Faith – Page 2 – Witkowski Blog

March 7, 2021March 12, 2021 Peter Witkowski Discipleship

The Gospel: Rest > Work

Men and women are destined for work. Researchers recently discovered that people who retire before 65 are 11% more likely to die within ten years of saying farewell to the old cubical than those who retire after 65. The creator of Peanuts, Charles Schultz, died within hours of drawing his last Snoopy cartoon. Work grounds the human soul, providing income, direction, and a sense of purpose. If a teenager wants to impress a room of grumpy, old adults, he or she needs to only mention the creation of the snow cone business. We were made to work.

Because work proves so essential to our earthly identity, we can be tempted to measure our spiritual identity by our earthly works. We talk of the mission trips we have gone on, the checks we have written, the songs we have sung, the Sunday school pins we have collected, and the hours we have served in the nursery. We put our shoulder to the old grindstone and attempt to push our way to heaven.

But no matter how hard we work to gain God’s approval; we still feel far removed from the Lord of Heaven. He finds fault with our efforts. Even our best days contain little lies, a mean thought, or a word of anger. To make up for our mistakes, we work harder, promising to abstain from premarital sex, to finish school, and to pick up litter on the weekends. Still, the smile of God remains elusive.

How Do Get God’s Blessing?

If you are working hard to earn heaven or to earn back the favor of God because you have sinned, I encourage you to stop working and to start resting. We cannot work our way back to heaven. And, we don’t have to. Jesus came under the law to fulfill all righteousness because he is the beloved son of God. In Matthew 3:13-17, the gospel author details the baptism of Jesus to remind us of the sufficiency of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. We know longer have to work for heaven because Jesus has accomplished all righteousness.

Jesus Did It All

When Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize him, John objects. After all, Jesus has not sinned. As the parallel passage in John 1:29 makes clear, Jesus is the Messiah, “the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” He did not need to repent and get baptized for he was the answer for sin. But what John missed and what we often miss when we read this story is that Jesus came to save sinners by walking in their footsteps. Jesus came to do what you and I can never do. He came to perfectly obey God. He came under the law to fulfill the law. Because God required his children to be baptized, Jesus embraced the waters of baptism. As Jesus told John in Matthew 3:13: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus did it all. When he died on the cross the work of paying for sins was complete. He paid our debt in full.

To reach heaven, men and women do not have to do penance, travel to a South Pacific island, or perfectly attend church for a year. Christ did it all. All we must do is repent and believe. Even baptism ceases to be a requirement for heaven. While all Christians should long to be baptized as it is a sign of faithful obedience, grace exists for those who cannot enter into the waters because of illness, imprisonment, or other physical limitations. The thief on the cross could be with Jesus in paradise without baptism because Jesus had fulfilled the law (Lk. 23:43). Our salvation does not depend on us. It depends upon the work of Jesus. He did not do 90% or even 99% of it. He did it all. Rest in him.

Jesus and the Blessing of God

But such a rest makes sense only if Jesus is God. It is one thing for Jesus to identify with sinners. But we can only be confident of the efficacy of Jesus’s work on earth if we are certain that the Father delights in the work of the son. It is one thing to claim heaven. It is quite another for heaven to claim you

What set Jesus apart from every other spiritual prophet and teacher is that Jesus claimed heaven and heaven claimed Jesus. Immediately after his Baptism, Matthew records,

The heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (3:16b-17).”

The Holy Spirit anoints Jesus as the new prophet, priest and king, the new Adam who comes to usher in a new kingdom. And then the Father declares Jesus to be his beloved son with whom he is well pleased. Because Jesus is the holy son of God, the Father delights in him.

Though we cannot please the Father, Jesus does. And he does so not just for his benefit. He does so for us. The baptism of John pictures how Jesus redeems sinners. After fulfilling all righteousness, Jesus dies on the cross for sinners, submerging himself under the waters of death to pay for all of our sins. Then, he bursts forth from the water, shattering the stone that blocked his tomb and revealing that all who repent of their sins and trust in the life and death of Christ for salvation will be raised to eternal life. In other words, the Father delights in the sacrifice of Jesus. No other works or promises are needed.

Moreover, if we know the saving power of Christ and have once again stumbled like the disciples were prone to do, we do not have to cry a certain number of tears, we do not have to give X amount of money, nor do we have to stay away from church for five weeks to gain forgiveness. We do not have to work to re-earn God’s favor. God has fulfilled all righteousness. The forgiveness of God remains forever sure for it depends not upon us but upon Jesus. Draw near to God and he will always draw near to you.

Conclusion

Those who work for their salvation with great zeal do not prove themselves to be grand saints. They prove themselves to be grand fools. The Father delights in the work of Christ.

If we stop working for heaven, our earthly identities will perish, our friends will change, and we may experience all kinds of loss. But we will gain something far greater. As Jesus said in Matthew 16:25,

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Stop working and rest in the Jesus for he is the fulfillment of all righteousness the beloved son of God. All who stop working and repent and believe find eternal life.

Are you ready to retire?

December 13, 2020January 20, 2021 Peter Witkowski Apologetics

Yes, That’s Your President!

While the pundits speculate about how the presidents-elect’s agenda will unfold during the first 100 days of his or her presidency, a good number of American will sulk about, muttering “That’s not my president.” Those who sob through their candidate’s concession speech often struggle to come to terms with the election results. To comfort their souls and to stick to the system that betrayed them on election night, the members of the losing party will spend the next four years telling anyone who will listen, “That’s not my President.”

Admittedly, the phrase does not always represent a denial of reality. At times, defeated voters on both sides of the political spectrum toss out the phrase to remind their listeners that they disagree with the President. When asked why President Bush, Obama, Reagan, or Kennedy did this or that, those who did not vote for these men can conveniently and rightfully distance themselves from the discussion, reminding the room that those men were not their presidential candidate of choice. That’s not my president, agenda, or goal for America.

But often the phrase contains a more sinister meaning. The speaker uses the expression to imply a level of disrespect and defiance. Instead of honoring, supporting, and praying for the man or woman who has been elected to the Presidential office, the defeated voter seeks to create a safe space from which she can attack, insult, and belittle the President, using whatever means are necessary: conspiracy theories, lies, insults, and riots. That’s not my President often equals “I am free to rebel and to destroy.” Such thinking proves detrimental to society. It also proves to be antithetical to the Scriptures.

Election Theology

Christians should avoid the rebellious use of the phrase “That’s not my President” and confess, “That’s my President.” The statement is not inherently political. Nor is it about party affiliations or about one’s understanding of policy. Rather, that phrase is a theological confession of God’s loving sovereignty.

In Daniel 2:21 God reminds us that, “he removes kings and sets up kings.” Or as Paul says in Romans 13:1 “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” When Christians refuse to honor and respect the President, they act as if God does not reign. They imply that someone snuck into the White House while God was caring for orphans in Africa. But that is not the God of the Bible. He reigns over all human affairs and every American election cycle. His power knows no limits and cannot be out maneuvered, cheated, or overwhelmed. God’s purpose always come to be. Though we may not like the November outcome, we can be confident that the outcome of the last election was God intended outcome. “The Lord of Hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand (Isa 14:24).” John Neuahas rightly noted,

Jesus Christ is Lord. That is the first and final assertion Christians make about all of reality, including politics.

Moreover, we should be confident that the outcome of the last election is consistent with God’s goodness. Psalm 136:1 reminds us to “Give thank to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” God’s faithful love was not on the last ballot. All events represent God’s exercise of his sovereign power for the good of his people. Romans 8:28 famously states “all things work together for good” for those who love God. That includes all things political. Even the political realities that get under our skin still further God’s good plans for his church and for you. Consequently as Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes clear:

Christians should never get excited about the state. They should never get excited about politics. They are to be interested; they are to vote; they must be intelligent and informed; but they should never get excited about one political party or the other…to they extent that they do, the come under the condemnation of the Scriptures.

What is God Doing?

In the cosmic sense, I do not know why candidate A prevails over that candidate B. I cannot detail what God is doing; no one can. Even historical investigation faces limits when seeking to discern the purposes of the heavenly Father. God has declared, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD (Is 55:8).” Be suspicious of those who proclaim that candidate A is a symbol of divine blessing and that candidate B is a symbol of judgement. God’s world is far more complex than that. Philistia, Babylon, and Assyria all had good runs at Israel’s political expense. But God was not with the pagan countries. Today’s win or loss is not the end of the story.

Closing Thoughts

Though we do not know what God is doing in the short term, we do know who is. He is the good and sovereign Lord of the universe who works all things together for our good. We can say, “That’s my President” giving respect to whom respect is do and praying for good to come from the administration currently in possession of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1 Tim 2:2). The failure to do reveals that we have betrayed our Lord and equated the kingdom of God with a political party.

Of course, we can disagree with any President’s agenda. The presence in office does not prove the righteousness of their causes or policies. Might does not make right. We have the freedom in Christ to vote for candidates that will overturn the current administration’s policy wins and the next.

Lastly, the church must advocate for truth and justice, sharing the gospel with rulers as Paul did and rebuking kings who openly defy the direct commands of Scripture as John the Baptist did.

But even in those moments of evangelism and rebuke, the Christian must still confess, “That’s my President.” God’s goodness cannot be thwarted by crooked senators or deceptive Presidents. Even when its not ok; it is ok. God reigns.

All Christians should be able to say, “That’s My President.” What say you?

April 2, 2020April 9, 2020 Peter Witkowski Memos

Memo: April’s Cancer Update – April 2020

covid 19 blog The world we spoke of last December has been transformed by the COVID-19 crisis. In our last update, we talked about airplane rides, hospital excursions, and theme park rides. Now, we wear masks to the grocery store, avoid airplanes, and enter hospitals with trepidation. The world of April’s healthcare has also been profoundly shaped by the coronavirus pandemic.

Though the coronavirus threateningly flies above our world, April’s health remains secure from the present threat of cancer. Her latest bone scan and CT scan have arrived full of good news. The tumors in her bones remain unchanged, having neither grown nor shrunk. And the tumors in her breast, lymph nodes, and liver have shrunk. We praise God for this good report. April can continue on with her current treatment plan.

Despite the good news, our home remains on high alert because of the COVID-19 threat.

April resides in the high-risk category because of her cancer and because her medications suppress her immune system. Were she to contract COVID-19, her chances for survival would be substantially lower than the average person. Moreover, doctors have noted that women with estrogen tend to be less susceptible to the virus. Since April has Her2- PR+ and ER+ cancer, she takes medicine that eliminates all of the estrogen from her body, placing her at greater risk than most. Not wanting to chance her health, we have embraced the quarantine, turning our home into a little fortress.

Because the COVID-19 dragon roams about our state, we have temporally shut our door to hospitality. We no longer accept the gracious offers of our friends to clean our house, cook us meals, and to watch our children. To strengthen our defenses, we stepped away from birthday parties and other social gatherings more than a week before the President recommended that all groups be limited to ten or less people. We limited Lily’s butterfly, dance, birthday party to our two fairy princes and one knight. We seldom cross the drawbridge of isolation into the COVID-19 world, visiting stores about once a week without leaving our car. We spend the remainder of our time, working from home, Cloroxing packages, and playing with our little kiddos. Luke, Lily, and Lacey have become acquainted with the virus, telling neighbor that they can’t play because of the coronavirus. Though we lament the need to fortify our home, we do not want April’s health to be undone by secondary causes.

IMG-7678 (1) We have not been the only one to mobilize our defenses. Both the Mayo Clinic and the University of Virginia have locked down their campuses. As the spread of the virus swept across the nation, April remained in contact with both medical teams. With one voice, the doctors at Mayo and UVA recommended moving April’s scans from Minnesota to Virginia, breaking protocol so that April could continue her treatment in the safest environment available.

Though the trip to Charlottesville takes about an hour, April found her trip this past Tuesday to be just as daunting as her six plus hour trips to Mayo. For the first time in her cancer journey, April had to go to an appointment without me. We did not want to expose our family to the outside world. When she arrived at the hospital, she went through numerous screenings. As she walked through the hospital that bore an eerie resemblance to this dystopian movie, she saw orange warning sign after orange warning sign requiring patients to keep their distance and to report their symptoms to a healthcare worker. She then sat in the “high-risk” waiting area, catching only glimpses of fellow, mask wearing patients being overseen by medical staff and security guards. Spaces that usually contained 30 to 50 patients now held only her. Thankfully all the precautions proved effective. April crossed the drawbridge back into our little fortress seemingly untouched by COVID-19.

Though the world suffers under darkness, our little fortress bustles with joy because we have seen God answer our prayers. He has blessed April with good scans. Moreover, as challenges related to the COVID-19 crisis have arisen, God has given April the strength to meet them. When the year began, April lacked the strength to cook meals, to clean, and to care for our kids. The past ten months, we have prayed for God to bless April with the ability to clean and to manage and teach our children at home. Today, she is able to do both. We can say with the Psalmist, “Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.” Our hearts are full of thanks! Thank you for praying for us.

Please continue to lift us up to the Lord.

Pray that God will heal April and keep her and our family safe from COVID-19.
Pray that God will give us wisdom as we seek to balance caring for April and caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pray that God will continue to give April daily strength and energy.
Pray that the quarantine will strengthen our marriage and our relationships with our children.
Pray that God would save our children.