Where Jesus Would Have Us [Not] Be (Part 1)

As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And [Jesus] did not permit him...
Mark 5:18-19

There are lessons of profound wisdom in these words. The place that Christians wish to be in, is not always the place which is best for their souls. The position that they would choose, if they could have their own way, is not always that which Jesus would have them occupy.

There are none who need this lesson so much as believers newly converted to God. Such persons are often very poor judges of what is really for their good. Full of the new views which they have been graciously taught, excited with the novelty of their present position, seeing everything around them in a new light, knowing little yet of the depths of Satan and the weakness of their own hearts--knowing only that a little time ago they were blind, and now, through mercy, they see--of all people they are in the greatest danger of making mistakes. With the best intentions, they are apt to fall into mistakes about their plans in life, their choices, their moves, their professions. They forget that what we like best is not always best for our souls, and that the seed of grace needs winter as well as summer, cold as well as heat, to ripen it for glory.

Let us pray that God would guide us in all our ways after conversion, and not allow us to err in our choices, or to make hasty decisions. That place and position is most healthful for us in which we are kept most humble--most taught of our own sinfulness--drawn most to the Bible and prayer--led most to live by faith and not by sight. It may bot be quite what we like. But if Christ by His providence has places us in it, let us not be in a hurry to leave it. Let us therein abide with God. The great thing is to have no will of our own, and to be where Jesus would have us be.

--J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Volume 1, p. 94-95

Jeremiah and The Preacher's Paradox

O LORD, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed.
Jeremiah 20:7

Why does Jeremiah feel as though the LORD has deceived him?

Because, on the one hand, Jeremiah pays a great cost to preach:

I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision all day long."
Jeremiah 20:7-8

For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! "Denounce him! Let us denounce him!" say all my close friends, watching for my fall. "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can over come him and take our revenge on him."
Jeremiah 20:10

Preaching is so costly to Jeremiah that it leads him to curse the day that he was born. He would prefer to have never been born than to be a preacher (Jeremiah 20:14-18).

But then, on the other hand, Jeremiah is compelled to preach:

If I say, "I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name, there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot."
Jeremiah 20:9

There is a passionate desire within Jeremiah to preach. He can't help but to preach. There's nothing else he'd rather do.

Jeremiah is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. And he knows that God has put him in this place. That's why he feels as though the LORD has deceived him (v.7).

So what's he going to do? Stop preaching in order to avoid having to pay the great costs that come with preaching? Or continue to preach in spite of the costs?

But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause.
Jeremiah 20:12 (emphasis added)

There's no stopping him. Jeremiah is going to preach. He's going to preach because, in spite of the reality of the hardship of his calling as a preacher, he trusts the God who called him. It's to this God that he commits his cause irrespective of whatever suffering comes with it. And not only will he commit his cause to his faithful God as he continues to pay the cost of preaching, he's going to sing praises to his God while he does so:

Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.
Jeremiah 20:13

This is the preacher's paradox. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.

Miserable and Happy: At The Same Time!

The conclusion from a short blog post over at Acts 29 worth the entire read:

Don’t be a whiner, quitter, or baby and quit pouting or being surprised about “how hard” it is to do what you are doing. Of course it is. You are limited as a fallen human in a fallen world. Learn to cultivate and create…all the while, being miserable. If you can thrive and stay on mission, especially through the worst of circumstances, you are preparing to be a game changer, a true leader, who can adapt, adjust, and endure.

Jesus is still our perfect rescuer and our relentless pursuit of Him is still our greatest joy.

I love it =)! Our joy is proof that Jesus is our treasure (Matthew 13:44). Our misery is proof that this world isn't our home, that the Bridegroom has been taken away from us, and that we long for His coming (Matthew 9:15). The way Paul put it:

[We are] as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing...
2 Corinthians 6:10

HT: Christ Is Deeper Still

The Solid Logic Of Heaven

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32

Paul is reasoning in Romans 8:32 from the hard to the easy, or from the greater to the lesser. If God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us--that's the hard thing, the great thing. The reason it's the greater thing is that God loved his Son infinitely. His Son did not deserve to be killed. His Son was worthy of worship by every creature, not spitting and whipping and scorn and torture. To hand over his beloved Son (Colossians 1:13) was the incomparably great thing. The reason for this is the immensity of God's love for his Son. This is what made it so unlikely that God would hand him over. Yet God did it. And in doing it he showed that he most certainly would do all other things--all of which would be easy by comparison--to give all things to the people for whom he gave his Son.

This is why I said that the promise of Romans 8:32 is as sure as God's love for his Son. God desired two things: not to see his Son made a mockery by sinners; and not to see his people denied infinite future grace. Surely it is more likely that he will spare his Son than that he will spare us. But no. He did not spare his Son. And therefore it is impossible that he should spare us the promise for which the Son died--he will freely with him give us all things.

What a truth! Giving us all things is the easy thing! Think on that every time you fear being denied something that would be good for you. You think it is a hard thing. You see many obstacles. It looks impossible. At that discouraging moment think about this heavenly logic. Giving you what you need is the easy part. And the hard part is already done. Creating the world and running it for the good of his people is a relatively easy thing for God to do compared to handing over his Son to ridicule and torture. But he did it. And now all future grace is not only sure; it is easy.

...

The great promise of future grace, guaranteed in the logic of Romans 8:32, is that nothing will ever enter your experience as God's child that, by God's sovereign grace, will not turn out to be a benefit to you. This is what it means for God to be God, and for God to be for you, and for God to freely give you all things with Christ.

You must believe this or you will not thrive, or perhaps even survive as a Christian, in the pressures and temptations of modern life. There is so much pain, so many setbacks and discouragements, so many controversies and pressures. I do not know where I would turn in ministry if I did not believe that almighty God is taking every setback and every discouragement and every controversy and every pressure and every pain, and stripping it of its destructive power and making it work for the enlargement of my joy in God.

...

Romans 8:32 is a precious friend. The promise of future grace is overwhelming. But all-important is the foundation. Here is a place to stand against all obstacles. God did not spare his own Son! How much more then will he spare no effort to give me all that Christ died to purchase--all things, all good. It is as sure as the certainty that he loved his Son.

...

If there is a way to live by faith in this invincible future grace, I want to know that life. I want to know how trusting this promise, rooted in the unshakable logic of heaven, can free me and empower me to love and risk and suffer and die and rise for the glory of God, and the good of my people, the good of the nations, and the good of my own soul. That's one of the main reasons I am writing this book--if by any means I might come into the deeper experience of living by faith in future grace, and take as many people with me as I can.

--John Piper, Future Grace, p.114-118

Me too, brother. Me too. I'm trying to follow. Thanks for writing this book. Thanks for taking me with you.

Fear, Punishment, and the Perfect Love of Propitiation

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
1 John 4:18

I have a confession to make. I’m a fearful person. There are lots of things that I’m afraid of. I don’t know if that’s the impression you’d get from first getting to know me, but if you were to spend an extended period of time with me and listen to me as I begin to share my heart with you, it wouldn’t take long before you recognized that. I’m afraid that I’ll make a fool of myself every time I get up to preach. I’m afraid that when I go to Kenya to pursue the ministry God is calling me to there, it will prove fruitless. I’m afraid of being lonely, especially on the other side of the world, and spending the rest of my life single. Yup. That’s me. Just to mention a few.

And I imagine that if you were to be honest with yourself, you’d probably recognize that, deep down, you’re a fearful person too.

Last week, as I was reading through 1 John, the Holy Spirit shed some light on a verse that helps me not only better understand my fears but the source of their power and how, quite literally, they are put to death. And the effect that it’s had on me in just this past week is more significant than I would have imagined. This truth feels transformational and I’m eager for the Holy Spirit to plant it more deeply in my heart.

In this verse, John begins by setting fear in contrast with love. The two don’t play well together. They work against each other. When I’m afraid, my fears overshadow God’s love for me so that instead of feeling joy and peace I feel anxious and discouraged. On the other hand, when I’m experiencing God’s love the way He means for me to experience it, God’s love overshadows my fears so that instead of feeling anxious and discouraged I feel joy and peace. My fears and God’s love are at war with one another and vie for supremacy in my heart.

And then John says this: for fear has to do with punishment. What’s John saying? As I meditated on this statement and searched my heart, the conclusion I came to was this: Deep down, the reason for my fear is that I’m afraid God is going to punish me. I know that I’m sinful. I know that I fail to live up to God’s expectations. And as a result, in my heart of hearts I feel that I deserve to be punished by God in some way. And that’s where my fears are born.

If God lets me make a fool of myself when I’m preaching, if He lets me go all the way to Kenya and have a fruitless ministry, if He lets me live the rest of my life with an unfulfilled desire for a wife, in my heart I’m tempted to believe that it’s because He’s punishing me. I will be reaping what I sowed for something I did at some point in my life, whenever it was, whether my prideful boasting in my heart yesterday or my sexual sin from years past.

For fear has to do with punishment. That’s the source of my fears: the fact that I really do deserve to be punished and that my heart knows it and thinks some form of punishment is coming. Understanding that is almost liberating. But not quite. The liberation comes when we make the connection with what John said in verse 10 because there he tells us where our fears are put to death.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and that he sent his Son to…

How would you finish the verse? He sent his Son to die for us? To adopt us into His family? To set us free from our sins? To give us new life? To bring forgiveness? These things are all true and glorious. But John doesn’t say any of them. Of all the things that John could have used to describe how God loved us, He specifically said this:

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10

Propitiation. Think about this. As John, carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), is writing this letter, he can think of no better word to relate to the love of God than propitiation. Propitiation! Yes, it’s a big word. But I can only conclude that if this term is neglected in our understanding of why Jesus came to the earth, we will at best be impoverished in our understanding of the love of God.

So what does propitiation mean and what does it have to do with verse 18, which we started with?

The key here is in understanding that propitiation has to do with punishment. Someone who has been offended needs to be propitiated. They need to be appeased, to be calmed, to be quieted, to be satisfied. One way that the appeasement comes is by punishing the person who offended them. In carrying out punishment, the offended party is satisfied because justice is served.

In my pride, lust, and selfishness along with all the other sins I’ve committed, I’ve offended a holy and righteous God. I don’t deserve anything good in this life. But even worse I deserve eternal condemnation in hell. I deserve to be punished. And my punishment would appease God. It would propitiate Him. But verse 10 tells me that God sent his Son to be the propitiation for my sins. In John’s mind, this is the love of God: that Jesus came to the earth to receive the punishment that I deserve for my sins so that God would be propitiated and I wouldn’t have to be punished.

So back to verse 18. Fear has to do with punishment. The root of my fears is not only that I deserve to be punished but that I know it in my heart. But the glorious news of the gospel is that when Jesus hung on that tree 2,000 years ago bearing the punishment that I deserved, my every reason to be afraid died there with Him! Fear has to do with punishment and there is no punishment left for me because as my propitiation Jesus bore it all! So there is absolutely no reason for me to fear! None! God will never punish me because He punished Jesus in my place! There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Does this mean that I’ll never make a fool of myself when preaching? That I won’t have a ministry that appears fruitless? That I won’t be single for the rest of my life? Nope. But it means that, as long as I’m trusting Jesus, if I experience any of these things, they will be as a result of God’s perfect love for me and not because He’s punishing me. So I can put my fears to death.

You might say, “But nothing’s really changed if all these things that I fear might still happen to me, has it?” I promise you, if you really believe this, it changes everything! The problem isn’t the things we fear. The problem is the fear itself.

The reason we fear is because we haven’t been perfected in love. We're still afraid of being punished. We haven’t come into the fullness of the experience of God’s love that He created and redeemed us for. That’s how John ends verse 18. And he began verse 18 by saying that perfect love casts out fear. The perfect love that John is talking about in verse 18 is the same love that he talked about in verse 10: the perfect love of propitiation.

If we want to be fully set free from our fears, the only answer is propitiation. If we want to be perfected in love, the love we need to experience more fully is the love of propitiation. So let’s preach propitiation to ourselves today. And then let’s preach propitiation to ourselves tomorrow. Let’s preach it to ourselves as often as we have need, until Christ comes or calls us home. We’re going to need it a lot. I know I do.

For God gave us not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.
2 Timothy 1:7 (emphasis added)

Oh Lord, let this glorious truth of propitiation be power in our lives, power to set us free from deeply rooted bondage to fears of every kind, once and for all! We long to be perfected in your love so please do it by the mighty working of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ great name, Amen.

Faith, Rest, Quietness, Trust

For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, "In returning [Hebrew: שובה (shubah)] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness, and in trust shall be your strength." But you were unwilling...
Isaiah 30:15

Some render שובה (shubah) “repentance.” Others render it “rest,” and I am more disposed to adopt that rendering; for I think that the Prophet intended frequently to impress upon the people, that the Lord demands more from them than to rely fully upon him. Nor is the repetition of the statement by two words superfluous; for he expressly intended to bring together the words “rest and quietness,” in order to reprove the people the more sharply for their distrust and unbelief.

This verse consists of two clauses, a command and a promise. He enjoins the people to be of a quiet disposition, and next promises that their salvation shall be certain. The people do not believe this promise, and consequently they do not obey the command; for how would they render obedience to God, whom they do not believe, and on whose promises they do not rely? We need not wonder, therefore, that they do not enjoy peace and repose; for these cannot exist without faith, and faith cannot exist without the promises, and as soon as the promises have been embraced, souls that were restless and uneasy are made calm. Thus, unbelief alone produces that uneasiness; and therefore the Prophet justly reproves it, and shews that it is the source of the whole evil.

Though our condition be not entirely the same with that of the Jews, yet God commands us to wait for his assistance with quiet dispositions, not to murmur, or be troubled or perplexed, or to distrust his promises. This doctrine must belong equally to all believers; for the whole object of Satan’s contrivances is to distress them, and to cast them down from their condition. In like manner had Moses long before addressed them,

“You shall be silent, and the Lord will fight for you.” (Exodus 14:14.)

Not that he wished them to sleep or to be idle, but he enjoined them to have this peace in their hearts. If we have it, we shall feel that it yields us sufficient protection; and if not, we shall be punished for our levity and rashness.

--John Calvin's Commentaries

Black Church White Church

From Curtis "Voice" Allen's new CD: Christ The King

Black Church White Church
by Curtis "Voice" Allen

V1

Black church white church, they might really be a nice church, but we don’t think they the right church, so we don’t associate with the white church. Even though things might work, their music is different, they just too business. They don’t got emotion where is the shouting, their rhythms off beat we can do without them. Plus we just different cultures, and I don’t trust white folks they can be vultures. Always telling someone how to live, I think they racists they don’t play with our kids. Why we gotta be in the same church anyway I would choose our preaching anyday. We got good music we have church here, we sang so they can’t hang here. But we not racist we just think we should meet in different places. Yeah I work with them won’t go to church with them yeah friends with them that’s where it ends with them. I’m real I don’t pretend with them, it aint like I gotta be best friends with them. I’m just stating fact, and that’s where I’m so what’s wrong with that? THAT!

V2

White Church black church, we can’t recommend that church But we would love to see them at church. With us here yeah that works. But we ain’t trying to go over there, those people different but we still care. From a distance we’ll be polite, but if they came here it would alright. Cuz we think they don’t preach the gospel, or they just not theological. Unorganized real needy, teaching’s topical emotion is their gospel. So we’ll stay segregated, even though we next door, and hope that they make it. We ain’t judging them we can still be loving them even though we ain’t close enough to be touching them. I just love our church. I bet they would benefit from our church. Ain’t that how the gospel works, so why won’t they come to our church. I feel called to reach that community, but not if I gotta leave my community. But the gospel doesn’t give you immunity. The gospel gives you Impunity.

V3

Black church white church, news flash you are Christ’s church. So the color is red that you stand by, bloodshed nuff said hold your head high. Waves your hands by, to how life was, be high on Christ that’s the right buzz. Church segregation ain’t the right love, separation is really hating Christ’s love. We don’t go there, fill in the blank, and fill in the blank their music ain’t. Divided by cultural preferences is all us it is not what his message is. He called us to preach gospel sentences, so all must, complete what repentance is. Cuz we show the world that the Lord is real, or we show the world we got a fake appeal. Listen you were made in God’s image, before any man saw you as an image. So who you are is not who you are, and what defines you should behind you. Accept Christ, so what you thinking that in eternity it matters if you white or black? He made us, for better status, and our color’s red so let’s move ahead.

HT: Pure Church

The Wine Jesus Drank

From Desiring God Blog:

Twice Jesus was offered wine while on the cross. He refused the first, but took the second. Why so?

The first time came in [Mark 15] verse 23, “they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.” William Lane explains,

According to an old tradition, respected women of Jerusalem provided a narcotic drink to those condemned to death in order to decrease their sensitivity to the excruciating pain . . . . When Jesus arrived at Golgotha he was offered . . . wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it, choosing to endure with full consciousness the sufferings appointed for him (The Gospel of Mark, p. 564)

This first wine represented an offer to ease the pain, to opt for a small shortcut—albeit, not a major one in view of the terrible pain of the cross, but a little one nonetheless. But this offer Jesus refused, and in doing so, chose “to endure with full consciousness the sufferings appointed for him.”

The second time came in verse [Mark 15] 35. After some bystanders thought he was calling for Elijah, “someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.’” Lane comments,

A sour wine vinegar is mentioned in the OT as a refreshing drink (Numbers 6:13; Ruth 2:14), and in Greek and Roman literature as well it is a common beverage appreciated by laborers and soldiers because it relieved thirst more effectively than water and was inexpensive . . . . There are no examples of its use as a hostile gesture. The thought, then, is not of a corrosive vinegar offered as a cruel jest, but of a sour wine of the people. While the words “let us see if Elijah will come” express a doubtful expectation, the offer of the sip of wine was intended to keep Jesus conscious for as long as possible” (Ibid., 573-574).

So the first wine (mixed with myrrh) was designed to dull Jesus’ pain, to keep him from having to endure the cross with full consciousness. This wine he refused.

And the second (sour) wine was given to keep him “conscious for as long as possible,” and thus have the effect of prolonging his pain. This is the wine Jesus drank.

Other condemned criminals would have taken the first (to ease their torment) and passed on the second (so as not to prolong their horrific pain). But Jesus would take no shortcuts on the way to our redemption.

At the cross, he drank the wine of his Father’s wrath down to its very dregs, and he did so for us—that we might enjoy the wine of his Father’s love, join him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and live redeemed forever in the glorious presence of the one who took no shortcuts in saving us.

Your Name

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
Acts 4:12

In Jesus' Name, Amen

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:19-20

Prayer is drawing on the account where God has deposited all his promises of future grace. Prayer is not hoping in the dark that there might be a God of good intentions out there. Prayer goes to the bank every day and draws on promises of future grace needed for that day.

...

Prayer is the confident plea for God to make good on his promises of future grace for Christ's sake. Prayer links our faith in future grace with the foundation of it all, Jesus Christ.

Which leads to the final point: "Amen" is a full and precious word in times of prayer. It doesn't mean primarily, "Yes, I have now said all this prayer." It means primarily, "Yes, God has made all these promises." Amen means, "Yes, Lord, you can do it." It means, "Yes, Lord, you are powerful. Yes, Lord, you are wise. Yes, Lord, you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ." "Amen" is an exclamation point of hope after a prayer for help.

When we come to the end of our prayers and say the simple words, "In Jesus' name, Amen," we are really saying two Amen's. When we say, "In Jesus' name," that is God's Amen to us. All his promises are Amen in Jesus: Jesus Christ is God's Yes and Amen at the end of our prayers. Then when we say, "Amen," this is our Yes and Amen back to God for his. Which means that our Amen, and the prayer it supports, is our Yes to God's Yes to us. It is a commitment from our hearts that we will now live by faith in the Yes of God's guaranteed future grace.

--John Piper, Future Grace, p.107-108

Amazing. Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said it himself: in Jesus, God always says yes to us. He never says no...as long as we're asking for what He's promised in His Word.

The Life That's Left Is Future Grace

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 1:3

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
1 Corinthians 16:23

The only life I have left to live is future life. The past is not in my hands to offer or alter. It is gone. Not even God will change the past. All the expectations of God are future expectations. All the possibilities of faith and love are future possibilities. And all the power that touches me with help to live in love is future power. As precious as the bygone blessings of God may be, if he leaves me only with the memory of those, and not with the promise of more, I will be undone. My hope for future goodness and future glory is future grace.

...

Without exception the blessings at the beginning of Paul's letters say "Grace [be] to you," while the blessings at the end of the letters say, "Grace [be] with you." This is so consistent through thirteen letters that it must mean something.

The meaning I would suggest is this: at the beginning of his letters Paul has in mind that the letter itself is a channel of Gods' grace to the readers. Grace is about to flow "from God" through Paul's writing to the Christians. So he says, "Grace to you." That is, grace is now active and is about to flow from God through my inspired writing to you as you read--"grace [be] to you."

But as the end of the letter approaches, Paul realizes that the reading is almost finished and the question rises, "What becomes of the grace that has been flowing to the readers through the reading of the inspired letter?" He answers with a blessing at the end of every letter: "Grace [be] with you." With you as you put the letter away and leave the church. With you as you go home to deal with a sick child and an unaffectionate spouse. With you as you go to work and face the temptations of anger and dishonesty and lust. With you as you muster courage to speak up for Christ over lunch.

What then do we learn from Paul's unbroken pattern of beginning and ending his letters in this way ("Grace be to you." "Grace be with you.")? We learn that grace is an unmistakable priority in the Christian life. We learn that it is from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, but that it can come through people. We learn that grace is ready to flow to us every time we take up the inspired Scriptures to read them. And we learn that grace will abide with us when we lay down and go about our daily living.

In other words, we learn that grace is not merely a past reality but a future one. Every time I reach for the Bible, God's grace is a reality that will flow to me. Every time I put the Bible down and go about my business, God's grace will go with me. This is what I mean by future grace.

--John Piper, Future Grace, p.65-67

I don't know about you, but this makes me all the more eager to take up the Scriptures in order to "be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1).

The Cost

Last night, I posted about my experience running to the top of a mountain. This morning, Ray Ortlund posted the following quote about the cost of reaching the top of the mountain.

“It cost Christ and all his followers sharp showers and hot sweats, before they won to the top of the mountain. But still our soft nature would have heaven coming to our bedside when we are sleeping and lying down with us, that we might go to heaven in warm clothes. But all that came there found wet feet by the way and sharp storms that did take the hide off their face, and they found tos and fros and ups and downs and many enemies by the way.”

Samuel Rutherford, Letters (Edinburgh, 1891), page 389.

Providence. I stopped believing in mere coincidence a while ago.

But no matter how many times I'm reminded, every time I read quotes like this it's like a blow to the stomach because I really would prefer to remain sleeping and lying down.

Sigh.

An Experience I'll Probably Never Forget

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
1 Corinthians 9:24

For an hour or so leading up to my final relay leg that would take me through the Santa Cruz mountains on Highway 9, I studied my map for one specific reason. I wasn’t afraid of taking a wrong turn and getting lost (like I had done in my previous two legs =( ) since this leg had no turns. The reason I was studying my map so diligently was because I wanted to identify the points in my leg where I would be able to look forward to coasting a little bit. Thinking about climbing 1,000 feet over the course of three miles was overwhelming and I wanted to at least encourage myself with the points I could look forward to where the leg would flatten out and I would be able to rest. That would make the leg seem more manageable for me. As Sushma would put it, I was trying to mentally prepare myself =). I found two such points on my map. So as the time came near for me to begin my final leg, the task felt less daunting.

Even though my leg was a continual incline for the first ten minutes, I wasn’t in any way overwhelmed because I knew that it would soon flatten out. So I maintained a steady pace. But with each bend I rounded as I scaled this winding mountain, instead of it flattening out, it was only becoming steeper and steeper. I was beginning to get a little worried because I knew that I probably wasn’t even half way done. I even took out my map at one point to try to gauge how far I had gone but had no way of identifying where I was so I quickly put it back in my pocket. I didn’t bother trying to look at it again. And I just began to pray, “Father, please grant me reprieve. I just need a little break…”

Soon after this my team van pulled up beside me to offer me water. What a blessing! My throat really needed that. After taking a small swig and running next to the van for a couple of feet, I gave it back to them and they drove on. Shortly after that I passed by another team van waiting for their runner to reach that point so they could give her water. As I passed by them, they cheered me on and told me that I was doing a great job. “You’re half way done!” they said. “Half way!??!! That’s it??!?” I thought to myself. “I can’t keep running for that much longer!” All I could say to them as I went by was, “This is sooo hard…”

It was around this time that I realized that there probably weren’t going to be any flat points in this leg. And yet I kept on praying, “Father, please grant me reprieve. I really need reprieve.” I can’t count how many times I said that. I wanted to stop running and start walking, and yet I refused to let myself.

As I continued to struggle on, I noticed my team van was waiting for me up ahead to give me water again! What a great team! But this time, my teammate Jesús (farthest to the right in the picture above) hopped out of the van to come run by my side. After I took another swig of water, the van took off and left the two of us running with more than a mile left to go. My crazy teammate—who had just run the previous leg before me which was identical to mine, climbing 1,000 feet over the course of three miles—actually got out of the van to run with me! All I could do at that time was tell him he was insane! I would later tell him that I loved him.

As we ran together, I kept thinking to myself, “If Jesús has gas in the tank to keep on running after just finishing one of these, now there’s no way I can start walking!” So, in a good way, his presence challenged me to keep on running. But his presence didn’t just challenge me. His presence also tremendously encouraged me. He pointed out to me that I was going at a pretty fast pace and suggested that I slow down. I didn’t think about it for a long time before I was happy to take his advice.

We slowed down a bit as we continued to scale the mountain. It just kept going up. No reprieve. At one point a couple hours earlier before our final leg, we had started talking about Bible verses related to running. As we ran, Jesús asked me which verse I had mentioned earlier. I recited it (huffing and puffing):

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

That gave me renewed focus. As we continued to run, I meditated on that verse and thought of the verses that come soon after those two. I then recited those (huffing and puffing):

You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Hebrews 12:4

One of my shins was beginning to hurt. But now there was no way I was stopping. There was no way I was walking. And, somehow, I actually sped up. Somehow, I got a little burst of energy.

But I don’t think that lasted very long and I soon slowed down again. Our team van was just ahead and as we approached it, Jesús asked me something to the effect of if I wanted him to keep running with me or not. I told him to get back in the van. He seemed to agree and the only words I can remember coming out of his mouth at that point are, “It’s just you and the Lord the rest of the way.” “That’s right,” I thought to myself. The team offered me water but this time I didn’t want any. And as I ran past the van, Jesús didn’t get in. He just continued to run with me. I can’t say how much that meant to me.

At this point, I had no clue how much of the leg was left. All I knew was that I was just going to keep running, no matter how far it was. To be honest, I don’t think I expected the end to come anytime soon.

As we approached the next bend, there was a pedestrian road sign. For a moment I had a glimmer of hope that this might be the end but I quickly prepared for another long incline that would stretch before us, like all the other previous bends. But as we began to round this bend, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw two orange cones (the checkpoint markers indicating the end of the leg)! I can’t even begin to describe the joy that flooded into my soul. This is the end of the leg! I can stop now! Jesús told me to finish strong. So with the last burst of energy and strength I had, I kicked it up a couple of gears as I took off my wristband and, after a last few strides, gladly handed it off to Liz to complete my last leg as I watched her begin hers.

Relief rushed over me. I was done. “Thank You, Lord Jesus” was soon followed by “That was the hardest run I’ve ever done in my life.”

I walked over to my van to get my Powerade and all of a sudden a wave of emotion overwhelmed me. I grabbed my Powerade and walked off to a wooded area where in isolation I began to weep. Like, I was literally bawling as I found myself overwhelmed by the goodness of God. And as I reflected in that moment on what was happening in my soul, the reason it was such an intense moment is because I realized that running that leg was one of the best living illustrations of the life of following Jesus. Several Bible verses began to flood my mind and heart.

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31 (emphasis added)

I can’t count how many times I wanted to stop running during that leg. But somehow, my legs kept on moving. I know that the main reason I kept running was because God mounted me up with wings like eagles at the moments when I was most weary and exhausted. Life is hard and following Jesus is hard. There are times when I want to quit because I grow weary. But it is especially in those moments that God promises to renew my strength and mount me up with wings like eagles.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10

More than three times I pleaded with God to grant me reprieve. I was desperate for some temporary relief. But, in love, He never gave it to me. Instead He let me keep running straight up hill because He wanted to give me something better. He wanted to give me His grace and power to be made perfect in my weakness. God doesn’t always give me the relief I seek in life. No matter how much I ask for it. But He promises to always give me the grace and power that I need for each day.

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?
Ecclesiastes 4:10-11

This was precious beyond words. If I had fallen down, Jesús would have been there to help me up. But one of the reasons I didn’t fall is because he was there. I didn’t stop running because he was there. Two were better than one. I’m convinced that one of the ways God answered my prayer for reprieve was to bring Jesús to run with me at my side. That was grace. That was strength. As we approached the team van that last time before we would finish the leg, Jesús said to me, “It’s just you and the Lord the rest of the way.” I now know that the way God wanted to make sure that I knew He was with me was through the tangible presence of my dear brother. In a very real sense, it was just me and the Lord.

I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5

One of the most precious ways that God makes His presence known to me in life is through the brothers and sisters He gives me to walk with me through my trials.

Again and again in my life, I find myself struggling wanting to be in control, wanting to know how things are going to turn out, wanting to feel like I can manage. Remember how I said at the beginning of this that I studied my map to know where the flat parts were? Remember why I said I did that? Because I believed that it would make the leg more manageable for me.

But wanting to make my life manageable, wanting to be in control, and wanting to know how things are going to turn out are all just different ways that I try to be God instead of letting God be who He has always been, long before I was old enough to have the nerve to try to take His place and long before I even existed. God is the one who’s supposed to manage everything. God is the one who’s supposed to be in control. God is the one who knows how everything is going to turn out. Not me. And He wants me to be content with that.

God stripped me of all these things as I ran my last leg of the relay. The leg felt anything but manageable to me. I had no clue where the easy points would be. I had no clue when the struggle was going to end.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 5:7

As a follower of Jesus, I’m called to live by faith. Living by faith means that I’m OK not having control or not knowing how things are going to turn out because I trust that God is in control, that He knows what He’s doing, that He knows much better than I do, and that He’s good and loves me beyond measure. I didn’t choose to run the steepest hill in the relay (even though I could have chosen out). But, for some reason, in His perfect love and wisdom, God gave me the steepest hill to run.

Even though a lot of things may not make sense now as I am in the middle of this race called life, one day this race called life will be over. And if I trust in God now, when that day comes I’ll be able to look back on this life and make sense of it all then. And overwhelmed with even more joy than I had at the top of that mountain, I’ll be thankful that God didn’t do things my way because I’ll agree that His way was best.

I know this much now: I wouldn’t have had my last leg of the relay any other way.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

Thank you, Jesús Carrera, for reminding me that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I love you brother.

Thank You, Jesus Christ, for being the friend who sticks closer than a brother. I love You Lord.

Here Is Our King!

From Desiring God Blog:

In Deuteronomy 17 Moses instructs Israel concerning the king that they will one day appoint for themselves. He gives the following three negative stipulations:

1. he must not acquire many horses (v.16)
2. he must not acquire many wives (v.17a)
3. he must not acquire excessive silver and gold (v. 17b)

Now fast forward to Samuel and Kings. In 2 Samuel 7:12-17, God promises King David a son who will be king forever. Five chapters later his son Solomon is born, and by 1 Kings 1 this son has taken the throne. Could this be the promised eternal king?

The author of Kings leaves us in suspense. It’s not until 1 Kings 10:14-11:8 that we get a clear answer. Notice what he says there:

• 10:21 - “All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold.
• 10:26 - “And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen.”
• 11:3 - “He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines.”
  

In other words, he had excessive gold, excessive horses, and excessive wives. And although he doesn’t have to, the author concludes in 11:6, “So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.”

So Solomon is not ultimately the Son/King who was promised in 2 Samuel 7. And if Solomon is not the one, then there must be another.

Another son of David would come—there would be another king.

• This king would not have excessive silver and gold. He would be rich, and yet for our sake he would become poor so that we by his poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).
• This king would not own many horses. He would have to borrow a donkey to ride into Jerusalem (John 12:14).
• This king would not have many wives. He would have one Bride and he would give his own life for her, that he might sanctify her and present her in splendor, holy and blameless before him forever (Ephesians 5:25-27).
  

Here is your king, O Israel! Here is your king, O peoples! Here is the Son of David who was promised, and he will reign forever.

I love it! I love it! I love it!

The Often Neglected Half Of Justification

When sinners are justified ... two (organically linked) liberations wash into their life. The first and more obvious liberation is moral. The second liberation is emotional and psychological.

To be sure, these are two interlocking facets of a single gift. Yet it is easy to embrace the former and neglect the latter, as my own heart has been discovering over the past 22 months...

And my own heart as well.

This is an excerpt from a blog post I read yesterday. I can't count how many times I've re-read it. This is one of the most important blog posts I've ever read. I highly encourage you to read (and re-read) the entire post for yourself.

And then, Father, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, enable us to apply it, to really believe in our heart of hearts this gospel we embrace so that more and more we are living in the fullness of the freedom that You have secured for us in Christ. Freedom! Not half of it. But all of it. We are desperate for Your grace, not just every day but every moment of every day, to be able to truly walk in this freedom. Thank You that through Jesus alone, we really are OK. And always will be, both now and forever. Amen.

HT: The Gospel Coalition

Let's Chop It Up!

Hearing Mark Dever say that made me smile =) ! I'm really looking forward to this...

The Church // Promo 1 from The Lamp Lounge on Vimeo.

HT: Pure Church

Why Read Theology?

“For my own part, I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await others. I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”

--C. S. Lewis, quoted in R. L. Green and W. Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Biography (New York, 1974), page 115.

Pipe in teeth? I haven't tried that one yet! Gotta love C.S. Lewis! =)

HT: Christ Is Deeper Still

The Best Evangelistic Strategy?

Who He Is

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15

Humble Orthodoxy

“Is an attachment to orthodoxy necessarily accompanied by a rigid and unloving spirit? If we were to think of all the orthodox people we know, then we might conclude that that is sometimes the case. If we recollect all the unorthodox people we know, then we might come to the same conclusion! The real question is whether there is any likely or necessary connection between orthodoxy and lack of love. . . .

Any idea that love and orthodoxy are antithetical to each other is foreign to the teaching of Christ. Our Lord requires both. Let us therefore reject the sort of self-righteousness in which we congratulate ourselves on being orthodox and think that this somehow compensates for a lack of love. Similarly let us not think that Christ will overlook denials of his Word simply because we are loving.”

--Noel Weeks, The Sufficiency of Scripture (Edinburgh, 1988), page 237.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16

In the words of Noel Weeks, love and orthodoxy. In the words of Josh Harris, humble orthodoxy. In the words of the apostle Paul, speaking the truth in love.

As we live this kind of life, we are growing up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, who saw no conflict between truth and love, but always spoke the truth no matter how unpopular it was, and always did so in love.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17

In the words of the apostle John, grace and truth. Not one. Both.

HT: Christ Is Deeper Still

This Was Grace

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32

Every good gift and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17

The Works of God

The Savior and The Sheep

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:1-3

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
John 10:2-4

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shephered, and he will guide them to springs of living water...
Revelation 7:17

All The Way My Savior Leads Me
by Chris Tomlin (original by Fanny J. Crosby)

All the way my Savior leads me
Who have I to ask beside
How could I doubt His tender mercy
Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me
Cheers each winding path I tread
Gives me grace for every trial
Feeds me with the living Bread

You lead me and keep me from falling
You carry me close to Your heart
And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me
O, the fullness of His love
O, the sureness of His promise
In the triumph of His blood
And when my spirit clothed immortal
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages
Jesus led me all the way
Jesus led me all the way

All the way my Savior leads me
All the way my Savior leads me

I love being a sheep who belongs to Jesus!

The Key To Understanding Scripture

Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures...
Luke 24:44-45

Don't miss the implications of what Luke says in verse 45. It was only at that moment--after Jesus told His disciples that everything written about Him in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms (the Old Testament) must be fulfilled--that the disciples were able to understand the Scriptures. Before that moment, they didn't really understand the Scriptures (which at that point in time was only the Old Testament since there was no New Testament), even though they probably thought they did. They didn't understand the Old Testament because they didn't know that everything written in the Old Testament was about Jesus until Jesus told them so.

Similarly, we will never really understand the Old Testament (and in my experience, we will never remain motivated to read the Old Testament)--even though we may think we do--until we come to it as that which is meant to teach us about Jesus, to point us to Him and to prepare us for Him. The key to understanding Scripture is to know that, from beginning to end, it's all about Jesus (Colossians 1:16).

So if we were to pickup our Bibles for the first time having never read them before (or advise someone who has actually never read the Bible), the best place for us to start isn't in Genesis, but rather in Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John (John might make the most sense since it starts the same way Genesis does). If we want to better understand the writings of Isaiah and Jeremiah, then perhaps what we need to do is gain a better understanding of the writings of Paul and Peter. Because, as one person so concisely put it, "the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."

When we start with Christ in the gospel and go back from there into the Old Testament, we find that the Old Testament eventually leads us back again to Christ.
-Graeme Goldsworthy, "Gospel and Wisdom," in The Goldsworthy Trilogy, page 343.

In other words, in all things (and especially our understanding of Scripture), Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Revelation 22:13).

HT: Christ Is Deeper Still

Together For The Gospel 2010: Session #9

C.J. Mahaney

Ordinary Pastors

Video
Audio

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5

Some pastors are remarkably gifted and have tremendous influence in the church. As for the rest of us, not so much. Most of us are ordinary pastors. Ordinary pastors don’t write books, let alone best-selling books. Ordinary pastors aren’t well known. An ordinary pastor pastors an ordinary sized church.

As ordinary pastors, we are predictably tempted to compare ourselves to other pastors, especially at a conference like this. It’s easy to lose the joy of being called to pastoral ministry because we become more focused on comparing ourselves to others. And we easily become discouraged. Too often ordinary pastors are discouraged pastors.

So this morning we want to look to the true definition of pastoral ministry so that instead of comparing ourselves to other pastors, we will be encouraged, so that we will be joyfully sustained in service to God’s people over the decades.

We can’t be like other remarkably gifted pastors but we can be and we are called to be faithful. It’s not about gifting, it’s not about influence, it’s not about fruitfulness. It’s about faithfulness.

1) Faithful to the Message

Preach the Word. Timothy would have recognized this as a reference to the gospel. Paul doesn’t need to clarify that to Timothy at this point. He’s telling Timothy, “Be faithful to preach the gospel.” Pastor, never assume that those in your church have sufficient knowledge of their need for the gospel.

We will experience temptations to stray from this gospel. We must be faithful to preach this gospel. And in order to do this, we must resolve to be unoriginal. If we don’t do this, we’ll be distracted by all that is new, trendy, and popular and that which is of secondary importance rather than the original old message of the gospel which is of first importance. If we don’t resolve to be unoriginal, we will lose sight of what matters most.

You might not look like much. Where you meet might not look like much. Church might not run smoothly. But if we’re being faithful to the charge to preach the gospel, there is power under the hood. And the church will be edified. And the lost will be evangelized.

Whitefield and Wesley may preach the gospel better than us but they can’t preach a better gospel.

Whatever our church demographics are, our charge is to preach the gospel whether people are indifferent or antagonistic.

We must not only be familiar with the message, but we must also be familiar with the people we are preaching to. We need to prepare to preach the Word in view of the people that we are preaching to. We need to spend time with the people so that we can discern how to best to serve them specifically as we preach the Word to them.

Faithfulness to the message requires godly character in general and patience in particular. Patience is essential, not optional for a pastor. Pastoral ministry requires not just patience but complete patience. We must not only be exegetically precise and theologically accurate but we must be completely patient with people. The latter is the most difficult. It’s much easier to study and prepare a sermon than to be patient with people. If we don’t cultivate this patience, our frustration and irritation will eventually surface in our ministry.

How does a pastor cultivate this complete patience?

• Frequently meditate on God’s patience with you. Daily reminders of God’s patience with me protect my soul from sinful impatience with others.
• Remember that sanctification is a process and not an event. Sanctification is a very slow process. We’re so tempted to expect our people to comprehend and apply truth quickly when it has taken us years to comprehend and apply those same truths.
• We must learn to trust in God’s timetable. Ministry is frequently illustrated in Scripture with agricultural metaphors, based on a timetable of long seasons.
  

Don’t assume that you are sufficiently patient.

2) Faithful to Your Ministry

This is what the life of an ordinary pastor looks like: he is sober-minded, he endures suffering, he does the work of an evangelist, and he fulfills the ministry. This is the day in and day out of pastoral ministry.

One of the hardest things for a pastor or ministry to do is to just keep doing the same thing. We need to be less distracted by and attracted to new things. We just need to keep on doing the same thing.

3) Faithful to the Savior

Paul issues this charge to Timothy to fulfill his ministry in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, the Savior who he’s to stay faithful to.

In verse 8, Paul is looking forward to receive his reward from His Lord. And he’s calling Timothy to do the same, to look forward to receiving commendation from the Savior.

On the last day, there will be a parade of ordinary pastors who will stand before Jesus and hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful ordinary pastor.”

Together For The Gospel 2010: Session #8

Matt Chandler and C.J. Mahaney

Preparing Our People For Suffering

Video
Audio


Matt Chandler:

We may not be suffering right now. But if that’s the case, the suffering will come. And we would do well to prepare for it.

When I got to The Village, it quickly became clear that the church did not have a theology of suffering. And so I began to try to build into them a theology of suffering. I did it in small ways like, for example, when going through the sermon on the mount. Jesus tells the parable about the house built on sand and the house built on rock. What I wanted to draw their attention to was that even though the house on rock didn't come crashing down, both houses experienced the storm. It wasn't just the house built on sand. I wanted them to know that we as Christians don't get spared from the storms of life.

But what I have come to realize over these past couple of months is the amazing grace and mercy of God in that even though I thought I was preparing my church to suffer through my preaching, this whole time it has really been God preparing me to suffer.

The truths of the gospel that we’ve been talking about are not ambiguous in their applications and implications.

I have always known that Jesus is my treasure, that He's everything, that He's enough. But only now do I really know that Jesus is my treasure, that He's everything, that He's enough in a way that I couldn't have otherwise known.

C.J. Mahaney:

5 implications:

1) The topic of suffering should inform the teaching diet of our churches. Teach through the book of Job, Habakkuk, or 1 Peter.

2) Draw attention to living illustrations of glorifying God in the midst of suffering.

3) Develop a curriculum of supplemental materials, books, and articles on the topic of suffering: How Long, O Lord? by D.A. Carson, Treasuring Christ and the Call to Suffer sermon series by John Piper (1, 2, 3, 4, Q&A), When God Weeps by Joni Erickson Tada, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper, Beside Still Waters quotes from Charles Spurgeon

4) The most effective way to prepare the church for suffering is to preach the gospel to the church. There is no more superior way to prepare our churches for suffering or to comfort them in the midst of suffering than to preach the gospel. Those who recognize that their suffering in this life is never as great as their sins find the greatest joy in the midst of their suffering. Because the great mystery in life isn’t “Why do I suffer?” but “Why would the God who I have sinned against suffer in my place?”

5) Where and when possible, let’s be there at their side when they suffer.

“Trust God’s heart when you can’t trace His hand.”

Together For The Gospel 2010: Session #7

Ligon Duncan

Did the Fathers Know the Gospel?

Video
Audio


This morning is an address on church history. It’s not an address from Scripture. But the Word of God is our only final authority on rule and practice. So last night’s address is much more important than this one. This message is a study of the book of God’s providence.

When we study church history, we are studying the history of God’s providence with our people. If we don’t pay attention to the story of God’s dealings with them, we are missing out on much to learn from and be edified by.

It’s a good rule after reading a new book never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to three new ones.... Every age has its own outlook. It is especially good at seeing certain truths and especially liable to make certain mistakes. We all therefore need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period.... None of us can fully escape this blindness, but we shall certainly increase it, and weaken our guard against it, if we read only modern books....The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds and this can only be done by reading old books.
-C.S. Lewis

So this morning’s message is a study on patristics, the earliest church history prior to the council of Nicaea (325 AD).

One view of the church fathers says that the reformers theology of grace was wrong. This view says that the church fathers were the closest Christians to Jesus and the NT and so their understanding of Christianity and the NT must be authoritative and determinative of how to really understand Christianity and when we read them we find an understanding of Christianity that does not square with our Protestant view.

Another view says that the gospel was lost during the early years of church history up until about the 1600’s and didn’t reappear appear until the days of the reformation.

Neither of these views is accurate, sufficient, or helpful. How should we read the fathers instead? We should read the fathers respectfully, carefully, and under the authority of Scripture.

Our greatest concern in studying the church fathers isn’t to read what they said about a particular doctrine and then state whether that doctrine is true but rather we learn what they said about doctrines in order to help us read the Scriptures and know what it says. They help us read the Bible better. But we should do so realizing that sometimes they get it right and sometimes they get it wrong.

A reading of the church fathers that helps us realize that they sometimes get it wrong is consistent with what Paul and Jesus tell us to expect. It’s consistent with the doctrine of total depravity because none of us gets it completely right.

The church fathers were best at polemics (refuting false teaching). They will serve us best where the truth of Scripture was under attack during their own time. If you read the fathers, when they wrote about doctrines that were not under attack they were all over the map and often got it wrong. But when they wrote about doctrines that were heavily under attack, they almost always got it right and gloriously so. Herersy served the church to help get the Bibles proper understanding rightly understood and communicated to the people of God.

The church fathers shows us how to respond to culture because they didn’t react directly to culture. They first went to Scripture and then from Scripture to the culture.

How do the fathers and the study of the fathers help us?

• They help us in the status of the Old Testament

Hebrews for the first couple hundred years of Christianity worked primarily out of the original Hebrew of the Old Testament because the Bible had not yet been compiled. The Bible of the earliest Christianity was the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible can teach us salvation through faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone (2 Timothy 3:15).

One of the things the Gnostics did was to reject the Old Testament. When the Gnostics did this, the way the church fathers pressed back was to show that not only does the Old Testament prove that Jesus is the Messiah who is sent from God but they show that the New Testament proves that the Old Testament is the authoritative Word of God because Jesus and Paul address it as such.


• They help us in the status of the New Testament

The church fathers helped to identify what should be included in the canon by asking whether each book bore the marks of apostolicity and inspiration. Was it written by an apostle? Did it bear the authority of God? They didn’t determine what goes into the Bible. But they confirmed whether something belongs in the Bible or not.


• They help us understand the person of Christ


• The father help us against liberalism


• The fathers help us have a gospel motivation in living the Christian life. We cannot battle the desires of the flesh with a command. We can only battle the desires of the flesh with the power of the Spirit through the gospel.

Did the fathers know the gospel? Yes and no. Yes, if you mean, “Was the gospel lost in the days of the early church fathers?” No, it wasn’t. Did the fathers speak of things like justification and imputation sufficiently enough for the understanding of the gospel to be sustained for the life of the church? No. Was what they said helpful? Yes.

This teaches us that we cannot assume the gospel. They’re like the man born blind. All he knew was that once he was blind and now he sees. He knew he that was changed. But what he knew wasn’t sufficient for living by grace for a lifetime. Whenever we assume that the gospel is known, we put the church at risk of losing it.

The reason the fathers weren’t as clear about doctrines like imputation and justification by faith alone as the reformers is because they weren’t fighting the same battle the reformers were in the 16th century. Their battles were different and they didn’t have to articulate these doctrines as precisely as the reformers did.

Where should we go if we want to begin reading the church fathers?

• Start with Augustine’s confessions.
• Then read the apostolic fathers.
• Then read Tertullian.
  

Read them with respect, faithfully, and under the authority of Scripture.

Together For The Gospel 2010: Session #6

John Piper

Did Jesus Preach the Same Gospel Paul Preached?

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Many people think that the gospel that Jesus preached is different from the gospel that Paul preached. When we talk about justification by faith, are we moving away from what Jesus taught in favor of what Paul taught?

“If you don’t have imputation, you don’t have Sola Fide (justification by faith alone). If you don’t have Sola Fide, you don’t have the gospel.”
–R.C. Sproul (from yesterday's session)

Jesus did preached the gospel of justification by faith alone through the imputation of His righteousness. Jesus did preach the same gospel that Paul preached. That’s the thesis of this message.

If you faithfully interpret the deeds and message of Jesus as He is in the four gospels, you will be in more accord with who Jesus really is and what He really did than all the critical scholars of history. Where you meet and fellowship with the living Christ more than anywhere else is in the gospels. If you linger with him there, He won’t be a stranger to you. And you’ll be able to meet Him when you die.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14

Every single verse of the gospels is meant to be read in the shadow of the cross and what Jesus accomplished there. Luke shows us that Jesus identifies Himself with the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 who makes many to be counted as righteous (Luke 22:37, Isaiah 53:11-12).

Luke 18:9-14 is about justification because Jesus concludes by saying that one man leaves the temple justified and the other doesn’t. So the point is how one gets justified and how one doesn’t get justified. He doesn’t teach us everything about justification here. But He does teach us a lot. Three things He teaches us about the Pharisee:

1) His righteousness is moral – The Pharisee lists out his moral qualifications. He isn’t an extortioner, he isn’t unjust, he’s not an adulterer. He doesn’t break the law. And that’s what he trusts in.

2) His righteousness is religious – The Pharisee fasts and tithes. These are spiritual disciplines. This is what he trusts in.

3) He believes that this moral uprightness and religious devotion is a gift from God – The Pharisee thanks God for his moral uprightness and religious devotion. He acknowledges that God has given him grace to walk uprightly.

The issue here isn’t whether or not the man is a legalist. He’s not trusting in himself to make himself righteous. That’s what legalism is. He’s trusting in himself that he is righteous because God has made him righteous.

His mistake is not that He is trusting in self-produced righteousness. His mistake is that he is trusting in God-produced righteousness. And this parable shows us that this is the wrong basis for justification. He’s looking at the wrong basis. He’s looking at the wrong person. He’s looking at himself and what God has made him as the ground of his acceptance with God. He’s trusting in imparted righteousness.

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'
Luke 17:10

When Jesus speaks in this verse, it’s as though He had the Pharisee of Luke 18 in view. It’s not a question of whether or not the Pharisee has done all of his moral and religious deeds of righteousness. Even if he has done them all, he’s still an unworthy servant, like the servants of Luke 17:10.

The tax collector went down to his house justified rather than the Pharisee. Why? What did he do? He looked away from anything in myself, unlike the Pharisee. He knew that if he looked within himself, he had no foundation to stand on. He had nothing to commend himself to God. And he probably recognizes that, like the servants of Luke 17:10, even if he had done everything he was supposed to he would have nothing within himself to commend himself to God.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

In putting our faith in Christ, we are counted righteous in Him. We are joined to Him and we are seen as perfect because of His life of perfect obedience.

Are there clues in Luke that Jesus thinks along these lines of our being counted righteous in Him?

When the rich young ruler came to Jesus in Luke 18, Jesus acknowledges that he has done everything that he was said he did just like the unworthy servants of Luke 17:10. That’s not the issue here, whether he’s telling the truth or not. But he still lacks one thing. How does 1) selling everything he has, 2) giving everything to the poor, 3) coming to follow me amount to one thing? It sounds like 3. What Jesus is trying to say is that his attachment to his possessions needs to be replaced with an attachment to Jesus. If this man would be perfect, he needs Jesus. He can only have everything He needs to be right with God if He has Jesus. Those three things amount to one thing: embracing Jesus as His everything. That's the one thing.

Seven implications:

1) Jesus taught the doctrine of justification by faith on the basis of an imputed righteousness, not an inherent righteousness (which the Pharisee had). “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and depends on faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).

2) No matter how moral you are, religious you are, righteous you are and whether God has worked that in you or you have worked it in you, don’t trust in it. Trust in Christ alone, in His work on the cross, His blood and righteousness.

3) Take heart in your struggle with indwelling sin and remember that your standing as an adopted child of God is not based in yourself but in Christ alone. When Satan accuses us of how we’ve never done anything perfectly, what are you going to do? How will you endure being a fallen human being before God? Only because of Christ’s righteousness.

4) Don’t forget that all moral transformation that pleases God is the fruit and not the root of justification. Not even a belief in the sovereignty of God can enable us to escape from lovelessness. The fruit of love only grows from the root of justification by faith. It will never grow from a root of trusting in ourselves that we are righteous. The only fruit that will grow from that root is contempt for others.

5) Never forget that all your good attitudes, good intentions, and good deeds will serve at the judgment not as the ground of your acceptance but only as the public fruit and evidence and confirmation that you were born again and that you had faith in Christ who alone is your righteousness. You can only please God with an action that flows from the confidence that He is already totally on our side because of Jesus’ obedience.

6) The gospel of Christ’s righteousness imputed to us is universally, globally needed and should be spoken to every person of every people group in the planet. The first father of all human beings, Adam, failed and we all failed in him. The second father of all human beings, Jesus Christ, never failed, never for a moment. And He did that for the nations. Every people group, Buddhist, Muslim, Animist, Hindu, they all have the same problem. They’ve failed in Adam. And they need the second father, Jesus, to be the ground of their acceptance with God.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:18-19

7) Give Christ all His glory in the work of salvation and not just half of it. The main purpose of the universe is that Jesus be glorified and that the grace of God be glorified through the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus did two things on the cross. He bore the punishment I deserve. He removed my sin. That’s only one thing. The other thing He did was that He was the righteous One who perfectly fulfilled all righteousness. And His obedience becomes mine by imputation when by faith I’m united with Him. He bore my sin AND He became my righteousness. And if you strip the latter away, the cross is sliced in half. His glory is cut in half. We don’t want to stand before Him on the last day and hear Him say, “I did so much more…”

Therefore, knowing that Jesus preached the same gospel as Paul, let’s say with Paul:

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith…
Philippians 3:8-9