By Faith Alone Podcast

Finally another friend, Elihu, who had been silent before, has a chance to speak. Our passage today teaches us to be careful in response to a holy God. We are called to holiness even in difficult times. God is a God of justice - he alone will make all things right. We are called to avail ourselves of the means of grace and wait on the justice of God. And we should endeavor to respond rightly to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Both Bildad and Job believe that God is mighty and awesome, but they have a very different attitude towards what that means. Bildad believes that because of God’s might, he is a God of enmity. Compared to God’s greatness, man is as worthless as a maggot. Yet Job sees this a bit differently. Job speaks even more about the greatness of God. And yet from the depths of the earth to the highest heaven, the creator God rules all things. At the same time, we are limited in our understanding of his ways. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

There are many times in our lives when we have lost hope. We’ve been wronged. Our friends fight against us and are no help. Yet out of this arises a hidden hope that seems to come out of nowhere. Job expresses a profound faith in his redeemer, someone who will be his advocate. What we find in this message is that our hope is found in the living redeemer. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

That early Sunday morning it was still dark. Mary and John and Peter witnessed the empty tomb. They didn’t understand it, but eventually they would know and believe. We, too, are called to witness the events of the resurrection, and go and tell the good news of the risen Christ. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Often we look for a king to fight our battles for us and win political victories. Yet what kind of King was Jesus? He wasn’t a military leader, but he was humble, and riding on a donkey. He is the King, and he calls us to be citizens of his kingdom, which is everlasting. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God certainly humbles his people, yet we don’t understand why. In the case of Job, his days were filled with trouble, and he seems to express nothing but despair. Yet even in this kind of humbling there is great hope. We are called to endure, just as Christ endured so that we might be saved. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

What motivates us to continue each day? Even when we don’t understand God, we don’t know his ways, we should rest in the fact that we are known by God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

We have a God who is transcendent, who has an independent existence from the world. What Job needed, and what we need, is an advocate, someone who will come near and help us in our time of need. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The book of Job is in the form of a contest of wills - a back and forth argument between Job and his supposed friends. Bildad attacks Job for not being in the right. Sometimes the world we live in is upside down. The righteousness we deserve is not always given, and there is not always a cause behind suffering. Yet we are called to persevere despite our circumstances. Our Lord himself had nowhere to lay his head, yet he was without sin so that we might be saved. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Good friends can be hard to come by. Job knew that well. His life was miserable, he was attacked by the devil, and his friends were of no help. What we need is a good friend in a time of need. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Sometimes today we hold to the belief that if something good happens, it’s a result of something good that we’ve done in the past. Job’s friend Eliphaz had the same idea. The suffering that Job is going through must have been an exact result of a sin that he had committed. Yet the Bible shows us that this is not always the case. Sometimes there is suffering we don’t understand, and it’s part of living in a fallen world. The only way we can truly be right with God is in our mediator, Jesus Christ, whose walk was blameless. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

After everything that Job went though, he laments and questions the day of his birth. He asks all of the why questions. Why does God have a man be born, only for him to suffer? Why can’t he get any rest? Yet even when we have questions, the gospel promises answers, even if we wonder if we have lost our relationship with the Lord. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Quite often, our suffering doesn’t make any sense. Lives are snuffed out without any rhyme or reason. Job’s suffering was the same. With God’s permission, Satan was allowed to attack all of his wealth and even snuff out the lives of his dear children. And yet in Job’s response, though he is in great pain and things don’t make any sense, he did not sin. We are called to a blameless suffering by continuing to trust in a God we don’t always understand. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The final woman who is listed in the genealogy of Matthew 1 is Mary. Mary had received an amazing promise that the Messiah was conceived in her womb. The song she sang spoke about the way that God had favored her. Favor, or grace, comes to all those whom God has chosen. God lifts up the lowly and he humbles the proud, which is something we need to remember when we are distressed, either from our lowly circumstances or from proud rulers that we can’t trust in. In his incarnation, Jesus came of low estate to bring those of us who are spiritually poor into salvation. This is a richness beyond what we can ever ask or imagine. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Bathsheba experienced great brokenness, especially with the actions that David took. He sinned grievously against Bathsheba, against Uriah, and ultimately against God. We, too, grieve the Lord when we sin against a holy God. We are called to take sin seriously and to follow in the way of Christ. He has made a way even for broken people who do not deserve his grace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The story of Ruth and Boaz shows us the love of God that comes to those who don’t deserve it. He guides his people all along to redeem them. He moves them from emptiness of fullness, for he has given us a Savior, Jesus Christ. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God uses unlikely people that don’t normally belong to bring about his greater purpose. Though Rahab didn’t formerly belong, she demonstrated her faith in the God of Israel. The evidence of that faith was seen in the hospitality that she showed to the Israelite spies, despite possible danger to herself. She confessed with her mouth the mercies of God, and because of that she, along with her whole household, were spared from the coming destruction. Praise God when he welcomes sinners who are far off into his household by faith. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The season of advent might seem to us like a Thomas Kinkade painting; quaint, nostalgic, peaceful. Yet some stories of advent, like the story of Tamar, does not paint over the gruesome reality of sin and brokenness. Tamar was abused, forgotten, and treated terribly by everyone. But God uses even this mess to bring about a greater purpose than we can even imagine. This is the story of one of the ancestor-mothers of the Son of God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

In this season of thanksgiving it is good to be reminded of how we are to be thankful. Our thankfulness is based on our status in Jesus Christ. We are raised with him, which means we are to put away sin and put on an attitude of thankfulness. This thankfulness then leads to fruit in how we treat others. And out thankfulness should lead to thankful worship as the word enters our hearts and is expressed in praise. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God’s people have a holy calling to declare to all the nations what an awesome king we have. He reigns and rules over all things! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God revitalizes his church through discipleship. This is a discipleship that begins with the glory of God himself. Jesus reflected the glory of God the Father perfectly, even as he submitted himself unto death. God gives a new commandment to his church - a commandment to love. This love is one that is recognized by all people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Today we see that Christ gives leaders to equip and build up the church. It is Christ himself who gives this gift of leaders to his church. The goal is to help members to attain the unity of the faith as they are built up into maturity. This guards them from being swayed by the latest wind of doctrine but presents to them the truth in love. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The Great Commission is not some optional command. The church does not get to “opt out” of these marching orders from Jesus. This commission arises out of the great authority that Jesus has as risen, ascended king. It is a commission to make disciples, baptizing and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. He ends the commission with a word of comfort as he promises to be with his people to the very end of the age. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Paul’s letter to Timothy was all about church revitalization. The reason for church decline is often due to the preaching. Preaching needs to be Christ-centered, Scripture-saturated, and life transforming. Let us pray that preaching would be for the equipping of the saints and that it would be effective to accomplish the purpose for which Christ sent it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God’s people are called to pray persistently. The prayers of the early church were a great example of the way churches should pray. Our prayers should be filled with praise for the sovereign God. They should be bold prayers that God would remove enemies, that his servants would speak with boldness, and that he would work powerfully in his church. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

What we find in today’s message is that God’s grace leads to a transformed life by conforming us to his will. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The goal of the Christian life is glorification, when our faith becomes sight and when the new creation comes. God will one day transform our lowly body to become like Christ’s glorious body. We will be freed from sin in both body and soul and dwell with him forever in the new heavens and new earth. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God grants and credits salvation to his people. The gospel is only about what is done to us. It’s all on Christ and his work. And yet the gospel is also worked out in us. We have been redeemed by Christ, but now the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of our redemption to us. That means that we are sanctified. We are free in order to serve him, conforming to the image of Christ as we walk after him in holiness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Families tend to stick together, especially where there are threats to a family’s reputation to the outside world. Those who believe in the Lord have been brought into the family of God. Though they don’t deserve it, God adopts them into his family. This is a glorious message of hope and assurance that God has adopted his children, even as Christ is our elder brother. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Our union with Christ shows that we have been crucified with him, and we also are being made holy with the resurrection life that he gives us. The law causes us to be captive, but we are justified by faith alone in order to receive the promised inheritance. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

In the biblical concept of regeneration, we are shown how we are united to Christ in both his death and resurrection. This supernatural work is all of God, who makes dead hearts alive. When we are discouraged as a church about what seems to be lack of fruit or growth, we can be encouraged that it’s the Spirit who does the work. But that should also encourage us to live lives of holiness in response to his transforming power in us. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Today we begin a few sermons that focus on gospel basics from the book of Galatians. A revitalized church needs to get the gospel right. Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia because there were false teachers that were forcing them to go back under certain requirements of the law. Yet what we find from Paul’s own calling is that God calls his people by his grace. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

God’s people are not only called to remember, but also to repent, to turn back to a godly gospel living. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church, he tells them about why he is rejoicing. Even though he had to write to them a difficult letter to correct them, he hears an encouraging report from Titus about how they received it. And he tells them of how they demonstrated a godly repentance. This is a repentance that that isn’t just about getting caught but which leads to turning back to Christ and salvation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

This week we begin a sermon series on church revitalization, the topics which are found in chapters from Harry Reeder’s book From Embers to Flame. God calls churches to look to the past to remember what God has done in order to move to a firm foundation for the future. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

It can be hard for us to wait until God makes all things right, especially when there is a great deal of suffering. Yet today is a good reminder for us to pray that the Lord would indeed come. We need to be warned that this holy city is not for everyone, and that we are not to add or take away from God’s word. Yet we can be encouraged that we have his trustworthy revelation, that he is coming soon, and that our God is the Alpha and Omega. God invites his people chosen by grace to partake in this heavenly city where Christ is truly present with his people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

We know for certain that life will bring us joys as well as sorrows, highs as well as lows. Revelation 21 presents a great picture of joy. We see a new city, a place where God is present with his people and the curse of the garden of Eden is reversed. It’s a place that God has made that is beautiful and adorned as a bride. There is no need for a temple, for the Lord is the temple, and all those there have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Today’s passage presents to us a sobering picture of judgment. We don’t always want to think about the wages of sin and the ultimate punishment of hell. Yet here we have hope in Christ who has done away with death and has brought us into new life.You can subscribe to By Faith Alone on Apple podcasts or on Spotify. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

In this chapter we find a great celebration of the marriage supper with the Lamb. After the promised judgment of Babylon, it can seem like a long time until God takes care of wickedness and avenges the suffering. Yet here we thank God that a great Hallelujah of praise happens in heaven and Jesus Christ becomes our great champion. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

We are living in Babylon - a world that is against God and his ways. We see so many evils in the world that we live in. But in Revelation 18, God calls us to come out of Babylon. What does it look like for a Christian to live in this world but not of it? That can be a challenge, but God calls us to flee from sin and embrace the salvation that we find in Christ. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Faith in the Son of God is all about believing in Jesus. It’s a faith that is given to us by God. It’s a faith that results in the life lived for the Lord. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

What we explore today is that the reality that we find on earth often has its opposite in heaven. When believers suffer on earth - they are rewarded in heaven. And when the wicked enjoy a comfortable life here on earth - they will one day be judged. Today we see a beautiful picture of the redeemed standing in victory and singing the song of the Lamb. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

In life we belong to the Lord or we belong to the devil. We bear the mark of the one we belong to. Jesus will gather all people - some to eternal life, and some to eternal wrath. Let us repent and come into the kingdom of God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Persecution still exists against the church today. The forces of evil attack Christ’s church and kill the saints. Yet Christ chose us in him before the foundation of the world. Though suffering is real and the body they may kill, our souls belong to Christ forever. We are called to rejoice in suffering and trust in Christ who died to save his saints. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

The church of Jesus Christ often seems small and weak, especially in a time of suffering. Revelation 12 is a picture of the battle that’s been going on since creation between the offspring of the devil and the offspring of the woman. What we find is that the accuser can no longer be present in the heavenly council but is sent to the earth. Though he may cause suffering, he cannot take away the eternal salvation and security that believers have in Christ. Today let us thank God that we have a heavenly advocate in Jesus Christ, the righteous one. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Today we are reminded that Christ’s church is both attacked on the outside and at the same time is eternally secure. John is told to measure the temple in a similar manner as we see in the book of Ezekiel. What is measured is under the divine protection of the Lord. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

In this closing chapter of Mark, the gospel writer specifically draws attention to the fact that a group of women who followed Jesus were witnesses to everything that had happened. They had witnessed Jesus’ death on the cross. They had witnessed his body being placed in the tomb. And when they came to the tomb on that Sunday morning, they had been witness this his body was not there. They were witnesses in two senses to his resurrection. Not only did they personally witness that Jesus was no longer dead, but they also had the task to witness - to go and tell others about what Jesus had done. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

Psalm 31 is a prayer asking for a king to rescue and save. David prays for God to be a rock of refuge, a strong fortress to deliver him. On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered into Jerusalem humble and riding on a donkey. But Jesus truly was the rescuing king who was an answer to the prayer that David had prayed so many years before. Even in all our distress, we need to pray for this same rescuing king. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

It’s important to know why it is we belong to a church. We might belong for all the wrong reasons - good programs, a friendly atmosphere, or a great youth group. But this passage show us another reason for belonging - that is, confessing that Jesus is the True Son of God. The Centurion saw the way Jesus was crucified, he saw him cry out in forsakenness before God, and he saw the way that he died with a loud voice. And he declared that truly this man was the Son of God. Let us then confess him as God himself, the true lamb who was slain to take away the sin of the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

This week we see that Jesus is brought to trial not just from the religious authorities, but also from the governing authorities, the Roman governor. He is silent before them, he is condemned, he is scorned, and he is crucified. Yet in all of this, he is king. Notice these verses of Mark 15:Verse 2: And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”Verse 9: And he answered them, saying “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”Verse 12: And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” Verse 18: And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”Verse 26: And the inscription of the charge again him read, “The King of the Jews.”Verse 32: “Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.”What we notice from all of this repetition is that Jesus’s true identity as king is revealed. Thank God that we have a crucified king, one who rules and reigns over sin and death. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com

While Jesus was undergoing a trial, Peter was going through one of his own. Would he be true to Christ or not? We are too much like Peter. When the pressure gets too great, we deny Jesus. Yet thank God that though Jesus was unjustly convicted, he is the Son of Man, God himself. He is able to rescue us to the utmost because he himself bore our sins so that we might live for righteousness. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshchristoffels.substack.com