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No Longer for Ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:15) · Reformed Thinking

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So when you look up at the night sky, you know it is so easy to
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be captivated by the stars. Oh, sure.
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Yeah, because they are shining outward, right?
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They are projecting all this light into the vastness of
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space. Yeah, they are very visible,
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right? But astrophysicists tell us that
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the most terrifying and massive forces out there are actually
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the ones you cannot see. Right, the things hidden in the
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dark. Exactly.
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I mean precisely. I am talking about black holes.
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Yeah, black holes. Black hole occurs when a star
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just collapses in on itself. It just caves in.
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Yeah, the gravitational pull becomes so intense and so
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localized that it literally starts radiating outward.
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It just pulls everything in. Right.
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It just pulls everything, light, time, matter inward.
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It is this cosmic dead end. Nothing escapes it.
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No, nothing escapes. Everything is dragged into its
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own center until whatever gets near it is completely
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obliterated. That is a terrifying thought,
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honestly. It really is, and welcome to
0:59
reformed thinking. Glad to be here.
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Today we are doing a deep dive into the source material to
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completely dismantle the modern obsession with self
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actualization. Which is a huge.
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Topic. So, you know, to the listener, I
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want to ask you directly, have you ever noticed how much of our
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culture is built around feeding that inward gravitational pull?
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Oh, it is everywhere. It is.
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So we're looking at 2 very extensive source texts today.
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Right. No longer for ourselves and the
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death of autonomy. Yeah, those two and both of them
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provide a very rigorous theological and practical
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breakdown of a single sentence written by the apostle.
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Paul, just one sentence. Just one Second Corinthians 5,
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verse 15. Is a dense sentence though.
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Oh, incredibly dense. So our mission today is to
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analyze how the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus
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redefine human existence. Right, shifting it entirely from
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a self-centered black hole to a Christ centered life.
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So to get there, I guess we first need to diagnose the
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illness, right? Yeah, to understand the cure
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presented in Second Corinthians, we really have to look at the
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disease first. Makes sense?
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The Protestant reformer Martin Luther.
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He used a Latin phrase to describe this condition.
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OK, what was it? It is Incurvatus in say.
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Incurvatus in say. Right, which translates to the
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heart curved inward upon itself. Oh wow, that sounds a lot like
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the black hole analogy. It is the exact same concept.
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Luther argued that this is the fundamental crisis of the human
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condition. So it is not a new.
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Problem. No, not at all.
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We aren't suffering from a lack of resources, you know, or a
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failure of education. Our original sin is narcissism.
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Narcissism. Yeah, we take the worship that
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was designed to flow outward toward the Creator, but we just
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curve it inward toward our own desires.
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We trap the light. Yes, we want to be autonomous.
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Well, let us break down that word autonomy, because we use it
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all the time today as a compliment.
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We do. We love that word.
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Right. Like we tell people to be
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autonomous, to be independent. Do you?
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Yeah, you do you. But when you look at the
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etymology of the word, it comes from 2 Greek words, right?
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Autos meaning self and nomos meaning law.
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Self Law. Yeah, autonomy literally means
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to be a law unto oneself. Which is pretty revealing.
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It is we want to define our own truth, determine our own purpose
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and steer our own destiny. Without any reference to the
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Creator who knit us together. Right.
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We want the throne. And that inward curvature, it
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creates A disastrous reality. How so?
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Well, the human soul has been a factory of idols since the fall
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in Eden. A factory of idols.
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John Calvin said that right. Yes, he did.
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And the primary idol sits right there on the throne of the self.
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We just worship the mirror. We see this manifested
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constantly when someone operates as a law unto themselves.
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They become the judge, the jury, and the executioner of their own
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reality. You think all the rules?
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Right. And any external authority is
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viewed as a threat to their personal freedom.
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I find it so ironic though that modern culture and honestly even
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a lot of seeker sensitive pragmatism inside churches today
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brands this black hole as a virtue.
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Oh, they totally do. Like we literally tell people,
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live your truth, follow your heart, find yourself.
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If that is the highest, good. Yeah, we actively encourage
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people to increase the gravitational pull of their own
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ego. But just it's like a black hole,
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that inward curvature eventually destroys everything around it.
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Right, because a black hole does not share.
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No, it consumes. You see it in shattered
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relationships, broken communities, divided families.
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It is just exhausting. It is.
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You cannot build a functioning society out of people who are
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entirely curved inward. Because everyone's just trying
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to consume everyone else to feed their own gravity.
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You certainly cannot. And you know this is not just a
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modern 21st century problem either.
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Oh. Really.
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No, to grasp what Paul is addressing in 2nd Corinthians
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515, we need to look at this historical backdrop.
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OK, take us back there. We are talking about Corinth in
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the mid 50s AD. Corinth.
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What was the vibe there? Well, Currents was a very
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prosperous Roman colony. A lot of money.
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Oh, tons of money. Yeah.
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It was strategically located on an isthmus OK, which meant heavy
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maritime commerce flowed right through it constantly.
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So it was a massive trade hub. Right.
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And because of this, it was totally obsessed with social
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mobility, rhetoric, patronage, and public honor.
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So it was very status. Driven.
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Very. It was a place where image was
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absolutely everything. Wow.
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Yeah. If you wanted to climb the
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social ladder, you needed the right associations, the right
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look, and the right speaking ability.
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OK, so it was basically the ancient equivalent of putting
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Silicon Valley, Hollywood, and Wall Street into a blender.
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That is a great way to put it. Like you have got the tech bro
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obsession with disruption, the Hollywood obsession with image,
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and the Wall Street obsession with wealth all colliding in one
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city. That paints a very clear picture
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of the culture. It sounds exhausting to live
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there. It was highly competitive in
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that culture, influence was displayed openly and social
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advancement was the highest possible goal.
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So everyone's just clawing their way to the top.
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Right. The Patriot system meant that
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you were always trying to secure a wealthier sponsor.
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Oh, I see. While simultaneously looking
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down on those beneath. You that is just pure Incurvatus
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inside. Yes, and unfortunately that
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secular status driven atmosphere bled directly into the
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Corinthian church. It always does, does it not?
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It creeps right in. You had the emergence of what
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Paul sarcastically called all these super apostles.
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The Super Apostles? That sounds like a Marvel movie.
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Right, but these were actually false teachers who had
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infiltrated the congregation. What were they doing?
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They built their platforms on personal charisma, outward
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success, physical appearance, and rhetorical eloquence.
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So they were the smooth talkers. Very smooth.
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They were essentially creating a 1st century celebrity culture
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right there in the church. You know, I want to push back on
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this for a second. Sure, go ahead, Because I think
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a skeptical listener might look at this dynamic and wonder about
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Paul's own motives. OK, how so?
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Well, we know from historical accounts that Paul was not the
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most impressive guy to look at. He was not.
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Right. He even admits his own speaking
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skills were considered contemptible by some of these
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people. So is Paul just being defensive
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here? You mean out of jealousy?
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Yeah, like he lacks the Polish speaking skills of the Super
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apostles. He does not have their wealth or
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their flashy entourage. So is he just attacking their
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metric of success because he could not compete?
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It is a fair question, and it is one the Corinthians themselves
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were likely asking at the time. Oh, I'm.
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Sure they were. But the text shows us that Paul
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is not defending his own personal legacy.
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He is not, no. If he were just trying to defend
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his ego, he would be guilty of the exact same Incurvatus in the
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same inward curvature. Oh, right, he would just be
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fighting for a piece of the spotlight.
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Exactly. Instead, Paul is defending the
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fundamental nature of a cross shaped ministry.
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A cross shaped ministry. Right, the Super Apostles
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embodied the living for self category.
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They were building their own brands.
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Yeah, they use the gospel as a stepping stone to build their
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own platforms and line their own pockets.
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Gross. But Paul insists that divine
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strength is revealed through weakness.
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That is upside down from the Corinthian culture.
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Completely. He points out that if the Savior
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of the world was crucified in total humiliation, then the
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messengers of that savior cannot measure their success by Roman
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standards of clout and prestige. So he is saying the message
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dictates the method right? Like you cannot preach A
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crucified savior while demanding a red carpet and a massive
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personal brand. It does not compute.
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It creates A cognitive dissonance.
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The medium becomes the message. Yes.
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The medium is the message. And if your medium is self
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exaltation, you are not preaching Christ anymore.
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Precisely Paul's logic is that the objective reality of the
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atonement exerts a sovereign pressure on the life of the
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believer. A sovereign pressure.
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I like that phrase. He frames his entire Apostolic
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ministry not as a quest for personal legacy, but as a
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ministry of reconciliation. So he is totally outward
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focused. Right, so when we arrive at 2nd
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Corinthians 515, Paul is moving from the diagnosis of this self
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obsessed disease to the objective ground of the cure.
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We are moving from the black hole to the rescue mission.
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Yes. Since the problem is a legally
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binding self rule, this autonomy the solution requires a legally
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binding substitutionary action. OK, let us look at the opening
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phrase of the verse then, because it sets up this
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objective mechanism of salvation.
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Let us get into it. The text begins with and he died
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for all right now I know our sources spending a massive
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amount of time on the Greek preposition used here.
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They do because it is crucial. The Greek text begins with a
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core indicative statement chi hyperponchinopathanon.
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OK, my Greek is a little rusty. No worries.
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The crucial hinge there is the Greek preposition hyper.
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Hyper like hyperactive. Same spelling, different
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meaning. Now some modern scholars try to
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soften its meaning to simply say Christ died for the benefit of
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all. Just for our benefit.
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Right. They framed it like someone who
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donates money to a hospital. OK, how does that analogy work?
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Well, you benefit from the new wing of the hospital, right?
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But the donor did not literally take your place in a hospital
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bed. Oh, I see, he just did you a
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favor. Exactly.
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However, the context of Paul's sacrificial theology demands a
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much stronger meaning here. Which is.
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In the place of. In the place of OK, explain how
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that functioned in the ancient world.
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Like if I am living in the 1st century, how do I understand
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that concept of substitution? Well, in Greco Roman commercial
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and legal documents from that era, hyper was the standard
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preposition used when one person acted as a substitute for
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another. In a legal sense.
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Very legal. For instance, consider an
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illiterate man who needed to sign a legally binding contract.
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OK, maybe a deed for land or a debt agreement?
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But he cannot write his own name.
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Right. He could not physically sign his
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name, so a scribe would sign the document Hyper the man.
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Oh, interesting. And the scribe was not just
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doing a favor for his benefit. He wasn't just helping him out.
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No, the scribe was functioning as the man legally.
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Functioning as him. Right.
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The signature of the scribe was legally accounted to the
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illiterate man. Wow.
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The law looked at the document and treated it as if the
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illiterate man himself had held the pen.
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That drastically changes the way we view the cross.
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It really does. It means the transaction is
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legally bulletproof. Completely binding.
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When Paul says Christ died hyper us, he is saying Christ stood in
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our legal judicial place. He took the pen.
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He absorbed the penalty that was rightfully ours, yes, But you
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know, that brings up a massive question That was that the text
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says he died for all. Ah, yes.
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Does this indicate universal salvation?
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I mean, are we supposed to read this and conclude that every
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single human being throughout all of history is automatically
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saved? Because the legal transaction
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covered the entire human race. Yeah, exactly.
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Well, this is where we have to read carefully and and
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understand the concept of definite atonement.
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OK, we'll lay that out for. Us.
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If you look closely at the syntax of the passage, the all
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for whom Christ died is functionally equated with the
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phrase those who live later in the verse.
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Those who live. Right, Paul does not say Christ
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died for all, so that every human being without exception
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might live. So all is not every individual
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on earth. No, the word all is a covenantal
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and representative term. Representative, Yes.
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Think about how representation works today.
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A political representative does not speak for every person on
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the planet, right? They just speak for their
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district. They speak specifically for the
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constituents in their district. OK, I follow you.
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Similarly, just as Adam stood representatively for those
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united to him. Bringing sin and death.
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Yes, in the same way Christ stands the last Adam for those
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who are his. So it is about headship,
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correct? He is acting as the mediator,
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the head of a specific people. Yes, but how does that actually
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play out? Because I have to be honest, it
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feels counterintuitive to modern years.
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It does. We are so individualized today
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that the idea of someone else legally representing my moral
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state feels completely. Foreign feels very foreign to
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the modern western mind, which is hyper individualistic.
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Right, But it is central to the biblical worldview.
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Yeah, he died efficaciously for the elect.
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The constituents. Yes, we see this clearly
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connected to the Old Testament. Where specific.
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Specifically, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53.
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Oh. Right.
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The one who was pierced through for our transgressions.
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Yeah, Christ is fulfilling the role of the great high priest.
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OK, how does a high priest work in this context?
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Well, a high priest does not just offer a sacrifice out into
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the void hoping someone might randomly benefit from.
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It like throwing a life preserver into an empty ocean.
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Right. He does not do that.
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He wears the names of the tribes of Israel on his breastpiece.
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So it is targeted. Very targeted, he offers the
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sacrifice specifically on behalf of the people he represents.
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OK, so we have this legally binding substitution.
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Yes, the great High Priest steps in, acting hyper in the place of
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his people. That is the objective ground.
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But this substitutionary and death was not just an isolated
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transaction, right? No, it was not.
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It was not executed just to balance some cosmic Ledger and
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then leave us alone. Absolutely not.
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It was executed with a specific targeted goal in mind.
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A very clear purpose. And this is where the text
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pivots from the legal reality to the practical reality.
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Yes, moving from theology to everyday life.
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So let us look at that pivot. The text introduces ahina clause
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in the Greek, which translates to a purpose statement that
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those who live might no longer live for themselves.
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That those who live might no longer live for themselves.
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Right. The substitutionary death was
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intended to produce a definitive rupture with the past.
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A total break. Yes.
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The Greek adverb here is maketi, which translates to no longer,
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no longer, and it functions as a sharp chronological marker.
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Chronological marker, like a massive dividing line in the
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sand of a person's life. There is a before and an after.
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OK, what is the before? The before was characterized by
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living for the self, the inward curve.
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And the after. The after is characterized by
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the absolute death of that autonomy.
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Wow. The cross was designed to
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completely slaughter our self-interest.
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You know, this makes me think of renouncing your citizenship.
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OK, run with that. Imagine you live in a country
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ruled by a brutal dictator. A terrible place to be.
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And you finally escape. You flee the country.
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OK. And you pledge allegiance to a
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new benevolent king in a totally different nation.
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A new Kingdom? Right, you take the oath and
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then you literally burn your old passport.
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You destroyed it, Yeah. There's no dual citizenship
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here. You cannot go back.
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Right, you cannot keep the old passport in your back pocket
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just in case you want to visit the dictator on the weekends.
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That would be treason. Exactly.
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The phrase no longer means the old passport is gone, the old
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regime of self rule is over. That is a brilliant analogy, but
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you know, the challenge is how subtle that old citizenship can
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be. Subtle.
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Very subtle. The sources point out that we
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can actually use good things to keep self on the throne.
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Good things like what? We can use morality to exalt
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ourselves. We can even use suffering to
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pity ourselves. Oh wow.
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The flesh is incredibly ingenious.
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Let us talk about that ingenuity because it is easy to spot self
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rule when someone is robbing a bank.
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Or acting overtly selfish. Yeah, but you were saying the
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self can wear a religious mask. Oh, all the time.
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Someone could be volunteering at a soup kitchen or leading a
16:55
Bible. Study or giving away large sums
16:57
of money, right? But if they are doing it to
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secure their own reputation. Or to win the applause of
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others. Or just to feel morally
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superior. Then the self has not actually
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been dethroned. It is just put on a nicer
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outfit. That is the danger of missing
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the purpose clause. That Haina clause, right?
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If we treat the cross just as a ticket to avoid punishment, we
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miss the fact that the cross is meant to kill our narcissism.
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It is not fire insurance, no. The gospel does not simply
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comfort the Sinner in his self centeredness.
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What does it do? It crucifies that self
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centeredness. That is heavy.
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If your religion is just a tool to help you achieve your
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personal goals and validate your own self worth, you are still
17:40
operating under the law of autonomy.
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You are just using God to fuel the black hole.
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Exactly. Well, let me play the skeptic
17:47
again here. OK, I hit me because I can hear
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a listener right now feeling a bit alarmed by this language.
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We are talking about slaughtering self-interest and
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dethroning the self, Yes? Are we supposed to practice
17:59
total self annihilation? Self annihilation.
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Yeah, like is the goal of Christianity to lose our
18:04
personality, to erase all our desires and just become blank
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slates? I see where you're going.
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Does God just want a bunch of mindless robots walking around
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with no individuality? Because that sounds awful.
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It does sound awful, but that is a very valid concern and it's a
18:21
misconception we really need to clear up.
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Please do. A sleeping self rule is not the
18:26
loss of humanity. It is not no.
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It is the restoration of. It restoration.
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Think back to the Garden of Eden.
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Humanity was originally designed to point to the Creator, to
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reflect His glory. Like a mirror.
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Yes, that was our true nature. Sin bent us inward.
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The incur fought us and say right.
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So when we are called to stop living for ourselves, we are not
18:47
being asked to become less human.
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What are we becoming? We're becoming more truly human.
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More human. So we look at Jesus as the
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ultimate example of this then. Yes, look at the earthly life of
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Jesus. He is the only human being who
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never lived for himself in the sinful sense.
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He was completely outward focused.
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He lived perfectly for the Father's glory and for the good
19:06
of His people. And yet he had the most vibrant,
19:10
distinct and complete personality in human history.
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He definitely was not a blank slate.
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Not at all. He experienced righteous anger,
19:19
deep sorrow, immense joy. He wept.
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He did. He was fully alive.
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So the lack of autonomy did not make him a robot.
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No, it made him perfect. Yeah.
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Therefore, when believers drop the burden of autonomy and self
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rule, they become more like Christ.
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Which means they become the truest versions of themselves.
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Exactly. We do not lose our humanity.
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We finally get it back. I love that we are losing the
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disease, not the patient. That is a great way to summarize
19:45
it. We are getting rid of the inward
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curvature so we can stand up straight again.
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Yes, but a heart cannot simply be emptied of self and left
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vacant. No, nature abhors a vacuum.
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Right. Yeah, You cannot just sweep the
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throne room clean and leave it empty.
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Another idol will just move right in.
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It requires a new sovereign. It does.
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And that brings us to the positive replacement for self
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rule. Paul provides that positive
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counterpart immediately in the text.
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What does he say? He says, but for him.
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But for him? The Greek conjunction here is
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Allah, which is the strongest word available for contrast.
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So it is a hard pivot. A very hard pivot.
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The object of our life shifts entirely from the mirror to the
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master. From the mirror to the master.
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We do not replace the self with a vague ideal like morality or
20:35
community service or ethical living.
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We do not just try to be good people, no.
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We replace self with a person. OK, but Paul adds a very
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specific phrase after that. He says, but for him who for
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their sake died and was raised right, Why does Paul add the
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resurrection here? It is a deliberate choice.
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Because why not just end the thought with the sacrifice?
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Like he could have just said, live for him who died for you.
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He could have, but that edition is vital.
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Why? Paul uses an aorist passive
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participle here, which is agarthentai.
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Agarthenti. Which means, having been raised,
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theologians call this a divine passive.
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Divine passive meaning God did it.
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Right. The point is that God the Father
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raised God the Son, ah. I see.
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The resurrection is the Father's absolute validation of the Son's
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sacrifice. The receipt was signed.
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Yes, we do not follow a dead martyr who had some good moral
21:30
ideas but lost to the Empire. Right.
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If he had stayed in the tomb, he would just be another tragic
21:36
figure in history. Just another guy who got crushed
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by Rome. Another philosopher who made the
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establishment angry. Exactly, but the resurrection
21:44
changes the entire dynamic. It changes everything.
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It highlights Christ's kingly office.
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Kingly Office. When Paul talks about the death,
21:51
he highlights the priestly office.
21:53
Right, the priest making the sacrifice.
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But when he mentions the resurrection, he highlights the
21:57
King claiming the life of the one for whom the sacrifice was
22:00
made. So he is not just our
22:02
substitute, He is our sovereign. Yes, and this connects
22:06
beautifully to the new covenant promised in Ezekiel 36.
22:09
Oh, bring that in. What does Ezekiel say?
22:11
In Ezekiel 36, God says He will put His Spirit within his people
22:16
and cause them to walk in His statutes.
22:18
Ask them to walk. Right, the cross secured the new
22:21
covenant. Which means believers actually
22:23
have the capability to live for him.
22:25
They do. Grace provides the obligation,
22:28
but it also provides the provision to meet that
22:31
obligation. That is a.
22:32
Huge distinction. Without the Holy Spirit, the
22:35
command to no longer live for yourself would be an possible
22:40
crushing weight. It would just be a new form of
22:42
legalism. Demanding performance without
22:45
giving the ability to perform. Which is exhausting.
22:48
It is impossible, but because Christ was raised, he sends the
22:52
Spirit. So we get help.
22:54
We get life. The lights believers now live is
22:57
animated by the living Christ within them.
22:59
So we live for him because He, by his Spirit, lives in us.
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That is the mystery and the beauty of it.
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So we have this massive theological framework now.
23:07
We really do. We have diagnosed the disease of
23:10
autonomy, the black hole. We looked at the objective
23:13
substitutionary death. The scribe signing the document.
23:16
Right, we understood the purpose of breaking our self rule.
23:19
Burning bass port. And we have seen the new
23:21
allegiance to the king, yes, but you know, true doctrine always
23:25
collides with false teaching. It inevitably does.
23:28
And it always reorders our daily routines.
23:30
Truth always demands a response. So let us bring these ancient
23:34
concepts into modern application.
23:36
Let us do it. The sources run through several
23:39
specific polemics. Polemics, right?
23:41
Errors that this verse refutes. Errors that this single verse
23:45
completely dismantles. It is amazing how much one verse
23:48
can do. And rather than just listing
23:50
them out dryly, let us look look at how they all represent
23:54
different attempts to keep the self on the throne.
23:57
That is the perfect way to frame it.
23:58
Because that is the root issue. Right, it is.
24:01
Every false theology is, at its root, a defense mechanism for
24:05
autonomy. A defense mechanism.
24:07
Yes, let us start with the prosperity gospel.
24:10
Oh boy. This is the teaching that
24:12
suggests Christ died to give us health, wealth and self esteem.
24:16
It is transactional religion. Highly transactional.
24:19
You know, I like to think of the prosperity gospel as treating
24:22
God like a subscription service. A subscription service?
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Yeah. You pay your monthly premium.
24:27
OK, like a tithe. Maybe a tithe?
24:29
Maybe regular church attendance. Maybe you're repeating the right
24:34
positive affirmations, right? And in return, you expect the
24:38
premium perks, the upgrades, financial breakthrough, perfect
24:42
health, endless promotions at work.
24:44
And if you do not get the perks? You threaten to cancel the
24:47
subscription. You get mad at God.
24:49
That analogy hits the mark perfectly.
24:51
It is so common today. The prosperity gospel treats
24:54
Jesus as an employee hired to facilitate yourself
24:58
actualization. He is just your cosmic life
25:00
coach. But pulse is the exact opposite.
25:03
Christ died to slaughter our self-interest, not to finance
25:06
it. That is a sharp contrast.
25:08
If the purpose of the cross is that we no longer live for
25:11
ourselves, then a theology that tells you to use Jesus to get a
25:17
nicer car or a bigger house is a complete contradiction of the
25:20
Gospel. You are taking the cure and turn
25:22
it back into the disease. You are using the cross to feed
25:26
the black hole. It is Greed wearing a cross
25:29
necklace. That is a harsh but accurate way
25:34
to put. It now let us look at another
25:35
way the self tries to maintain control, OK, which is through
25:39
religious bureaucracy and human merit.
25:42
The other end of the spectrum. The sources point out that this
25:44
verse refutes the Roman Catholic system of merit.
25:48
It does let us dig into how that medieval merit system actually
25:52
functioned psychologically. The medieval merit system was
25:55
built on the idea that grace is infused into a person through
26:00
the sacraments. Infused like an energy energy
26:02
drink. Kind of.
26:03
And that infusion enables them to do good works which then earn
26:08
merit before God. So you have to do your part.
26:10
It created a system where salvation was a cooperative
26:12
effort. You bring something to the
26:14
table. Right, you have the repetition
26:16
of the mass, the selling of indulgences and the accumulation
26:19
of human merit. And psychologically, what does
26:21
that do? Psychologically, this allows the
26:23
self to retain a sense of pride. The ego survives.
26:27
Yes, it says, Jesus started the work, but I finished it.
26:31
I contributed. I earned my keep.
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It goes back to that legal signature we discussed earlier
26:36
with the word hyper. The scribe signing the contract.
26:39
Right, the scribe signed the document.
26:41
The illiterate man does not need to grab a pen and try to
26:44
scribble over the signature. He could not even if he tried.
26:47
If he tries to add to it to make it more binding, he actually
26:50
defaces the document. He ruins it.
26:53
The definitive substitutionary death excludes the need for
26:57
human works and merit. Completely.
27:00
Paul says Christ's death was definitive and sufficient to
27:03
produce a new life without needing our works to complete
27:06
the payment. By insisting on adding human
27:08
merit to the equation, you are essentially saying Christ's
27:11
substitution was not enough. You're saying the signature
27:14
bounced? Right, you're keeping your
27:16
autonomy alive by maintaining control over your own
27:19
justification. It is a very subtle way of
27:21
refusing to surrender completely to the Savior.
27:24
It is Autonomy dressed up in religious robes.
27:26
So then we have liberal theology.
27:28
Yes, which takes a totally different route to keep the self
27:31
on the throne. How does liberal theology do it?
27:34
Liberal theology strips away the supernatural elements of the
27:38
text. They just cut them right out.
27:40
They tend to view Jesus just as they get good moral example.
27:44
A nice teacher. A teacher of self sacrifice
27:47
whose death was tragic but inspiring.
27:49
They remove the substitutionary atonement.
27:51
And the a literal resurrection. So what are you left?
27:54
With in their view, Jesus did not die in our place.
27:58
He died to show us how much God loves.
28:00
Us, or to inspire us to be kinder to our neighbors.
28:03
Exactly. But this text shows that Jesus
28:06
is a literal divine substitute and a resurrected king.
28:10
His death was not just an inspiring example.
28:12
No, it was an efficacious legal transaction.
28:14
If he is just a moral example, then we are back to being our
28:18
own savior. Just trying to copy his
28:20
behavior. Which is exhausting and
28:22
impossible. It turns the gospel into a self
28:24
help manual. It really does.
28:26
It says look at how selfless Jesus was.
28:29
Now you go try really hard to be that selfless.
28:31
It places the entire burden of salvation right back on the
28:35
autonomous self. And it ignores the reality of
28:37
the black hole. Completely ignores it.
28:40
You cannot tell a collapsing star to just try harder to
28:44
radiate light. It does not have the capacity.
28:46
It needs an outside force to arrest the collapse.
28:49
Liberal theology offers no outside force, only moral
28:52
advice. Good luck with that.
28:54
But Paul presents a sovereign Lord who intervenes.
28:57
Who pays the legal penalty? And sends his spirit to raise
29:01
the dead. That is a much better rescue
29:03
plan. It is the only rescue plan.
29:05
And finally we have antinomianism.
29:08
Antinomianism and to law. This is the idea that you can
29:12
accept Jesus as your savior to get out of hell, but you can
29:15
reject Him as your Lord. And just keep living however you
29:18
want. Right.
29:19
It is the belief that grace means there are no moral
29:22
obligations. I prayed a prayer when I was 8.
29:24
So now I can live completely for my own pleasure and God just has
29:28
to forgive me because that is His job.
29:30
That is a terrifying distortion. It really is.
29:32
Antinomianism tries to sever the priestly office of Christ from
29:36
his Kingdom kingly office. They want the sacrifice, but not
29:39
the sovereign. They want the benefits of the
29:41
sacrifice without bowing to the resurrected king.
29:44
But Paul makes it clear that you cannot divide Christ.
29:47
You cannot. The grace that saves you is the
29:50
same grace that slays your autonomy.
29:52
It is a package deal. If you claim to be under grace
29:56
but still live entirely for your own comfort and agenda.
29:59
Then what? This text calls that profession
30:02
into serious question. The purpose of the cross, the
30:06
hyena clause, was that you would no longer live for yourself.
30:09
The grace that saves also slays the self.
30:13
You cannot have the priestly sacrifice without bowing to the
30:15
resurrected king. It is mathematically impossible
30:18
in God's economy. So we have dismantled the major
30:21
theological errors. We covered the big ones.
30:24
But let us bring this all the way down to the ground now.
30:26
To everyday life. Let us talk about a random
30:29
Tuesday morning, OK? How does this text reshape our
30:33
ordinary vocations? That is the practical question.
30:36
Because, look, most listeners are not professional
30:39
theologians, right? They are driving to work, they
30:42
are making breakfast for their kids, they are managing
30:44
spreadsheets. Ordinary tasks.
30:46
How does a normal person practice the death of autonomy
30:50
when they are stuck in traffic or dealing with a difficult
30:53
client? The beauty of this text is that
30:56
it does not call a believer to abandon their ordinary callings.
31:00
So I do not have to become a monk.
31:02
You do not have to move to a monastery.
31:05
It calls you to consecrate your colleagues.
31:07
Consecrate them. You do not cease to be a worker,
31:10
a parent, a student, or a neighbor.
31:12
OK. Instead, the fundamental
31:15
question behind those roles changes entirely.
31:18
What was the old question? The old question was how can
31:20
this role feed my ego? And the new question?
31:23
The new question is how can I honor Christ in this role?
31:26
Give me some specific examples of what that shift looks like.
31:30
Let us start with the business world.
31:31
Sure, a business professional still.
31:33
Works hard. They still show up on time.
31:35
They still make a profit. They still manage employees.
31:37
But the underlying motivation shifts.
31:40
Yes, business is done for Christ, not out of unbridled
31:45
greed or a desire to build a personal empire.
31:48
So you are not stepping on throats to get ahead.
31:51
When you are no longer living for yourself, you do not crush
31:54
your competitors unethically just to boost your quarterly
31:58
earnings. Because that would be the old
32:00
passport. Right.
32:02
You treat your employees with dignity because they bear the
32:04
image of the king you follow. That changes the culture of a
32:08
company. It's completely changes it.
32:10
Your work becomes an Ave. to display honesty, to provide for
32:13
a family, and to steward resources for the Kingdom.
32:16
You might still use a spreadsheet.
32:18
But that spreadsheet is managed with cruciform humility.
32:21
Cruciform humility. I like that.
32:23
What about parenting? Parenting undergoes a massive
32:26
change. Because I see so much anxiety
32:28
and ego wrapped up in how we raise our kids today.
32:32
Oh, it is everywhere. So often parenting becomes an
32:34
exercise in parental vanity. Parental Vanity.
32:37
We want our kids to succeed in sports or academics so that we
32:41
look good to the other parents. We use them as props.
32:44
We. Treat them like extensions of
32:45
our own ego. We want them to be our little
32:48
trophies. And if they strike out a
32:50
baseball or fail a math test, we get furious.
32:53
Because it reflects poorly on us.
32:56
Exactly. But living for Christ means
32:59
parenting is about raising worshippers.
33:01
Raising worshippers. The goal is to point those
33:04
children toward the risen King. Not to use them to validate our
33:07
own worth. Right.
33:08
You love them selflessly, even when they embarrass you in
33:11
public. Which they will do.
33:13
They absolutely will, but you love them because you are no
33:17
longer living for your own reputation.
33:19
That is incredibly convicting. It forces a total reevaluation
33:22
of why we do what we do. And I imagine this applies
33:25
corporately to the local church as well It.
33:27
Absolutely applies to the church.
33:29
We mentioned the Super apostles earlier, but how does this verse
33:32
judge our modern church practices?
33:34
The local church must reject the consumerism that dominates so
33:38
much of modern religion. Because consumerism is just
33:41
feeding the self. If the congregation is gathered
33:44
to live for Christ, then the church cannot be structured
33:47
around entertainment. Or branding.
33:49
Or keeping the consumer happy. It must embrace cruciform
33:52
humility. The preaching, the worship, the
33:55
fellowship, all of it must be designed to dethrone the self
33:59
and exalt the Savior. But so many churches market
34:01
themselves to the consumer. A church that caters to consumer
34:05
preferences is just feeding the incurvatus and say.
34:08
It is telling people come here and we will cater to your inward
34:12
curvature. Yes, a biblical church tells
34:15
people, come here and die to yourself so you can truly live.
34:19
We have covered so much ground today.
34:21
It has been a rigorous discussion.
34:22
We started by diagnosing the human heart as a collapsing *.
34:26
A black hole of narcissism. Curved entirely inward.
34:29
And we saw how that disease destroyed the culture of
34:32
Corinth. And how it continues to destroy
34:34
our culture today. We saw the objective ground of
34:37
the cure too. The great High Priest.
34:39
Acting is our legal substitute, dying in our place.
34:42
Providing a legally binding transaction that secures our
34:45
salvation. We recognize the definitive
34:47
break. Burning the old passport of
34:49
autonomy. We are no longer permitted to
34:51
sit on the throne of our own lives.
34:53
And we rejoice in the new allegiance.
34:55
We live for the vindicated, resurrected.
34:58
King, who provides the spirit so we can actually obey.
35:01
The gospel is not an addition to a self determined life.
35:04
It is the total replacement of it.
35:06
That is the core synthesis of everything we have discussed
35:09
today. It is a complete paradigm shift.
35:11
It really is. So as we wrap up this deep dive
35:14
into the source material, I want to issue a direct challenge to
35:18
you, the listener. A practical challenge.
35:20
Yes, take a hard look at your life this week.
35:23
Examine your schedule. Look at your bank statements and
35:26
your spending habits. Review your online habits and
35:29
your social media presence. Ask yourself a very
35:31
uncomfortable question. Where does the self still sit on
35:35
the throne? Where are you still acting
35:37
autonomously? Where are you still curving
35:39
inward? Identify those areas, confess
35:41
them, and bring them under the lordship of the risen King.
35:44
And as you do that, consider this final, sobering thought
35:48
drawn from our sources. What is that?
35:51
We have to view our lives with an eschatological perspective.
35:54
Meaning looking toward the end. Right.
35:57
Consider the eventual return of Christ.
35:59
The king is coming back. He is, and on that day the
36:03
scriptures tell us that all the trophies we built for our own
36:06
personal glory. All the monuments to our own
36:08
autonomy. They will be burned up as wood,
36:10
hay and stubble. They will not survive the fire
36:13
of His Holiness. Only what was done for him will
36:16
remain. The question for you to Mull
36:18
over today is this. What are you building?
36:20
Are you feeding a black hole that will eventually consume
36:23
everything and leave nothing behind?
36:25
Or are you building a life oriented toward the one who died
36:28
and was raised for you? The choice is stark.
36:31
The black hole of self rule ends in darkness, but the cross and
36:35
the empty tomb offer true life. Thanks for joining us on
36:39
Reformed Thinking. Keep your eyes on the King.