Good afternoon, Beloved!
I hope this e-newsletter finds you all doing well. I had the great privilege of bringing God's Word to God's people for our joy in the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit this last Sunday evening. Our text as a church family was Gen. 18:16-33, and the more I've been immersing myself in that passage of Scripture, the more I've wanted to flesh out a few truths contained therein for our joy and growth in Christ, for the "pastor exists to edify people in Christ" (The Pastor as Public Theologian, Kevin Vanhoozer and Owen Strachan, 142).
Gen. 18:16-33 forms, really, its own little chiasm. We see in vv. 16-21 the announcement of the LORD to Abraham, and then in vv. 22-33 we see Abraham's intercession before the LORD; the LORD, Abraham, Abraham, the LORD... a mini, bite-sized chiasm (who knew chiasms had so many embedded food references within them). In vv. 16-21 we see the LORD's self-deliberation and announcement to Abraham. The LORD identifies the covenant promises he had made to Abraham in v. 18, but then immediately grounds those promises in his covenantal love for Abraham in v. 19a ("chosen him" can just as easily be translated as "known him"); and the purpose for that "choosing" or "knowing" was so that Abraham might "command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice" (v. 19b). What are we to make of this? The mighty nation that will come from Abraham will be a blessing to all the nations of the earth through being trained up in righteousness and justice, and this begins in the home (or, maybe more appropriately, in the tent). Abraham is called to train up his offspring in the ways of the LORD so that they might become a great source of blessing to the nations by both teaching and manifesting the righteousness and justice of the LORD to them. That was paradigmatic for Old Covenant saints, and our practical task, Beloved, as New Covenant saints has not changed. We do have, however, a more-full picture of God's righteousness and justice in Christ. So, let us be about the business of training our children up in the truth and righteousness and justice of God seen in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to the end that our families might be a source of blessing to all the nations. If you're reading this and you don't have children in the home, maybe you might consider inserting "older children" or "grandchildren" or "young children within LifePoint" where you see children in the previous sentence; after all, it's a "communion of saints" effort to train up our children, brothers and sisters. We train our children when we seek to teach our children the Scriptures, with Christ as the supremely beautiful centerpiece, and provide for them a theological grammar through catechesis, all for their joy in Christ and his glory among the nations.
In. vv. 22-33 we see Abraham's intercession before the LORD on behalf of... wait for it... Sodom (and Gomorrah). Not merely for Lot, his nephew, and Lot's wife and their daughters, but for all those in Sodom. This should strike us to the core, Beloved! We are tempted to move too quickly here, but slow down just a bit. We're conditioned to pray for family members and fellow Christians (and this is both right and good!), but when was the last time you prayed for God's work of revival in a city/state whose sin is "great" and "very grave" (v. 20). May we be a people who pray that God would act sovereignly to bring conviction and conversion to those in states like California and Vermont, or that he would pour out his Spirit on those who live in the dry and arid lands of New York, or that he would shine brightly his mercy on Massachusetts such that sinners come to repentance and faith in Christ, or that he would instill a fear of his name leading to life and wisdom in those living in Indiana. Let us be a praying people, like Abraham; and let us know our state before the Almighty, that we are but dust and ashes, banking on the mercy of the Judge of all the earth (vv. 25, 27). Bold and humble prayer before the LORD...
Bold and humble prayer before the LORD only comes from knowing our state in Christ, brothers and sisters. Let us not forget that apart from grace we are no different than Sodom, standing under the just judgment of the LORD... but that is apart from grace. Beloved, we are apart from grace no longer if we are in Christ! For the grace of God appeared in Christ so that he might be our righteous substitute, averting the wrath of God by absorbing it in himself (cf. Titus 2:11-14)! There was none righteous in Sodom, there is none righteous in all the world, but the infinitely righteous One saves all those who take refuge in him. Not only that, but Abraham's intercession, as humble and bold as it was, was not effective for Sodom; but Christ is ascended on high, seated at the right hand of the Father, ever interceding on our behalf... and his intercession will prove itself effective both in this age and in the age to come (Rom. 8:34). In Christ, who is greater than Abraham, we have a bold humility to come before the throne of grace in prayer, for we have a righteous substitute who ever lives to make intercession on our behalf as our High Priest (Heb. 4:14-16). That is our state by the grace of God, Beloved, and may it motivate us to pray for our children and for the world, to the end that Christ is magnified in all the world and his glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14)!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Nate Meece
