Sunday Leftovers (4/29/07)

God has gifted every believer with at least one spiritual gift and at the same time He is also producing His fruit in that believer through the working of the Holy Spirit.

So the longer a believer walks with Christ, more and more fruit is produced. And the longer a believer serves Christ in the church, the more he uses his gift and the more refined the use of that gift becomes, and inevitably the more effective he becomes in the use of that gift. And when that happens, he also becomes more and more susceptible to believing that his adequacy is in himself and not in God.

When that temptation arises, he needs to hear again the words of the apostle Paul —

• For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? (2 Cor. 2:15-16)
  
• For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (Rom. 7:18-25)
  
• It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. (1 Tim. 1:15-16)
  
  

It is undoubtedly those kind of words that drove William Carey to write to his father:

I see more and more my own insufficiency for the great work I am called to. The truths of God are amazingly profound, the souls of men infinitely precious, my own ignorance very great, and all that I do is for God who knows my movies and my ends, my diligence or negligence. When I (in short) compare my self with my work, I sink into a point, a mere despicable nothing.

So there is a balance to be had for the believer — recognize our own inadequacy, and recognize the strength and provision that God is working in and through us to accomplish His purposes.

A Few More Thoughts on the Tragedy at Virginia Tech

This week we have learned the importance and reality of Rom 12:15 —

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

You could not read the headlines, watch the news or hear the reports of what happened at Virginia Tech and not be moved to compassion.

Amidst all the “analysis,” however, there has been little that has been helpful in understanding from a theological perspective, what transpired that day, and how we are to respond and how we are to think about God in the midst of this.

Five thoughts —

• This is the reality of what unrestrained sin looks like and is the natural result of the work of Satan. He is a destroyer (1 Pt. 5:8) and a murderer (Jn. 8:44; 10:10a), and we should not be surprised (though it is a work of grace that we are, since it indicates that sin is still a horror to us) that those who live under his control, authority and domain do such things. (And this is the potential for every man — Rom. 3; Mt. 5:21-22 — if you have ever known anger, you know what the heart of a murderer looks like.)
• The suddenness of their deaths serves as a reminder to the realities of eternity — heaven and hell and the truth that all men will go to one place or the other (Rev. 22:11-15).
• Thus, the events of the week also serve as a reminder about the urgency of the gospel and the need for the clarity of the gospel. We do not know how much time we have. We must be clear, and we must be clear, now. We want to give saving truth, not pacifying words that will leave them comfortable now and condemned in hell later.
• Even in this, there is an opportunity to glorify God. Job said it, didn’t he (in a situation not too dissimilar from what we’ve seen this week) — “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Situations like this will not destroy our worship; they will enhance it. That is why we intentionally sing the doxology when we remember events like this.
• God is sufficient to see anyone through any trouble (2 Pet. 1:3). What all men need is not so much the removal of trouble, but an awareness of the weight of glory that awaits those who trust in Christ (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

_____________________________


See also:

John MacArthur (audio)
Al Mohler — "Playing the Blame Game -- Who Is to Blame for Blacksburg?" and "On Faith"
Peggy Noonan
John Piper

Sunday Leftovers (4/22/07)

On the priority of a personal walk with God —

If you are unhappy and discontent or even angry with God, it is the fruit of a heart that has fed too lightly and too little at the table of God — you have learned to be happy with things that cannot satisfy.

Modern Christians lack symmetry. They know almost nothing about the inner life. They are like a temple that is all exterior without any interior. Color, light, sound, appearance, motion — these are thy gods, O Israel.

'The accent in the church today,' says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, 'is not on devotion, but on commotion.' Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles that hardly anyone has the desire, to say nothing of the courage, to question the soundness of it. Externalism has taken over.…The old question, 'What is the chief end of man?' is now answered, 'To dash about the world and add to the din thereof.' [A. W. Tozer, The Root of the Righteous.]

On discipleship —

We speak often of discipleship yet at times we minimize the consequences of discipleship (or the lack of it). Two corollary thoughts must be considered:

1. There is much to be gained when we live life faithfully (consider 1 Tim. 4:12b). That is, never underestimate the value of a well-lived life. You may be unaware of those who watch and are encouraged by your life of obedience.
2. There is much to be lost when we live life unfaithfully (consider 2 Tim. 2:17-18). Never underestimate the tragedy and sorrow that results from your wasted life. The tragedy is not just that your own life has been wasted, but you may also be discouraging the faith of others, compounding the tragedy even more. When tempted to sin (or tempted to remain in sin), it is always wise to consider the detrimental effect of your sin on the lives of others.
   

On marriage —

Is God sufficient for even a difficult marriage? The truth of the glory of God demands that He is.

If your dream for your marriage were to crumble, if your marriage were to appear dry and bare, could you still rise and say, 'I am full of joy because the Lord is Lord of my life, and gloriously, in the midst of struggle, I have him'?…Here's the reality: God's goodness, love, power, strength, and glory — and his call to you — do not change when your situation seems bleak and empty. He is there and he still satisfies. [Paul Tripp, Marriage: Whose Dream?]

Nine Reasons to Read the Puritans

At the recent Ligonier Conference, in a brief exhortation, Joel Beeke offered nine reasons to read the Puritans:

1. The Puritans will help shape your life according to the Bible.
2. Puritan writings will show you how to integrate Biblical doctrine into daily life by: addressing your mind, confronting your conscience by exposing specific sins and asking questions to press home the conviction of those sins and by engaging your heart with affectionate warmth.
   
3. The Puritans show you the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ and exalt Him — the whole Christ for the whole man.
4. The Puritans will warm you and bring you the highlight of the Christian faith by showing you the Trinitarian character of theology. They were motivated by a deep sense of the holiness of the godhead.
5. The Puritans will teach us how to handle trials.
6. Puritans will explain true spirituality.
   
7. The Puritans will teach you how to live by holistic faith. Every subject, every doctrine they treat they bring into what they call "practical uses" — uses that will propel you into passionate and effective action for Christ's kingdom.
8. Puritan writings teach us the importance and the primacy of expository preaching. For the Puritans preaching was the highlight of one's life — it was the market day of the soul to go to God's house and worship Him.
   
9. Puritan writings show us how to live in two worlds. The Puritans said we should have heaven in our eye even as we have earth in our hands.
   

In summary, J. I. Packer wrote,

The Puritans were strongest just where Christians today are weakest. Their writings can give us real help — more real help than any other body of Christian teachers, past or present, since the days of the Apostles.

I have found these reasons to be true in my own life. My heart was whetted to an appetite for the Puritans through the pen of Thomas Watson. If you want to start reading them, I would suggest either his All Things for Good or The Godly Man's Picture. Another good place to begin is by reading some of their sermons, many of which may be found here.

On Humility

God says, "For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3).

How might that kind of humility be developed and fed? After all, because pride is a primary underlying sin for all other sins, humility comes neither naturally or easily.

Jonathan Edwards provides some helpful insight in his eighth resolution —

Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

In other words, one means to cultivating genuine humility is to recognize that my sin is no less vile than the worst sins of the worst sinner I know — and let that awareness of such vileness produce godly repentance and confession.

Thabiti Anyabwile comments on Edward's resolution by saying,

A recovering Pharisee like me needs that. I need that grace. I need that recognition that I am like them. And I need to be driven to my knees in prayer — for them and for myself — that we might all progress in sanctification.

What to Say About Virginia Tech

The events today at Virginia Tech are tragic.

Several years ago, after the shootings at Columbine, John Piper compiled 21 ways to love and comfort the hurting. He later revised the list after the 9-11 tragedy. His words are just as appropriate for today. A condensed version of his essay may be found here.

Sunday Leftovers (4/15/07)

What you believe is reflected in what you do and how you do it.

Everything you do reveals something about your belief system.

Those two statements are important for individuals and churches as they make decisions about the future. To that end, we have identified a number of truths that are crucial to us as we think about ministry and the church. I was able to say much of what is essential in each of those areas yesterday, but a few random thoughts remain on my mind as I think about these topics —

1. We believe in the supremacy of God above all things.

If God is supreme, that means that He is also sufficient (as is His Word). And if God is sufficient, that has (at least) two implications for ministry: we don't need to resort to a pragmatic (dogs, whistles, and dancing bears) approach to ministry. A simple and articulate declaration of His truth is sufficient to sustain ministry without the application of secular principles and ideas. It also means that God is trustworthy. He is enough and He is able. That He is able to provide the greatest need of mankind (salvation), means that He is also able to provide all the lesser needs as well. As C. S. Lewis said, "He who has God and many other things has no more than he who has God alone."

And if God is supreme above all things, then He is also worthy of attentive worship:

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God.
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit 'round it and pluck blackberries. [Elizabeth Barrett Browning]

I don't want to be a blackberry plucker. Nor do I want our church to have the legacy of being busy but missing the chance to reveal and delight in God.


2. We believe in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit

Since God is both supreme and sufficient there is nothing beyond the bounds of His authority. He is capable of transforming any man into a God-glorifying man. There is no individual beyond His redeeming abilities. That may be self-evident, but it's the kind of thing that many people today need to hear.

And many also view the end of the transformation process, when men are in the presence of God and can see Him — they are then fully redeemed. And while that ultimate redemption and transformation is our goal, it does not preclude the ongoing work of the Spirit now. He will not only change us finally in eternity, but He is changing us even now.


3. We believe in the sufficiency of Scripture

J. I. Packer summarized well why it is that we are so passionate to defend the inerrancy of Scripture:

When evangelicals call the Bible "inerrant", part at least of their meaning is this: that in exegesis and exposition of Scripture and in building up our biblical theology from the fruits of our Bible study, we may not (1) deny, disregard, or arbitrarily relativize, anything that the biblical writers teach, nor (2) discount any of the practical implications for worship and service that their teaching carries, nor (3) cut the knot of any problem of Bible harmony, factual or theological, by allowing ourselves to assume that the inspired writers were not necessarily consistent either with themselves or with each other. It is because the word "inerrant" makes these methodological points about handling the Bible, ruling out in advance the use of mental procedures that can only lead to reduced and distorted versions of Christianity, that it is so valuable and, I think, so much valued by those who embrace it.

If the Bible is errant or its truth obscured and indiscernible, then it is worthless. But since it is inerrant and since its truth has not been obscured and its wisdom is discernible, it has authority and is sufficient to address our needs (beginning with the greatest need — to know God).


What we do as individuals and as a church is rooted in what we believe about God. It all starts with a clear understanding about Him. When He is the focus of the ministry, then He also is the power and sufficiency for the ministry, and then people are equipped to know and love Him. It's His church. It's all about Him.

Sunday Leftovers (4/8/07)

The life of Christ has been called "The greatest story ever told," and the resurrection has been called "The greatest event in history" and "The key to everything." All those statements are not only true, they are crucial.

Christianity hangs on the validity of the resurrection, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15. It is of first importance. There is nothing more important in the faith of the believer than the truth of the resurrection. If Christ was not resurrected, then our faith is worthless. Why would it be worthless? Because the fundamental thing that Christ came to do — to give His life as a ransom for many — was left unaccomplished. All men would still be in sin — entrapped and ensnared by sin, unable to live for the glory of God for even the briefest of moments and unable to do anything but sin. And of course if Christ is not victorious, then something and someone else must be — death would still reign, and Satan would be powerful.

Yes, if Christ is not resurrected, then we really are to be pitied more than any other men on earth. Everything would be wasted.

But thanks be to God that Christ is risen indeed!

And that has left us as humble and grateful recipients of the greatest treasure. As Spurgeon has noted, because of the resurrection of Christ, we have new life —

• We are made alive in Christ (and no longer remain dead in sin!)
• We are made alive in sanctification
• We are made partakers of a new life (e.g., as a contrast, Lazarus had the same life restored to him)
• We have a pre-eminent security for future perfection
• We have a life that is new in its principles, motives, objects, and emotions
• We have with this new life new possessions — we are rich in faith.
  

How rich we are because Christ became poor!

There can be no salvation from sin unless there is a living Saviour: this explains the emphasis [of the Epistles] on the resurrection. But the living One can be a Saviour only because He has died: this explains the emphasis laid on the cross. The Christian believes in a living Lord, or he could not believe at all; but he believes in a living Lord who died an atoning death, for no other can hold the faith of a soul under the doom of sin. [James Denney; quoted by John Stott, in The Cross of Christ.]

The Mortification of Sin (John Owen)

John Owen's The Mortification of Sin is considered a classic, and 350 years after it was published, is still probably one of the best books on hamartiology (the doctrine of sin) and specifically, how to mortify sin. It has taken me far too long to read it; I purchased it three years ago, and it has remained in my "to read" stack. But no more. I finished it today, and it will undoubtedly be one that I return to again and again to digest all its contents.

There are many useful statements in it — as one friend told me, "it is very quotable." It is also very helpful and practical.

Roughly half the book focuses on nine "particular directions" for mortifying sin. They were helpful in his day and they are helpful in ours —

1. Consider what dangerous symptoms thy lust hat attending or accompanying it: whether it hath any deadly mark or no. If it hath, extraordinary remedies are to be used; an ordinary course of mortification will not do it.
2. Get a clear and abiding sense upon thy mind and conscience, first, of the guilt, secondly, of the danger, thirdly, of the evil, of that sin wherewith thou are perplexed.
3. Load thy conscience with the guilt of it. Not only consider that it hath a guilt, but load thy conscience with the guilt of its actual eruptions and disturbances.
4. Get a constant longing and breathing after deliverance from the power of it. Suffer not thy heart one moment to be contented with thy present frame and condition.
5. Consider whether the distemper with which thou are perplexed, be not rooted in thy nature, and cherished, fomented and heightened from thy constitution.
6. Consider what occasions, what advantages, thy distemper hath taken to exert and put forth itself, and watch against them all.
7. Rise mightily against the first actings of thy distemper, its first conceptions. Suffer it not to get the least ground: do not say, 'Thus far it shall go, and no farther.' If it have allowance for one step, it will take another. It is impossible to fix bounds to sin.
8. Use and exercise thyself to such meditations as may serve to fill thee at all times with self-abasement, and thoughts of thine own vileness. As, (1) Be much in thoughtfulness of the excellency of the majesty of God and thine infinite, inconceivable distance from him.…(2) Think much of thine unacquaintedness with him: though thou knowest enough to keep thee low and humble, yet how little a portion it is that thou knowest of him!
   
9. In case God disquiet the heart about the guilt of its distempers, either in respect of its root and indwelling, or in repect of any eruptions of it, take heed that thou speakest not peace to thyself before God speaks it; but hearken what he says to thy soul.
   

How is this mortification done? Is it merely an act of self-will and self-improvement? Never! The "[Holy Spirit] only is sufficient for this work.…Mortification of any sin must be by a supply of grace. Of ourselves we cannot do it." So, he concludes,

"Act faith particularly upon the death, blood and cross of Christ: that is, on Christ as crucified and slain. Mortification of sin is peculiarly from the death of Christ.…He died to destroy the works of the devil; whatever came upon our natures by his first temptation, whatever receives strength in our persons by his daily suggestions, Christ died to destroy it all.…(Titus 2:14). This was his aim and intention, wherein he will not fail, in his giving himself for us. That we might be freed from the power of our sins, and purified from all our defiling lusts was his design.…Then, act faith on the death of Christ, and that under these two notions: [i] In expectation of power; [ii] In endeavours for conformity (Phil. 3:10; Col. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:15-19)."

I highly commend this book to you. It will take some time and effort to make your way through the old English, but it is well worth the effort — to paraphrase Thomas Watson, digging for gold is difficult, but worth the reward. So is this. [Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor have recently produced a compilation of three of Owen's works, including this one; the language remains the same, but they have provided helpful outlines, definitions of archaic words in footnotes, and a glossary. The title of that volume is
Overcoming Sin and Temptation and is widely available.

They Said It Better Than Me: Temptation

In a recent men's study on Proverbs 6, we dealt with the issue of temptation. In preparation, I came across a number of statements about temptation that were particularly helpful:

"When a man is confronted with the alluring temptation, he sees only the attractiveness of the desired object; only when his will has sanctioned the performance of the sinful act do the tragic consequences come into operation. We are free to choose, but not free to choose the consequences of our choice, for those are determined by the eternal purpose and laws of God." [D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistle of James]

"Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is." [C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity]

"There is no spiritual duty, nothing godly you can set yourself to, in which you won't feel the wind of sin's resistance in your face." [Kris Lundgaard, The Enemy Within]

"Avoid idleness, and fill up all the spaces of thy time with severe and useful employment: for lust easily creeps in at those emptinesses where the soul is unemployed and the body is at ease; no easy, healthful, idle person was ever chaste if he could be tempted; but of all employments, bodily labor is the most useful, and of the greatest benefit for driving the Devil." [Jeremy Taylor]

"We are only poor for this reason, that we do not know our riches in Christ. In time of temptation, believe Christ rather than the devil. Believe truth from truth itself. Hearken not to a liar, an enemy and a murderer." [Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed]

"Temptation stirs the blood and influences the imagination. If we were revolted by it, it would not be temptation at all. Usually, though, temptation doesn't seem very bad, so we play with it, flirt with it, and invite it into our lives. When we pray about sins, it's not temptation that bothers us. It's the consequences of our disobedience that we want removed.…Only God can make us see sin for what it is. If temptation brought chains to bind us, we would resist it on our own. Instead, it brings flowers and perfume and offers life and good cheer, good times and enlargement. It bribes us with wealth and popularity and entices us with promises of prosperity and unbounded freedom. Only God can keep us from its charms." [Haddon Robinson, What Jesus Said About Successful Living]

John Calvin's Expository Genius

I recently finished reading Steve Lawson's first book in his new series, "A Long Line of Godly Men:" The Expository Genius of John Calvin. It is more than a biography; it is an examination of his sermon style that has as its aim "to raise the bar for a new generation of expositors."

Several things impressed me about Calvin as I read the book:

• the singleness of his devotion to Christ and the ministry. After his wife died after nine years of marriage, Calvin never remarried, but instead devoted himself to the work of ministry.
• how quickly after conversion he entered the ministry and began to have a significant ministry. Within one year he was preaching and within three years he had assumed the pastorate in Geneva, and two years later was banished from there. He quickly immersed himself in Scripture and so worked to demonstrate his giftedness that he was able to carry out significant ministries.
• the commonness of sin. He battled in Geneva many of the same kinds of sins that are prevalent today: gossip, adultery, licentiousness. Because of his influence in the Reformation, there is a tendency to think that the church in those days was more sanctified today. Yet the church battled with sin in its midst in its infancy and in the same kinds of ways today.
  
• his resolute commitment to the authority of the Word of God. One member of his church had been excommunicated for sexual sin and come back with friends and supporters bearing swords and demanding to be given communion. Calvin descended from the pulpit with these words: "These hands you may crush, these arms you may lop off, my life you may take, my blood is yours, you may shed it; but you shall never force me to give holy things to the profaned and dishonor the table of my God."
  

One more quote about Calvin:

"Calvin believed that biblical preaching must occupy the chief place in the worship service. What God has to say to man is infinitely more important than what man has to say to God. If the congregation is to worship properly, if believers are to be edified, if the lost are to be converted, God's Word must be exosited. Nothing must crowd the Scriptures out of the chief place in the public gathering."

One more quote by Calvin:

"We owe to the Scripture the same reverence which we owe to God because it has proceeded from Him alone, and has nothing of man mixed with it."

Sunday Leftovers (4/1/07)

Every word in Scripture counts. Every word is used by God to reveal Himself and His purposes (which is why Jesus makes statements like "truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished," Mt. 5:18). Which is why even a simple statement like the one tucked at the end of John 7:44 is so important — "but no one laid hands on Him." It wasn't for lack of trying. They'd been trying at least for months, beginning in John 5:18, and they would continue to attempt to kill Him all the more in the six remaining months before Christ went to the cross.

First only the Pharisees wanted Jesus dead. Then the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin joined their ranks. And now in John 7:44, some in the crowds also seek His death. But no one could touch Him. Why? It wasn't His time. He was wholly sovereign over the events that would take Him to the cross. He came to give His life as a ransom for many, not to have it taken from Him by a group of rejecting enemies. (And the fact that no one can undo, subvert, or change the plan of God for Christ is a reminder that nothing can subvert His purposes for our lives either.)

That He came to work salvation for sinners and offer His life a ransom for many and that He continually offered to salvation to those who were rejecting it and that He wept over the people He came to save who despised Him anyway is a sober reminder about how we can and should respond to those who need the gospel.

He that saved our souls has taught us to weep over the unsaved. Lord, let that mind be in us that was in Thee! Give us thy tears to weep; for, Lord, our hearts are hard toward our fellows. We can see thousands perish around us, and our sleep never be disturbed; no vision of their awful doom ever scaring to us, no cry from their lost souls ever turning our peace into bitterness.

Our families, our schools, our congregations, not to speak of our cities at large, our land, our world, might as well send us daily to our knees; for the loss of even one soul is terrible beyond conception. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered the heart of man, what a soul in hell must suffer forever. Lord give us bowels of mercies! "What a mystery! The soul and eternity of one man depends upon the voice of another! [Horatius Bonar, Words to the Winners of Souls]

It is worth reading and praying over that last sentence. [Aside: Bonar also had a clear understanding of why people, when presented with the truth, still do not believe. Read one helpful comment here.]

If that statement is true (and Scripture affirms that it is in multiple places, like Matt. 28:18-20 and Rom. 10:14-17), then it is also true that the gospel must be articulated accurately and clearly. An inaccurate gospel stated clearly and an accurate gospel stated unclearly are both damning — both will leave people confused about the truth and lead away from the cross and toward an eternity in hell. Which is why Al Mohler recently opined, "What could be worse than getting the Gospel wrong?" In a word, nothing.

Getting the message right, stating it clearly, sorrowing for those who do not know or believe the gospel, and gladly trusting the authoritative God to accomplish His purposes are paramount in the gospel cause.