“Mildly updated” hymns

        When the Wesleys published their hymn books back in the 1700s they included many Scripture references for every verse so the reader could understand exactly what the background story was.

        Along this line, I’ve been reading from the NIV for thirty years now, and I always find the modern English refreshing. With this in mind, here is #1 in the Believers Hymn Book, ”mildly modernized” and with a few Scripture references added:

               Abba^1a, Father! We approach You

                  In our Saviour’s precious name;
               We, Your children, here assembling,
                  Access to Your presence claim;
               From our sin His blood has washed^1b us:
                  It’s through Him our souls draw near
               And Your Spirit, too, has taught us,
                  Abba, Father! Name so dear.

               Once as prodigals^2a we wandered

                  In our folly, far from You;
               But Your grace, over sin abounding,
                  Rescued us from misery:^2b
               You, your prodigals have pardoned,
                  Loved us with a Father’s love;
               Welcomed^2c us with joy overflowing,
                  Even to dwell with You above.

               Clothed in garments of salvation^3a,

                  At Your table is our place;
               We rejoice and You rejoice, too,
                  In the riches of Your grace:
               It is right, we hear You saying,
                  We should happy be and glad;
               I have found My once lost children^3b,
                 Now they live who once were dead.

               Abba, Father! All adore you,

                  All rejoice in heaven above;
               While in us^4a they learn the wonders
                  Of Your wisdom, power and love;
               Soon, before Your throne assembled,^4b
                  All Your children shall proclaim,
               Glory, everlasting glory,
                  Be to God and to the Lamb.

          Notes: 1a. Mk.14:36; Rom.8:15; Gal.4:6. 1b. Rev.7:14.

          2a: Luke 15:11-32. 2b: Luke 15:17. 2c: Luke 15:20.
          3a: Luke 15:22. 3b: Luke 15:32.
          4a: Heb.12:1.  4b: Rev.4:2-11.

        We hope this little commentary has thrown a bit more light on the meaning of the hymn. I believe the King James English tends to obscure some of the meaning of the verses. A quick summary of the song would be: We are children of God, coming to our father because our sins have all been washed away by the death of Christ. We compare ourselves to the prodigal son who lived in misery for a while but then repented, returned to his father, and was joyfully welcomed and forgiven. We now have been given wonderful new spiritual clothing and are seated at the Lord’s Table, where the Father is leading a celebration of our coming to life from death. And not only are we celebrating but so are the entire heavenly host, as they look at us and see the character of God displayed in ways they will never experience themselves.

How to be born (again)

        None of us had any choice about when and where we were born, or we might have chosen somewhere else. Who would choose to be born into war torn Germany or into Pol Pot’s era in Cambodia, or even into some of the slums of present-day Calcutta?

        But Jesus gives us an alternative worth investigating. Back in Jesus’ day, a member of Parliament named Nicodemus, came to him after dark one evening, just to talk. Nico hoped Jesus could explain some things that were bothering him—instead, Jesus opened a new and puzzling question—he said, “You must be born again!” Instead of mocking the suggestion or trivializing it as modern journalists and commentators seem to do, Nico realized there was something real behind it.

       Naturally he asked how such a thing could be—obviously it couldn’t happen in a physical sense, so what did Jesus mean? The key is this: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

        In the midst of this scripture, Jesus talks about himself being “lifted up”, first on the cross, then exalted to the glory of Heaven in resurrection. This is where our own choice now comes in—“everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” By our own conscious, deliberate commitment to Jesus, we essentially choose our moment of “second birth”—and no one yet has ever wished it was anywhere else, except probably, sooner!

        I have only ever witnessed one birth, and that was my son’s. But I witnessed a second birth too, and that was my daughter’s. And I’ve experienced it myself. How about you? Why not, within your own mind and soul, thank God for his Son and thank Jesus for taking all the punishment you deserve? That second birth will never happen in you unless you respond actively to Jesus. Ì

Book Review: The Pursuit of Holiness

            My edition of this book is dated 1983, and that’s about when I first read it. But recent events in my own life, in my own church’s life, and in the wider experience of the Church in the world, have brought my attention back to the need to “live godly in Christ Jesus”—to live for Christ and resist all the pressures from a corrupt and sinful world. In other words, to “Be holy, for He is holy.”

        Jerry Bridges has assembled a huge stock of commentary on holiness, both from Scripture and from Christian thinkers. In fact, the supply is almost overwhelming. In seventeen brief chapters, Bridges has covered subjects like, “Holiness is for You,” “The Holiness of God,” “Holiness is Not an Option,” “The Holiness of Christ,” “The Place of Personal Discipline,” “Holiness in Body,” “Holiness in Spirit,” and “The Joy of Holiness.”

The Pursuit of Holiness

Jerry Bridges

NavPress, Colorado Springs,

1978,

158 pp

        My own personal concern is that young people become Christians but then make few distinctions between Christianity and the “clueless” lifestyle of the world. The verse that Bridges used for his title may come to us as a bit of a shocker: “Pursue holiness, for without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Heb.12:14. There’s motivation!

        We learn that “the pursuit of holiness is a joint venture between God and the Christian”—we have the responsibility to walk in holiness. In Chapter One, Bridges wonders, “Why do we not experience holiness more in our daily living?” He then proceeds to answer his own question: 1. Our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered; 2. We have misunderstood “living by faith”; and 3. We do not take some sin seriously. “Are we willing to call sin “sin” not because it is big or little, but because God’s law forbids it?”

        In Chapter Three, Bridges gets into reasons why holiness is required: 1. for fellowship with God; 2. for our own well-being; 3. for effective service to God; and 4. for our assurance of salvation.

        There are still fourteen more chapters, some of them with some beautiful writing. Let’s skip ahead to Chapter 16, Holiness in an Unholy World. Bridges suggests, “One helpful reinforcement to living according to our convictions is to identify ourselves with Christ openly”—a student might leave a Bible out for anyone to see. Old preachers used to call this, “nailing your colours to the mast,” meaning that once your flag was nailed in place, nobody could bring it down.

        Finally, Chapter 17, The Joy of Holiness: “God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy…A life of disobedience cannot be a life of joy…to experience this joy, we must make some choices.”

        There really is joy to be had for the Christian in the schoolroom, in the shop, in the home, in the office,  or in the factory. The pursuit of holiness leads us well along that path.

        In my teenage years, I was an idealist—there was black and there was white, but there was very little gray. Jerry Bridges has once again encouraged me to see that where God is concerned (and of course that is everywhere) true holiness allows for no gray.

How to die!

        We certainly don’t mean taking your own life so let’s get that thought out of the way! We mean how to be ready. According to Jesus, the critical and deciding factor is, “You must be born again!”

        Obviously not one of us can talk from personal experience of death. So far in my life, I’ve only ever seen one person die and that was my father-in-law, William Spencer. He was living with his daughter and was put in a bed on the main floor so he could be with the family. As everyone sat around and chatted he was breathing softly, then suddenly he wasn’t breathing at all. It was the quietest, gentlest passage to meet his Lord.

        So, on the “earthward” side, be ready to give up everyone you know—spouse, children, grandchildren and friends; your familiar home and land; all your hobbies or collections (books, gardens, flowers, music, cars); and all your bank accounts and investments.

        On the “heavenward” side, expect to see Jesus first, then maybe you will see some of those glories we read about in the Revelation—the lord “who holds the seven stars in his right hand”, “your victor’s crown”, the One “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze”, “the book of life”, “the temple of my God”, “a throne in heaven”, “a sea of glass, clear as crystal”. There is every reason to expect to see people like Abraham, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah and especially all our loved ones who have gone before in Christ.

        Getting back to Scripture, Stephen, as he was dying, said, “Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56) As the Apostle Paul neared the end of his race, he said, “the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…” (2Tim.4:7, 8) The apostle John, as he neared the end, said, “When Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves.” (1 John 3: 2,3) And in his last letter, Peter said, “I know that I will soon put [the tent of this body] aside…Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” (2 Peter1:14; 3:14)

        Finally, our Lord Himself cautioned that “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” (Mark 4:19)

        Some of us older Christians seem to forget or block out our mortality. We start to live as if we have fifty more years of good health and good income. Maybe it’s time we took charge of our lives, the way these outstanding New Testament believers have done.       

            Ì