Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
John the Baptist wasn’t just a master of ceremonies introducing a star speaker. His role in God’s unfolding plan was more important. Find out what his father prophesied about him and why it’s still significant today, on Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
“His Name Is John” — Part Two
Luke 1:76–80 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 39:54 • ID: 2061
A Ransom for Many
I like paying bills. I may not like the size of the bills or the frequency with which they come, but it’s wonderful once they’ve actually been paid. Back in the days when bills were often paid in person, I found it especially satisfying to pass my bill across the counter with my payment and then receive it back marked “PAID.”
In these verses, Jesus references His death with the little phrase “a ransom for many.” A few Old Testament examples provide context for Jesus’ use of the word “ransom” here.
Jewish law stated that when a man’s ox killed someone, both the ox and the owner were to be put to death. However, if a ransom was imposed upon the owner, then he could pay it to redeem his life (Exodus 21:29-30). In other words, the owner of the ox could purchase his own life by paying a sum of money. The same was true of setting a relative free from servitude or releasing a field or piece of property from a mortgage (see Leviticus 25). In each case, the ransom involved a decisive and costly intervention to release someone from a form of captivity.
All of these situations in the Old Testament were material plights. What Jesus was referring to, however, was a moral predicament. We are enslaved by sin and have offended God. Jesus explained that only His decisive intervention—this costly purchase of our life—could set us free and make us whole. As the hymn writer puts it, “He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them his very own.”[1]
Christ is our ransom. He “redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” so that we may be released from our bondage when we place our trust in Him (Galatians 3:13). By His death, Jesus settled the judgment against all who believe in Him. When He cried, “It is finished,” He used the Greek word tetelestai, which was written on a bill to declare that it had been paid (John 19:30). In His Son’s resurrection, the Father provided the receipt of the payment. The debt, which was justifiably leveled against us and too great for us to pay, is now stamped unmistakably: “PAID.”
At times, the Evil One will antagonize us and our own hearts will accuse us. “Are you really forgiven? Surely this is one sin too many! Does God really love you? Do you really have a place in glory for all eternity?” When you hear these whispers, remind yourself that Christ strode up to the very bar of justice and settled the account that stood against you. The Father raised Him from the dead; therefore, you can find total security in the fact that He will never again demand payment for any of these accusations. Your account has been settled once and for all. You have been ransomed.
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
8See to it that no one takes you captive by nphilosophy and oempty deceit, according to phuman tradition, according to the qelemental spirits1 of the world, and not according to Christ. 9For rin him the whole fullness of deity dwells sbodily, 10and tyou have been filled in him, who is uthe head of all rule and authority. 11In him also vyou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by wputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12xhaving been buried with him in baptism, in which yyou were also raised with him through faith in zthe powerful working of God, zwho raised him from the dead. 13aAnd you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God bmade alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by ccanceling dthe record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15wHe disarmed the rulers and authorities2 and eput them to open shame, by ftriumphing over them in him.3
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.
Seek Much Grace
Give me children, or I shall die.
The cry of Rachel for physical children should be more than matched by the believer's longing for spiritual children. Our great object in living is to glorify God, and we mainly achieve this end by the winning of souls. We must see souls born unto God. If we do not win souls, we should mourn as the farmer who sees no harvest, as the fisherman who returns to his cottage with an empty net, or as the hunter who has roamed in vain over hill and dale. Ours should be Isaiah's language uttered with many a sigh and groan—"who has believed what they heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?"1 As ambassadors of peace we should not cease to weep bitterly until sinners weep for their sins. If we intensely desire to see others believing in the Lord Jesus, we must act in accordance with the principle and pattern of Scripture. We must depend entirely upon the Spirit of God. Do we not fail in many of our efforts because we practically, though not doctrinally, ignore the Holy Spirit? His place as God is on the throne, and in all our enterprises He must be the beginning, the middle, and the end; we are instruments in His hand and nothing more.
We must be most of all clear upon the great soul-saving doctrine of the Atonement. "He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."2 This truth that Christ died in the place of sinners gives rest to the conscience by showing how God can be just and the justifier of whoever believes. This is the great net of gospel fishermen; the fish are drawn or driven in the right direction by other truths, but this is the net itself.
We must declare the love of God in Christ Jesus. Always keep His abounding mercy connected to His unerring justice. Never exalt one attribute at the expense of another. Let boundless mercy be seen in calm consistency with stern justice and unlimited sovereignty.
Believer, are you longing to see spiritual offspring? Do not let the sun set on this day without imploring God to show Himself strong in this regard. Beseech Him, "Give me children, or I shall die."
Editor's note: This meditation replaces Spurgeon's original devotional, on Isaiah 54:12 and was adapted from Charles Spurgeon's Lectures to Students, page 375.
1) John 12:38
2) 2 Corinthians 5:21
Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.
Daily Bible Reading for December 13
2 Chronicles 14
Asa Reigns in Judah
11 gAbijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. 22 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3He took away the foreign altars hand the high places and broke down ithe pillars and cut down the jAsherim 4and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. 5He also took out of all the cities of Judah hthe high places and the kincense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. 6He built lfortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, mfor the Lord gave him peace. 7And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with nwalls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, mand he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8And Asa had an army of o300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.
9Zerah pthe Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as qMareshah. 10And Asa went out to meet him, and rthey drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at qMareshah. 11And Asa scried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, tfor we rely on you, uand in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 12vSo the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as wGerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah3 carried away very much spoil. 14And they attacked all the cities around wGerar, xfor the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 15
Asa's Religious Reforms
1yThe Spirit of God came1 upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: zThe Lord is with you while you are with him. aIf you seek him, he will be found by you, bbut if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3cFor a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4dbut when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5In those times there was no peace eto him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 7fBut you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, gfor your work shall be rewarded.”
8As soon as Asa heard these words, hthe prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ithe cities that he had taken in jthe hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord kthat was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.2 9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, land those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11They sacrificed to the Lord on that day mfrom the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12nAnd they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, oshould be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, pand the Lord gave them rest all around.
16qEven Maacah, rhis mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image sfor Asherah. Asa cut down her image, tcrushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17uBut the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. 18And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
The Throne in Heaven
1After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me flike a trumpet, said, g“Come up here, and hI will show you what must take place after this.” 2At once iI was in the Spirit, and behold, ja throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3And he who sat there had the appearance of kjasper and carnelian, and around the throne was la rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4Around the throne were mtwenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, nclothed in white garments, with ogolden crowns on their heads. 5From the throne came pflashes of lightning, and rumblings1 and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning qseven torches of fire, rwhich are the seven spirits of God, 6and before the throne there was sas it were a sea of glass, like crystal.
And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are tfour living creatures, ufull of eyes in front and behind: 7vthe first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8And the four living creatures, weach of them with six wings, are xfull of eyes all around and within, and yday and night they never cease to say,
z“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
awho was and is and is to come!”
9And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, bwho lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders cfall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast dtheir crowns before the throne, saying,
11e“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for fyou created all things,
and gby your will they existed and were created.”
The Coming Glory of the Temple
1cIn the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2“Speak now to dZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to dJoshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3e‘Who is left among you who saw this house fin its former glory? How do you see it now? gIs it not as nothing in your eyes? 4Yet now hbe strong, O dZerubbabel, declares the Lord. hBe strong, O dJoshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. hBe strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. iWork, for jI am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5kaccording to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. lMy Spirit remains in your midst. mFear not. 6For thus says the Lord of hosts: nYet once more, in a little while, oI will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and pI will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8qThe silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9rThe latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And sin this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”
Blessings for a Defiled People
10tOn the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, uin the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11“Thus says the Lord of hosts: vAsk the priests about the law: 12‘If someone carries wholy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, x“No.” 13Then Haggai said, y“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body ztouches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14Then Haggai answered and said, a“So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15Now then, bconsider from this day onward.1 Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16how did you fare? cWhen2 one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17dI struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, eyet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18bConsider from this day onward, ffrom the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since gthe day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, bconsider: 19hIs the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on iI will bless you.”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
20The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai fon the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21“Speak to jZerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, kI am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22and lto overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and moverthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, nevery one by the sword of his brother. 23On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O jZerubbabel omy servant, the son of pShealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you qlike a3 signet ring, ofor I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
You Must Be Born Again
1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named hNicodemus, ia ruler of the Jews. 2This man came to Jesus1 jby night and said to him, k“Rabbi, lwe know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do munless God is with him.” 3Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is nborn oagain2 he cannot psee the kingdom of God.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born qof water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6rThat which is born of the flesh is sflesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.3 7tDo not marvel that I said to you, ‘You4 must be born uagain.’ 8vThe wind5 blows wwhere it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9Nicodemus said to him, x“How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel yand yet you do not understand these things? 11Truly, truly, I say to you, zwe speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but zyou6 do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13aNo one has bascended into heaven except che who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.7 14And das Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ebe lifted up, 15that whoever believes fin him gmay have eternal life.8
For God So Loved the World
16“For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life. 17For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not obelieved in the name of the only Son of God. 19pAnd this is the judgment: qthe light has come into the world, and rpeople loved the darkness rather than the light because stheir works were evil. 20tFor everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ulest his works should be exposed. 21But whoever vdoes what is true wcomes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
John the Baptist Exalts Christ
22After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and xwas baptizing. 23John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24(for yJohn had not yet been put in prison).
25Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over zpurification. 26And they came to John and said to him, a“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, bto whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and call are going to him.” 27John answered, d“A person cannot receive even one thing eunless it is given him ffrom heaven. 28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, g‘I am not the Christ, but hI have been sent before him.’ 29iThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. jThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, krejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30lHe must increase, but I must decrease.”10
31mHe who comes from above nis above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ospeaks in an earthly way. pHe who comes from heaven nis above all. 32qHe bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ryet no one receives his testimony. 33Whoever receives his testimony ssets his seal to this, tthat God is true. 34For he whom uGod has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit vwithout measure. 35wThe Father loves the Son and xhas given all things into his hand. 36yWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not asee life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
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