Pulpit and Proclamation: Recent Episodes
Trent Roseman
Jesus’ authority both gives us a (1) foretaste of future glory and (2) assurance of demonic defeat.
First, His authority gives us a foretaste of future glory because in seeing His power to dispel disease we can see a glimpse of the day where there will be no more Covid, cancer, or cardiovascular problems. A day with no more asthma, arthritis, or Alzheimer’s disease. A day when God will resurrect our bodies anew without any of the physical effects of the fall.
Second, His authority also gives us assurance that he will be able to defeat all of His and our enemies
• He debilitated them with his communication (this passage)
• He disarmed them on the cross (Colossians 2)
• And he will defeat them at His second coming (Revelation 20)
Demons and the devil himself are enemies of God, but they are defeated enemies, who:
1) Shudder in terror because of the knowledge of God (James 2:19)
2) Have been disarmed and put to public shame (Colossians 2:15)
3) Will be seized (Revelation 20:2)
4) Will be squashed under our feet (Romans 16:20)
5) And will ultimately suffer forever (Revelation 20:10)
Subjecting them under his control, Jesus shows that he will conquer them without any challenge or contest!
At first glance Paul saying “work out your salvation” seems to mean my work is in some sort a means to my salvation.
However, Paul is not trying to exhort the believers to attain their salvation, but rather to keep on pursuing the Lord of their salvation. The process of sanctification is different from the position of justification.
Justification is a believer’s right standing before God because of their faith in Him. Sanctification as I already mentioned is the lifelong process of growing in Christlikeness.
While justification is a position, sanctification is a process.
A lot of us view the Jonah getting swallowed by a giant fish as something tragic that happened to Jonah. However, the only thing tragic in the book of Jonah is his defiance and disobedience against the Lord. The fish is the triumphant grace of God. The fish was not the consequence for Jonah’s sin, the fish was the answer to Jonah’s prayer.
The crazy thing in the book of Jonah is not that Jonah got swallowed by a fish. The crazy thing in the book of Jonah is that God saved Jonah.