Latest / Reformed Thinking / Loss, Reward, and Reversal in the Kingdom of Christ (Matthew 19:27–30)

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Loss, Reward, and Reversal in the Kingdom of Christ (Matthew 19:27–30) · Reformed Thinking

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Well, you know, usually when we evaluate a financial investment,
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there's this expectation of absolute precision.
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Yeah. That is definitely how our minds
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work. You place a specific amount of
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capital on one side of a brass balance scale, and you expect to
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see the calculated return on the other side.
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Right, You invest your money, you calculate the compound
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interest and you get your guaranteed yield.
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It is quantifiable, it is clean, and it makes perfect sense to
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our logical, accounting driven brains.
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We like our ledger's to balance perfectly.
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We really do. We want our accounts to be fully
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settled and notarized before we ever commit our resources.
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But then you step into the theology of the Kingdom of
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Heaven, and suddenly that pristine balance scale is
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completely shattered. We are looking at a divine
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economy that is honestly shocking to our human
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sensibilities. It is a massive paradigm shift.
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It is so welcome to Reformed Thinking, where we take a deep
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dive into provided theological sources to extract the most
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fascinating insights. I am your host, acting as your
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curious guide on this pursuit of knowledge.
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And I am thrilled to be here to unpack this with you.
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Today we are setting our sights on a striking passage of
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Scripture. We are looking at Matthew 19
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versus 27 through 30. It is such a weighty text.
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To set the scene for you, we have to look closely at what
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happens right before this text. A wealthy young ruler has just
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walked away from Jesus Christ. Yes, and you have to understand
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the sheer magnitude of this man's wealth in the 1st century
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context. Right.
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This is not just a guy with a healthy retirement account.
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Not at all. This is a man who possessed vast
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agrarian estates. He likely wore imported silk
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garments, commanded hundreds of servants and held massive social
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standing in his community. And in the eyes of the religious
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culture of his day, his immense wealth was seen as visible proof
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of God's favor. Yeah, they equated material
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prosperity with spiritual blessing, but he walked away
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from the Son of God sorrowful because he loved his possessions
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too much to surrender them. He would not trade his earthly
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now for a heavenly later. No, he held on too tightly.
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In stark contrast to that wealthy ruler, we have the
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disciples standing right there in the dust.
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They actually did leave their homes, their trades, their
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boats, their tax booths, and all their worldly security.
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They are standing there with calloused hands, their clothes
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smelling of the Sea of Galilee, having sacrificed their entire
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livelihoods. Our mission for today's Deep
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Dive is to unpack what it means to follow Christ at great cost
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without falling into the subtle trap of treating the Creator of
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the universe like a cosmic vending machine.
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That is a trap we all fall into very easily.
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O Before we look at Eter's massive misunderstanding in the
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text, I will hand the floor to you to set the stage for us.
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Where are we in Matthew's narrative and what is the
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central tension we are dealing with?
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Well, we are standing at one of the most vital crossroads in the
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entire Gospel of Matthew. We are examining a text that
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acts as a conceptual bridge. A bridge taking the reader from
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the high, agonizing cost of discipleship straight into the
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sovereign grace of heavenly rewards.
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Precisely what makes this specific text so brilliant is
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how it holds 2 massive theological realities in perfect
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tension. Like the law and the Gospel.
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Yes, exactly. On one side we have the harsh,
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piercing reality of the law. The law functions here as an
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absolute mirror, exposing the hidden covetousness of the human
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heart. Revealing the idols of earthly
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security, right? Right.
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And showing us our natural fallen inclination to bargain
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with the Creator. It shows us that even our best,
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most painful sacrifices are often tainted with selfish
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motives. And on the other side of that.
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Bridge On the other side, we have the brilliant blinding
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light of the gospel. The Gospel announces Christ's
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remedy, offering absolute, sovereign grace to those who
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possess absolutely zero merit of their own.
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That is such a vital distinction for us it.
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Is as Protestant Christians who adhere to Reformed theology in
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the Westminster Confession, we recognize that this passage is
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not some moralistic fable encouraging us to simply try
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harder or, you know, white knuckle our obedience.
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Or just put more money into the offering plate.
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Exactly. It is a stunning exposition of a
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coming new world, anchoring our hope in the literal future reign
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of Christ upon. So the wealthy young ruler went
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away empty because he gripped the present world too tightly.
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Yeah, while the disciples stood there trembling, having
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surrendered their entire safety net, asking the question that
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lingers in every single human heart today.
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What then will we have? That is the question.
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That brings us directly to the poverty of pragmatic faith
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centered entirely on Peter's calculation.
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We move directly from that wealthy young ruler who would
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not sacrifice a single copper coin straight to Peter.
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Peter, who sacrificed his entire fishing enterprise but still
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managed to completely miss the mark in his reasoning.
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Yeah, in verse 27, Peter speaks on behalf of the 12 disciples
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and says, see we have left everything and followed you.
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What then will we have? There are some fascinating
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details regarding the original Greek text here that highlights
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specifically what is happening in Peter's mind.
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The text. Uses the Greek particle Edu,
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which translates to see or behold.
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Right. Yes.
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And this is not a casual throwaway observation being
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tossed out around a campfire while roasting fish.
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This is a demonstrative, almost aggressive call for attention.
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It signals that Peter is presenting a formal, almost
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legal case before the King. He is essentially pointing at
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his own Ledger. Wow.
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And then we have to look at the phrasing having followed.
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Right, which translates an aorist active participle in the
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original Greek. Peter's phrasing here is
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incredibly final. It does not just mean we decided
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to follow you for a while. No, the aorist aspect indicates
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a definitive severed chord. They burned the ships.
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There was no backup plan. They did not just add Jesus to
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their weekend schedule as a religious supplement.
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They abandoned their boats. And in the 1st century fishing
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industry on the Sea of Galilee, leaving your Nets meant letting
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rival families take over your fishing routes.
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It was economic suicide. Yes, their sacrifice was
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incredibly genuine and viscerally real.
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But I have to push back here with a challenging question for
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you. God promises rewards all over
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the Bible. He certainly does.
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Moses looked to the recompense of the reward.
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Believers are told to seek a better heavenly country.
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Why is Peter's specific question seen as such a massive flaw?
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It is a great question. To me, it feels like an analogy
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of a friend who helps you move out of your apartment.
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Imagine a friend who wakes up at 6:00 in the morning, brings his
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own heavy duty truck and sweats all weekend lifting heavy
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couches and dressers out of genuine love for you.
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OK, I can picture that. But then at the end of the day,
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as you are sitting on the couch eating the pizza you bought for
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everyone, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a piece of
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paper, and hands you an itemized invoice for his labor, demanding
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an hourly wage. It instantly shifts the entire
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relationship from a beautiful act of grace to a cold,
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calculated business transaction. Is that what Peter is doing
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here? That analogy of the itemized
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invoice captures the precise failure of Peter's mindset
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perfectly. So he is handing God an invoice.
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He really is. The danger hidden in Peter's
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question is that it exposes A mercenary transactional faith.
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The inferential connector in his question, the what then reveals
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a heart heavily engaged in spiritual bookkeeping.
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Yes, Peter is literally acting as an accountant attempting to
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calculate the exact return on his investment.
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Even though the disciple sacrifice was historically real,
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physical and economically devastating.
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The phrase what then will we have?
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Shows that the fallen human heart constantly tries to place
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God under an obligation. We call this a quid pro quo
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theology. The heart easily and silently
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shifts from humble trust to subtle self.
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Congratulations. Exactly.
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Peter's thinking entirely in commercial terms.
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He is saying we have given this specific amount of physical
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labor, we have forfeited the specific amount of property and
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income, So what specific quantifiable compensation do we
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receive in return? Using our framework of Reformed
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theology and looking to the Westminster Confession of Faith,
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specifically Chapter 16 regarding good works, we must
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acknowledge A humbling reality. And that reality is that our
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best works and our highest, most painful sacrifices are utterly
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defiled. They're mixed with impure
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motives. They cannot merit the pardon of
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sin or secure eternal life by their own intrinsic value,
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because the distance between God and man is infinitely vast.
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We simply cannot put the Creator in our debt.
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Never. The poverty of Peter's pragmatic
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faith is that it is vastly too small.
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He is asking for a daily paycheck and a pat on the back
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when Jesus Christ is offering him a staggering cosmic Kingdom.
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Fallen man does not naturally come to God as a beggar pleading
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for mercy. He cugs as an auditor, quietly
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keeping records of what he has endured, waiting for his invoice
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to be paid. That is so true.
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God is never, ever a debtor to man's sacrifice.
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Since Peter's transactional mindset is so heavily flawed,
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the natural question you have to ask is how Jesus responds to
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him. Does Jesus scold Peter?
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Does he kick him out of the inner circle for asking such a
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greedy Ledger driven question? No, Jesus actually bypasses the
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petty calculation entirely and points Peter toward a staggering
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cosmic horizon. Jesus introduces this concept of
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the Pelangenesia. Which translates to the
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regeneration or the new world, right?
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Yes, that is the literal translation.
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Let me offer another analogy to picture what Jesus is proposing
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here. Imagine you live in a house that
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is rotting from the inside out. The foundation is cracked, the
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roof is caving in, the plumbing is destroyed, and black mold is
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creeping up every single wall. This is like a complete
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teardown. Exactly.
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Peter is essentially asking Jesus for a broom so he can
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sweep the floors of his decaying house and get paid $5 for his
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sweeping. That is a tragic
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underestimation. Right.
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But Jesus is saying, no, I'm not handing you a broom to clean a
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cursed condemned house. I'm going to bring in a
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bulldozer, tear this entire cursed structure down to the
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bedrock, and raise up a flawless eternal estate from the ashes.
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Jesus bypasses the petty Ledger and offers a completely new
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creation. But I want you to break down the
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mechanism of this very specific word pelangenesia, because it is
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an incredibly rare term that carries massive weight.
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It is indeed a rare term. It appears only twice in the
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entire New Testament corpus, and its weight in this context is
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absolutely critical for our biblical theological
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understanding of redemptive history.
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Let us look at the historical context of that word.
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In the ancient Greco Roman world, specifically among the
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Stoics philosophers, this word was used to describe a cyclical,
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impersonal destruction and rebirth.
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The Stoics. Believe the universe would
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periodically burn up in a great cosmic conflagration, right?
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Yes, and. Then reform itself to play out
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the exact same history all over again.
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A continuous, depressing loop of burning and reforming with no
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ultimate resolution. Wow.
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That is bleak, and on the other hand, in our modern era, secular
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philosophy often attempts to interpret the concept of a new
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world through the lens of evolutionary theory or
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continuous. Human driven social progress.
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But the Holy Spirit commandeers this vocabulary to describe
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something entirely different from both the Stoics and the
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modern secularists. The Paleogenesia.
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Is a linear, cataclysmic divine rebirth of the earth we were
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talking. About the literal millennial
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Kingdom, where the curse of sin is finally and fully reversed.
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The ground will no longer produce thorns and thistles.
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The wolf will lie down with the Lamb.
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Furthermore, Christ makes a specific staggering promise to
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the 12 apostles. Here they will sit on 12 Thrones
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judging the 12 tribes of Israel. Yes.
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And as Reformed believers utilizing this text, we affirm A
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dispensational stance that holds to a literal future for ethnic
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Israel that remains distinct from the church to.
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Allegorize these 12 tribes, yeah, and say they just
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represent the church would do violence to the literal
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grammatical sense of scripture. It really.
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Would God's ancient promises regarding the Davidic King
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reigning from a literal Jerusalem over a restored
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physical nation are secure? Jesus is.
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Promised promising and eschatological reality that so
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far outweighs any temporal loss. The disciples of experience that
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Peter's request for a wage becomes almost comical.
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It really. Highlights how small our
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thinking is compared to God's plans.
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I want to point. Out a very specific detail
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within that promise of the Thrones, because it establishes
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a massive Christological anchor for everything we are
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discussing, yes. The order of the Thrones is
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crucial before. Jesus ever mentions the
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disciples sitting on their 12 Thrones.
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He mentions his own throne first.
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Jesus says when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his
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glory. Why does the order matter so
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much here? Why does?
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Jesus position his own exaltation ahead of the
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disciples authority. The reality is that the glory of
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the Servant is entirely derivative.
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Absolutely. The disciples do not enter into
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this blessing as independent claimants who have earned a seat
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of honor by the strict monetary value of their fishing Nets and
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tax booths. They only get.
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Thrones because they are united to the Son of Man, their future.
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Authority is an extension of His Kingdom, not an independent
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entitlement detached from Him. Christ's.
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Exaltation is the sole anchor for the believers hope Jesus is
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drawing heavily on the apocalyptic language of Daniel
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Chapter 7 where one. Like a Son of Man approaches the
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Ancient of Days and receives eternal dominion.
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He is. Showing them that their
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vindication rests entirely on his vindication that.
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Specific order changes everything about how we view
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discipleship and rewards. It destroys every single hint of
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human merit if we. Focus on the disciples Thrones
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first. We risk reading the text in a
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man centered, arrogant way, but by.
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Centering the enthroned Christ, we see that the reward in the
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Kingdom is absolutely real, yet it flows completely from union
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with the Savior. The.
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Glory of the Servant is rooted completely in the glory of the
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Master, the. Disciples judge only because he
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is the supreme judge. They reign only because He
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reigns. This.
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Completely purifies Peter's flawed understanding of reward.
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Peter asked. What the disciples would have
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but Jesus teaches him to ask first what glory belongs to the
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Son of Man, when his. Glory remains central.
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Our reward is seen rightly, not as wages owed to us by a divine
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employer, but as a gracious, overflowing participation in the
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triumph of our King. It is a.
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Beautiful shift in perspective sitting.
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On literal Thrones in a renewed cosmos.
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Sounds incredible for the 12 apostles.
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But if you are listening to this right now, maybe driving to work
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or folding laundry, you naturally have to ask what this
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means for you and. Jesus anticipates this exact
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thought by widening the camera lens in verse 29.
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He moves. From the specific 12 apostles to
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everyone Jesus. Declares that anyone who leaves
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houses, siblings, parents, or lands for my name's sake will
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receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life when you
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look. At that list of sacrifices,
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houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, life,
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children, lands. It is incredibly intense.
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You really have to. Understand the 1st century
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agrarian reality in the. Ancient Mediterranean world,
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family and real estate were the core markers of a person's
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identity, physical survival and security.
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You did not. Have a government safety net.
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You did not have unemployment insurance.
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You had your. Family's plot of land and your
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blood relatives. If you were cast out of your
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family, you lost your protection, your income and your
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social standing it meant. Absolute terrifying ruin so my.
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Question is, is Jesus promoting asceticism here?
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Should we actively look for ways to make ourselves miserable?
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That is a. Common misunderstanding, Should
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we? Purposefully abandoned, our
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families sell our houses and live in caves just to prove how
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holy we are. The short.
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Answer is absolutely no, Jesus is not promoting asceticism.
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We have to look closely at the controlling phrase in that verse
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for my name. 'S sake, yes.
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That specific phrase governs every single aspect of the
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sacrifice. There is 0 inherent virtue in
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deprivation itself suffering. For the sake of suffering,
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pride, fanaticism or self-righteous ambition receives
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absolutely no commendation from Christ.
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You can. Sell everything you own and live
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in a desert, but if it is not driven by love for Christ, it is
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useless. The sacrifice.
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Jesus, blesses, is specifically the one born for his name's
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sake. It is.
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Valid only when it is a natural byproduct of absolute devotion
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to Christ arising from loyalty to His person and obedience to
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His will when forced to choose between Him and the world
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Furthermore. We must use this text to strike
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a hard, decisive blow against the modern prosperity gospel.
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Oh, absolutely. God is not a celestial vending
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machine where you insert a sacrifice of $10 and receive 100
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literal houses in return, if we interpret.
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The hundredfold. As a crude guarantee of
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immediate material prosperity, we contradict the entire pattern
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of suffering and martyrdom found throughout the New Testament.
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The Hundredfold. Return often manifests in the
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present age through the staggering richness of the
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global church when a. Believer loses their natural
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family for Christ. They gain millions of brothers
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and sisters in the faith. We have to.
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Remember the global reality right now, there are currently
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365,000,000 Christians globally facing extreme levels of
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persecution. That number?
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Is just heartbreaking. It is.
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Picture a believer in North Africa or the Middle East who
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receives believers baptism and is subsequently completely
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disowned, beaten and exiled by their physical family for that.
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Person. This verse is not a cute
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metaphor, it is a literal lifeline they find.
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Their shared resources, their shelter, and their new family in
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the global body of Christ and their ultimate unshakable
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security in the coming Kingdom. I want to.
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Highlight the word inherit at the end of that verse because it
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perfectly captures the grace you were describing Jesus.
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Says they will inherit everlasting life.
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You do not. Earn an inheritance by working a
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minimum wage job for it. And inheritance is never earned.
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It is received solely based on a relationship you inherit.
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Because you are part of the family by birth or adoption if
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my. Wealthy uncle leaves me a
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massive estate. I do not walk into the probate
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court and present a resume of my good deeds to the estate lawyer.
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I just proved my relation to the uncle.
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Precisely that language of inheritance is highly weighty
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and intentionally chosen. It brings us back to the
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Westminster Confession regarding the doctrines of adoption and
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justification. We.
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Receive eternal life, not as wages for our renunciation, not
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as a paycheck for our suffering, but because we are joined heirs
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through our union with Christ the True.
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Son Jesus Christ was forsaken by his Father on the cross,
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stripped of everything so that we might never be forsaken.
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He earned the. Inheritance through his perfect
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obedience and substitutionary death.
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And we receive it by sheer, unadulterated grace.
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Jesus. Teaches the reality of reward
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without ever endorsing human merit.
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Even our willingness to give up earthly security, even the
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strength to endure persecution, is a fruit of the grace already
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at work within us. The promise.
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Magnifies Christ's infinite generosity.
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Not human deserving and just. As you might start feeling
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overly confident about your own sacrifices, Jesus drops a
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massive gargrail in verse 30 to shatter any lingering spiritual
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pride, he says. But many who are first will be
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last, and the last first. It is a.
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Piercing paradox that completely upends our human metrics of
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success it's a. Devastating indictment of the
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self-righteous, this. Proverb functions as a divine
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inclusio. It is a literary envelope that
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brackets the text and prepares the reader for the upcoming
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parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
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In Matthew chapter 20 it acts. As a sweeping declaration of the
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great reversal that characterizes the Kingdom of God
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by. Placing this stark warning
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immediately after the magnificent promises of the
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Palangenesia and the hundredfold reward, the text ensures that
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our hope is anchored in sovereign grace rather than a
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mercenary, calculating spirit human.
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Measurements of success, wealth, visibility, public influence,
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book deals, and even visible religious sacrifice are highly
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unreliable guides to Kingdom reality.
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The world. Demands that the wealthy, the
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loud, and the powerful remain at the head of the line.
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But Christ dismantles every single system of human merit.
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Wait. I have.
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To push back on this inversion because Jesus intentionally says
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many who are first will be last, not all that.
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Is a very keen observation does this.
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Mean every single affluent or highly visible Christian
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business. This man is doing it wrong, and
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every obscure poor Christian is automatically holy.
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Is this just a divine version of a Marxist class inversion where
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the rich are automatically damned and the poor are
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automatically saved? By virtue of their bank
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accounts, that is. A crucial distinction, and we
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must avoid that trap. This is not a simplistic
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automatic economic inversion. Jesus intentionally uses the
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word many, not all earthly. Conditions do not automatically
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reverse themselves simply based on economics or class struggle,
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right? The point is that GRAS
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arithmetic does not match human accounting.
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He looks entirely at the hidden realities of the heart.
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Some who? Appear first in the church.
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Perhaps a wealthy philanthropist or a prominent leader.
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Truly are first because grace has made them genuinely
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faithful, generous, and humble with their massive resources.
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Conversely. Some who appear last, perhaps
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someone living in poverty, truly are last because unbelief,
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bitterness and envious hatred still reigns supreme in their
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hearts. But many cases will simply not
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align with human expectation. A man.
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May seem first because he is visibly zealous, yet his heart
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is swollen with pride. Another may appear last,
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unnoticed, unimpressive, lacking eloquence by worldly standards,
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yet be incredibly precious in the sight of Christ.
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This is also. Deeply tied to the covenantal
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shift occurring in the 1st century.
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Yes, the religious. Leaders of Israel, the Pharisees
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and Sadducees, who were first in terms of privilege, education,
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and proximity to the law, were largely being set aside in their
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unbelief, while the. Last, the despised tax
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collectors, the prostitutes and the uneducated sinners were
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being grafted into the immense blessings of the Kingdom and the
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ultimate. Embodiment of this great
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reversal brings our focus squarely back to Christ himself.
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Christ. Is the supreme illustration of
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verse 30. He was the eternal first He.
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Existed in heavenly glory, rich in divine majesty, commanding
22:29
the worship of angels. Yet.
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He voluntarily became last. He took on the frail form of a
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servant, endured the absolute shame, torture, and rejection of
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the Roman cross, and was slain as though he were a criminal of
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no account. He embraced.
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The ultimate lastness of the crucifixion, so that we who are
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last and utterly lost in our sins could be brought into the
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family of God as firsts. He's the.
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Pattern the ground and the absolute, guarantee the reward.
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We walk behind the crucified and risen Lord.
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Yes, and. Recognizing that crystal
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theological pattern protects the passage from every form of
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self-righteous interpretation if we read these.
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Verses Without Christ at the absolute center, we slip right
23:09
back into the mud of moralism, thinking we just need to give
23:11
things up to get better things later.
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We turn it. Back into a Ledger.
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But because Christ became last for us, our union with him is
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the theological key that unlocks the entire passage.
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We suffer. As those united to the suffering
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Christ, and we are rewarded only because we belong to the beloved
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Son that is the. Heart of the matter, we are
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moving. From the theological heights of
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the Great Reversal down to the practical boots on the ground
23:34
reality, how does this text actually search the head, the
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heart, and the hands We. Can break this down into
23:42
distinct applications for different types of hearers let's
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walk through these first we. Have the unbeliever or the
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comfortable Christian. For this group, the law exposes
23:52
the idol of financial security and family approval, a man.
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Might cloak his fear in the respectable language of prudence
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or responsible timing, while in truth he is simply unwilling to
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lose anything for the Lord Jesus.
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I want to. Point out the specific danger of
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family idolatry. In conservative Christian
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circles, there is a massive temptation to elevate the
24:13
nuclear family above the call of the gospel.
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It happens all the. Time we can turn our desire for
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our parents approval or our children's comfort into a golden
24:20
calf that keeps us from radical obedience to Christ.
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The text. Then addresses a second group,
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the weary St. or the persecuted believer for those.
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Who have lost careers, forfeited lucrative opportunities, or
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endured heartbreaking rejection from family over biblical
24:36
ethics. The Gospel offers massive,
24:38
unshakeable consolation. To these battered believers,
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Christ says that no loss born for his name is ever forgotten
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the world. May see your life as a series of
24:48
subtractions and count you a fool, but Christ promises
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unimaginable abundance. This does not.
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Mean every sorrow was magically removed in the present age, but
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it means the enthroned son of man keeps perfect account not in
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the. Called calculating manner of a
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Wall Street bookkeeper, but in the tender, intimate
25:04
faithfulness of a Redeemer who knows the number of hairs on
25:07
your head, your current. Lastness in the eyes of a God
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hating world is the very evidence of your coming
25:13
firstness in the Kingdom. Then we have a.
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Third group, the hidden servant. This is for.
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The mother praying quietly in the night for her children while
25:20
the world sleeps, or the obscure pastor laboring in a tiny rural
25:24
church for decades without any fame, podcast deals or
25:27
conference invitations? This.
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Text completely frees them from the exhausting hamster wheel of
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seeking a platform. In our culture, we constantly
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equate visibility with divine pleasure.
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But Christ? 'S judgement is not managed by
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public perception or social media algorithms.
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He knows the hidden tears and the unnoticed obedience he sees.
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Everything done in secret to. Illustrate how we should handle
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earthly wealth and relationships.
25:53
Think about the difference between holding a depreciating
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Fiat currency and trading it for an internal asset that is an.
25:59
Excellent way to frame it if you live in a.
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Country experiencing hyperinflation.
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Holding on to stacks of paper money is foolish.
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You grip it tightly, but it loses its value every single
26:10
second. It is worthless.
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Tomorrow the only. Logical move is to trade that
26:14
collapsing paper money for solid gold, an asset that holds its
26:18
value holding. On to earthly treasures with a
26:20
tight fisted control is like hoarding hyperinflating paper
26:23
money while the economy collapses.
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You lose it all but if you. Open your hands and surrender
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those earthly things for the sake of Christ's eternal
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Kingdom. You are trading the temporary
26:33
for the eternal that. Analogy of trading the temporary
26:37
currency for the eternal asset leads US directly to the third
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use of the law, which is the normative use guiding the
26:44
grateful obedience of the believer.
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We. Do not white knuckle our way
26:48
into the Kingdom. We do not forsake the world in
26:52
order to earn eternal life. We forsake.
26:54
The world because we've already been seized by the one who is
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eternal life, our. Obedience, our open handed
27:00
surrender of our wealth and our relationships, is fueled
27:03
entirely by the strength of the Holy Spirit at work within us
27:06
due to our union with Christ, the imperative.
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Command to leave all for Christ's name is grounded firmly
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in the indicative reality of the gospel we work.
27:14
Out our salvation because God is actively at work in US, willing
27:17
and doing for his good pleasure. The law humbles the arrogant
27:20
disciple, but the gospel comforts the broken one.
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All of this. Incredible theology becomes
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highly tangible in the actual physical life of the Church.
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As we wrap up this deep dive, I want to leave you with a final
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provocative thought to Mull over it is.
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Something every believer should consider consider.
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The ordinance of the Lord's Supper When believers gather on
27:40
the Lord's Day to take the bread in the cup, it is not a simple
27:44
empty symbol or a mental exercise.
27:46
It connects. Directly to everything we've
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discussed today about the physical realities of the coming
27:50
Kingdom, it absolutely. Does the Lord's supper is the
27:53
visible word of God when the. CEO who is first in the eyes of
27:57
the world, and the impoverished widow who is last sit together
28:01
at one communion table. They are completely equal in
28:04
their desperate need for grace and equal.
28:06
In their righteous standing through union with Christ,
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furthermore. Partaking of the physical bread
28:11
and the cup acts as an actual tangible foretaste of the
28:15
messianic banquet waiting for us in the literal coming Palin
28:18
genesia it nourishes. Our souls as we wait patiently
28:22
for the physical establishment of Christ's earthly reign,
28:25
showing us that the material world matters to God and will be
28:28
redeemed. It is a.
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Beautiful promise to rest on. Thank you SO.
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Much for joining us today on Reformed Thinking.
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We have covered massive ground from Peter's flawed Ledger
28:37
driven calculation to the staggering reality of the New
28:40
World and the cosmic rebirth it has.
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Been an incredible discussion, I want to leave.
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You. With this lingering thought, our
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human ledgers, our spreadsheets, and our balance scales are
28:52
entirely broken in the divine economy.
28:54
You simply. Cannot put your sacrifices on
28:56
one side of a scale and demand an exact hourly wage from the
29:00
creator. The only.
29:01
Way to truly be first in Christ's Kingdom is to be
29:04
completely hidden in the One who voluntarily made Himself last
29:07
for us. Until next time, keep trading
29:10
those temporary currencies for the eternal asset.