February 2004 New Horizons

The God of White-Hot Rage

by John White

"The God of White-Hot Rage"—does my title sound extreme? Perhaps. But you see, I'm not interested in the kind of God we want to believe in, but in the God who really is . We Christians are idolaters. Our critics accuse us of making God in our own image—and to an extent they are right. We may not carve him out of wood, but we do try to forget the unpleasant parts of him and shape him to our personal comfort. I once read an article by a man who called himself an evangelical, yet talked about "the kind of God I would feel comfortable with." He, at least, was being honest about doing what we all do—making God into a sort of holy Teddy Bear. I used to be distressed by the God of the Old Testament until I began to draw near to him. It has been a long, awesome process. God has never troubled to defend himself before my frightened inquiries. Instead, he has chosen graciously to reveal himself so that, weeping and trembling, yet unspeakably uplifted and reassured, I have worshiped ... Read more

Christ Our Substitute

by A. Craig Troxel

Isaiah 53:1-6 1 Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. A friend in our denomination told me a story about a companion of his who was walking in a field in Montana after a fire had swept through it. ... Read more

You Need a Lawyer!

by Gregory E. Reynolds

You need a lawyer! "How can that be?" you ask. "I haven't committed a crime. I haven't been contacted by the IRS or been sued by anyone. And you don't even know me. What do you mean, I need a lawyer?" Well, of course, people need lawyers for many reasons. Sometimes lawyers are needed to write a will or to help with a real estate transaction. In other cases, they may be needed to defend a person against an unjust accusation. And, of course, a person may actually be guilty of a crime and need a lawyer to help him through the legal system. In an imperfect world, where justice is not always done, skillful lawyers can sometimes get a guilty person acquitted. But I want to warn you that the ultimate reason you need a lawyer is that you are guilty of things for which you will be indicted, though not by the human justice system. And there is no possibility that you will be acquitted— unless , that is, you engage the lawyer that I am about to recommend to you. And he will not subvert justice in order to ... Read more

Salvation

by R. C. Sproul

I was once confronted by a young man in Philadelphia who asked me, "Are you saved?" My reply to him was, "Saved from what?" He was taken aback by my question. He obviously hadn't thought much about the meaning of the question he was asking people. I was certainly not saved from people interrupting me on the street and buttonholing me with the question "Are you saved?" The question of being saved is the supreme question of the Bible. The subject matter of the sacred Scriptures is the subject of salvation. Jesus, at his conception in the womb of Mary, is announced as the Savior. Saviorhood and salvation go together. It is the role of the Savior to save. Yet again we ask, Saved from what? The biblical meaning of salvation is broad and varied. In its simplest form, the verb to save means "to rescue from a dangerous or threatening situation." When Israel escapes defeat at the hands of her enemies in battle, she is said to be saved. When people recover from a life-threatening illness, they experience ... Read more

Cleared and Approved by the Supreme Court!

by J. G. Vos

In the United States, what the Supreme Court says is legal is legal. No matter what lower courts or individuals may say, when the Supreme Court has issued a decision, the case is closed. No one can be treated as guilty when the Supreme Court has pronounced him not guilty. No one can be regarded as having failed to discharge his obligations when the Supreme Court says that his obligations have been fully discharged. The Supreme Court of the universe is the Judgment Throne of God, the supreme Judge of all. When the supreme Judge of the universe issues a decision, the case is closed for all eternity. When the supreme Judge declares a person righteous, that person is regarded and treated as righteous by the highest authority of the universe. "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. 8:33-34). Someone has aptly said that justified means "just-as-if-I'd." This is not the derivation of the word, but it is good theology all the same. ... Read more