December 31, 2018
THE GOD OF THE OLD IS THE GOD OF THE NEW
As the Old Testament closes with the writings of the prophet Malachi, the Lord reminded the descendants of Jacob of His immutability. People today often wonder at this. How can the God that judged the world with a devastating deluge be the same God who so loved the world that He sent His only begotten to save it?
The immutability of God is better understood when we see the Bible as a progressive revelation of God. Page by page, as we read from Genesis to Revelation, we learn more about God. Finally, the fullest revelation of God is seen in Jesus. As the author of Hebrews wrote, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son… The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God” (Heb. 1:1-3). As Jesus told His disciples, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
The new covenant of grace, which was introduced in the New Testament, is not evidence of any change in the God who gave Moses the Law. On the contrary, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. God gave the law to reveal His holiness and our sinfulness that we might repent. God gave us Jesus to pay for our sins that we might believe in Him and be saved.
God’s immutability is better understood when we read the Bible from back to front, rather than front to back. Indeed, God and His Word are only rightly understood by reading through the lens of Jesus. For Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb.13:8).
December 31, 2015
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last” (Revelation 22:13 NKJV).
“Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!” (Psalm 150:2 NKJV).
“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” Proverbs 31:30 NKJV).
On this last day of 2015, it seems appropriate to quote from all four OYB readings. As I do, I am reminded that the Bible is primarily a book about God. Malachi speaks of God’s immutability. Revelation reveals Christ’s prominence, preexistence, and eternality. The Psalmist calls us to give praise for the Lord’s mighty works and excellent greatness. And Proverbs reminds us that real and lasting beauty comes from knowing and fearing the Lord. God has given us the Incarnate Word, Christ Jesus, so that we might be saved and know Him. And He has given us the written Word, so that through the help of the Spirit we might understand His character.
I hope you have been encouraged by this year’s “Bible bus” tour! Get ready. We’re pulling into the station and preparing for another tour in 2016!
March 22, 2015
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Malachi 3:13-18
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exposition
Pastor Gary Combs continued the 8-week exposition of Malachi entitled, “Dialogue With God,” with this message from chapter three. In this chapter of Malachi, God told the people of Israel that He heard all of their words and that some had spoken against Him, complaining to one another about Him, while others had rightly feared and esteemed His name before one another. He warns that there is coming a Day when He will separate those who speak against Him from those who fear Him and will only call those who fear Him as His own. Which group do you want to be in? Those who speak against God or for God? The text gives three steps to how we can change our grumbling into gratitude.
March 15, 2015
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Malachi 3:7-15
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exposition
As we continue our series going verse by verse through the book of Malachi, we learn how God accused the Israelites of robbing him, what that means for us today, and how through Jesus we can respond to God not through the law of tithing, but by willingly giving our whole selves back to God.