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A Triumphal Procession: Walking out of slavery and through the sea.

For a number of years now, I’ve used the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan for my devotional Bible reading. This reading plan guides you to read through the Old Testament once a year and the New Testament and Psalms twice a year. One of the greatest benefits I have discovered through this reading plan is seeing the themes of Scripture in different places.

Scripture is repetitive. God reminds us over and over again of his glory and greatness. He reminds us over and over again of our helplessness and need. He reminds us over and over again of his redemptive work. He rescued Israel from slavery in the Old Testament and rescues us from sin in the New Testament. Noticing the interconnectedness of Scripture’s themes is one of the best reasons to read chapters of the Bible from different books regularly.

The other week I was reading Exodus 14 and 2 Corinthians 2. In both places God declares victory and describes his triumph over enemies.

19 Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, 20 coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 
31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Exodus 14:19-20; 30-31

The context here is after God’s judgment on Egypt and Pharaoh through the ten plagues. Pharaoh finally sent Israel away. Moses led the people out of Egypt and toward the wilderness. In front of them was the Red Sea. Behind them were the Egyptian armies who had second thoughts about losing their slave labor. God led them as a pillar of fire and cloud. God protected them. God delivered them by dividing the Red Sea’s waters so Israel could walk over on dry land. God rescued his people and led them out of slavery in a triumphal procession of victory.

In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul picks up on a similar theme. God leads his people to victory through Christ.

14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

In both places God made his works of redemption public. In the Exodus, God revealed his glory to the Egyptians and displayed his works to the nations of Canaan. Rahab and the inhabitants of Jericho heard of the deeds of God’s rescue of Israel (Joshua 2:9-11). In 2 Corinthians, Paul describes our salvation as a triumphal procession and uses the vivid imagery of a fragrance. To those who are being saved, the fragrance of redemption smells of life. But to those who are perishing, it is the fragrance of death. God rescues us and leads us out of sin in a triumphal procession of victory through Christ.

There are three important truths to be gleaned from the theme of redemption as a triumphal procession.

First, God is the One who triumphs. In the Exodus and for the Corinthians, the work of redemption is God’s work. God initiated judgment on Egypt. God sent Moses to lead the people. God caused miracles so Israel would be freed from slavery. In in the New Testament, God initiated our salvation by sending his Son, Jesus Christ. Christ paid for our sins on the cross. Christ rescued us from slavery to sin. And Christ leads us in triumph.

Second, we are the ones who receive the benefit of redemption. God did not ask Israel to participate in her redemption. It was God’s works, miracles, and interventions that rescued Israel. Israel’s response was to receive rescue. It was after their rescue that God gave them the Law (Exodus 20. See specifically verses 1 and 2 where God declared his redemption prior to giving them the commandments). The New Testament is no different. Christ leads us in a procession of triumph. It is his work that saves. Our response is to follow him in victory. Certainly, the OT Law was intended to distinguish Israel from the other nations, and God’s expectations of righteousness are intended to distinguish us from sinners. But these are not works for our redemption. Rather, these are works from our redemption.

Third, God’s work of redemption in us is intended to be public. In both of these texts, God’s work of rescue was intended to be public and known. God doesn’t rescue us merely for our individual benefit. The glory of his saving work is on display in his people. Egypt and the nations of Canaan knew there was something special about Israel’s God. And people around us should know there is something special about the God who has rescued us. Christ is leading us in triumphal procession to be a fragrant aroma of his saving work to the world around us.

Take a moment today and rejoice in God’s saving work. Thank him for taking the initiative to rescue you from sin. Praise him that you have the privilege of redemption. Pray that God will make his work of redemption known to others. Tell someone today what God has done to save you. Let your rescue be public.

You don’t have to fear sharing this good news of rescue and salvation. You don’t have to be afraid of public witness and praise. You are in a triumphal procession led by Jesus Christ. As his people, we are victorious through Christ’s strength and saving work!

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Word of the Week: Justification

Often, when we think about the doctrine of salvation, we mean the specific aspect of salvation called justification.

Justification is the aspect of salvation where we are declared righteous by God.

The doctrine of justification was seminal to Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther struggled regarding salvation for years. He sought to be justified (made right with God) through his works. This is the basic teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and was certainly Luther’s primary understanding prior to his conversion. For Roman Catholics, the works that justify are the sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Eucharist, etc.) By participating in these sacraments, the good Catholic is supposed to be justified, that is made right with God. Luther’s problem was that he was a consistent confessor of his sins and an effective participant in these sacraments, yet had not experienced salvation. He had no peace or assurance that he had been forgiven.

Luther’s turning point (and indeed the significant turning point in the Protestant Reformation) was Habakkuk 2:4 quoted in Romans 1:17, “The just shall live by faith.” Like a lightning bolt, Luther understood. One could not be justified by works or good deeds. Rather, justification came by faith alone.

Justification by faith alone initiated the Reformation emphasis of the five solas. Salvation is through Christ alone, by grace alone, in faith alone, from Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone.

Paul details the doctrine of justification further in Romans 3.

20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:20-26, emphasis mine.

Justification comes by God through Christ’s work on the cross. Justification was earned by Christ. It is a gift of grace to the believer. It is received by faith.

You might ask, “Why doesn’t God just unilaterally forgive sin? Why did God need to go through the terrible judgment of the cross and judge our sin through Christ?”

Think about God as a Judge. He will one day judge every person who has walked planet earth. Could he just wipe away sin? I guess he could, but what kind of judge would he be if he just wiped away our sins? Consider a court of law. Imagine if a murderer were facing a judge. The murderer was evidentially and admittedly guilty of the crime. There was no challenging his guilt; he was guilty of his crime. But when standing before the judge, the judge pronounced him innocent and let him walk away. The judge said something like this, “The evidence is here. I’ve seen it. I choose to ignore the evidence and the guilt. I pronounce you innocent. You may go your way.” What confidence could we have in that judge or that judicial system? This is not what it means to be justified before God.

God, the Father, our Judge, has seen our sin and wickedness—with perfect clarity. Our guilt and sin are against God. He’s the One who has judged us guilty. But then God does something unique and wonderful. In the midst of his indescribable holiness, in the depth of our sinful depravity, in the truth and justice of our sinful guilt, God the Father does justify us (declare us right before him). He is able to do so, not because he unilaterally declares us innocent, but because he sent Jesus to take our place. Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s judgment on sin. As such, God did punish sin. He punished Christ for our sin. So when God declares us justified, he does so on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross that paid the penalty for our sin.

Justification is an act of God through Jesus Christ. It is a gift of grace, not merited by our works, but solely by Christ’s works. It is received by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

Justification motivates us to receive the glorious gift of salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:24-25). If you haven’t received the gift of salvation, consider trusting in Jesus Christ today.

Justification provides us ample reason to praise God. Your salvation is not by your own deeds or from your own goodness. It is a gracious gift of God that reveals the unfathomable depth of God’s mercy and grace.