Quote from Forum Archives on May 16, 2003, 11:50 am

Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>

THE SEAL OF REDEMPTION
May 11, 2003 (evening)

Text: Ephesians 4:17-32

In his play The Ides of March, Thornton Wilder portrays Julius Caesar
reflecting on those ancient religions that offer “a vague sense of
confidence where no confidence is… [that] flatter our passivity and
console our inadequacy.” “What can I do,” cries Caesar, “against the
apathy that is glad to wrap itself under the cloak of piety…?” These
questions from Caesar represents the struggle with which many grapple in
their search for religious assurance: How may we discover genuine
security?

Our day has been well named “The Age of Anxiety.” Anxiety is a word
coming from the Latin term angustia meaning “shortness of breath.” An
appropriate picture for the word when we see many suffocating in the
spiritually cramped quarters of a secularized world. In this bottleneck,
our phobias multiply in bewildering profusion: one standard medical
dictionary catalogues 217 different phobias, or fears. (New Gould Medical
Dictionary, Blakiston) Statistics of murder, alcoholism, and divorce
reflect an unbearable discontent with life as it is now being lived. As a
result, we feed off of our fingernails, a diet calculated to produce
acute indigestion.

Religion has responded many times in collusion with societal fears - or
more precisely, the fear of being afraid - by creating a “cult of
reassurance” that coddles anxious Americans with promises of “positive
thinking” and “peace of mind.” While the Christian faith does bring with
it ultimate peace and freedom from the bondage that this world brings, we
must take care not to cheapen the radical claims of faith. What the New
Testament trumpets as a battle cry is muted into a lullaby! Too many
times the gospel is used to pat the world on the back when it was meant
to turn the world upside down!

The Christian’s task, therefore, is twofold: we must address the answer
which the gospel carries to the restless insecurity of modern humanity;
yet, we must do so in a way that offers the authentic challenge of
responsible discipleship. No finer guidance may be found than in the
truth of verse 30 of Ephesians 4: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Here, the
tension between comfort and courage is wonderfully balanced so that the
apathy of which Caesar spoke can no longer “wrap itself under the cloak
of piety.”

The controlling affirmation about the security of the Christian is that
it roots in nothing less than “the Holy Spirit of God.” This assertion
underscores the truth that ultimate security is not found in anything
human or external. It is not a misplaced dependence upon public
profession, baptismal immersion, or church membership that provides our
anchor against anxiety. All of these can have a part in it as valid
expressions of the Christian faith. But we also hear from time to time
those who confess that they do not feel that their public profession or
baptism was valid. When that is the case, there remains anxiety. Jesus
warns listeners and readers in Matthew 7:21-23 about false piety. [read
Matthew 7:21-23]

So, then, let us grasp the positive truth of our confidence. Our
confidence is in God. The deities of Greece and Rome were fickle and
capricious, leaving their devotees to fret and tremble with uncertainty.
By contrast, a chief characteristic of God is dependability. He always
keeps His promise, even if ours proves false. [read Romans 3:3-4]

The New Testament throbs throughout with this affirmation. “God is
faithful, by whom you were called” (1 Corinthians 1:9). “God is faithful,
he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength” (1 Corinthians
10:13). Even when temptation triumphs, “if we confess our sins he is
faithful and just to forgive our sins” (1 John 1:9). With such assurance,
we can “hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering“ (Hebrews
10:23), confident that because He is faithful “he will finish what he has
set out to do“ (1 Thessalonians 5:24). In short, “if we are faithless, he
remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:14). As J. B.
Phillips translates this recurring New Testament refrain, “God is utterly
dependable!”

Such precious promises in Scripture set the soul to singing:

A mighty fortress is our God,
A bulwark never failing.

Another:

Great is Thy faithfulness,
O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not,
Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been
Thou forever wilt be.

And then:

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!

God does not give only to capriciously take away, nor does He make false
starts. He always acts permanently, for He is the same, yesterday, today,
and forever. This should tell us that the only hope of a helpless soul
lies in a God who keeps faith with His followers.

Because of international violence, leaders of almost all nations receive
the most elaborate security precautions imaginable. Whenever they step
out in public, squads of bodyguards stand ready to use their bodies as
human shields. When visiting foreign lands, every morsel of food is
checked; every manhole cover along the route is sealed. The beds in which
they sleep are dismantled and examined in advance. Literally thousands of
staff and millions of dollars are committed to keep one leader from harm.
Even then, the precautions do not always succeed.

Yet God has provided each Christian with even greater protection than all
of that! The Holy Spirit, in whom the Christian lives, is a faithful
defender who never departs who is never deceived or overcome by evil, who
is never in doubt about the will of God, who is never dismayed by earthly
difficulties. God would not lavish such perfect protection on His
children unless He intended for them to enter finally into His heavenly
kingdom.

Yet it is painfully obvious that Christians are still a long way from the
Celestial City, for the “Day pf Redemption” has not arrived. We can be
sure that our redemption is established by a past event - the death of
Christ. Refer, for instance, to Romans 3:24 and 1 Corinthians 1:30. It is
made effective by a present experience of the indwelling Spirit
(Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7). However, final redemption is
essentially a future expectation for which we wait. How are Christians
protected during the interim while they journey as a pilgrim in an alien
land? Our text offers an answer: by the “seal” of the Spirit. The use of
seals in the ancient world furnishes the clue to the significance of this
metaphor.

First, seals were used to designate possession by the owner. Animals were
branded and even slaves were tattooed with the mark of their master.
Similarly, Christians are not their own, for they have been bought with a
price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). As “slaves” of Jesus Christ, we receive
the stamp of the Spirit as His badge of divine ownership (2 Corinthians
1:21-22). With awareness that we belong to the Almighty comes deliverance
from fretful self-concern. We discover stability in the certainty that
“God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those
who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Second, seals were used to guarantee protection from an enemy. Valuable
merchandise and documents were fastened in pouches or “envelopes” and
stamped with a seal to prevent tampering or falsification. Money bags
were sealed before embarking on a perilous journey. The tomb of Jesus was
made secure by the sealing of the stone (Matthew 27:66). In like manner,
Christians are guarded from harm by the mark of God upon their lives
(Revelation 7:3). The Holy Spirit is that seal which guarantees that we
will one day receive our full inheritance.

Third, seals were used to furnish proof of authenticity. They certified
the outstanding service of a soldier, attested to the validity of a
document, ratified the terms of a covenant, or accredited the credentials
of an envoy (John 6:27). Paul’s mind thought of these applications as he
reflected on the Holy Spirit’s activity in the lives of Christians. He
confirms beyond any doubt that they are children of God - as we read in
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are
God’s children.” Just as the seal of a school upon a diploma places the
reputation of that institution behind the degree, so the seal of the
Spirit is God’s means of guaranteeing the validity of our salvation. In
the same way that trademarks insure the integrity of merchandise, the
Holy Spirit furnishes the credentials of the Christian gospel, the mark
which validates the believer’s claim to eternal life.

Our text focuses on the fact that the Holy Spirit is the only source of
ultimate security. Therefore, it is supremely important that nothing
jeopardize the relationship of Christians to their Comforter. This
concern is underscored in the text.

The admonition to “not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” throngs with
important implications for an understanding of Christian security. This
phrase bears witness to the personality of the Spirit and to the intense
interest which He takes in the Christian’s life. It is impossible to
speak of grief without speaking of a person, for whatever else may be
true of an impersonal force, it cannot be thrown into sorrow. Sin does
not merely stifle an “unknowable influence” - it injures a divine Person!
Unlike the pagan gods, the Holy Spirit is not above the human
predicament, aloof and indifferent. The dark stain of human sin casts a
shadow over His radiant holiness. Just as Jesus grieved at the hardness
of the human heart (Mark 3:5) and wept over unrepentant Jerusalem (Luke
19:41), so His Spirit is seared by sin in the Christian’s life.

The present tense used in this passage does not picture one monstrous act
by which a person would presume to overthrow the work of God. Rather it
suggests a steady process of spiritual deterioration, a harassing of the
Holy Spirit with those commonplace sins of a rebel tongue enumerated in
verses 25-32: falsehood, bitterness, rage, and slander.

The entire New Testament bears witness to the possibility of a
progressive erosion of one’s relationship to the Spirit. It not only
warns against “grieving” the Spirit, but also against “resisting” the
Spirit (Acts 7:51), “outraging” the Spirit (Hebrews 10:29), and even
“quenching” the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

This downward drift in one’s dealings with the Holy Spirit must be
checked or the Christian will face the most fearful consequences.
According to Stephen, those Israelites who resisted the Spirit forfeited
their place in the purpose of God: “You stiff-necked people, with
uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always
resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not
persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the
Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him - you who have
received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not
obeyed it” (Acts 7:51-53).

According to Jesus, those who blaspheme the “Spirit will not be forgiven
either in this age or the Age to Come” (Matthew 12:31-32). According to
Hebrews 3:7-15, those who harden their hearts in rebellion against the
Spirit will never enter into God’s rest. Annanias and Sapphira falsified
and tempted the Spirit of God, and their fate stands as an unmistakable
demonstration of the terrible judgment which falls upon those who sin
against the Spirit.

In light of these warnings, we cannot proclaim with conviction that
Christians are “sealed unto the Day of Redemption” unless we proclaim
with equal conviction that they must “not bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit
of God”! The security of the believer is not compounded out of divine
coddling and human complacency. God is not an inflexible tyrant but a
sensitive Spirit. Christians are not helpless marionettes dangling by
divine strings, but are responsible children set down in the disturbing
intimacy of a divine-human relationship which must be cultivated at any
cost.

Those who have been sealed by the Spirit are to “live” in the Spirit, and
be “filled” with the Spirit. In this day of moral indifference among even
Christians, it is imperative to remember that the seal of the Lord has
two sides: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord
knows who are his,’ and ‘Let every one who names the name of the Lord
depart from iniquity’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Thus the security of the believer, like every great reality of the
Christian life, is ultimately paradoxical. We have been delivered into
the New Age of God, but we will continue to live in the old. We are set
free from sin and death, but we still succumb to their totalitarian
powers. We are already glorified, but “it doth not yet appear what we
shall be” (1 John 3:2). In like manner, we are already secure, but we
have not entered into our final rest.

How, then, does the Christian live on that boundary between the security
of heaven and the insecurity of earth? The only answer is by faith; a
faith that fuses complete dependence upon God with a holy determination
to “not grieve the Spirit.” Such robust faith, not complacent
presumption, is the answer of the gospel to the Age of Anxiety.

Over the fireplace of an old hotel in England hangs this motto, placed
around the time of the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II:

Fear knocked at the door,
Faith answered.
No one was there.

Ours is a day in which fear stalks the land and knocks on every door. Let
us answer with a faith controlled by the truth of our text, and fear will
vanish like a vapor. One verse of the hymn “Come Thou Fount” reminds us
that we are sealed by God for that great day of redemption:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee;
Prone to wander, lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Rev. Charles A. Layne, pastor, First Baptist Church, Bunker Hill, IN

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