Lenten Devotional (16) and the Priesthood of the Believer (Gary DeMar Controversy)
Fitting to Celebrate
Luke 15:21: And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
The response of the older son is like his younger brother’s. The younger brother was blind to sin and disobedience, and the older brother is blind to disrespect and self-righteousness. He was so busy thinking of his own affairs and his rights that he missed what was happening before his very eyes. The older brother is a picture of the Pharisees of the day. Here was Jesus transforming lives, giving sight to the blind, giving hope to the hopeless, and changing everything in their midst, and the Pharisees could only see these people in light of their un-redeemed, unchanged status.
The key to this passage is his rationale: “‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command.” This was precisely the same way the Pharisees acted: they boasted of their accomplishments. But if they believed they lived up to all of God’s commandments, they had failed to live up to one: to rejoice over the finding of one lost sheep. God is the shepherd of Israel, the rescuer of all those who call upon his name.
In this season of Lent, when we see people around us experiencing resurrection moments; when we see them in moments of real heavenly delight, the only appropriate response is to feast: “It was fitting to celebrate and be glad…”
Prayer: Our Father, we wish to rejoice with those who rejoice. May we be genuinely pleased with the good news that brings back rebellious sons to their senses and re-unites fathers with their children. May our hearts find delight in the delight of others through Christ our Lord, amen.
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Notations:
*I suppose the brouhaha over the Gary DeMar findings on the Second Coming is causing more havoc than anyone expected. My goal in my first episode was to raise the bar on the discourse. These are not supralapsarian pursuits, but the very core of the Christian faith. The Second Coming touches on the very life of the Church.
In this second episode, I argue the question, "What does the Bible say?" through the lens of interpretive neutrality is not a fruitful endeavor. I believe the question deserves a bigger platform that includes the normative, situations, and existential, but more than that, the work of the Spirit in the Scriptures.
The question "What does the Bible Say?" assumes an interpretation of the priesthood of the believer. I believe Gary is assuming a papal interpretive perspective which sets a terrible precedent for future students to question the very core of redemptive history.
My hope is that DeMar would see the need to restore a proper perspective on reading the Bible and return to Luther's priesthood, which is a re-statement of the corpus of all biblical priesthood.
INTRO & OUTRO to podcast by George Reed