“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.” (Hebrews 10:12–13).
What do we do as we live in this crazy world of ours? What do we do as we see our culture falling to pieces and insanity creeping up to a fever pitch? These are the questions of our time, and they are not unimportant.
The first thing we do is we remember that the root of cultural chaos is sin. It is not, fundamentally, the Left, or progressive ideology, or young, radicalized university students, or gender ideology, though these things may be the vehicle. Rather, we remember that the fundamental thing, the engine driving all of it, is sin and rebellion against God. Sin — our sin — is the root and cause of all the mayhem and insanity in our culture at the present moment.
This point is important to bear in mind, because it means that, secondly, we can find hope, strength, and comfort in the reality that Jesus Christ is a great Saviour and a great King, and one perfectly suited for the task of saving and redeeming sinners.
To put it plainly, Christ Jesus is the man for the hour.
Just consider the text above. Consider how capable, competent, able, and well-suited the Lord Jesus Christ is for dealing with a moment like ours. Yes, things are crazy; yes, wickedness is abounding; yes, justice seems lost and truth is trampled in the public square. But the hope of this text is that Jesus is alive, that His blood has made atonement for our sins, and that He has ascended to the right hand of the Father to take up rule over every crevice and corner of the universe.
What this means is that, in one sense, it doesn’t matter how dark the world becomes, because we have a Saviour and a King, reigning in heaven, whom the darkness can never overcome. We have One whom the shadow can never reach. We have a high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He has inherited the world. And one day, by the power of His grace, He will make this world new again.
This is the hope of the Christian gospel. This is the hope of the church throughout the ages. So take heart, Christian. Believe in God. Believe in the power of the gospel and the glorious ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Put to death every inclination toward despair. Put to death every impulse toward fretful, anxious frustration. And fix your eyes upon what is ultimate and eternal: Christ Jesus, the Saviour of sinners and the Lord of the world.
This is our hope in times of trouble and it is a hope that will not put us to shame.
So easy to give in to fear of what man may do. A friend and I were discussing this yesterday. How weak seem prayer and faith and yet that is exactly where Jesus' power is seen. May we all remember to focus on Him and not the problems we see.
Great synopsis of your excellent sermon Jacob!