TEXT: Psalm 16:11, I Peter 3:18

SUBJECT: The Passion of Christ #23: Bring Us to God

Christ suffered and died to bring us to God.

If there’s a better summary of the Gospel than this one, I don’t know what it is. The death of our Lord does many things for us: it secures the pardon of our sin, for example, and cancels the punishment it deserves; it takes away the gnawing fear of God and provides hope for the future; it enables us to live a godly life and to die a peaceful death. All spiritual blessings come by way of the cross.

But what is a spiritual blessing without the One who gives it? If you could have all these things without God, would you want them? I suppose everyone would rather go to heaven than go to hell, but if there was a heaven without God would it be any different than hell?

Way back in the days of Moses, Israel revolted against the Lord. Forgetting the God who freed them from Egypt, they chose to serve the Golden Calf. When the Lord saw this, He threated to wipe out the lot of them and form a new nation of whom Moses would be the father. But Moses pleads with the Lord and is heard. Israel will survive and even inherit the land they were promised.

But, to borrow from our Congress, there’s rider on that bill. They can have their land, but the Lord’s not going with them! He will send His angel to secure it, but nothing more. In other words, they can still have His blessings, but they can’t have Him.

I wonder how many of them took this for a good deal--who saw it as the best of both worlds? They can have the gifts of heaven without the obligations of heaven! They can have their cake and eat it too! A land flowing with milk and honey is theirs-- without all those hard rules and harder punishments?

No poll was taken, so I can’t say what most people thought about the offer. But I know very well what Moses thought of it,

Moses did not see the Promised Land as an end in itself, but as the place where the Lord would live with His People. He wanted to get there—not because the soil was rich and the weather was mild—but because God was there; in a special way, the Omnipresent Lord would be there as in no other place. For Moses, the blessings of God were not enough; He wanted God Himself. So, two verses later, He pled,

Wanting hope instead of despair is a good desire—good and natural. But the Gospel offers more than natural desires (though they’re met too). It offers to meet supernatural desires—the craving we all have for God. Make no mistake about it: everyone wants God, including the ones who say they don’t, believe there is no God, and are running away from Him as fast as their legs can carry them.

We don’t want God because we’re good. We want Him because we’re made for Him and we cannot be happy or satisfied without Him. St. Augustine was no advocate of man’s natural goodness, but he said in his greatest Confession,

This brings us to Chapter 22 in the book we’re studying, The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In his skinny book, Dr. Piper gives fifty reasons our Lord went to the cross. The one we’ll mull over tonight is Number 22:

He opens the chapter by defining the Gospel. What is the Gospel—and, more to the point—where is the Gospel taking us? Piper says,

Many Christians (and others) think of the Gospel as a way out of our problems. If not the problems of this life, then the problems of the life to come. This is true, as far as it goes. The Gospel is the way out of our problems. In this life, it saves us from the bondage of our sin and the hopelessness that bondage creates. In the life to come, it saves us from the Lake of Fire.

We mustn’t deny this part of the Gospel. It is the way out—and to prisoners, any way out looks mighty good (even if they’re not sure what they’re going to do when they get out).

But, if the Gospel is the way out of one thing, it is—even more—a way into Something Else. If our sins are pardoned, they’re pardoned so we can have fellowship with God. If we are adopted into the family of God, we are adopted so we can know our Father and His love. The highest goal of salvation, therefore, is positive—we’re saved for and to something, and that something is the Lord Himself. Near the end of the Bible, an announcement is made from heaven,

Observe, the blessings of Salvation are passed over (as though they were unimportant). It is the Savior Himself who comes, and His Presence makes all things new and good.

This brings us to a question, one you and I have got to face sooner or later—and sooner the better: Do we want the Lord Himself or only His blessings? I know we want both, but if we could have the gifts without the Giver, would we like it that way? Piper says many would like it that way—and some think they can have it,

Our motives are never perfect; there’s a pinch of self-serving in even the most selfless acts. But a motive needn’t be perfect to be real. Why do you want eternal life? So you won’t burn forever? Or, so that you can know and enjoy the Lord forever? I know both are true—and should be. But which is the higher motive?

Here’s a test. When it comes to praying, are you more (a) guilt driven, or (b) love driven? In other words, do you pray because you feel bad if you don’t, or do you pray because you enjoy the Lord’s company? I know there is some truth in both, but which is more true of you? Of course believers in Christ don’t want to feel guilty, but this is not why we pray! We pray for the same reason newlyweds talk: Because we’re in love.

Being in love with God is another way of saying, ‘enjoying Him’. And this is the surest sign of grace: enjoying the Lord, not just what He gives you, but the Lord Himself.

If all you want is forgiveness and heaven, you’ll have neither. But if you want the Lord, you’ll have Him, and all that goes with Him. ‘Wanting the Lord’ gives strong assurance; it means you have Him and will never lose Him.

Peter was not a perfect man, and when he met the Lord a few days after the resurrection, he was not feeling too good about himself either. He had denied the Lord; three times he did it, after swearing he wouldn’t. What does the Lord say to him? Three times, He wonders, Do you love Me? When He asked the third time, Peter opened his heart,

Apply this test to yourself: You know you’re not perfect, that you’re full of inconsistencies, and your actions often belie your words. But do you love the Lord? Do you enjoy His company? Is the prospect of being with Him forever—and without sin—a happy one for you? If so, you’re a Christian

Enjoying God’s company promotes our assurance, but that’s not all it does: chiefly it glorifies God. If you know John Piper or have read some his other books, you know this is his thing. Maybe he overdoes it a bit, but only a bit.

The glory of God is seen in everything He made. But, most of all, it is seen in the happiness His people find in Him. If you were a wealthy man, would you prefer your wife to enjoy: (a) your Ferrari, or (b) you? Every man would say ‘himself’ and not his car. Why? Does he hate his car? No. Does he want her to hate his car and take the bus instead ? No. But he wants her to love the car because of him and not him because of his car.

In the same way, the Lord wants us to enjoy His gifts, but Himself more. The gifts become dear to us because they come from Him. If you want to make your husband unhappy use him for what he has—even if it’s an old Subaru and not a new Ferrari. But if you want to make him happy, find your (earthly) happiness in him. Nothing will make him happier than knowing he makes you happy.

You can find real happiness in your husband or wife or children or parents or friends or others, but though the happiness they bring you is real, it is not final. Full happiness is found in God Himself. Through Christ. Piper says,

Why, then, did our Lord Jesus Christ suffer and die? He suffered and died to bring us to God, not just to the blessings of God (great as they are), but to God Himself! And if to God, then to happiness that is more than happiness, to a joy unspeakable and full of glory.