The Mercy Seat

Neal Pollard

I believe Hugh Stowell, many years ago, penned one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The song, “From Every Stormy Wind That Blows,” reads…

From every stormy wind that blows,
From every swelling tide of woes,
There is a calm, a sure retreat,
‘Tis found beneath the mercy seat.
There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads,
A place than all besides more sweet;
It is the blood-bought mercy seat.
There is a scene where spirits blend,
Where friend holds fellowship with friend;
Though sundered far, by faith they meet
Around one common mercy seat.
There, there on eagle’s wings we soar,
And sin and sense seem all no more,
And heaven comes down our souls to greet,
And glory crowns the mercy seat.

To fully appreciate this song, one must understand what the mercy seat is. We are introduced to the mercy seat in Exodus 25, after the Lord had made the covenant with Moses and Israel upon Mt. Sinai. The people were voluntarily to give of their means for the building of the tabernacle and its furniture (Ex 25:9). The pattern for the ark was given first (:10-16), followed by instructions for the mercy seat (:17-22).
The mercy seat covered the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies (cf., Ex 26:34). God told Moses, “There I will meet with you…” (Ex 26:22). It was a place of holiness, fellowship, righteousness, and instruction. Not even Aaron, the High Priest, could come before the mercy seat without offering a sin sacrifice for himself (Leviticus 16:2ff). God was there, appearing in a cloud over the mercy seat. The ritual Aaron had to follow to approach the holiness of God there was extensive (read Leviticus 16:3-14). Included in that was the placing of blood upon the mercy seat to make “atonement” for himself and his household. The same thing was done to the mercy seat to make atonement for the people (Leviticus 16:15). Later on, when the temple was built, a place was reserved for the mercy seat (1 Chronicles 28:11).
When the New Testament speaks of the mercy seat, the primary audience is the Jews. The mercy seat is figuratively used to represent the importance and significance of what Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross does in taking care of our sin problem. We depend on the mercy of God to save us from the guilt of our sins, and the symbol of the mercy seat is designed to help us see both the ugliness of our sin and the complete holiness of God. He absolutely will not receive us and forgive us without an “atonement” for our sins.
Therefore, when you come to New Testament verses speaking of “propitiation,” “atonement,” and “reconciliation,” take into consideration their Old Testament background. These words describe God’s justice and wrath being satisfied in some way. The “some way” is Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the cross. 2 Corinthians 5:19 explains this by saying, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…” Jesus, our High Priest (Heb 9:11-12), offered up His own blood, not for His sins but for our sins. By that sacrifice, we are made alive and right with God (Rom 5:11-21). But we must go to the designated place to receive the benefits of Jesus’ shed blood. The Bible says both that the blood (Revelation 1:5) and baptism (Acts 22:16) wash away our sins. So, Jesus’ blood washes away our sins at the point of baptism, submitted to by a repenting believer who is being baptized in order to have his or her sins forgiven (Acts 2:38).
It was certainly a relief to God’s Old Testament people to have their sins atoned for by the High Priest. But, each sacrifice each year was a reminder that the debt had not been fully satisfied (Heb 10:3-4). Thank God that what those sacrifices could NOT do, Jesus’ sacrifice did once for all time (Heb 7:27). When we do what God says to be saved, the debt against us is canceled and fully satisfied. If we continue to live faithful to God, that blood continues to save us (1 John 1:7). Because of this, no matter the hurts and heartaches we face in this life, we can have the peace and fellowship of God to hold us up “beneath the mercy seat.” What comfort!

THOSE CONVENIENT "STRAW MEN"

Neal Pollard

A "straw man," by definition, is "a sham argument set up to be defeated."  If the term needs further defined, some examples should help.  Consider a few common, recognizable "strew men."

• "...Even in the case of rape and incest."  This is a straw man used by proponents of abortion on demand, a practice that will incur the wrath of God in keeping with His timeless, sovereign nature and character (Prov. 6:16-17; Ezek. 16:21).  Beyond that, consider the hard facts.  It is impossible to find any credible reporting agency that would assert a number higher than one percent of all abortions being for these reasons (between 1987-2004, the Alan Guttmacher Institute never found a statistic above one percent).  On the other hand, Dr. David C. Reardon writes that "in the only major study of pregnant rape victims ever done, Dr. Sandra Mahkorn found that 75 to 85 percent chose against abortion" ("Pregnancy and Sexual Assault," 55-69, as quoted on abortionfacts.com).  A sinful practice, most often exercised for socio-economic and birth-control reasons, is shielded behind a straw man.
• "...But there are hypocrites in that church."  This is a straw man used by some who have abandoned the assemblies.  They muster up examples of shallow or hollow Christianity to justify their own forsaking.  Their argument is that they are no worse off staying away than some who faithfully attend, but whose examples nullify any good in their attending.  Hypocrisy is an ancient evil (Mat. 23:28; 1 Pet. 2:1).  Preachers, elders, and deacons can even be guilty.  Yet, to cite such to justify rebelling against God's will (Heb. 10:25), to defend that which jeopardizes our own soul, and to practice something that will have eternal consequences for ourselves and those we influence is incredibly weak and flimsy.  There are hypocrites among co-workers, fellow parents on our kids' teams and activities, civic organizations, and anywhere else there is group dynamics.  Yet, we stick with those. One's own disobedience cannot be hidden behind this straw man.
• "...Serving God is about love, not law."  This is a straw man usually pulled out when obedience to God's commands is stressed, even in uncomfortable, trying circumstances.  It is trotted out to oppose lessons with doctrinal "teeth," that take a stand and come to an absolute conclusion.  With it, the idea is espoused that commands that might offend, disturb, and challenge (like church discipline, God's law for marriage, divorce, and remarriage, the essentiality of baptism, or the singular nature of the church) should be avoided, that love and grace should be promoted instead.  Such a fallacy fails to see the biblical connection between love and obedience (John 14:15,21; Rom. 13:10). 

May we reason well the foundation of our faith.  May we stand upon the rock solid foundation of Scripture.  It is unstable to lean upon a straw man.

Are You Listening?

 

Lately, my 3-year-old has decided not to listen to my wife and I, especially when we are getting on to her.  Strangely, I’ve been having flashbacks of my mom’s stern, motherly voice saying, “You’re not listening to me!”  I just can’t seem to remember her exact words though.  I wasn’t really paying attention at the time.

In general, people are not good listeners.  An article reported that people only remember “…between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear.  That means that when you talk to your boss, colleagues, customers or spouse for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation.  This is dismal!” (MindTools.com).

We need to be better listeners.  Our bad listening skills help create confusion, misunderstandings, arguments, and gossip.  Many issues would never occur if people just listened more carefully.  Here are a few of reasons why it is especially important to be good listeners as Christians.

1. Scripture: The Bible is filled with passages about listening.  Some are about the good and bad results of listening (Matthew 7:24-27; Proverbs 12:15; 13:18, 19:27, Psalm 119:18; etc), but the vast majority are about people who listened to God’s message and walked away with a changed life (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Samuel 3:10; etc).
2. Non-Christians: We need to carefully listen to our non-Christian friends not only because it’s respectful, but also so we can get to know them and find ways to drive the conversation toward the Lord.  This is especially important during a Bible study.  Jesus was the master of turning a conversation toward the spiritual (John 3:1ff, 4:1ff, etc.).  It seems like He was always looking for a way to focus the discussion on God.  This took great listening skills.
3. Worship: Sometimes people don’t take much from the worship services because they simply weren’t listening.  We need to focus on the words of the songs, not just sing them because they are familiar.  We need to listen to the words being prayed and hear the preacher’s message.  It’s impossible to be fully engaged in worship when we mentally detach ourselves and let our minds wander.

So, how can we improve our listening skills?  Here are a few tips: (1) Choose to Pay Attention.  Look at the person speaking, put distracting thoughts aside, and don’t mentally prepare a rebuttal.  (2) Show Them You are Listening.  Face the person, look them in the eyes, nod, smile, and show facial reactions.  (3) Provide Feedback.  Summarize what they said and ask questions.  (4) Be Polite.  Allow the person to finish speaking without interruptions and counter arguments.  (5) Respond.  Ask a question, make a statement, clarify something you don’t understand, or give any other appropriate response (Tips are from the article referenced above).

The benefits of good listening skills are limitless.  It can help our spiritual lives, our marriages, and our friendships.  Let’s strive to not just hear words and sounds, but to actively listen.

HOW ARE WE DOING IN THE FIFTH KINGDOM?

Neal Pollard

Scott Balbin is doing a great job teaching Ezekiel and Daniel on Sunday mornings.  Yesterday, he briefly touched on what the class had seen in Daniel two the prior week.  It was my pleasure to sit next to our resident sage and my dear friend, Johnson Kell.  At the end of the class, he asked me the question, "How are we doing in the fifth kingdom?"  I knew exactly what he was asking.  Nebuchadnezzar's dream and visions about the "last days" concerned a great image, which represented four great kingdoms.  Historically, these were the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires.  Daniel says that during the days of the Roman "kings," another kingdom would be set up that would never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44).  That kingdom is clearly shown in Hebrews 12:23-29 to be the church of the firstborn.  This is the church Jesus promised to build (Mat. 16:18-19), a kingdom the establishment of which was imminent (Mat. 16:28).  A kingdom that came with power on the Day of Pentecost, at which time we see first reference made to that church being in existence (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 47).  That "fifth kingdom," the church, will never be destroyed and nothing will bring about its utter and complete demise.

Yet, Johnson's question is valid.  How are we doing in this "fifth kingdom"?  Some individual congregations are thriving, while others are languishing.  Some are growing and some are dying.  Some are being faithful to the New Testament pattern and are boldly proclaiming the whole counsel, but others have abandoned such an approach.  

Beyond that, how is each congregation doing to educate, evangelize, edify, equip, entrust, and endow?  As we look at individual components of our congregation, how are we doing in church leadership, organization, involvement, outreach, benevolence, spirituality, morality, discipline, and the like?  

We should never be satisfied that we are doing enough.  We can always grow and improve.  But, oh the wisdom in asking the question.  If we stop self-analysis and self-examination, we are in a dangerous place!  This starts with me asking, "How am I doing in the fifth kingdom?"  That is the area over which I have the most control!  

2012 Presidential Election

 

You and I will determine the next President of the United States not long from now.  With our nation’s debt piled up, the high unemployment rate, and a variety of other issues, this year’s election is incredibly significant.  Though important, these details are trivial compared to other issues at hand.  As Christians, the single most important factor is to vote for a person who is going to stand with God.

It’s bothersome when people say that this year’s election is about choosing “the lesser of two evils.”  If one candidate stands much more in line with God’s laws than the other, then how can this be a “lesser of two evils” type of election?  Certainly no candidate is going to stand perfectly in line with God, but keep in mind that not a single person on this earth has ever stood perfectly in line with God other than Jesus Christ.

We will leave the debate about foreign policies, the economy, war, unemployment, and other issues to the experts on those subjects.  But for Christians everywhere, we must turn to the ultimate expert on spiritual matters, the Lord, and look to His guidebook for the upcoming election.  Therefore, let’s take a close look at God’s stance on certain spiritual topics.

God’s Stance on Abortion:

1. Genesis 1:26 – Man is made in God’s image.
2. Genesis 9:6 – “Whoever sheds man’s blood,
 by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.”
3. Exodus 21:22-25 – If a pregnant woman is struck and the child dies, the person who killed the unborn child was punished by death.
4. Galatians 1:15; Psalm 22:10-11 – God recognizes the unborn child as a human person inside the womb.
5. 1 Timothy 1:9-10 – Murder is condemned.
6. Conclusion = God is against abortion.

God’s Stance on Homosexuality:

1. Matthew 19:4-6 – God only approves of the marriage between a man and a woman.
2. Leviticus 18:22 – Homosexuality is an abomination.
3. Romans 1:26-27 – God calls homosexuality degrading, unnatural, indecent, and error.
4. 1 Timothy 1:9-10 – Homosexuality is condemned.
5. Conclusion = God is against homosexuality.

In the end, only you can decide who you will vote for.  No matter who we choose, let’s be absolutely certain that we choose the person who stands closest to God on these vital spiritual matters.