Jeff Medders reminded University of Mobile students during a recent chapel service that they cannot lose their salvation — because they are secure in Christ.
Medders serves as the general editor and fellow for the Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, director of theology and content for Send Network and visiting professor of Christian Studies.
“The only explanation for our salvation is that He bought me,” Medders told students Sept. 9.
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Medders detailed how the Old Testament book Song of Songs displays the love of the Savior and Redeemer who was to come.
“I think this should be one of your favorite books of the Bible,” Medders said. “Every book of the Bible, whether it’s history or letters or poetry, is written to present the same ultimate reality which is Jesus Christ.”
He added, “Every book of the Bible has this magnetic tilt towards the great gravity and center of the universe of the Scriptures of the ultimate reality, which is Jesus of Nazareth to His death and resurrection for us, which is exactly what Jesus said in John 5:39. This verse states, ‘You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.’”
If students want to enjoy and understand the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis, Medders noted, they will find Jesus there. They will also find Jesus in the book of Exodus and so forth.
Song of Songs
“This includes the book of Song of Songs,” Medders noted. “It’s all pointing to Jesus. This may blow your mind as it did for me — that before the Reformation, before Martin Luther swung his hammer and ignited the Protestant Reformation, those 1,500 or so years of church history, the most popular book of the Bible that had the most commentaries written on it and had the most sermons written on it was not Genesis or Romans, which is what I would have guessed. Church history tells us it was actually Song of Songs.”
Medders describes the book of Song of Songs as a “work of lyrical theology, lyrical spirituality and prophetic poetry about how the Messiah would truly love His people.”
“I hope that is how you will see it — that this book is about the prophetic love of the bridegroom of Christ for His church,” Medders said.
To emphasize this description, Medders went on to quote Richard Sibbes, a Puritan theologian from the 1500’s, who said: “This book is nothing else but a plain demonstration and setting forth of the love of Christ to His church and of the love of the church to Christ.”
Medders also shared Jonathan Edwards, the 18th century theologian who sparked the Great Awakening among American colonies, expressed: “The book of Solonon’s Song, no common love song, but a divine song, respecting the union between the Messiah and the church.”
The third theologian that Medders cited in the description for Songs of Songs was Charles Spurgeon, the great British preacher of the 19th century.
“Here’s what Spurgeon had to say: ‘That Song of Solomon is the central book of the Bible; it is the innermost shrine of divine revelation, the holy of holies of Scripture; and if you are living in communion with God, you will love that book and catch its spirit.’”
Clearing up misconceptions
From there, Medders cleared up common misconceptions about the book’s purpose and intention.
“We assume the main message of the book is about romance, dating, marriage and intimacy,” Medders noted. “We don’t even want to hear anything else because we assume its main message, so we need to adjust our assumptions.
“The Bible is filled with multiple genres or types of literature. Songs of Songs is not history like Exodus or a letter like Romans. So, how you read it is different,” he said. “It’s poetry and is filled with metaphors and similes. It’s filled with illusions, symbols and multiple layers of meanings, which we understand when we come to music because this is a song, and songs have layers of meaning.”
Medders cautioned students not to skip past reading Songs of Songs.
“It is one of the most important books of the Bible,” he said. “We hear about Israel’s temple having the Holy of Holies and that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. When the Bible says this is the Song of Songs, it’s testifying this is the greatest song in the Bible.
“The reason it is about the greatest song is because of the truth that greater love has no one than this One, who would lay down His life for His friends. It’s the greatest song because it’s about the greatest truth in the world. The love of God is what defines you.”
Spiritual warfare
Medders asked students to consider if the love of God is the loudest message in their life.
“We are in spiritual warfare every day where we fight the good fight of faith and say, ‘I’m not defined by my past. I’m defined by Christ,” Medders noted. “What Jesus did for me on the cross is that He took all of my banners. He took all of those words, all of those crimes and sins that I committed against God, and He took them on and said, ‘I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll take your old banners, and I’ll give you mine. I’ll put my name on top of yours because God is love.’”
Personal invitation
Medders extended a personal invitation for students to embrace the love of Christ and surrender their lives to Him.
“Believe in the love of Jesus today, and you can be defined by the love of Jesus forever,” Medders said. “The gospel banner can wave over you for the rest of your life.”
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