Oh, to see things clearly

I read a blog post by Kevin DeYoung today entitled: A Resurrection Postscript: Saved by Justice. Here are two excerpts that struck home with me.

I believe many of us have not begun to grasp just how good the good news is, just how secure our salvation is, just how completely and unalterably justified we are through faith in Christ. Mark this: God did not set aside the law in judging us; he fulfilled it.  Christ bore the curse of the law so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.  Not because we possess this righteousness, but because God credits it to our account.  So that, in one sense, at the moment when Christ died, it was what he deserved (by imputation).  And now by faith, blessing and mercy and favor are what we deserve (by imputation).

The resurrection is not a sentimental story about never giving up, or the possibility of good coming from evil. It is not first of all a story about how suffering can be sanctified, or a story of how Jesus suffered for all of humanity so we can suffer with the rest of humanity. The resurrection is the loud declaration that Jesus is enough–enough to atone for your sins, enough to reconcile you to God, enough to present you holy in God’s presence, enough to free you from the curse of the law, enough to promise you there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

It would be hard and probably impudent to add to what DeYoung has said so well.  I am constantly amazed by my own lack of grasping the breadth and the depth and the length and the height of the gospel. But I always rejoice when I consider (and reconsider) the absolute solidity of Christ, his work on the Cross, his eternal promise to his Father and to mine and the fact that He is not a wishful Savior (oh please accept my gracious offer) but rather a conquering King who has ransomed a people for Himself.

To God Alone be the Glory.

Love Jesus with a Vehement Flame

I fear that the Christian church is far more likely to lose her integrity in these soft and silken days than in those rougher times. We must be awake now, for we traverse the enchanted ground, and are most likely to fall asleep to our own undoing, unless our faith in Jesus be a reality, and our love to Jesus a vehement flame. Many in these days of easy profession are likely to prove tares, and not wheat; hypocrites with fair masks on their faces, but not the true-born children of the living God. Christian, do not think that these are times in which you can dispense with watchfulness or with holy ardour; you need these things more than ever, and may God the eternal Spirit display his omnipotence in you, that you may be able to say, in all these softer things, as well as in the rougher, "We are more than conquerors through him that loved us." - C.H. Spurgeon

I was struck by the quote from Spurgeon above because he really nails the situation most of us find ourselves in. Some of us may be struggling. Some of us may be facing some external pressure regarding our faith. Some of us may be facing cancer, job loss or marital disintegration, bur most of us are not. Most of us start our prayers (rightly so) by thanking God for His super abundant grace in our lives. By and large, we are on the crest of the wave; life is good.

Spurgeon's warning and Scripture's warning is that we should take heed, lest we fall. What happened with the successful farmer who had more crops than barns to store it in? What was Jesus' assessment of the Pharisee to rightly acknowledged God's magnificent blessing in his life and then stopped? When was David most dependent and faithful to his Lord? What is the stinging indictment of the church at Laodicea?

My point is simply to reiterate what Spurgeon said so well. When life is easy, things are really the most dangerous. We must keep up our Bible study. We must keep up our prayer time. We must keep interacting and interdepending on other believers. We must always and continually rely on Christ, not just for a point in time salvation, but for a salvation that spans time, that purifies and sanctifies and strengthens. A salvation that ultimately glorifies and presents us holy and blameless before the Throne. All this we must embrace whether life is crashing in around us or we are living in "soft and silken days"

To God Alone be the Glory

Pray without Ceasing

Here is a good, 4 minute reminder from John Piper of Scripture's call for us to pray without ceasing. One statement he makes about half way through is that "there's nothing automatic here". That phrase stung (and is still stinging) me. How easy and simple and efficient it is to be on automatic. In fact, isn't that what has driven the technology boom and isn't that the goal of most of our lives: to automate everything we can. But spiritual growth, communion with God and holy lives lived in a dark and dying world are not and cannot be automated. All of these must be lived in constant, vibrant dependence on God.

I will end simply the way Piper ends: "I wish my life were more like that"

Pray Without Ceasing

To God Alone be the Glory

A Crucifixion Narrative

I was not able to listen to this until the Wednesday after Easter, but found it is well worth it. I would encourage your investment of a few minutes of download and 23 minutes of undistracted time (perhaps with the lights out and phone off).  Kudos to Rick Gamache! Well done, brother! And thanks to Tony Reinke of Sovereign Grace ministries for sharing the link.

A Crucifixion Narrative

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesdays from Phil 1 - God Uses Means (even Satan) to Accomplish His Purposes

"I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." Phil 1:12-14

These verses from Philippians 1 are the stunning flip-side to Rom 8:28. Or maybe, just maybe, they are an expansion of Paul's thoughts from Romans. Ask yourself, if God really does use "all things" to accomplish good for those who love Him, isn't possible, maybe even probable that some of the "all things" God uses are not good in and of themselves? And, even if Satan is the author, doesn't it stand to reason that not only is it possible for God to use these things for His purposes, but that He will use these things for His purposes.

I would like to take a moment and consider a couple of other implications from these verses (and by extension, Rom 8:28 as well). My two thoughts are interrelated, but I'd like to hit them one at a time. The first thought is this, "What is the good that God is working out for those who love Him?" I can't see it being health or wealth. not based on the lives of the first Christians or the large majority of 21st century Christians around the word. I don't see it being Paul-like or Peter-like, apostle-like lives lived on the front lines of the Spiritual battlefield.  It may be that for some, but I'm convinced that's not the norm.

So, what is the good that all things are working toward? Here are a few considerations to ponder.

• God will never leave us where we are at spiritually. (Eph 4, Phil 2, Heb 2) Our spiritual lives are journeys and He expects to be growing and maturing. He will work all things (even Satan-wrought things) together so that we may grow and mature in Christ. See Job 1-2, Heb 12
• Christ is building his Church. Part of building that Church is making her pure and holy (Eph 5) If we are loved by Christ, He will work all things (even evil, painful things) together for the purifying, sanctifiying good of those whom he loves and wishes to present holy and blameless before his Father's throne.
• Christianity and the Church are an ecosystem (kudos to Tim Keller for this great imagery). 2 Cor 1 may be the single best glimpse of this idea, but in reality its everywhere. The simple idea is that Christianity is not just me and Jesus plus you and Jesus plus the other guy and Jesus plus so and so and Jesus. It is not a collection of individual posts in the ground, each pointing to God, but with no connection to each other. Instead, it is like a jungle (or forest, or ocean) where each member of the system is dependent on the other. Get one part of the system out balance and the whole system suffers. Prune or trim part of the system and the whole system benefits.

That third observation brings me to my second thought. Since Christianity and the Church really is an interconnected ecosystem, could it be that God will bring things into my life that are really designed for the benefit of others? Track Paul's thinking in the verses from Philippians 1. Paul is in prison, not sure of his earthly fate, yet he views his situation as something that has served to advance the gospel. How can this be good?  Look at Christ in Gethsemane. Aching at the prospect of bearing the sins of the world and having to absorb the wrath of His holy Father. How can this be good? Yet, in this ecosystem called Christianity, every system, every element has a role and a purpose. Everything works together for good.

So, all things working together for good may include evil, Satan-wrought things for the over arching plan and glory of Christ. We may actual receive what appears to be the short end of stick if God determines that it will result in what is best for the kingdom of His Son. Oh, to be used like Paul, for the very great purpose of advancing the gospel.

To God Alone be the Glory

Damnation, and he took it lovingly.

 Thanks to Michael Johnson on the Desiring God blog.  Read the full post here.

Rabbi Duncan was a great old Reformed teacher in New College, Edinburgh, a hundred and more years ago. In one of his famous excursions in his classes, where he would move off from the Hebrew he was supposed to be teaching to theological reflections on this or that, he threw out the following question: “Do you know what Calvary was? What? What? What? Do you know what Calvary was?” Then, having waited a little and having walked up and down in front of them in silence, he looked at them again and said, “I’ll tell you what Calvary was. It was damnation, and he took it lovingly.” The students in his class reported that there were tears on his face as he said this. And well there might be. “Damnation, and he took it lovingly.” - J.I. Packer, Knowing Christianity

The Cross and the Resurrection. They go hand in hand. You can't have a risen Savior without a dead one and a crucified Messiah is powerless if he is still in the grave. Yet somehow I get the sense we tolerate the Cross to get to the Resurrection. We want the glory, but we want to avoid the shame. Skip the bad stuff, skip the hard stuff, skip the cruel stuff. Just give me the the empty grave and Jesus' resurrection power.

But isn't the glory and the power of the Resurrection found in the ugliness and brutality of the Cross? Do we really grasp the fact that the Cross was supposed be ours? The shame and torture and rejection by God really belonged to us? As Packer quoted above Calvary was damnation. Our damnation. But Jesus took it for us and he did so because he loved his Father and he loved his soon to be brothers and sisters.

So, as we rejoice one day removed from Easter, let us celebrate that Jesus is no longer in the tomb. But let us also celebrate that the tomb is empty because the cross did its job and the One who hung on the cross did so willingly and lovingly. And let us celebrate that the damnation that was ours became his and is now completely removed from the mind of God.

To God Alone be the Glory

Edwards' Resolutions - week 17

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 17:

Resolved, That I will live so, as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

He's Alive!?!?

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." Lk 24:5-6

Grief. Disappointment. Fear. Frustration. These are just few of the emotions in the hearts of the women who went out on Sunday morning to complete the job of embalming their dead Messiah. So many unanswered questions. They were sure he was the one. But now its over. All they have left is his body...

Because of all of this, I don't think we can fully grasp their shock when they saw that the tomb was empty. Their questions are understandably horizontal: "What have they done to his body?" But God graciously gave them (and us) a vertical response.

“Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."

How life changing, how world changing, how eternity changing are these simply words? We say them so easy, especially on Easter, but pause to consider their impact on the women, on the disciples, on the Church and on us. We can now say Christus Victor! We can now know Jesus is interceding for us. We can now see that our Savior loves His Father enough to die to save, rescue and redeem His children and he loves his brothers and sisters so much that he will never leave us or forsake us.

Today, of all days, to God Alone be the Glory!

The Holy One

Mark Schultz's lyrics say it all. Listen twice, once with your eyes closed.  Sunday's coming!!!!



To God Alone be the Glory

Forgotten Saturday

Between the sorrow and grief of Friday and the joy and exaltation of Sunday is the forgotten day of Saturday. The details of that day are very thin. Matthew has a few verses about the Jewish leaders, while Luke states that Jesus' followers rested according to the commandment. That's it.

There are no notes about grief. No thoughts on their doubts.  No reflections on their disappointed hopes and dreams. Why the silence? Why, after the incredible details of Sunday through Friday did God forget Saturday?

Making an argument from silence is risky, so the thoughts I offer are simply one man's reflection on that silent Saturday 2,000 years ago. Why the silence? Clearly there is the grief, both at the human level and at the spiritual level. There is also a period of reflection: who was this Jesus, really? How can the Messiah suffer and die? What do we do now?

Yet, with the validity of all of these things, I think there may be a deeper purpose to the Saturday of silence. We need to remember that these events played out in history. Since only God is is omniscient, no one knew what was really happening. Nobody knew that Sunday was coming. And, since these events played out before both the natural and supernatural worlds, all of creation was a witness to the life and to the death of the beloved Son of God. The silence of Saturday is the stunned, awe-filled, gasp of an entire universe in shock over what has just happened. Think of your personal reaction at seeing the collapse of the World Trade Center. Now multiply that disbelief by billions of witnesses then by billions more because of the much greater magnitude of Jesus' suffering and death. All of that emotion, all of that surprise, all of that heartache is crammed into one simple Saturday. No single day should have to bear that type of load.

Clearly, this is a day we want to forget. Clearly this is a day was must never forget.

To God Alone be a Glory

He's Dead?!?!

Before most people in Jerusalem awoke on the Friday of Passover, Jesus was arrested, tried, convicted, beaten to the edge of death and was on his way to be crucified. Before lunch he was dying on the Roman cross and so were the hopes and dreams of all of his followers.  How could our Messiah, David's greater son, be dead?

Can we step into their sandals, feel their grief and sorrow, and begin to grasp the horror and tragedy of the death of the Son of God?

To God Alone be the Glory

Contemplation of the Cross

From Desiring God

The whole value of the meditation of the suffering of Christ lies in this, that man should come to the knowledge of himself and sink and tremble. If you are so hardened that you do not tremble, then you have reason to tremble. Pray to God that he may soften your heart and make fruitful your meditation upon the suffering of Christ, for we ourselves are incapable of proper reflection unless God instill it. - Martin Luther, Originally adapted from Martin Luther's Easter Book

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesdays from Phil 1 - Our prayers for others

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. - Phil 1:9-11

Starting each blog post can sometimes be a challenge, not due to a lack of something to say, but due to way too many disparate thoughts that my mind often struggles to coherently pull together. And prayer is probably the best (or should I say worst) example of this. As my close friends can attest, I have wrestled with whole notion of prayer: what it is, what it should be, how God sees it and what its become in the broader evangelical community. So, with all that baggage, I want to reflect on a very simple, yet profound set of verses where Paul portrays both the heart and the goal of prayer.

Let me assure you, I've asked God to restrict the flow of my thoughts regarding prayer.  My Spirit driven focus today will be simply to highlight a few things and then call us into this marvelous, gracious gift called prayer. In the end my prayer is Paul's prayer, that we all may grow in wisdom and discernment so that we may know and embrace what is excellent and that through God's mercy and grace we may be filled with the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, to the glory of God.

Observation 1:  Notice Paul's focus. He is not focused on stuff. Is praying for stuff wrong? Not necessarily, but if you read Ecclesiastes and see the vanity of it all or read Mt 6 and see that God knows what we need, then perhaps the better focus of our minds and hearts is on God's kingdom and His righteousness. (Mt 6:33)  Paul really has one request, but with a few anticipated, Spirit-wrought affects. Paul asks that the Philippian's love may abound more and more with knowledge and discernment. How important is it that the love Christ puts into us not only stays alive, but stays true and grows deeper? My friends we must each be growing more in love with Christ and the people he has redeemed. Yet only God can give us this growing, abounding love. Shall we ask for it? Shall we seek it? Will we request it for our families, our pastors, the others in our church who we don't really know?

Observation 2: Paul expects results from his prayers. I want to say this very carefully, because I am certain I will be misunderstood. It is very easy for us (or at least for me) to wish for answers from our prayers rather than expect them. My sense and my observation is that we trust God to do the right thing, we want to inform Him of our perspective on the deal (in case He's unsure) and then kind of step back and let God do His thing. Paul's attitude is different than that. Paul (and other Biblical pray-ers) see prayer as more cooperative. God actually responds to our prayers (No ask -- no answer) So, as Paul begins a letter about growing more in love with Jesus so that we may be filled with the fruit of righteousness, he simply, expectantly, confidently asks God for it. And, as he says in Eph 1, we have access, through prayer, to the same power that raised Christ from the dead.

The call: It is as simple and as difficult as this. We must pray. Not lip service prayers. Not help me find a good parking place prayers. Rather, by God's mercy, we must pray Christ-centered, God-exalting, believer-strengthening, unbeliever-saving, Spirit-driven prayers. By the way, I am NOT there by any stretch of anyone's imagination. I can clearly see the shallowness of my own prayers in contrast to the powerful ones laid out in Scripture.

To God Alone be the Glory

Edwards' Resolutions - week 16

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 16:

Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

Who Alone Has Immortality

"I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen." 1 Tim 6:13-16

Too often, I think, we get confused (or at least I get confused) over the immensity of who God is and what He provides. Take immortality. It seems to be a fairly clear reading of Scripture that we all are eternal beings and that when we die we will live forever either in the presence of God or eternally separated from Him. This, of course is the urgency and importance of the gospel.

But pause for a moment and consider the eternalness itself. What keeps it going? What keeps our eternal hearts beating? What keeps the eternal cities functioning? Even more pressing, what keeps us from falling through the floor of heaven? What keeps the chasm fixed between heaven and hell?

The answer, I submit, is Jesus. We do not posses immortality in ourselves. We do not posses righteousness in ourselves. We do not posses anything in ourselves. Everything we have, here or in eternity, is a gracious gift from God. And Jesus is its source, eternally. This, of course, why Paul calls for us to worship the One "who dwells in unapproachable light"

To God Alone be the Glory

Grace is not a Thing

Thanks to Josh Etter for the post at the Desiring God blog.  Read the full entry here.

In reviewing the "I am" sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John, it becomes clear that Jesus is not just a means to an end (e.g. Jesus saves us from the wrath of God, or Jesus gives us eternal life, etc). Instead, He both the means and the end. Think of John 6.  Jesus is not just the source of bread, although He clearly is that. He is also the bread itself. The same holds true for His being the Shepherd, the Resurrection, the Way, the Vine and the Door. It seems our fractured, fallen psyches can't get over somehow being autonomous both now and in heaven. But Jesus won't have any of it.

So, it was with great interest that I read the following excerpt from an interview with Sinclair Ferguson:

If I can highlight the thought here: there is no "thing" that Jesus takes from Himself and then, as it were, hands over to me. There is only Jesus Himself. Grasping that thought can make a significant difference to a Christian's life. So while some people might think this is just splitting hairs about different ways of saying the same thing, it can make a vital difference. It is not a thing that was crucified to give us a thing called grace. It was the person of the Lord Jesus that was crucified in order that He might give Himself to us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Each time I take enough effort to look intently at Jesus, the more I realize the scope and the breadth of what He accomplished on the cross.

To God Alone be the Glory

Immerse Yourself

"Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress." 1 Tim 4:15

It never ceases to amaze me that I continue to pick up new insights in God's Word, especially after going through it year after year for more than a decade. Sometimes, this new insight comes in the form of God expressing himself in way I hadn't seen or perceived. But sometimes it comes in words and phrases that simply hadn't registered in my mind.

Such was the case this morning as I read through 1 Tim 4. This is a somewhat familiar passage where Paul is directing Timothy to remain true to his calling, to exercise his gifts and to put into practice all that he had learned, especially the things Paul had written to him about. Paul's extension of all of this is that Timothy (and us) are living examples of the grace and the power of the gospel.

But the phrase that was new to me, what I had read dozens of times and never really recorded in my heart and mind was the phrase from v15, "immerse yourself in them". In fact the original Greek says to "be in them". Wow! What a reminder to me that this faith, this life, this grace is not an add on, not a coat to wear over a suit which is over a shirt which is over my heart. No, this gospel, this love, this mercy, this submission of my will to God's goes all the way to the core. By the power of the Spirit, we need to dive into this gospel, into the grace Jesus freely provides. Being a disciple of Christ is not a tweak on our already pretty good lives. It is not even a remodel of a totally messed up life. It is a full fledged reconstruction of a life destroyed by sin but purchased and redeemed by the blood shed on the cross. We must be immersed in these things!

Can you rejoice with me today over the small phrases in God's Word that have big impacts on how we see Christ, how we perceive his grace and mercy, how we embrace the cross and the gospel and how we live our lives as examples to the Church and as spotlights to a lost and dying world?

To God Alone be the Glory

Meaningless Vanity

"I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind." Ecc 1:14

"By the end of the book (Ecclesiastes), after scraping away the detritus of life, he (the Preacher) hits bedrock—God himself. And here and there along the way he allows us glimpses of a divine perspective that transcends meaninglessness. But he takes his time getting there, for we must feel the depressing weight of all questing visions that do not begin with God." D. A. Carson - For The Love of God, Vol 2

Whenever I read Ecclesiastes, I am captured by the stark reality that the author portrays. All of Scripture is brutally honest, but it seems the book of Ecclesiastes is the poster child for this forthright candidness. And, because it is so blunt, it easy to see ourselves and our situations in the midst of the text.

 I have just a few thoughts as I begin another read-through of this God-given gem.

1) This is not my thought, but comes from D.A. Carson.  Context and genre are always important when reading the Bible, but they are especially important when the author's argument is from the negative. The Preacher is on a quest to find meaning and purpose on earth (i.e. under the sun) but is continually frustrated. That is the point. Everything else is written to support the argument: Without God, everything is meaningless. So single verses from Ecclesiastes, out of context, may not say what we want them to say.

2)  Everything, under the sun, is meaningless. Apart from Christ, this is the sad, brutal truth. Even as I write I'm thinking marriage? career? thinking ability? communication skills? And the list could go on. The fact is that each of the things I've listed and the items that may pop up on your list can, in fact be good and beneficial things.  The Preacher is not saying they are bad, just that in and of themselves they have no value. In a way it is like having $1 million in Confederate currency.  There is no value. The reminder here, of course, is that, in Christ all things are redeemed and even the smallest part of our lives become extremely valuable.

3)  There is nothing new under the sun. This is an on going theme in Ecclesiastes, and one I often identify with in my own life. Whether it be work or home or church or in the broader society, things seem to repeat themselves. One could ask why (failure to learn, failure to seek meaning from God, a grace given reminder that by itself this world is meaningless), but when I read Ecc 1:9 this morning, my mind went to Rev 5. (I know Rev 5 is not "under the sun", but bare with me.)

In Rev 5, when the lion-lamb who was slain is found worthy to open the scroll, there is a new song sung in heaven. One gets the sense that it is not just new words or a new melody, but it is a new focus. Now glory and honor are ascribed to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.  So, if Christ can have such a profound affect on the perfections of heaven, what was His impact "under the sun"?

I will leave that thought for us each to reflect on and I will simply conclude with this. The natural world is bound and broken and cannot fix itself. From a street-level assessment, the Preacher got it right: everything is meaningless, a grasping after the wind. But praise be to God that He sent Christ to invade this meaningless life and fundamentally change things for those who would believe. And one day (I pray very soon!) Jesus will return and remove the word meaningless from our vocabulary.

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesdays from Phil 1 - Deep and abiding relationship within the Church

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:7-8

We can look at the Church, the Body of Christ, from two perspectives and I think each add to its beauty and its value. First is viewing the Church from Christ's perspective. He views us as his Bride, his Body and even as his very self. He takes our growth in holiness very seriously and does everything to protect us and provide for us, to sustain us and deliver us. In a word, Jesus is the ultimate, consummate Husband.

If the perspective above can be described as the vertical perspective, there is also a horizontal perspective. It would be how we, as members of the Church, view, relate and treat one another. This is where Paul's thoughts in Phil 1 kick in. Having the vertical dimension firmly in place, he expresses at least part of the horizontal dimension to his Philippian audience and to us. Clearly, Paul views the Church as a partnership in spreading the gospel, as we saw last week, but he is not simply utilitarian. Other people are not just a means to an end.  They are the end. "You are all partakers with me in grace"  For Paul, the cliche, the ground is level at the foot of the Cross, was true.

But there's more to this horizontal dimension. If we truly grasp the magnitude of the vertical dimension, if we truly realize that the Church is not simply a collection of people who share the same theology, but a dynamic, living entity that Jesus is creating for His glory and loves with the intensity of a husband for his wife, a parent for their child even as his own self, and if we begin to understand that we are partners in the gospel, then we will begin to comprehend the yearning that Paul had for the Philippians.

To be honest, I am nowhere near the perspective I just wrote. The Church to easily becomes a function or a facility or a few people that I know. Seriously, when is the last time I used (or even thought of using) the word "yearn" in connection with the Church? Maybe it will be today.

Father, we are too easily caught up in our own plans and agendas. We too easily forget that Christianity is not millions of people individually reaching out to you. Help us, help me, get a clearer vision of what you are doing  in and through the Church. And, by your grace, let us yearn for one another, that we may all grow more in love with Jesus and to be more humbly devoted to each other for His sake and for your glory.

To God Alone be the Glory

With the Breath of His Mouth

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming." 2 Th 2:8

Most movies & stories try to set themselves up so that the hero, while very brave and determined, usually will need to go against huge disadvantages, take huge risks with no certainty of the outcome. In fact, some of the best movies and stories leave the outcome in doubt almost to the last page. And, for three days 2,000 years ago, that is exactly how the disciples saw it. Their Messiah (a.k.a. the next David) was just crucified and buried. Now the Jewish leaders were after them. But, the Resurrection changed everything.

Now Jesus is alive. Now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. Now Jesus is interceding for us. Now all authority on heaven and on earth have been given to Jesus. Now Jesus is opening the scroll of human history.

And one day soon Jesus will face His enemy and ours. The battle may be cosmic, but it won't be dramatic. In fact in sporting terms it will be a blow-out. Jesus' mere presence and his mere breath will defeat the singular evil that has held this universe in bondage ever since his temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden.

My point? Jesus is the ultimate hero of our faith, but He is unlike any other hero we have, real or imagined. He endured the greatest humiliation (no one will ever approach that) and defeat, but because of this and his perfectly righteous life, He is now undefeatable, unconquerable and inexorably moving history to His ultimate victory. And if we have put our faith in Him, if we take Him at His word, if we trust Him to do what He says, then His victory will be ours.  There is no fear in death. There is no fear in Satan. Both are toothless, venom-less snakes that hiss and lunge, but can no longer poison or kill.

To God Alone be the Glory

Edwards' Resolutions - week 15

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 15:

Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.

The Mighty Privileges of Faith

It is by faith, simple faith in Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, that people’s souls are made free. It is by receiving Christ, trusting Christ, committing ourselves to Christ, placing our whole weight on Christ–it is by this, and by no other plan, that spiritual liberty is made our own. Mighty as the privileges are which those who are free in Christ possess, they all become a person’s property on the day that they first believe. They may not yet know their full value, but they are all their own. They that believe in Christ are not condemned, rather they are justified, are born again, are an heir of God, and have everlasting life.

~ J.C. Ryle

It is interesting to look at the nature of our salvation and see our total dependence on Christ, our total need for grace and the total requirement of faith. Salvation, top to bottom, is designed to take us out of the equation "so that no man should boast". Yes we need to exercise our faith. Yes we need to respond to God's prompting and pleading. But all of that, I dare say, is secondary to Jesus' primary work on our behalf.

I'm beginning to realize that we really don't know how bad and pervasive sin is. We don't know how much we really don't want God to tell us what to do. He has protected us so much, he has graced us so profoundly that we think that there is something intrinsic in us that is seeking after Him. If there is one ounce of desire for God in your heart and mind, that thought, that impulse came from God.

Thankfully, God is continuing to call people to Himself.  As this day dawns, it is another day God has made available for us to respond in the faith that He graciously provides. So whether today is the day we put our trust in Christ for the first time, for the first time realizing that everything depends on Him or today is another day we wake up and praise, thank and worship God for all that He has given us in Christ, let us each rejoice!

To God Alone be the Glory

Do Our Lives Add Up?

For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. 1 Th 2:11-12

I'm reading a book which has as one of its underlying premises that Christianity must be changed / reformed / returned to its original state since most people who call themselves Christians don't live what they profess, or at least what the label "Christian" implies. Without going into a critique of the book (visible vs invisible Church, the effects of indwelling sin, Christ's sovereign power to build His church) I was tweaked by a small choice of words that I read in My Utmost for His Highest today. Chambers, in comparing mountain top (i.e. deeply spiritual) experiences to a believer's everyday life, he said "Their lives don't add up". And while its conclusions may be misguided, the book I mentioned earlier observes a very similar thing. Sadly, the lives of many Christians don't add up.

At this point I am tempted to throw out some verses. 1 Th 2:11-12 is above. Eph 4, Rom 12, Mt 5, Isa 58 also come to mind. But I will leave it up to you, at the Spirit's prompting, to reflect on these and other passages. Because I would maintain that the entire New Testament and probably most of the Old Testament doesn't make sense if we are not "all in". Read the book of Acts. Whether its Peter or Paul, what they endure for the gospel is incoherent if they simply viewed the faith as some add on to their already pretty good lives. Look at the urgency and passion in the epistles, Words like urge and anguish, unceassing and constant, confident and assured are littered across the pages. Clearly the expectation was (and is) that anyone who would follow Christ would really follow Him. Remember what a disciple was back in Jesus' day. A disciple was some one who left whatever profession they were in to follow someone (usually a rabbi) for a period of time and immerse themselves in his life and teaching so that at the end of the training they would be just like their teacher. Sound familiar?

So the bottom-line is simply this: Do our lives add up? I am confident that the Holy Spirit will gladly answer that question for you and for me. And, He will provide the means for each of us to move from where we are to where God wants us to be.

To God Alone be the Glory

Tuesdays from Phil 1 - God Finishes What He Starts

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Phil 1:6

To be honest, I find the familiar passages more difficult to comment on than the more obscure ones. The less reflected upon a verse or passage is, the comfortable I find myself. Maybe that's due to a lesser chance of critique when few are unfamiliar with a text. Or, maybe its due to a fear that I don't have anything to say that hasn't already been said, said more accurately and more eloquently. But, both the fear of critique and the fear of irrelevance have their roots in pride. So, I trust that God will use a time like this to both bless His people but also root out the sometimes pervasive pride in my life.

I share this in part to be transparent with those who read this blog, but also as a way to testify that God is at work even now bringing to completion the work He began in us. I know we need to be careful and to understand the Paul is ultimately looking at the full completion Christ will accomplish on our behalf on the day of His return. Yet isn't all of our journey, including our death, part of the process of being completed? Yes there will be a glorious day when the perishable puts on the imperishable, but aren't there hundreds and thousands of days where we become a little more Christ-like in this life?

I think this verse has two time horizons. The first is the end state, the 1 Cor 15, resurrected body, walking on streets of gold, fully complete, gloried person. And, we should praise God that we can be sure that He will do and accomplish this. If He can't, or won't or is given to changing His mind, our faith is useless. But I would also submit there is a second time horizon. Or maybe a better comparison is traveling from New York to LA. You can take a 747, get on and go. Once you are on the plane, if you trust the pilot and equipment and the security folks, you are on your way. Or you can drive in your family vehicle, stopping in Philly and Pittsburg, maybe Chicago or St Louis, Denver or Salt Lake anyone? How about stopping at Gettysburg or Cedar Point or the Arch. What about skiing or picnicking or a hundred other activities along the way. Eventually, however, if you trust your driver and your mechanic and your GPS, you will also arrive in LA.

Our lives are on the secure-in-Christ, fast track to glory. God said it. I believe it. That settles it.  But our lives are also on the cross country journey to glory. There are detours. There are diversions. There may be car trouble. Paul's point here is not to belabor the what or where or the why, but to get our focus back on the Who. God started our journey and He wlll make sure we finish it. Why? Because He's God.

So whether you need to be gently (or abruptly) reminded that God will absolutely, positively get us where we are going or you need to know that the Spirit travels with us on the day to day journey of life and He will ultimately get us where we need to go, this verse (and this Book) is for you.

One final note. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that all of Paul's (and my) confidence is pointed to those who are on the journey. If God has begun the work in you, He will complete it. No doubt. But if He has not yet begun the work, that is where you must start. Look to Christ, even just ahead in Philippians 2 or in John or the other gospels. See what He has to say and the faith He asks from us, but also graciously provides to us (Eph 2:4-10). Trust me, this is one journey you don't want to miss!

To God Alone be the Glory

Happy Anniversary - belated, of course

I noticed over the weekend that this blog has survived its first year. This is only by the shear grace of God, since the general tendency of my life is to start strong but fade as things become routine and other, newer things come into play. For nostalgia's sake, I re-read my first post and found it as powerful as when I wrote it. Clearly God's Word doesn't ebb or fade.

Coincidently, I also participated in a Bible study that worked through Heb 10. Since the overall title of this blog is "Drawing Near", I took a moment to reflect on the connections between that verse (Heb 10:22) and the goals and objectives I have for this blog.

Two things immediately stand out to me.  First is that drawing near to God is a privilege that Jesus has purchased for us at the cost of his life through his High Priestly role. Yet, this is an action verb, not a passive one, so in some sense, we must participate in drawing near to God who has drawn near to us through the life, death and resurrection of his Son. Second, our drawing near is done in full assurance of faith. I submit this represents both the means and also the measure of our drawing near.  We can only draw near to God through faith and while that faith doesn't have to be the rock-solid, never-doubting, world-conquering, Jim Elliot kind of faith it does need to have the full assurance that Jesus is who He says He is and He accomplished what He needed to accomplish and that God is satisfied in Him.

Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing at Christ on the cross! - C.H. Spurgeon

To God Alone be the Glory

Edwards' Resolutions - week 14

My I intention, by God's grace, to post one of Jonathan Edward's 73 resolutions each Monday. As I read the list, it is convicting to me that I can only handle them in small doses, while Edwards reviewed the whole list each week The entire list of Edward's resolutions can be found here: the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

To God Alone be the Glory

Preamble:

Being sensible that I am unable to do any thing without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake.

Resolution 14:

Resolved, Never to do any thing out of revenge.

 

If You Had Known.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" Mt 23:37

"Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes." Lk 19:42

“If you had known . . . .” God’s words here cut directly to the heart, with the tears of Jesus behind them. These words imply responsibility for our own faults. God holds us accountable for what we refuse to see or are unable to see because of our sin. And “now they are hidden from your eyes” because you have never completely yielded your nature to Him. Oh, the deep, unending sadness for what might have been! God never again opens the doors that have been closed. He opens other doors, but He reminds us that there are doors which we have shut-doors which had no need to be shut. Never be afraid when God brings back your past. Let your memory have its way with you. It is a minister of God bringing its rebuke and sorrow to you. God will turn what might have been into a wonderful lesson of growth for the future. - Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest April 3

I am a firm believer in the sovereignty of God.  It is a non-negotiable for me. I am also a firm believer in the responsibility of mankind. A contradiction? Perhaps in our minds, but without these two realities both being true, the Bible is incoherent and all we get from our theologies are caricatures.

Take the destruction of Jerusalem. Who's to blame? The citizens, since they rejected Christ and the prophets that proceeded him? Or God since Jesus even says the way out is now hidden from them? If you pick the people you make them the final arbiters of their fate and God is simply a hand wringing judge, hoping His people do the right thing. However, if you pick God, then the people are mere pawns and God is a mean orge without and real grace or mercy. But what if it is both? God, through Christ extending his hand saying "Turn, turn. I don't delight in the death of the wicked" and yet also saying "if you reject me, I will reject you" And the people saying "I do believe, help my unbelief" and "Be merciful to me, a sinner", and "we have no god but Caesar" and "we have Abraham as our father".

But what about us? What difference does this make today, in 2011? Two thoughts:

1) God is still (and always) sovereign. Earthquake in Japan? Turmoil in the Middle East? Political and societal disarray in America? God is still (and always) sovereign over it all. Are His purposes easy to fathom? No. Are His motives easy to fathom? Yes. (See Rom 8)

2) Man is still (and always) responsible. This might be the harder pill to swallow, because if God is sovereign in a black and white sense, then I'm off the hook. But I'm not. I must believe. I must put to death the work of the flesh. I must put on the new self. I must share my faith. I must preach the gospel. I must keep myself in the love of Christ. All of this, of course in the context of Phil 2:12-13.

So today, live your life with fear and trembling, but also with joy and hope. We each messed up yesterday and yesterday is gone. Confess what needs to be confessed and know that as believers our sins are forgiven in Christ. And now move into the new day, ready to serve the One who has called us, redeemed us, empowered us, prepared the path for us and will always be with us.

To God Alone be the Glory

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil 2:12-13

Delighting in Leviticus?

I happen to be reading through Leviticus as part of my Bible reading plan, so I thought it was very interesting when I ran across the following post Colin Hansen on the Gospel Coalition blog: Daring to Delight in Leviticus.

The post is essentially an interview with Jay Sklar, associate professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary.His references are on the blog linked above, but interestingly, he is one of authors of the ESV Study Bible's notes on Leviticus. While the post is longish, I found it intriguing for a couple of reasons. 1) We need to understand Leviticus (or any OT book) in its OT context first then its connections to the gospel are much more solid. 2) grace permeates the Levitical system.

Here is an excerpt from the final question:

Would you caution preachers and teachers in any way as they proclaim Jesus from this book? 

In light of the previous answer, there are at least two cautions. First, law must be set in the context of redemption. When this is not done—and when we preach on law it usually is not!—we become moralists: “Do this! Don’t do that!” Someone who is soaked in the gospel of grace—and who remembers the context!—takes a different approach: “In light of what the Lord has done for you, do this; in light of who your redeeming Lord is and who he has called you to be, don’t do that.” A moralist leaves you with the feeling that there are things you must or must not do to earn the Lord’s favor. A gospel preacher or teacher leaves you with the feeling that the Lord’s favor has been so richly shown in his redemptive acts that the only proper response is grateful and loving obedience to him. 

The second caution is simply to remember that proclaiming Jesus does not mean one stops at the cross. As the above makes clear, Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross is always the starting point for Christian preaching. By this I do not mean that every message must have a separate point that mentions Calvary; rather, I mean that God’s redemption in Jesus is the context of the message (see above). But what must be remembered is that Jesus has not simply saved us from something, he also calls us to something. He calls us torespond to his redemptive grace in every aspect of our lives; he call us to be that “kingdom of priests and holy nation.”

To God Alone be the Glory