What is Worship?

What is worship? That is: What is the nature of true, biblical worship?

In response to the question, “What is worship?” many think primarily of singing. Indeed, Christians often ask each other, “Is the worship in your church traditional or contemporary?” The question, of course, refers to musical style. But biblically, worship is both much broader and much narrower than singing praise choruses together. Broader, in that worship includes much more than singing; narrower, in that it is perfectly possible to sing praise choruses for hours and never worship.

Let’s probe this issue by examining a well-known passage that at first glance seems to have little to do with worship: Philippians 1:20-21. Paul is in prison, not knowing for certain what is ahead of him. But he maintains his focus on one central goal, writing:

It is my eager expectation and hope . . . that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul writes Philippians from prison. He has come close to death several times. Looking forward, he realizes he might live for several more years, or he might die soon. But neither possibility concerns him. Paul’s concern, Paul’s major desire, is that God be honored, or magnified.

The Greek word translated “honored” here means to make large; we might say “make much of”. Mary uses this same word in her song of rejoicing at the house of Elizabeth, saying, “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46). The Greek translation of the Old Testament uses this same word often; a good example is Psalm 70:4: “Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified.’” Given the context of Philippians 1:20, I think it likely that Paul had Psalm 70 in mind as he wrote these words. He is rejoicing and being glad in God despite his circumstances; and he is asking that God would be magnified continually in his life and even in his death.

Now, God created mankind to glorify Himself, as Isaiah 43:6b-7a tells us:

Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory.

But to magnify, exalt, extol, or make much of the Lord is to glorify Him. Thus Paul is fulfilling the purpose of creation even while in prison.

The implications for worship come out as we consider verse Philippians 2:21. Since this verse begins with the word “for”, it explains why verse 20 is true. Let’s consider how this explanation works for each of the two possibilities, life and death, in turn. Paul says, “It is my hope . . . that Christ will be honored in my body . . . by life . . . for to me to live is Christ.” And Paul says, “It is my hope . . . that Christ will be honored in my body . . . by death . . . for to me . . . to die is gain.”

Do you see what he is saying? Paul’s death will honor or magnify Christ, because he knows that dying is gain – dying is “far better”, as he says in verse 23. In his last seconds of life, Paul will be confident that he is being ushered into the very presence of Christ, to live with Him for all eternity, to see Him face to face, to know even as he is fully known; Paul knows that the Lord will give him the crown of righteousness. So he can go to his death honoring Christ by taking no account of the loss he is suffering. To be with Christ is better than to be alive; to have Christ for all eternity is better than to have all the possessions and accomplishments and fame the world has to offer. In this way, Paul honors Christ in his death.

What if he lives? Paul honors Christ in his life by saying, “to live is Christ.” He elaborates on this idea in chapter 3 verse 8:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Paul says nothing else matters to him other than knowing Christ Jesus. Remember, Paul was a man of considerable accomplishment and influence; he had been to the best schools, he was on a career track to be a leader of the Jews; indeed, he may have been on the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, at the time of his conversion. He likely was a man of some wealth also. But Paul threw all that away in order to follow Christ.

Furthermore, does Paul sit back and say, “Weighing the two in the balance – knowing Christ versus all my worldly accomplishments and possessions – knowing Christ is a little better. I made the right decision”? No! Paul says all that he once held dear is rubbish compared to knowing Christ. And “rubbish” is a rather euphemistic translation of this crude Greek word, which was often used to refer to human excrement. There is no comparison. The value of Christ far surpasses the value of everything else. For Paul, to live is Christ. Thus, Paul honors or magnifies Christ in his life by living in such a way that all will see that Christ is worth far more to him than anything this world has to offer. Nothing else matters.

What does this have to do with worship? Everything! For worship in the New Testament does not refer to a regular religious event, but to the attitude of our hearts, and the continual outward expression of that attitude. Consider: When the Samaritan woman tries to divert Jesus from his pointed statement concerning her life by asking about the right place to worship, He emphasizes the internal attitude of worship by saying, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” (John 4:23). Paul tells us in view of God’s mercies to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1). Our act of worship is thus a spiritual act – having the attitude that all of our time and all of our members belong to God, to be used for His glory. Thus when Paul writes, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31), he is saying, “Make all of your life worship! Value Christ above all, and display His value in all your outward actions – even seemingly trivial actions like eating and drinking.”

So what is worship? Worship is acting and thinking and feeling in a way that reflects the glory of God. And the inner essence of worship is valuing Christ far above all earthly possessions and attainments. May we live in continual worship, and may God see fit to bring many more worshipers to Himself through us.

[This is a lightly edited excerpt from a longer document on worship written as we were laying the groundwork for planting this church. Here is the entire document, which includes a section on why public worship is of great importance. John Piper’s exposition of Philippians 1:20-21 was helpful in preparation.]

Idolatry and Scripture

Ponder these words from Martin Luther, quoted in Sunday’s sermon:

This is . . . establishing idolatry: undertaking to worship God without God’s bidding, on the basis of one’s own devout inclinations. For he will not have us direct him how he is to be served. He intends to teach and direct us in this matter. His Word is to be there. This is to give us light and guidance. Without his Word all is idolatry and lies, however devout it may seem and however beautiful it may appear. . . .

For here you learn that it is not enough to say and think: “I am doing this for the glory of God; I intend it for the true God; I want to serve the only God.” All idolaters say and intend just that.

(As quoted in Michael Horton, The Law of Perfect Freedom: Relating to God and Others Through the Ten Commandments (Moody, 1993), p. 83-84.  The original source is Luther’s 1532 Preface to the Prophets, which is available online at this link, although in a different translation. The section on idolatry begins at about the halfway point with the phrase  “since the prophets cry out most of all against idolatry.” This quote begins with the phrase, “That is the real committing of idolatry.”)

How Can I Approach God?

How can I approach God?

As we saw in last Sunday’s sermon, God reveals Himself as unapproachable. Paul tells us that God “dwells in unapproachable light . . . no one . . . can see [Him]” (1 Timothy 6:16). God sets up limits around Mt Sinai for the Israelites, and more than once warns the Israelites not to touch the mountain, on pain of death.

God tells us He is holy. He is other. We cannot study Him as we would a plant, or an insect, or another human being. He is above us. He is beyond us.

And yet this same God says to the Israelites that they can be His “treasured possession” (Exodus 19:5); He calls them His “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). He promises through Isaiah, “With everlasting love I will have compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:8). Indeed, the author of Hebrews says that those in Christ have “confidence to enter the Most Holy Place” (Hebrews 10:19 NIV).

How can this be? How can God, on the one hand, be unapproachable, and yet, on the other hand, invite us to enter into His very presence?

Keep reading in Hebrews 10: “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19 NIV).

Reflect on this. Don’t dismiss the idea, thinking, “Oh, of course, I’ve heard all that before.”

Let this thought seek deep into you: There is absolutely no way for you to approach God through your investigations, through your searching, through your moral choices – unless He chooses to reveal Himself to you. And He graciously has decided that there is one way He will allow those who deserve His condemnation to approach Him: Through their trusting in the death of His Son, through their uniting with His risen Christ, the Lord Jesus.

So we can approach this holy, other, unapproachable God through the one means He provides: His Son.

Some of you may be thinking, “Oh, yes, I did that years ago!”

But, my friend: Have you done that today?

God tells the Israelites to consecrate themselves before He descends on Mt Sinai and speaks to them (Exodus 19:10). What is the equivalent for us today?

Every morning as you wake and thus enter God’s presence; every Sunday before coming to worship Him publicly, live out Hebrews 10:19 by building up your confidence to enter boldly into God’s holy presence by appropriating for yourself once again the blood of Jesus.

How can we do this?

Begin by examining your heart (1 Corinthians 11:28): Pray that God would help you see if there is any grievous way in you, any hidden sin (Psalm 139:24; Psalm 19:12). Confess those sins you are aware of to Him. Pray words like these: “Father God, I am worthy of your eternal punishment. I deserve nothing from you, not even to be alive this moment. But you have showered me with your blessings, including . . . (thank Him for specific gifts). Most of all, you have opened my eyes to see the beauties of the Lord Jesus Christ, and have saved me from the punishment I deserve by His blood shed on the cross. Forgive these sins I have just confessed by that same blood; cleanse me from all unrighteousness as You promise (1 John 1:9). Amaze me once again that I have access to Your very presence through the cross. Enable me this day to worship you from the heart, to encourage others in their walk with you, spurring them on to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25).”

How can I approach God?

  • Not on the basis of my intelligence – His intelligence is of a completely different order of magnitude!
  • Not on the basis of my holiness – He “is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
  • Not on the basis of my good works, or my obedience – for even my best works are stained by improper motives, and His command is, “Be perfect, as Your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

But I can approach God as a condemned sinner desperately in need of His grace. I can approach God through faith in His Son who died for His enemies. I can – and must – approach God daily as a supplicant, asking forgiveness on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice.

And when I do, He says to me: “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

God’s Enemy and God’s Delight

Are you God’s enemy? Or are you God’s delight?

In Psalm 18, David is attacked by enemies. He prays to the Lord, and God gives him victory over them. This occurs, David says, because he is God’s delight; his hands are clean:

He rescued me, because he delighted in me.  The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.  For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. (Psalm 18:19-21)

Who are these enemies: From Israel or from other nations? The previous Israelite king, Saul, certainly tried to kill David, and might have been termed David’s enemy. But David never fought against Saul. David never had victory over him. Instead, God arranged for Saul and his son Jonathan to die in battle against the Philistines. So these enemies referred to in Psalm 18 must be from other nations.

David’s victory is total:

You made those who rise against me sink under me. You made my enemies turn their backs to me, and those who hated me I destroyed.  They cried for help, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them. I beat them fine as dust before the wind; I cast them out like the mire of the streets. (Psalm 18:39-42)

David then draws an implication from this victory granted by God:

For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing to your name. (Psalm 18:49)

Why does he say that he will praise God “among the nations”? Is David gloating in triumph over his fallen enemies?

No. Note how Paul uses Psalm 18:49 in Romans 15:

I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness . . . in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the nations, and sing to your name.” (Romans 15:8-9, own translation)

Paul quotes Psalm 18 as support for his statement that Christ became a Jew, Christ became incarnate in part so that these non-Israelite peoples would receive God’s mercy and then praise Him. God has always had a heart for all nations: “The people must praise You, O God; all the peoples must praise You” (Psalm 67:3, own translation).

How, then, do we understand Psalm 18? Why does God defeat David’s enemies?

God defeats David’s enemies for two causes: The cause of justice and the cause of mercy. Justice, in that they were fighting against God’s chosen king – a king, moreover, who is a picture of His coming Christ. In the end, if not before, He will bring down all who oppose Jesus. King Jesus deserves all honor, glory, and praise; justice demands that those who resist Him will be conquered.

But God also defeats these enemies for the cause of mercy. They have no hope as long as they continue in rebellion against God’s anointed One. He defeats them. And then, as Psalm 18:49 says, they hear His praises. They hear of His goodness. They hear of His mercy. They hear of His grace.

And today they hear that “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10); they hear, “since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Once fighting against God’s anointed King; now subdued by Him. Once enemies. Now at peace. Once unrighteous; now declared righteous.

Hear that carefully: Declared righteous. So that the one-time enemies can now say with David in Psalm 18: “The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness” (Psalm 18:20). A righteousness that comes from another – from the very King Jesus I opposed and resisted. I am granted His righteousness.

So I once was God’s enemy. I once was conquered by King Jesus. By His grace and through faith in Him I was united with Him, as His death paid the penalty due for my rebellion. In union with Christ, I am credited with His very righteousness, so that I can say with David, “my hands are clean!”

And there is even more. Psalm 18:19 also is now true of me: ”He rescued me, because he delighted in me.” Since I am one with Christ, when God looks at me, He sees Jesus.

From enemy to delight. From fighting against God to being rejoiced over by God. From rebel to child.

Praise God for conquering us, His enemies, so that we might become His delight.

Theology and Gospel

Wise words from Carl Trueman’s essay in this month’s Themelios:

We have a tendency to make the chronological end points— what new things we learn each day—the most important. Yet this confuses the process of learning with the real order of things. The study of theology is not a chase after something or a movement beyond where we start our Christian lives; it is rather a reflection upon the foundations of where we already are. The end term is, strange to tell, the beginning. I start by confessing with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in my heart that God raised him from the dead, and I never actually go any further. All my theology, all my study, is simply reflection on what lies behind that. Thus, I never move beyond praise, never leave behind the beauty of adoration of the living God; I simply learn more and more about the deep foundations upon which that praise and worship rest, which all believers share from the most brilliant to the most humble. . . . [The study of theology] does not move us beyond our starting point; it merely helps us to understand that starting point better. (emphasis added)

Missions Conference Messages

I returned late last night from Martinsville, Virginia, where I spoke Sunday to Tuesday at the Fontaine Baptist Church Missions Conference. Andrew Shanks, for four years a DGCC member while in seminary, is the pastor. It was a great joy to be with Andrew, Laura, and their not-quite-two-year-old Julienne. Thanks to Ed, Annette, Fred, Earl, and Catherine for driving up Monday; we all had dinner together before the meeting that evening. The conference messages are available at this link:

April 18 – Why Should God Bless You? Blessing and Missions – Psalm 67
April 18 – Missions to Whom? – Romans 15:9-24
April 19 – Becoming Senders: Why and How to Send Missionaries – III John
April 20 – The Privilege of Missions – Isaiah 66:18-23

He is Risen Indeed!

He Is Risen!

How do we know Jesus was raised from the dead? And why is this of any importance?

Paul answers both of these questions in 1 Corinthians 15.

How Do We Know Jesus Rose from the Dead?

In verses 5 to 8 Paul present evidence for the resurrection from eyewitnesses. He mentions:

  • Peter (called “Cephas” in verse 5). Peter is one of the twelve disciples – indeed, the apparent leader of the disciples during Jesus’ earthly ministry. But, after boasting that he would die for Jesus, he denies that he even knows Him three times the night of His betrayal. Peter is a failure – yet Jesus appears to him.
  • The Twelve (verse 5) – that is, all His closest companions of the last few years. Yet these too all are failures, for they all scattered in fear after His arrest.
  • More than 500 at one time (verse 6). Paul is writing 20-25 years after the resurrection took place. So while some of these witnesses have “fallen asleep” (meaning they have died), most are still alive. The evidence is there. Anyone can check it out.
  • James (verse 7). This most likely is not either of the men named James who were among the Twelve, but Jesus’ half-brother, who in Acts 15 is prominent in the Jerusalem church. There is no evidence that any of Jesus’ brothers believed Him to be the Messiah prior to His resurrection. Indeed, other passages (Mark 3:20-31 and John 7:5) indicate the opposite. Perhaps it is this appearance itself that leads to James’ faith.
  • All the apostles (verse 7). In order to be an apostle, one must have witnessed the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1); perhaps Paul here is not talking about a specific incident, but a series of appearances to everyone else who is an apostle.
  • Paul himself  (verse 8), to whom Jesus appeared years after He had ascended (Acts 9:1-18).

Paul is saying, “The resurrection of Jesus is the linchpin of history, one of the key central moments in God’s plan to redeem a people for himself. Test the claim! Investigate it! Talk to the eyewitnesses! Evaluate their lives; have they proven themselves trustworthy? In fact Christ has risen!”

Note carefully:

  • Paul is not claiming, “We had a vision of Jesus’ spirit, and this vision so inspired us that we are changed men and women!”
  • Nor is he claiming, “We have strong faith, and even His death could not extinguish our faith that Jesus is the Messiah! We know He must be alive!”

Paul instead claims that the physical body of the crucified Jesus was resurrected, made alive, given new life. He is making a historical claim, and encouraging his readers to verify the fact by talking to eyewitnesses. In years to come, Paul himself and many of these other eyewitnesses will face death because of this claim. They could avoid suffering and death if they only say, “What I saw was just a spirit, not a risen physical body.” But they don’t. They die holding to this truth.

He is risen indeed.

Why is the Resurrection Important?

In this chapter, Paul also gives six reasons why the resurrection is vitally important.

  1. Unless Jesus is risen, Paul’s  preaching is in vain, it is pointless (verse 14).
  2. Unless Jesus is risen, the Corinthians’ faith is also in vain, pointless (verse 14). Why? He explains in the third reason:
  3. Unless Jesus is risen, you are still in your sins (verse 17). If there is no resurrection, the Gospel is false. No payment for sins has been made. Note that Jesus’ death is vital; without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sins (Hebrews 9:22). But the resurrection is also vital. A dead Christ is no Christ. A dead Christ does not save from sins, for there is no evidence that the penalty paid is sufficient. There is no evidence that He has any power over death.
  4. Unless Jesus is risen, the apostles and the Scriptures are false witnesses (verse 15). They claim that He rose from the dead, and thus they are liars if He did not. All Scripture is then unreliable (verse 4).
  5. Unless Jesus is risen, those who have died believing in Jesus have perished. They had no hope. No matter how courageously they died, they were fools, for they trusted in a lie. In his own life, I suspect Paul has in mind Stephen, the first martyr, whose death he witnessed (Acts 7).
  6. Unless Jesus is risen, we are of all men most to be pitied (verse 19). We are pitiful fools.

The key item, the item on which all else hangs, is the third. We cannot separate Good Friday from Resurrection Sunday. Jesus’ death and resurrection go together. There is no payment for sins unless Jesus is risen.

All men die. So the fact that Jesus died is not notable.

That He died cruelly and unjustly is notable but far from unique; millions and millions more have died similarly,

That He died for your sin and mine to give us new life in Him is mind blowing and life changing.

But that is only true if He rose from dead. That is only true if He continues as our faithful High Priest who “always lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrew 7:25).

Jesus died for our sins according to the Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:3).

Jesus rose from the dead according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4). In history. In fact.

He is risen indeed.

(This is an excerpt from Sunday’s sermon. The audio for the sermon is available at this link.)

John Newton – The Happy Debtor

Ten thousand talents once I owed,
And nothing had to pay;
But Jesus freed me from the load,
and washed my debt away.

Yet since the Lord forgave my sin,
and blotted out my score,
Much more indebted I have been,
than e’er I was before.

My guilt is canceled quite I know,
and satisfaction made;
But the vast debt of love I owe
can never be repaid.

The love I owe for sin forgiven,
for power to believe,
For present peace and promised heaven,
no angel can conceive.

That love of Thine, Thou sinner’s Friend!
Witness Thy bleeding heart!
My little all can ne’er extend
to pay a thousandth part.

Nay more, the poor returns I make
I first from Thee obtain;
And ’tis of grace that Thou wilt take
such poor returns again.

‘Tis well – it shall my glory be
(Let who will boast their store)
In time and to eternity,
to owe Thee more and more.

(John Newton, 1779)

Two Poems of the Cross

As you meditate on the biblical texts about Christ’s passion this week, consider also these two poems. Written by friends and published together in 1779, in quite different ways they bring out key biblical truths about the death of our Lord.

“Jesus, Whose Blood So Freely Streamed” by William Cowper:

Jesus, whose blood so freely streamed
To satisfy the law’s demand;
By Thee from guilt and wrath redeemed,
Before the Father’s face I stand.

To reconcile offending man,
Make Justice drop her angry rod;
What creature could have formed the plan,
Or who fulfill it but a God?

No drop remains of all the curse,
For wretches who deserved the whole;
No arrows dipped in wrath to pierce
The guilty, but returning soul.

Peace by such means so dearly bought,
What rebel could have hoped to see?
Peace by his injured Sovereign wrought,
His Sovereign fastened to a tree.

Now, Lord, Thy feeble worm prepare!
For strife with earth and hell begins;
Conform and gird me for the war;
They hate the soul that hates his sins.

Let them in horrid league agree!
They may assault, they may distress;
But cannot quench Thy love to me,
Nor rob me of the Lord my Peace.

“In Evil Long I Took Delight” by John Newton:

In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopp’d my wild career:

I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood,
Who fix’d His languid eyes on me.
As near His Cross I stood.

Sure never till my latest breath,
Can I forget that look:
It seem’d to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke:

My conscience felt and own’d the guilt,
And plunged me in despair:
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help’d to nail Him there.

Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!

–A second look He gave, which said,
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may’st live.”

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief, and mournful joy,
My spirit now is fill’d,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill’d!

Singing the Song of Moses

How do we live in light of God’s once and for all conquest of sin and Satan at the cross? How does knowing the victory is won affect our lives? If “the LORD reigns forever and ever” (Exodus 15:18), how do we reflect that in our daily lives?

I concluded Sunday’s sermon with the first three verses of this hymn by Charles Wesley. He clearly had meditated on the Songs of Moses in Exodus 15 and Revelation 15 prior to writing these lyrics. Consider Wesley’s answers to these questions:

Head of Thy Church triumphant,
We joyfully adore Thee;
Till Thou appear, Thy members here
Shall sing like those in glory.
We lift our hearts and voices
With blest anticipation,
And cry aloud, and give to God
The praise of our salvation.

While in affliction’s furnace,
And passing through the fire,
Thy love we praise, which knows our days,
And ever brings us nigher.
We clap our hands exulting
In Thine almighty favor;
The love divine which made us Thine
Shall keep us Thine for ever.

Thou dost conduct Thy people
Through torrents of temptation,
Nor will we fear, while Thou art near,
The fire of tribulation.
The world with sin and Satan
In vain our march opposes,
Through Thee we shall break through them all,
And sing the song of Moses.

By faith we see the glory
To which Thou shalt restore us,
The cross despise for that high prize
Which Thou hast set before us.
And if Thou count us worthy,
We each, as dying Stephen,
Shall see Thee stand at God’s right hand,
To take us up to Heaven.

The church is already triumphant. We “give to God the praise of our salvation” for He is the author and finisher of our faith. His love has made us belong to Him, and He Himself will keep us, guard us, protect us, and bring us safely to His heavenly kingdom. Neither temptation nor persecution can separate us from His love. We together, as His beloved church, shall break through all opposition, and sing in triumph that He accomplished the victory; His deeds are great and amazing, His ways just and true.

The last verse alludes to several passages we must keep in mind to understand it rightly:

  • “For the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame (Hebrews 12:2).
  • “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:38)
  • “We ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering” (2 Thessalonians 1:4-5)

So when Wesley writes, “the cross despise” he is referring to the shame that results from taking up our cross and following Christ. We despise the loss of reputation or goods or jobs that comes from our identification with Jesus. And, praise God, He counts us worthy of His kingdom when He gives us the grace to persevere to the end. It is all of Him

May we focus on His victory, His grace, His love, His joy, and thus live joyfully to His glory, knowing the battle is won.