A Song for the New Year (Read Jude 20-25)

Oh what a wonderful time of year this is.  Christmas followed a week later by the New Year (at least in many parts of the world).  As a youth it was the joy of opening gifts followed by the Rose Bowl (along with the Cotton, Sugar and Orange).  A channel surfer’s delight even before we had a TV with a remote.  You had to sit close enough to reach the knob, but far enough so those terrible TV rays wouldn’t fry your brain.

Tell me, did you sing this one this year at Christmas?

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas –

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Let your heart be light
From now on, our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, Make the Yule-tide gay,
From now on, our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days, Happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us gather near to us once more.
Through the years we all will be together, If the Fates allow,
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.  

Who faces a new year with that kind of attitude?  Troubles out of sight, miles away?  And are you satisfied to let your year depend on the “Fates”, whoever they are?  I have heard (I am not concerned if it’s true or not; I’m just musing for a moment) that the original version was different, only to be changed by Hollywood (of course!) for the movie in which it was made famous, Meet Me In St. Louis.  Originally the line was, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last.”   I can see why such a blast of reality as that was cut from the script.  And then it said, “We all will be together, if the Lord allows.”  That line would have given the song some legitimacy.  

Maybe in 1944 (when the movie debuted) there was a need for fantastic fantasy given the carnage of WWII.  The problem is that same war, on the heels of WWI, was the death-knell of hoping in hope for most people.  The thought that mankind, with his innate goodness, could pull himself together up and out of the morass of war and hatred was ridiculous to most (although it is amazing that today the voices of liberalism and progressivism still are heard promoting life based on a God-less goodness of mankind, usually with the government at the center of making sure everyone gets their share of goodies).

Here, let me give you another song for your new year.  To be honest I don’t know the tune.  It’s not famous like the above ditty.  But it is all truth.  Its Jude 24-25 and I know it was a song because it’s in poetic form in my Bible (J).  As a song for your new year it will give you clarity of focus, purpose and faith.  It speaks of a God who is able on your behalf and is worthy of your trust.

And just so you know this is not just a religious thing that has no connection with reality, meditate on the verses that precede it (Jude 20-23).  It speaks of a lifestyle that is marked by continuity rather than continual fresh starts.  I am speaking of the participles (those are words that in English usually have an ing at the end).  The foundation is a command to keep yourselves in the love of God.  Do not stray from the thought of God’s love.  That’s important because your troubles will not likely be miles away this year.  They are called troubles because they are close at hand.  But believers must not forget that God loves them.  Nor can you fail to love God.  That is your first love.  That cannot change!

So to stay in His love, be continually …

·        Building yourself up in your most holy faith.  Make the word of God central to your life.  I like the old maxim, no Bible, no breakfast.  Hear God.  Fellowship with God. This is essential for a strong faith.

·        Praying in the Holy Spirit.  In other words be led by the Spirit, being sensitive to His promptings as you pray.  These two disciplines involving the Word of God and prayer must be united.  Prayer without Bible is zeal without knowledge; Bible without prayer is knowledge without zeal.  Converse with God.  That’s two-way conversation. 

·        Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.  This is your hope.  The thought that there will be troubles this year is true.  It does nothing helpful to imagine a year without them.  Instead have a focus that make those trials real but secondary.  The mercy of Christ who is coming for us is the kind of hope that rests in a God who is able and worthy!  It will even give you the ability to invest your life in those around you who will be struggling (v22-23).  God will use you to play a role in the salvation of and uplifting of others!

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,

And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,

To God our Savior, who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. AMEN!

  

On this basis we wish you a … HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Romans 16:21-27

Paul admonished believers in the previous passage to watch out for those who cause division by false teaching “contrary to the doctrine which you learned.”  This closing passage is a reminder of the essence of sound doctrine.

What does it mean to be “established?”  The word means “to set up, to fix firmly, to support or establish.”  In 2 Thess. 3:3 it is equated with being “kept from evil.”  It was what Paul desired for the Romans (Rom. 1:11).  If God establishes us even our life of suffering will not stand in the way (1 Peter 5:10).  Such is His power or ability.  But how does God do this?  Paul refers to three means by which God does this, each taking us back to the Word, the Bible!  And each revolves around the living Word, Jesus Christ.  Truly we will give glory to God, alone wise, through Jesus Christ forever (v27).

·        According to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, v25.  Paul’s gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ are the same.  It is the gospel of God (Rom. 1:1) that is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16).  There can be no establishment if there is no foundation on which to build.  The foundation is Christ as revealed in the gospel!

·        According to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest through the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, v25-26.  In Romans Paul spoke of the “mystery” of the Church that involved the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles while Israel was temporarily blinded (Rom. 11:25).  This was central to Paul’s ministry (Eph. 3:1-7).  But he also spoke of the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27), the mystery of the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-52), and the “mystery of His will” when all things are brought together in Christ in the fullness of times (Eph. 1:9-10).  Paul was a steward “of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor. 4:1).  In the end we believe that all of these mysteries point to the exaltation of Christ as the “heir of all things” (Psalm 2:7-9; Heb. 1:1-3) culminating at a specific time in the future (Rev. 10:7).  The point here is this: we are established by this because it speaks of God who has been in control, unfolding His plan at the proper time, and will bring all things under Christ.  We are kept by Him until we stand before Christ (2 Tim. 1:12)!

·        According to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith, v26.  This particular command of God is essential to faith.  It has always been true (Romans 4 affirms this) that men could only come to God by faith.  When the gospel is preached it then says, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).  God has made no other provision; justification is by faith alone.

What a powerful conclusion.  God’s righteousness truly is from faith to faith (1:17).  We are saved by the gospel; we are established by the gospel.  

To God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.  Amen!

Romans 16:1-20

Remember 2 Tim. 3:16-17?  ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly equipped for all good works.  You might wonder how a list of names you can barely pronounce and people you don’t know can be profitable.  Let me make a suggestion or two.

This is somewhat of a “membership list” of the church at Rome.  It’s not everyone but those known by Paul.  It includes fellow-workers, long-time converts, dear friends, relatives, fellow-prisoners, hard working women, slaves, couples, Jewish Christians, well-known households, Christians from unbelieving families, single young men who were serving Christ.  This is not a homogenous group of baby boomers or Millennials or middle class whites or low income minorities or whatever other category you might devise.  This is the church that honors Christ who died for all and will someday be honored by people from every tribe, language, people and nation.  What does your church look like?

Listen to how he speaks of these people.  He loves them and speaks well of them.  Phoebe (who probably carried Paul’s letter to the Roman believers) is a servant to be received and helped.  Priscilla and Aquila (we know from Acts 18:1-3) are appreciated by many.  Epaenetus and others are beloved, Mary worked hard, Adronicus and Junia are well-known “among the apostles”, etc.  

How do you describe those you worship with?  Is it “he likes the Broncos” or “they homeschool” or “she wore a new dress last Sunday?”  Or is there someone we would call “beloved?”  Do we recognize people according to the true and deeper spiritual relationship we have as “in the Lord?”  Do we see “fellow-workers” or those who “have labored in the Lord?”  It’s not just a matter of words.  Paul no longer viewed people according to the flesh but as those who shared his place in Christ (2 Cor. 5:16).  Think about this.  

Our distinctive relationship with fellow-believers calls us to be a distinctive congregation.  We must receive one another as Christ received us (15:7).  At the same time we are urged (16:17-19) to look out for those who cause division through false doctrine.  There are those who continue to love the things of the world (1 John 2:15-17; they serve their own belly).  Their ministries usually are easy to listen to and belong to because of their “smooth words and flattering speech.”  The world is full of great speakers who promise an easier life (more money, less sickness, etc.).  The message of Christ is fundamentally a call to follow Him to the cross (Matt. 16:24-27)!  We are to receive one another openly while avoiding those who do not serve Christ.  Let us be wise in doing good.  Let us be innocent (not experts, not experienced) concerning evil.