Worship - January 2022
Putting together this year's Christmas Night of Worship was an absolute joy. In particular, thinking through and meditating on the gospel and how we wanted to communicate it during the course of the evening was a tremendous blessing and encouragement to me personally. Everyone did an incredible job, and I was so happy with how we were together able to focus our eyes on Christ and what He has done. But what I found as I was putting all the pieces of the program together was that there was so much more I wanted to say! If you were not able to attend, or have not had a chance to watch the video recording, you can find it at www.vimeo.com/oakhillbc or you can contact the church office and get a DVD copy. I am not saying all of this as a way to pat myself on the back or to say “look how good we did,” because all we did that night was say “look how awesome God is!” and I believe it will be an encouragement to you.
We of course set out to communicate throughout the entire program that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and that it is only through His atoning work that we may be saved. I believe we were able to communicate this truth in a very powerful way, but, as I mentioned, there is always so much more to be said about Him. Throughout this entire process I was reminded of a truth that we do not necessarily think about when we talk about Jesus being the only way to heaven. Any good Baptist will, at a moment’s notice, be ready to affirm that salvation is only found in Jesus! But the truth I want to remind each and every one of us about today is that Jesus is not just the only effective Savior, He is the only possible Savior! And the way in which He went about redeeming His creation is the only possible way in which we could have been saved!
This truth is hinted at in Revelation 5, which we very briefly looked at during the course of the Night of Worship. Within John's vision he sees that there is a scroll in the right hand of God the Father, who is seated on the throne. All we can do is make guesses about the contents of this scroll, but what we do know is that God’s plan for all of creation is dependent upon this scroll being opened. The problem is that the scroll can’t be opened. John writes, “And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” (vv. 3-4). As far as John can tell, God’s redemption plan has been stopped in its tracks because nowhere in heaven or on earth or under the earth can someone be found who is worthy to open this scroll. Not one person or being.
Then one of the elders directs our attention to the Lamb, “standing, as though it had been slain” (v. 6), and the elders tell us some amazing things about this Lamb. First of all, we are told that the Lamb “has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” In other words, this Lamb is able to open the scroll because He has conquered something. Secondly, the four living creatures and the elders sing, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God” (v. 9). Some translations read, “because you were slain.” There is a clear cause and effect that has taken place because the Lamb of God has died and has conquered. Without these two things taking place, death and resurrection, there is no conqueror, there is no one worthy to open the scroll, and creation is not redeemed. If even one of the elements of the gospel is missing, then no one will ever be worthy to open the scroll and to enact God’s redemption plan. Remember that no one else, “in heaven or on earth or under the earth” was found worthy to open the scroll. It had to be the Lamb, the Lamb had to be slain, and the Lamb had to conquer death.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just the only way to heaven because it's the one option that just so happened to work. The blood of Jesus was the only possible means of forgiveness, and it was all part of God’s plan from the very beginning.
