The Curse Of Motivational Speaking

Last Sunday, a young man came to see me after our church service. He is the kind of guy who shows up at church once in a while and then disappears for a season. My guess is that he goes around churches sampling sermons and looking for answers. On this visit, he asked that I help him to overcome a failure in his life, and it was a failure to progress. He said that his greatest problem is that he does not believe in himself. Could I help him believe in himself so that he could become successful?

I asked him whether he was a Christian. His answer was, “Do I really need to be a Christian in order to be successful? Are you telling me that all those successful people out there are Christians? Aren’t there general principles that I can apply to my life—whether I am a Christian or not—that can catapult me to success?” I challenged him to answer that question himself. After all, I was sure he had done enough rounds among motivational speakers to have the answer.

 

“That is the problem,” he said, “I have been told that such principles exist and I have tried them. They seem to work for a while and then I am back to my old self again. I want you to help me find that formula that will help me go forward and never slide back to the place where I do not believe in myself.” To cut the long story short, I finally persuaded him of the need for reconciliation with God before anyone can break free from the frustrating rut that God locks unreconciled sinners in.

 

I gave him a booklet to read, entitled, What is a Biblical Christian? When we met the following day, he was honest enough to tell me that he was disappointed with what he read because it was not telling him what he wanted to hear. “What I want to know is how I can be successful. This booklet did not say anything about that.” I repeated what I told him earlier. What he needed was not belief in himself but belief in a Saviour sent from heaven. He needed forgiveness as a foundation for his life.   Continue at Conrad Mbewe

The Death of Death in the Death of Christ Means Victory Over Death for Those Who Believe

All the gospel writers tell us that Jesus died on the cross.

Jesus died.  The fact is so commonplace it seems strange to even mention it.  Almost hollow.  Almost as if we’ve said nothing new or meaningful.  But “new” and “meaningful” are two very different things. We’re sometimes too accustomed to thinking that meaning comes from newness.  Old truths are still true, and therefore still very meaningful.  Because a thing is familiar, because we’ve heard it before, does not mean we can pass it by without reflecting on its meaning.

Jesus died.  What can it mean to say the Son of God died?  And how should the Christian respond to that news?

The death of Jesus Christ means the death of death itself.  The death of death in the death of Jesus Christ also means victory over death for those who trust in Christ as their God and Savior.

What Exactly Is ‘Death’?

Six things.

First, death is a curse.

¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:15-17)

Second, death is a wage.

“For the wages of sin is death….”  (Rom. 6:23)

Third, the Bible calls death an enemy. 

“Death has climbed through the windows and has entered our fortress; it has cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares.”  (Jer. 9:21) Death is an enemy that stalks us and threatens us.  This is why we hate it so.  We deserve death because of our sin, but we hate it “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor. 15:26)

Fourth, death is agony.

“In hell, where he saw he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.  So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire’.” (Luke 16:23-24) “But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” (Acts 2:24)

Fifth, we can speak of both a physical death and a spiritual death.

“As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…. We were dead in transgressions…” (Eph. 2:1-2, 5)    Continue at Thabiti Anyabwile

Achan’s Curse and the Cross of Christ

The thought of being stoned for a crime seems barbaric. Stoning Achan’s family and servants, his flocks and possessions, and then burning them seems unconscionable. Is not this evidence that the God of the Old Testament, is not the Christian God of Love, presented in the New Testament Scriptures?
Some would say so. But our revulsion to this event is actually an important emotion for us to ponder. In fact, the wrath and fury of God against sin is bound up in the violent action taken against Achan. And when we think of this event from a redemptive historical perspective, when we look forward to how this story prefigures the work and death of Christ, a glorious picture comes into focus.
Christ’s cross was the place God poured out all his violent anger and fury, for God is a Holy God who cannot tolerate sin, even sin in his covenant people. Ultimately, no one could be completely holy and stay perfectly true to God’s covenant. This is why Jesus came to take our punishment for us. God’s just and holy anger against sin was meted out in full measure upon His own Son! What love and mercy, what amazing grace and pity!
My thoughts were turned in this Christ-o-centric direction by reading a meditation on Achan’s curse from my friend Nathan Pitchford of Psalm 45 Publications. Let me share his concluding paragraph and encourage you to read the whole thing. Read it all HERE

Curse Motif of the Atonement - R. C Sproul