Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion
—Psalm 2:6

How children love the holidays, and how we grown-ups love our vacations! And no wonder! A longing for freedom is built into human beings. It’s like being allowed to eat, say, chocolate after a strict diet. Even the chocolate tastes different… delicious. Life suddenly takes on other colours… beautiful ones. Unfortunately, even then there are people who are unable to accept the beauty and the taste, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Once the apostle Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, and at that time God’s people happened to be on a diet — it’s called the requirements of the law — but, thank God, only for a time. And that time came: after the reading of the law, at the request of the rulers of the synagogue, Paul told them news so joyful that it beat both chocolate and vacations. It was especially sweet for them to hear the Good News after the reading of the law. [Act.13:14-15] Paul told his listeners the history of the people of Israel in order to show them Christ in the sacred Scriptures. He explained the ignorance of those who condemned and crucified the Lord, spoke of Jesus’ resurrection, and showed that the King and Saviour is not David but Jesus Christ! Like the Lord, he quoted passages from the Scriptures. [Act.13:16-41]

That is who the anointed King on Zion is — the Lord Jesus! Mount Sinai, where the law was given, is one covenant, which gives birth to bondage. [Gal.4:24]. “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God… to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant” [Heb.12:22-24]. So we are children of God [Jhn.1:12], and children of the free woman [Gal.4:31]. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” [Gal.3:13]. And we are not under the law but under grace, to which we have gained access through Christ, by faith [Rom.5:2].

When the congregation broke up, many who had believed followed Paul and Barnabas, rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit! And what about Paul and Barnabas? They PERSUADED them to continue in the grace of God, to continue in God’s unmerited favour! That is truly sweet and joyful news!

The Will of God

This news applies to us too, because “whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” through His name [Act.10:43]. But not every believer, for various reasons, is able to continue in the grace of God (to receive it as a gift). It all comes down to what we think we know about God! This is very important! If you see Him as stern and demanding, sending sicknesses, requiring all kinds of works from you, then let me assure you: that is a lie! Jesus showed us the Father, saying that He Himself is the only way by which we can come to the Father — to our Daddy! [Jhn.14:6-9] Before the Lord, behind the Lord and all around Him during His ministry on earth, healing, raising from the dead, love, compassion and care followed relentlessly! And His parable of the father and his sons, one of whom went astray “to the left” and the other “to the right”, is a vivid example of the love of our heavenly Father! “Oh, but there are other parables too, about the goats and the sheep, for example. And not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of God!” [Mat.7:21].

I suggest we go back to the beginning, to the beginning of this post, to the 2nd Psalm! It says there: “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way” [Ps.2:12]. Well, well! It turns out that if we do not kiss the Son, do not show our faith in Him and honour Him (as the Russian Synodal Bible puts it), we will perish in His anger. And on the basis of Matthew 7:21, if we do not do the will of God, we will not enter the kingdom of God either! It sounds more like a condition than like love. Even Philip, the Lord’s disciple, was somewhat confused when Jesus said: “If you had KNOWN ME, you would have known My Father also” [Jhn.14:7]. The Jews of that time saw God as demanding (the law), and here Jesus says: “I and My Father are one.” Yet Jesus did so many miracles and signs, so many healings, showed so much love and care, simply, without reproach, without demands [Act.10:38]. It was as if scales fell from their eyes: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” [Jhn.14:9]. So that is what God is like! This was revealed above all after the Lord’s death on the cross! All of Jesus’ words took on a different shade! God’s love was confirmed by the Lord’s cross! Yes, He loves us and longs for us. He is happy, because Jesus has done all His will, and we have become a family!

Now it is time to look at the will of God, remembering the truth that Jesus and God the Father are one! In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 3, verses 31 to 35, we read that His mother and brothers came to call Him: “And a multitude was sitting around Him” — verse 32. Jesus was told that His family had come, and He “looked around in a circle at THOSE WHO SAT ABOUT HIM, and said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For WHOEVER DOES THE WILL OF GOD is My brother and My sister and mother’” [Mar.3:31-35]. Think of it: He looked at those sitting around Him and said: “Here they are, all who DO THE WILL OF GOD — they are My family!” And what were they doing? What did doing His will consist of for those He pointed to? They were simply sitting: “And a multitude was sitting around Him” [Mar.3:31-35]! They just sat there and enjoyed Him, getting to know Him more and more, getting to know the heavenly Father! In Psalm 91, verses 14 to 16, God speaks of magnificent promises: protection, honour, deliverance, care, salvation. And these are for those who have set their love on Him and known His Name! Not for those who did or carried out something, but for those who loved and knew Him! If even the Old Testament says such things, then all the more now, when the Lord has finished His work of saving mankind, we who have received such grace have every right to enjoy God’s blessings! That is how important it is to understand rightly what God is really like: He is a loving, merciful Father who has gathered His family for a feast, and the desire of His heart is for all His children to be happy! There are many verses in the Bible that speak of the importance of knowing the Lord!

A Little About Wrath

What about the wrath of God, then? It’s there at Mount Sinai, where condemnation and punishment reign, because that is the nature of the law; it can do nothing else. And of course God is just! He has condemned Satan and the demons; He is angry with them! After God poured out His wrath on Jesus on the cross, He did not become more tolerant of sin! No! God still hates every sin. And if someone decides to side with Satan, he too comes under the wrath of God. After all, if God were merciful to such a person, where would God’s true judgment be? He would then have to pardon at least some demon too. But God’s word is firm and endures forever! So it is only by faith in Jesus, by knowing Him, that we see God, that we see the family! For through Him the forgiveness of sins is preached to us, and in all things in which we could not be justified by the law of Moses, we who believe are justified by Him! [Act.13:38-39]. Without Christ Jesus there is no possibility of salvation; without knowing Him it is impossible to know grace! That is why Paul and Barnabas, after the meeting in the synagogue had ended, “persuaded them to continue in the grace of God” [Act.13:43].

The First Kiss

I will say it again: how important it is to know the Lord, to have a personal, close relationship with Him! As close as a kiss on the lips! Because “He who gives a right answer kisses the lips” [Pro.24:26]. How right, how honest, how beautiful are the revelations and answers Jesus gives! It can be compared to a reward, to gaining a great profit, to a first kiss on the lips!

“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” [Ps.2:12] Know the Lord as closely as a first kiss on the lips! And through this knowledge the truth about grace will be revealed, because He is as close to us as our breath. And then the scales will fall from our eyes, and we will see how much of God’s goodness and mercy accompanies us every day! We will see it and receive it! Kiss the Son, receive His kisses, and I urge you: continue in the grace of God!