than they ever imagined.
Now, the Bible says that in Romans 2:11 that no one seeks God. But God does move on people’s hearts to seek spiritual truth. And when people respond to that, God will go out of His way to meet people with His truth.
Back in the 1960s, J. Christy Wilson and his wife Betty were unofficial “missionaries” in Afghanistan. They were there as English teachers, and also quietly sharing the love of Jesus in that Muslim country that’s been in the news so much the last three years. It was not that unusual, after a while, for a person to come to the Wilson’s home at night and tell the same story: “I had a dream, and I saw a man who said, ‘Go talk to Dr, Wilson; he speaks the truth about God.’” This happened again and again.
And that’s what happened with these Magi. They weren’t Jews; they were pagan astrologers. But they had a sincere desire, so God arranged a show in the sky for them that sent them on the road to Bethlehem. And they found a King, but more than a King—notice how it says in verse 11 that they worshipped Him? They somehow knew that this was not just a child, and not just a newborn king, but that this child was worthy of worship—that He was God among us.
And that leads to the last thing, the last and best marvel of Christmas:
3. And some really, really good news: in the Christmas story God really does meet us, head-on, in His Son, Jesus.
Back in Matthew 1:22-23, we read:
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
“God with us” is not just a name, but a reality. That’s the real marvel. The eternal in a child. The boundless One in a baby. The Almighty in held in a mother’s arms.
And He came for you. He came to meet you, to love you, to make you a part of the Forever Family of God.
And to do that, He died for you on a rough cross. That was always the plan, from the get-go.
He’s not a baby anymore. He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and one day will judge all the peoples of earth. And you can be His follower, starting today. He died to make you right with His Father. He is the bridge to eternal life. Come and accept His love. Begin the journey that God designed you for. And that’s the real marvel of Christmas.
© Glenn Layne 2004
The Marvel of Christmas
Matthew 2:1-12
December 5, 2004
Glenn Layne
Kings and wise men and a baby and a slaughter, a guiding star—such is the story of the first Christmas as told by Matthew. It’s a story that never ceases to hold the fascination of children and old men as well. Once a year it gets recycled like fruitcake and reruns of “Home Alone” and we perk up again like a dog that’s just heard the can opener and we trot in to see what’s going on.
And there is the story, and there is the story behind the story, and there is the story behind the story behind the story. It’s this layering that really gets us. It’s kind of like a child’s rhyme that we learn when we’re kids, and then years later we learn the real meaning of it. That’s the way it is with the Christmas story—layer upon layer upon layer. And you can never get it all.
So that’s what makes the story so marvelous. It’s not a coincidence that that people who make the Spider-man comics are called “Marvel” Comics. There is something marvelous and larger than life about a guy who can shoot webs from his wrist. But that’s nothing compared to the marvel in the manger. The story attracts us like bugs to a light.
We really have two Christmas stories. Matthew’s version tells things from Joseph’s point of view. Luke’s tells the story from Mary’s point of view, which makes perfect sense when you consider that there’s evidence that Luke had the opportunity to interview Mary as he prepared to write his gospel. This morning, we’re sticking with Matthew’s story—the story of wise men, a star and a wicked king—but both accounts are needed to know the whole story, and together they make more sense than they do separately.
So what we’re going to do today is peel away the layers in Matthew’s story, three layers deep, so see
THE STORY
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY and
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
THE STORY and THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY hang together. This isn’t a fable set in Far, Far Away Land, but in Judea in 4 BC—with real people in a real place, described realistically.
We join the story midway. In Matthew 1, Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, and decides to cut off their engagement until he has a dream of an angel telling him exactly what Mary had no doubt told him: that the child she carries was conceived by an act of the Holy Spirit. The child is born and He is named Jesus, a name that means “Jehovah saves”—the same name that we know in the Old Testament as Joshua.
And they lived happily ever after.
No? Of course not! Remember, this is not a fable. Their little happy family in Bethlehem is about to become the center of unwanted attention and a world of trouble.
Then we have the coming of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-2):
1After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."
When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to read was Mad Magazine. And my favorite feature was Spy vs. Spy: two guys identical to each other except that one was totally white and the other guy was totally black. They were always finding lame brain ways to blow each other up that would inevitably backfire on the one who started it.
Well, it’s easy to miss, but there’s a “versus” situation being set up in the story. We’re told that this takes place in the time of KING Herod, and that these guys arrive from out of town looking for the newborn KING of the Jews. Check me if I’m wrong, but that’s one king too many!
Do think Herod was happy about a rival king being born? No way! You have to understand that Herod had fought and clawed his way into becoming king to begin with. And he was willing to kill anyone who threatened his reign. The death toll eventually included his first wife and two of his own sons. This was not a nice guy.
On the other hand, we have these Magi. These men were astrologers from the east, the neighboring Parthian empire. To get the full picture, you need to know that Herod hated the Parthians. The Parthians had actually kicked Herod and the Romans out of Judea in 40 BC, sending Herod in exile to Rome, where he lobbied the Romans to strike back, which they did three years later. Herod was made king then, and he never forgot what the Parthians had done.
So these Parthians Magi arrive, and what’s the reaction to these Iraqi soothsayers? Look at Matthew 2:3-8:
3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
6" `But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"
7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Herod is playing these guys. He no more what to worship the child-king than Usama bin Ladin wants to run for mayor of Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He’s killed before to maintain his rule, and some kid isn’t going to stand in the way this time.
And you know his endgame: he sends his thugs into Bethlehem and has all little boys age two and under killed, but it’s too late. Two more dreams—one to the Magi, another to Joseph tells them to flee. The Magi go east, while Joseph, Mary and Jesus go west, to Egypt.
But before that, the Magi do make it to see Jesus (Matthew 2:9-12):
9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
These men arrived looking for a king and don’t find Him in a palace, but in a carpenter’s house in an old village called Bethlehem. Putting Matthew and Luke together, it seems that after Jesus was born, they settled down in Bethlehem—until these events broke everything open.
Now I told you that there’s the story, the story behind the story, and then the story behind the story behind the story. The story is what we read here. The story behind the story is when you fill in the details about who Herod was and who these Magi are and how this story really does fit what we know about conditions in this place and time.
What’s the story behind the story behind the story?
Let me put this in terms of three marvels of Christmas that this story points to:
1. First some bad news: the story tells us that the rulers of this world are always at war with God.
Ever hear the Christmas song, “Do you hear what I hear?” Sure you have. At the end even “the mighty king” draws attention to the newborn Jesus.
But that’s not what the mighty king does in this story. The mighty king wants Jesus dead. Mighty kings generally don’t want rivals—even God.
Back in the Old Testament, Psalm 2 speaks of this fact:
1Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One [Messiah, Christ].
3"Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
And so it goes. Mighty kings from Herod to Nero to Mao and Stalin and Saddam Hussein and Castro always make war on God and His Son, Jesus Christ. And they always lose. Ever time. No exception. You just have to give it some time.
2. Next some good news: when people set out for spiritual truth, God meets them and takes them farther than they ever imagined.
Now, the Bible says that in Romans 2:11 that no one seeks God. But God does move on people’s hearts to seek spiritual truth. And when people respond to that, God will go out of His way to meet people with His truth.
Back in the 1960s, J. Christy Wilson and his wife Betty were unofficial “missionaries” in Afghanistan. They were there as English teachers, and also quietly sharing the love of Jesus in that Muslim country that’s been in the news so much the last three years. It was not that unusual, after a while, for a person to come to the Wilson’s home at night and tell the same story: “I had a dream, and I saw a man who said, ‘Go talk to Dr, Wilson; he speaks the truth about God.’” This happened again and again.
And that’s what happened with these Magi. They weren’t Jews; they were pagan astrologers. But they had a sincere desire, so God arranged a show in the sky for them that sent them on the road to Bethlehem. And they found a King, but more than a King—notice how it says in verse 11 that they worshipped Him? They somehow knew that this was not just a child, and not just a newborn king, but that this child was worthy of worship—that He was God among us.
And that leads to the last thing, the last and best marvel of Christmas:
3. And some really, really good news: in the Christmas story God really does meet us, head-on, in His Son, Jesus.
Back in Matthew 1:22-23, we read:
22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."
“God with us” is not just a name, but a reality. That’s the real marvel. The eternal in a child. The boundless One in a baby. The Almighty in held in a mother’s arms.
And He came for you. He came to meet you, to love you, to make you a part of the Forever Family of God.
And to do that, He died for you on a rough cross. That was always the plan, from the get-go.
He’s not a baby anymore. He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, and one day will judge all the peoples of earth. And you can be His follower, starting today. He died to make you right with His Father. He is the bridge to eternal life. Come and accept His love. Begin the journey that God designed you for. And that’s the real marvel of Christmas.
© Glenn Layne 2004
This is an item I wrote for publication in a local newspaper; it never quite made it, so here we go.
Is Preemptive War Compatible with Christian Doctrine?
By Glenn Layne
In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush expounded a new doctrine in American foreign and defense policy when he spoke at West Point in the spring of 2002. He stated that the post-911 world did not offer the United States the luxury of waiting to be attacked by an emerging enemy. According to the President, we now live in a time that the first attack may be so devastating, and delivered to civilian populations through a cooperative third party, such as a terror organization like Al Quaeda.
This is not the first time that an American president has put forth a new defensive doctrine in response to changing conditions. The Monroe Doctrine asserted that the Americas were no longer to be colonial playground. Theodore Roosevelt promulgated a new doctrine regarding an open China. The Truman Doctrine stood for containing communism. The Reagan Doctrine meant that containing communism was no longer enough, and that the official policy of the US was the rollback of communism. All these were specific responses to changing world situations.
The Bush Preventative War doctrine is distinctive in that it is a departure from the basic Just War thinking that under-girded the concept of war as waged by American forces. With a few narrow exceptions (the Spanish-American War being one), US forces have only been deployed after an attack, and not for conquest. The most obvious example is the entry of the United States in both world wars: only after either a series of provocations and losses (as in World War I) or after a treacherous attack (Pearl Harbor).
The basic approach taken in justifying US military action was based on the Just War doctrine as developed by St. Augustine in the Fifth Century CE. Obviously, it is a secular version, but Augustine’s formulation is the foundation.
Until Augustine, much of the church was pacifistic. Christian pacifists (many of whole prefer to call their position that of non-resistance, based on Matthew 5:38-48) maintain that pacifism is the original, pristine doctrine of the faith, based on the teachings of Jesus. It is true that most early Christians would have nothing to do with war and the Roman army. The question is, is that non-resistance practiced by early Christian due to the inherent evil of war, or due to the nature of the regime (the Roman empire), which require worship of the emperor as part of its discipline?
Augustine argued the latter. He pointed out that a pacifistic church would necessitate withdrawal from all civic responsibility. For example, take the basic police function. Police work sometimes requires the use of deadly force.
Augustine also notes that the New Testament recognizes that civil government can exercise deadly force in the form of execution (Romans 13:1-7). It is a logical development that conflict between nations may also be seen as a kind of police functions—if there are some rules. Augustine developed these rules—based on Scripture and Christian theology. Just War doctrine does not exalt war as a positive good, but as a necessary tool in a troubled world.
Augustine had seven points of the Just War:
Just cause. Aggression is condemned; only defense is legitimate.
Just intention. The objective of war is peace, not revenge or conquest or gain.
Last resort. War is justified only when all other means have been exhausted.
Formal declaration. The highest authorities of a nation must declare a war.
Limited objectives. War’s objective is the restoration of establishment of peace, not the maximum gain available to the victorious power.
Proportionate means. Only the force needed to achieve the peace is necessary. Total war is ruled out.
Noncombatant immunity. Only military forces and material are legitimate targets: not civilians, not POWs, not casualties.
Just War doctrine has been embraced by the Roman Catholic Church and by the vast majority of Protestant and Orthodox bodies over the last fifteen centuries.
The Bush Doctrine of preventative war appears to go beyond Just War doctrine especially in regards to points 1 and 3: waging war only in response to aggression or attack, and as a last resort. However, these differences are actually rather superficial. Think again of the analogy of a police action. A “tip” may cause a raid against someone who has not yet hurt anyone, or stolen a thing, but who is actively engaged in a plan to inflict harm.
Theologian Harold O.J. Brown wrote in 1981, “By preventative war we mean a war that is begun not in response to an act of aggression, but in anticipation of it. A preventative war intends to forestall an evil that has not yet happened.”
Preventative war, as formulated theologically by Brown, and expressed in a secular manner by President Bush, does not violate the principles of either Just War or even the command of Jesus to love the enemy. Love of an enemy does not in any way condone his actions. It is ultimately an act of love not only for the people of the United States, but for the people imprisoned by the aggressive governments who tyrannize them.
Dr. Glenn E. Layne is Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Temple City and holds advanced degrees in both theology and political science. He can be reached at glennlayne@pastors.com.
Is Preemptive War Compatible with Christian Doctrine?
By Glenn Layne
In the lead-up to the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush expounded a new doctrine in American foreign and defense policy when he spoke at West Point in the spring of 2002. He stated that the post-911 world did not offer the United States the luxury of waiting to be attacked by an emerging enemy. According to the President, we now live in a time that the first attack may be so devastating, and delivered to civilian populations through a cooperative third party, such as a terror organization like Al Quaeda.
This is not the first time that an American president has put forth a new defensive doctrine in response to changing conditions. The Monroe Doctrine asserted that the Americas were no longer to be colonial playground. Theodore Roosevelt promulgated a new doctrine regarding an open China. The Truman Doctrine stood for containing communism. The Reagan Doctrine meant that containing communism was no longer enough, and that the official policy of the US was the rollback of communism. All these were specific responses to changing world situations.
The Bush Preventative War doctrine is distinctive in that it is a departure from the basic Just War thinking that under-girded the concept of war as waged by American forces. With a few narrow exceptions (the Spanish-American War being one), US forces have only been deployed after an attack, and not for conquest. The most obvious example is the entry of the United States in both world wars: only after either a series of provocations and losses (as in World War I) or after a treacherous attack (Pearl Harbor).
The basic approach taken in justifying US military action was based on the Just War doctrine as developed by St. Augustine in the Fifth Century CE. Obviously, it is a secular version, but Augustine’s formulation is the foundation.
Until Augustine, much of the church was pacifistic. Christian pacifists (many of whole prefer to call their position that of non-resistance, based on Matthew 5:38-48) maintain that pacifism is the original, pristine doctrine of the faith, based on the teachings of Jesus. It is true that most early Christians would have nothing to do with war and the Roman army. The question is, is that non-resistance practiced by early Christian due to the inherent evil of war, or due to the nature of the regime (the Roman empire), which require worship of the emperor as part of its discipline?
Augustine argued the latter. He pointed out that a pacifistic church would necessitate withdrawal from all civic responsibility. For example, take the basic police function. Police work sometimes requires the use of deadly force.
Augustine also notes that the New Testament recognizes that civil government can exercise deadly force in the form of execution (Romans 13:1-7). It is a logical development that conflict between nations may also be seen as a kind of police functions—if there are some rules. Augustine developed these rules—based on Scripture and Christian theology. Just War doctrine does not exalt war as a positive good, but as a necessary tool in a troubled world.
Augustine had seven points of the Just War:
Just cause. Aggression is condemned; only defense is legitimate.
Just intention. The objective of war is peace, not revenge or conquest or gain.
Last resort. War is justified only when all other means have been exhausted.
Formal declaration. The highest authorities of a nation must declare a war.
Limited objectives. War’s objective is the restoration of establishment of peace, not the maximum gain available to the victorious power.
Proportionate means. Only the force needed to achieve the peace is necessary. Total war is ruled out.
Noncombatant immunity. Only military forces and material are legitimate targets: not civilians, not POWs, not casualties.
Just War doctrine has been embraced by the Roman Catholic Church and by the vast majority of Protestant and Orthodox bodies over the last fifteen centuries.
The Bush Doctrine of preventative war appears to go beyond Just War doctrine especially in regards to points 1 and 3: waging war only in response to aggression or attack, and as a last resort. However, these differences are actually rather superficial. Think again of the analogy of a police action. A “tip” may cause a raid against someone who has not yet hurt anyone, or stolen a thing, but who is actively engaged in a plan to inflict harm.
Theologian Harold O.J. Brown wrote in 1981, “By preventative war we mean a war that is begun not in response to an act of aggression, but in anticipation of it. A preventative war intends to forestall an evil that has not yet happened.”
Preventative war, as formulated theologically by Brown, and expressed in a secular manner by President Bush, does not violate the principles of either Just War or even the command of Jesus to love the enemy. Love of an enemy does not in any way condone his actions. It is ultimately an act of love not only for the people of the United States, but for the people imprisoned by the aggressive governments who tyrannize them.
Dr. Glenn E. Layne is Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Temple City and holds advanced degrees in both theology and political science. He can be reached at glennlayne@pastors.com.
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