A Clash of Idols: A Christian Perspective on Crushing the Head of the Serpent.

A Clash of Idols: A Christian Perspective on Crushing the Head of the Serpent.

Any Islamic culture must view Western culture as an idolatrous and imperialistic force for keeping Muslims under control. Such a view must have some truth in it and it feeds the narrative upon which Jihadist Islam is radicalized into holy war.

Millions of Muslims live outside the domain of Islamic countries. They exist within the liberal and secular cultures which, at heart, they must despise as idolatrous. They can do no more than pay lip service to the secular values which, in principle, champions personal freedom and freedom of speech. Their radicalized brethren must fear they will be seduced by these values.

Western culture has had a Judea-Christian heritage but for several generations its foundations have been vitiated by post Christian and Post-modern views of self-determination. Scriptural imperatives are seen as anathema in an age where scientific enterprise, individual pluralism and diversity are to rule the human species.

But, on a metaphysical level, there is a sense in which Western secular culture cannot but clash with the Judeo-Christian narrative which defines good and evil. Its analysis of human self-sufficiency and self-determination is obviously self-limiting and it therefore cannot escape the argument that moral good and evil can only be exhaustively defined by God.

After all, having been made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1 v 27) mankind is wired up to an understanding of Ultimate Authority and this drives the religious propensity of all mankind. Even though this knowledge of God is suppressed no individual can escape its force because our sense of self is always correlated to our sense of God. (Romans 1 v 18-19),

This act of suppression does not prevent mankind from attempting to justify its own interpretation of reality; indeed, it cannot but attempt to handle the knowledge of good an evil with its own god-like certainty. That god-like certainty is itself an act of idolatry and it can only have one outcome, a violent and deadly struggle with other so called ‘certainties.’ In other words, a “clash of idols.”

History is redolent with bloody examples. New ‘certainties’ are created when hostile systems of reality are forced into a deadly clash for survival. Like new empires which overcome old empires they  survive by consuming their predecessors. Such life and death struggles for power are not characterized by loving enemies and doing good to those who hate you but by the hellish imperative of ‘homo homini lupus.’

Terrorist acts against the West are deliberately aimed at violently ending the existence of those who appear to be ‘innocently’ living out the idolatry of their ‘self-sufficient’ and ‘self-determined’ lives. They are thought to be living in ignorance of what their governments do in their name. This provides an underlying narrative which justifies the ‘certainties’ of holy war against unbelievers.

The clash between religious idolatries and secular idolatries is as much a clash between opposing man-made ‘certainties’ as between empires struggling to achieve world domination. Differing views about the nature of good and evil requires that each side can idealize its own ‘certainties’ and demonize those of its rivals.

Western cultures, which are liberal and secular, are no less self-certain, self-righteous and self-satisfied when they oppose any Biblical definition of good and evil. Its interpretation of reality requires certainties which accuse Christianity of being divisive and intolerant. This is odd when a Biblical definition of good and evil judges all mankind to be morally fallen. Indeed the starting point for all Christian discussion about good and evil is “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3 v 23).

How can Christianity be regarded as divisive and intolerant if it treats all people on the same basis? Even the remedy for mankind’s condition is equally directed at all people. The Apostle Paul, speaking to the Athenians at the Areopagus on Mars Hill, said – “In the past God overlooked such ignorance (around idolatry), but now commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17 v 30).

Communist ideology maintained that man, basically good in nature, is at mercy of a capitalist system which always engineers material and cultural slavery. Its own remedy, to deal with its definition of reality, was to impose its own slavery over the masses in the name of communist ideals. Favour was given to party members and many opponents were killed or put in labour camps.

It can be no coincidence that radical Islam has called America the Great Satan and no coincidence that Americans have called states which have supported terrorism (and weapons of mass destruction), as an ‘axis of evil’ (President George W. Bush 2002 State of the Union Address).

Early Protestants called the Pope the anti-Christ and Roman Catholics fired its anathemas down on anyone who did not accept the supremacy of the Pope over all Christendom. It is no coincidence that the ‘god-like certainties of racism, nationalism, fascism and communism have all resulted in the death of millions of people.

It is now no coincidence that Sunni and Shia Muslims can see each other as mortal enemies.  Each is determined to crush the head of the serpent and each ends up making that serpent more powerful. However, Journalist Ruqia Hassan, who died in Syria in 2015 for criticizing ISIS, states – “The only thing the secular man remembers from the Qur’an is that God is the most merciful, and everything comes from that,” she wrote. “The only thing the extreme Islamists memorise is one verse – to be tough with infidels and merciful to believers – but to the extreme Islamists, everyone is an infidel, whether Muslim or not.” The Guardian – 14.01.2016.

Western culture is no less filled with a certainty about demonizing its enemies. It has an unquenchable thirst for seeing the ‘head of the serpent (Satan) crushed.’  We love to see it done in our films and in our literature. No doubt it will be done in the latest James Bond movie, and in the latest rendition of Star Wars; just as it was done in Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.

That an ancient spiritual force lies behind all personal evil is itself a very ancient narrative. Satan, (meaning adversary), along with all the demonic angels, are masters of deceit. Strife and division are its chief weapons against all mankind; especially by producing self-righteous certainties in fallen men; the road to hell is said to be paved with ‘good’ intentions.

Ironically, it is that evil personality whom the secular mind has largely relegated to the role of myth. There is a multi-million pound industry catering for appetite for TV and films and about a supernatural world of demons and those personalities who fight them. Nowhere have I ever seen any recognition that Jesus Christ has already crushed the head of the serpent.

The nature of all idolatry is self-defeating. As Psalm 115 puts it -:

“Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
6 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
7 They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat.
8 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.

Behind every idol worshiped is a demon deceiving and encouraging a sacrifice of worship. (1 Corinthians 10 v 20).

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2 14-15. (katargéō – verb meaning- bring to nought; make of no effect; annul; abolish; make invalid; abrogate; make completely inoperative; render powerless.)

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the centre of the throne, encircled by four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.” Revelation 5 v 6.

“The seven eyes that are before the throne” take special notice of hell, who come in, and come out, for there is a deep counsel there against us. In this consideration, Christ numbers all the footsteps of devils.” Samuel Rutherford ‘The Trial and Triumph of Faith. Odom Publications page 389 – 390.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” 1 John 3 v 8

Die Welt 27.09.15 article by Freia Peters Political Editor

Islamists threaten Christians in refugee camps:

Christian refugees are in German asylum centers assaults exposed by fanatical Muslims who live under Sharia law. Fundamentalists even threatening them with murder.

“One would have to protect the family,” says Simon Jacob by the Central Council of the Eastern Christians. Stories like this no longer surprise him. “I know a lot of reports of Christian refugees who are under attack. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” says Jacob. “The number of unreported cases is high. We must expect further conflicts that bring the refugees from their homeland to Germany. Between Christians and Muslims. Between Shiites and Sunnis. Between Kurds and extremists. Between Yazidis and extremists.” Jacob argues that the refugees initially accommodate separated by religions. But this could not be a long term solution.

Jacob calls for the formulation of a German mission statement, in which the fundamental values ​​of democracy and a pluralistic society are anchored. Religious freedom. Freedom of speech. Equality between men and women. “We need a clear statement, as well as an orientation aid for refugees, and to help them to distinguish themselves against extremists,” says Jacob.

“Of course, refugees bring their own experiences of conflict, for example between Shiites and Sunnis or Christians and Muslims,” ​​said the renowned migration researchers and historians Klaus J. Bade. He calls for the forthcoming integration issues socio-political visions and future-oriented concepts. He also calls for a higher model, with the Germans, but also the refugees can identify – and must. “This is the price that each immigrant has to pay, who wants to live in Germany.” Bath Calls Affiliate guidance that are tailored to the country of origin at the integration course.

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Kevin Bettany : A Testimony on Retirement

A new chapter arrived on 9th January 2016. I have said goodbye to my career in the Probation Service. God willing I will have time for a creative retirement with the rest of my allotted span.

In fifty years of employment, I and my family have been blessed with amazing provision and protection. I can say with King David – “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing, (Psalm 34 v 10); I can also now say -“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37 v 25).

My employment history has made a crazy mosaic. In 1973 I had said goodbye to the Royal Army Medical Corps; in 1984 to Rolls Royce Aero-Engine Division; in 1989 to residential social work. In between those years I had also done a plethora of temporary manual jobs as well as three years teacher training in Bristol and two years of probation training at University of Keele.

I look back over the last 25 years, at the Probation Service, with a great deal of thanks to God. In 1990 I was already nearly forty years old when I started work at Wenger House Bail and Probation Hostel. Before that I had worked, for a year, as a part-time hospital phlebotomist. Our seventh child arrived in the May of that year!

The first twenty-five years of my life cannot be described as deprived. My father had been a career soldier and his postings took our family to Nigeria, to Germany and to several interesting postings at home, including Plymouth and York. With six children my mother was an amazing woman; my father was not a good male role model.

My father’s career meant my brother and I were sent to a boarding school. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School, at Gatton Park, is a co-ed school in a beautiful location called Gatton Park between Reigate and Redhill in Surrey. Life in a boarding school had not been dull but I left in 1968 with only seven half-decent O’ Level GCE’s.

Len Renouf was an evangelical Christian housemaster, whose influence would prove to have the most enduring significance on my life after leaving school. This would not become obvious for another seven years but I still ask God to bless Len for his care for my soul. He died on 24thDecember 2015.

In 1969, on the 9th January, I joined the Royal Army Medical Corps on my eighteenth birthday. In 1970, after failing my first physiotherapy exam, I trained as a military hospital lab technician. That training ended when I was medically discharged in 1973 due to damaged hearing; probably due to a head injury playing rugby. Life in the Army had not been dull.

Another very important person came into my life during those Army years. Angela and I had met when she joined the Queen Alexandra Nursing Corps in 1970. We were married in 1972. A very sweet and gracious Kentish Maid, I certainly did not deserve her love and her loyalty. We moved to Bristol in 1973 and our first child arrived in 1974. I was not a good male role model.

Around Easter of 1976, during my second year at a teacher training college, my lifestyle problems were leading me into a toxic frame of mind. My college work was suffering and, due to my drug addiction, we were in serious debt. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things’ and I even contemplated if it might suit me if Angela ended our marriage.

But there was another relationship which I had formed at teacher training college. Dorothy was a student who, for some strange reason, my conscience would not allow me to ignore; her peace of mind both disturbed and attracted me. It was that same peace which I had observed in my Christian housemaster at boarding school and it was a peace outside my experience.

Like so many others, without any peace of mind, I was striving to distract my guilty conscience. What my housemaster and my fellow student seemed to have was a peace with a solid and lasting quality. It was a peace which surpassed my understanding. In my desperation, I found myself wanting to meet Dorothy’s family.

For the first time in my life I met a Christian family. Dorothy’s father, Robert Duff, was originally from Belfast; her mother was from Leipzig in Germany. They were missionaries who, with help of Sir John Lang, had established the Delhi Bible Institute in North India. Perhaps it was obvious to her parents that I was a troubled man and I agreed to meet on a weekly basis for a Bible study.

Oddly, I cannot remember much about those Bible studies. I had a history of struggling against Christian convictions at boarding school. I had even stopped my own ears, as it were, at a Billy Graham meeting in 1966.  I was like Felix, in Acts 24 v 25, “As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

Nevertheless, during those Bible Studies in Bristol, I was under a conviction that I was being given another opportunity to surrender to the truth of the gospel. In John’s gospel chapter 13 verse 20 it says “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

I had been sent my Christian housemaster; I had even been sent a Christian whom I had avoided in the Army. I had been sent my Christian fellow student and now it was her family, especially her father, who was sent to explain the gospel again to me.

One would think that to exchange my destructive lifestyle for peace with God was a ‘no brainer’! I was blinded and deceived by selfish thinking and my mind argued against a peace with God because it could literally do no other. But I had seen that peace in others, even if it was still outside my experience.

Faith turned out to be not about giving up my lifestyle, but about giving up my life; not about doing something for myself at all, because what needed to be done by God had already been done by Jesus Christ. But accepting my own helplessness was still a big ask for my pride to accept. In reality, I was a bigger hypocrite than my father because I had blamed him for my problems!

Of-course I could not begin to imagine the cost that was paid to bring about peace with God; it will always surpass my understanding. After all, how could I understand what it would be like to suffer hell? How could I understand what it must have been like for Christ, who was so totally innocent, to suffer hell on my behalf?

It turned out that it was not my understanding of the cost which would bring me peace with God but by trusting that Jesus had paid that cost on my behalf. The effect of believing that truth was like rain upon a parched land; it effects and blessing was immediate; it was a personal encounter with the Lord himself. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” Romans 5 v 1

And that happened on the 9th June 1976. My Bible study ended on that day with a prayer of faith. I literally repeated the words that Robert Duff asked me to repeat. I confessed my sin and my need of Christ to forgive me; to come and dwell in my life as my Lord and Saviour.

There was no Damascus road event like that of the Apostle Paul but as I walked home that day I had a conviction that my life would never be the same again. The Lord has been faithful to all his promises and by faith I consider myself as one of those about whom it is written – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14 verse 27.

As a teenager I had considered my retirement as such a remote event and I could not imagine that it would ever arrive. Now that it has arrived I realise just how great has been the blessing of God’s grace to me. Angela and I are gathered for the weekend with our seven children, their six beautiful spouses and our ten beautiful grandchildren. We are at a beautiful venue on the Herefordshire Welsh border to celebrate my sixty-fifth birthday and my retirement. It is wonderful to be all together and I give God all the glory.

        A Meditation on the Mindfulness of God - Kevin Bettany

Three exhortations which I would want to bring out in this Psalm.

1.    The Lord is always mindful of his own Name.

2.   The Lord is always mindful of mankind.

3.   The Lord is always mindful of his own glory.

1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory (above) in the heavens.  The King James says “O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

Notice the exclamation mark which David puts at the end of the first line of this psalm. One can sense his heartfelt worship as he meditates upon the Lord Jehovah who belongs to Israel but whose majesty and glory fills all creation. One can feel that David is a man who knows his Lord and is therefore very mindful of the glory attached to his name.

Spurgeon reminds us that “This Psalm is addressed to God, because “none but the Lord himself can fully know his own glory.” That glory is said, by the psalmist, to be above the heavens. It seems to me highly likely that what God has prepared for those who love him is directly connected to the glory of his own name. “… as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2 v 9.

Another commentator, Derek Kidner, said “This psalm is an unsurpassed example of what a hymn should be, celebrating as it does, the glory and grace of God, rehearsing who He is and what He has done, and relating us and our world to Him; all with a masterly economy of words, and in a spirit of mingled joy and awe.”

In my lifetime I have observed a great many excellent people expressing their excitement about the diversity of life on this planet. I have also observed a great deal of awe and wonder, at the vast immensity of this universe we inhabit. Without a doubt human beings are very observant, very inventive and very communicative. Yet, although man is capable of inventing ways of seeing vast distances into the universe, when it comes to his Creator, he is often a fool who cannot see beyond the end of his nose.

Some people think man’s gifts and attributes are a matter of pure chance. As a believer I am mindful of the fact that such attributes exist because that is the way God created man and women in his own image. Some people are just unwilling to be mindful of God’s glory but God will not allow man to be unmindful of his glory.

We should tremble at the fact that God is mindful of his own glory. Through the prophet Isaiah, in chapter 42 verse 8, the Lord says - "I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”

The amazing thing about the majesty and glory of God is that it is so close to us that we miss it! Even as believers we can often take God’s glory for granted. It is reflected by everything the Lord has created on earth and in heaven. Every creature, every plant; every planet and every star has God’s signature of ownership upon it. As David says in psalm 24 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” And in Psalm 19 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”

The Scriptures make it clear that being made in the image of God leaves him without any excuse whatsoever for not giving God all the glory that is due to his name. For man to glory in himself, or in creation itself, is an act of eternal folly.

Like all men, I once lived in a darkness of my own making. I did not give to the Lord any of the glory due to his name. I could not address myself to Lord and exclaim “my Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth.” I did not accept that as a creature I belonged to God; that it was only because of him that I lived and breathed and had my being.

Now, by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, I can see that all creation is an expression and reflection of God’s glory. Every flower has a brighter hue because it reflects God’s glory. Jeff Mowery’s hymn has expressed it beautifully-: Heaven above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green; Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen."

Despite all that man has done to distort the image of God in himself, Psalm 8 gives us every assurance that we can rejoice in what the Lord is  doing to reveal his glory in one particular man; one who has been called in Scripture as the second Adam.

To say that man, in his sins, is cut off from God is not to say that God is cut off from man. There are many ways in which God’s will is sovereign will is expressed through the actions of man. In verse 2 we see this demonstrated by what the psalmist has to say about children and infants. I think the fact that God can speak through children is a very salutary lesson for adults.

Verse 2 “Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.”

When Jesus brought down a curse on Capernaum for their hard-hearted unbelief, he said "… I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for you."   In the very next verse we have - “At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.26 Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.” Matthew 11 v 24 – 25.

What impact did Jesus have on children? I rather think that they reacted to him in a way that very few adults did. Verse 2 in Psalm 8 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21 verses 16.

He was in the Temple area and had driven out all who were buying and selling there. He was overturning tables; he accused them of turning God's house of prayer into a den of robbers; the blind and the lame were coming to him to be healed. “But when the chief priests and teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, `From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise?'

How is it possible that little children can be a stronghold against God's enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger? Children are capable of confounding the evil work of Satan in adults by the things they recognize about good and evil.

One commentator from Puritan days (Thomas Goodwin) suggested that the praise that Jesus Christ inspired in children was also to bring confusion and revenge upon Satan, who was the cause of man's fall. Jesus is that seed of the women who came to break the serpents head. Children rejoice when they see the serpent’s head is broken.

Can you recall your own experience as children? Did you grow up getting excited when the bad guys put a stop to Hopalong Cassidy or the Lone Ranger? Did you rejoice when the Sheriff of Nottingham got his clutches on Robin Hood or were you elated when he escaped? Were you not relieved ladies when Maid Marion was rescued by Robin from the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham?

Do you know that there has been research done with babies using role play with puppets? The research indicated that even babies can identify with the good puppets rather than the naughty selfish puppets. They are more attracted to the puppets that are treated badly and seem to agree when naughty puppets are punished.

Surely, we enjoyed seeing our heroes overcome the villains because there is a sense of right and wrong designed into our make-up. Good and evil is far more black and white to children. They rejoice in seeing evil crushed and Jesus came to crush the head of our enemy.

If infants saw something of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, then children should also see be something of the image of God in the faces of Christians.

I was talking to M. S on the phone recently. He was telling about a man who, as a child had been in contact with B. B.  B.B. must have been involved with the children's work many years ago and, after many years this man had got back in contact with B. This man has a history drug and alcohol abuse and of broken relationships but he remembered B as someone who he could trust and M.S believes he may now have come to faith in Christ.

Brethren - The Lord is always mindful of his own Name. It has an excellence which should always inspire our worship and promote our willingness to exclaim that excellence.

Secondly –The Lord is always mindful of mankind.

Man, in his fallen state, is not mindful of God’s glory. This begs the question which is put by the Psalmist in verse 4 – “what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” ESV

Let me read this Psalm from the perspective of the Living Bible Translation.

O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. ² You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!

³ When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— ⁴ I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!

⁵ And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels and placed a crown of glory and honour upon his head.

⁶ You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority:⁷ all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, ⁸ the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea.⁹ O Jehovah, our Lord, the majesty and glory of your name fills the earth.

What makes man so special?

This how a man called Christopher Sturm put it.

“How admirable are those celestial bodies! I am dazzled with their splendour and enchanted with their beauty! But notwithstanding this, however beautiful, and however richly adorned, yet the sky is void of intelligence. It is a stranger to its own beauty, while I, who am mere clay moulded by a divine hand, am endowed with sense and reason.” Christopher Sturm's Reflections.

The Prophet Isaiah gives one answer the question in chapter 40 of his book.

“A voice says, “Call out.”
Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”

These verses speak of the fragile beauty and loveliness of man compared to the enduring quality of God's eternal Word. Just as the grass and flowers display the glory of God – their beauty and loveliness fade very quickly. Whatever beauty and loveliness attaches to man, it fades and dies very quickly. Whatever else man has become he was created by God to reflect his glory. God has not abandoned that plan and he is forever mindful of mankind. Calvin says - “It is a marvelous thing that God thinks upon men and remembers them continually.”

We have the Creator God, whose name is majestic in all the earth; whose glory is above the heavens, and we have the question – Why is God so mindful of man? The answer can only be that God is so mindful of man because he is so mindful of his own glory. All the OT points to coming of a very special man. Without a shadow of a doubt, man was ultimately created to reflect the glory of God which is in the face of Jesus Christ.

Man has been made a little lower than the angels but he has been crowned with glory and honour to rule over creation. That mysterious writer of the Hebrews was inspired by the Holy Spirit to identify Jesus as the man who was particularly in God’s mind when Psalm 8 was written.

“It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.⁶ But, there is a place where someone has testified:

“What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
⁷ You made them a little^[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honour
⁸     and put everything under their feet.”

In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. ⁹ But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

¹⁰ In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. ¹¹ Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.^{”  Hebrews 2 6-11}

All God’s purposes were planned in eternity before the eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.” Colossians 1 verse 16.

I think we need to constantly remind ourselves how God sees those he made in his own image. Our attitude to the lost is not to be so judgmental that we leave no place for God’s perfect judgement. King David was often used by God as an instrument of God’s judgement but he could still ask a very important question. “What is man that you are mindful of him?”

Brethren - The Lord is always mindful of mankind. We were created in God’s image so that the name of the Lord would be majestic; (excellent) in all the earth and glorious above the heavens. Each of us is a unique individual but with that glorious prospect of reflecting the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!

Finally – The Lord is always mindful of his own glory.

9 “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

How will the Lord ultimately be mindful of his own glory? All of God’s glory, in relation man, is invested in the Person and Name of his Son Jesus Christ. The excellence of that Name is to be glorified in all the earth and above the heavens.

Let me pose a basic question. What is the chief grounds upon which the justice of God condemns sinners but redeems saints? It cannot be that men and women have somehow impressed God so that he is more mindful of them as subjects for redemption. As Paul says “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3 verse 23. All men are without excuse; all have suppressed the truth about God in their unrighteousness and have chosen not to know him and give the glory due to his name.

The most obvious answer to that basic question what is the chief grounds for God’s judgement on sinners but to pardon some in his Son is possibly the most profound and controversial aspect of that question – “what is man that you are mindful of him?”

God has never changed the rules; never changed the goal posts as it were. Man is responsible and accountable for his sin and God is responsible and accountable for salvation from sin. Jesus makes it abundantly clear when he said “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. John 3 verse 18.”

Two verses before this Jesus has given us what may be the best known verse in the Bible. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” He followed that verse up with “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Condemnation, therefore, is removed from sinners who believe in Jesus but is remains on them who do not believe in Jesus. Paul says, in his second letter to the Thessalonians 1 v 8, ^“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

On the day of his second coming the verdict of Jesus upon those who do not know God is to tell them plainly - 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Sinners are forever banished because they cannot reflect the glory of God’s grace in salvation. They must reflect the glory of God in the righteous judgement upon their sins.

2 Thessalonians 1 verse 9 says “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” Hendriksen tells us “This banishment from loving fellowship with Christ implies expulsion from the glory (radiant splendour) of his might as it is manifested in the salvation of his saints.”

Hebrews 9 v 26 -28 tells us “But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

There has not been any change of the rules in respect of OT saints because their salvation is as much by grace as it is for NT saints. Whereas our faith in Christ looks back, their faith looked forwards. “… The hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes. See the Lord is coming with fire …” Isaiah 66 v 14 -15

When the Lord is said to be mindful of man it is a question of what he has done and what he is doing to glorify Jesus Christ his Son. That mindfulness affects what God has done for the glory of Jesus in respect of his enemies and in respect of those he purchased with his own blood.

Again, as Hendiksen points out - On the day the Lord is revealed with his angels from heaven - God will be glorified in his saints; not merely among them.  “…that is, they will reflect his light, his attributes as, in principle, they do even now. Every vestige of sin will have been banished from their soul. They will mirror forth his image and walk in the light of his countenance.  God will rejoice over them; the angels will rejoice over them; the redeemed will rejoice over that reflection of Christ they will see in each other.”

“Not only will Christ rejoice over the reflection of his own image in them, he will rejoice in their joy. His glory will be reflected in them and in their joy. Does this not bring to mind that verse which says – “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12 v 2.

In the new heavens and the new earth the exclamation of David – “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens,” will have a fullness of meaning beyond what we can now think or imagine. At present our thoughts as to the glory of God are as through a glass darkly. “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13 verse 12.

Let me conclude with an exhortation from Psalm 96.

Through the Psalmist the Lord commands the earth to tremble at his presence. The Lord commands all creation to rejoice before him. “Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.” v 13

All the families of the nations are commanded to - sing, proclaim, declare, praise, speak, ascribe, rejoice in the fullness of the Lord's splendour and majesty; in the fullness of the Lord's strength and glory.

Lord does not only command people; the Lord commands all his creation by saying “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”

Like David we should exclaim the excellence of the Lord's Name. Above all things the Lord is mindful of his own Name; he is mindful of mankind and he is mindful of his own glory. We can be certain that when the Lord comes to judge all the earth, if we know the Lord now, we will also rejoice in his image and likeness in the world to come. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk 2 v 14. Amen.

 25.08.14

The Bombing of al-Bara

This rather remarkable piece of film was made my college friend Olly Lambert.

Anchor of my Soul - A Testimony of God's Grace

Anchor of my Soul: A Testimony of God's Grace Kevin Bettany August 2013

For many years, before I had become a Christian, whenever I heard the Gospel, I was like the Roman Governor Felix in Acts 24 v 25. On hearing about “faith in Jesus Christ, about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come;” he said to the Apostle Paul: “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.” O ignorant and foolish man! The idea that accepting or rejecting the offer made by Jesus Christ is a matter of my convenience!

I once read about a Roman general whose army had conquered another country and captured its king. Using his sword the general drew a small circle around the king in the dust and told him that he would remain in that circle until he submitted himself and his country to the dominion of Rome. That king had nowhere to go, and, if he wanted to stay alive, no real option but to submit to Rome.

The Dutch theologian, Cornelius Van Til, made a good point about the effect of sin: “Sin being what it is, we may be certain that all our preaching and reasoning with men will be in vain unless God brings men to bay. Men cannot be brought to bay if they have any place to which they can go. And they do have a place to go if they have the inherent ability to accept or reject the gospel; in which case they need not feel uneasy about rejecting it today, because they can accept it tomorrow.” The Defence of the Faith (p. 20).

The Lord brought me to bay in a little flat in Henleaze in Bristol. God had sent me to a godly minister of the Gospel, Robert Duff, who with his godly wife Ilsa, was the founder of the Delhi Bible Institute. I have often reflected that other godly men had preached the Gospel to me but, despite feeling under condemnation for my sins, I had not received Jesus Christ as Lord; he could justly have not sent Mr Duff into my life.

But, in that sitting room in Henleaze, I was desperately in need of having my sins forgiven; desperately in need of having my marriage and family saved from breakdown; desperately in need of being delivered from drug addiction and debt. Even more I was desperately in need of receiving that peace which I saw in Robert and Ilsa and which I first saw in their daughter Dorothy, a fellow student, who had introduced me to her parents.

After a couple of months of weekly Bible studies I had repeated a prayer of repentance and faith. When I left that flat on the 9th of June 1976, I believed that all my sins had been forgiven and I had peace with God. I also had an expectation, (which has never been disappointed), that my life would never be the same again.

I was 25 years old when I came home and told my longsuffering wife Anji what had happened. She was confused but within a few days she was impressed with the change she could see in my attitude and behaviour. After three days, I was delivered from my drug addiction. At the end of that college year the Lord provided a holiday job to start helping us get out of debt. Within months Anji came to know that same joy and security of being anchored in Christ. The Lord has gifted us with six more children! I am now 63 years old and I am still firmly and securely encouraged in the Anchor of my soul.

In John 13:20 Jesus is recorded as saying “Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." In Matthew 10: 40 he is recorded as saying “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

“ … it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope that is offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6 v 18:19.

Have you considered fleeing to take hold of the hope that is offered to us? The offer is still open; still available to be fled to and taken hold of; still ready to give great encouragement. How do I know? Because God cannot lie.

Goodbye Blurton Eurogarage

Just thought I would post another blog as i’m in that sort of mood at the moment. So the next step of my life will see me moving away from the family home in Stoke to Manchester where I will be living with my brother and his wife. Part of me is excited and another part is nervous but I hope that the over all experience will be memorable for all the good reasons. It will also be quite a big moment for my parents because I shall be the last of their children to leave home. I can just picture them having a big party. The reality will probably be a cleaner, quiter household where chocolate and crisps don’t disappear mysteriously. I will... read more

Sergei Rachmaninov: Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3/2