December 5, 2008

Growing up in Baton Rouge, snow fell perhaps three
times in my whole life. Therefore it’s a lot of fun to live in a
place where snow falls every winter! The snow should make
us think of at least two things as believers: God’s power, and
God’s grace. “He sends forth His command to the earth; His
word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool; He scatters
the frost like ashes. He casts forth His ice as fragments; who
can stand before His cold?” (Psalm 147:15-17). God is the
one who is in control of the weather, the seasons, the air
masses, the precipitation, and our heads should be bowed as
we stand in awe at the fact that we cannot control the
weather. God is big, and we are small. He is infinite, and we
are finite. He is strong, and we are weak. Not only this, but
He is holy, and we are wicked. In this regard, however, the
snow should lift up our heads! For it points us to the forgiveness
of our sins: “‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says
the Lord, ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as
white as snow…’” (Isaiah 1:18; Ps. 51:7). In Jesus Christ, the
mediator of the new covenant, all our sins – past, present,
and future – have been forgiven once and for all. No matter
what we have done, thought, said, or felt, He does not hold
our sin against us, because He held it against His own Son on
the cross. The whiteness of Jesus’ obedience has been given
to us, and we stand unashamed and bold in the presence of
God. “There is forgiveness with You, therefore You are
feared” (Psalm 130:4). May God give us grace to redeem the
time by meditating upon His glory and gospel in the weather
this winter.

A new season means a new group of Sunday School
classes. I encourage everyone to check out the offerings for
this winter quarter. I trust there will be something from
which everyone can benefit. Note that the Inquirers’ Class is
being offered again. The Session hopes to offer this class
every quarter except the Summer in the future. If you took
this class in the fall, and would like to join our church, please
let me know so that we can arrange a time for you to meet
with the Session. We rejoice that God is adding to our number,
and we pray that He would continue to do it, especially
by conversions.

I pray that the recently-finished survey of covenant theology
was edifying to you. Although we did not get to go into as
much detail as we could have, I felt like our tour of the covenants
of promise was sufficient to give you a glimpse of the
depth and breadth of Scripture and of God’s gracious work. I
hope that the scope and grandeur of God’s redemptive plan in
Christ was encouraging to your heart, and that your commitment
to our Savior was only increased by seeing His commitment
to you. If you are interested in learning more about the
covenants, let me suggest a few resources to you. O. Palmer
Robertson’s Christ of the Covenants is the classic work of the
twentieth century. The book Back to Basics, edited by David
Hagopian, contains a wonderful section on the covenants by
Douglas Jones. In some ways his presentation, though shorter,
is even more illuminating than Robertson’s. Graeme Goldsworthy’s
Gospel and Kingdom is another short treatment of
redemptive history, as is The Unfolding Mystery, by Ed Clowney.
For those of you who desire a more scholarly treatment, I
recommend Biblical Theology, by Geerhardus Vos, or The Economy
of the Covenants Between God and Man, by Herman Witsius.
Any commentary on the Westminster Confession of Faith
should have a good section on Chapter 7 of the Confession,
“Of God’s Covenant with Man.” You can also find some good
material at the website of First Presbyterian Church-Jackson
(MS):

http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/apologetics/index_apologetics.htm.

Have you ever wondered at the fact that the birth of Jesus
Christ has drawn forth some of the most marvelous hymns of
the faith? It was that way from the beginning, and over the
next three weeks, we will be listening to the songs of the first
saints who heard the announcement of Jesus Christ’s entrance
into this world: Mary, Zacharias, and Simeon. As we do so, I
encourage you to be listening backwards – that is, listen to
how these believers look back to the covenants as they understand
the birth of Jesus. May the great joy of the good news of
Jesus’ incarnation fill your hearts not only this month, but
every month till He returns again.

Caleb