The Calculus of Temptation

Why do you disobey God? Why is disobeying God attractive to you?

Sin promises us greater joy, greater fulfillment, greater life. The temptation may be to internal sins like anger, bitterness, lust, pride, greed, cowardice, and self-centeredness, or it may be to external sins like hurtful words, illicit sex, physical violence, duplicitous lies, or outright theft. But in every case, the motivation is similar. Just as the serpent tempted Eve in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-5), so sin tempts us today: “Following God doesn’t lead to true fulfillment. Be all that you can be! This is the way to pleasure, to status – to life itself!”

The tempter tries to portray God as an out-of-touch authority who likes to throw His weight around, and get those under Him to do meaningless tasks for His pleasure. So the tempter asserts that both the costs of following God and the benefits of sin are high. He furthermore asserts that the both benefits of following God and the costs of sin are low. So it’s only logical, he alleges, to sin. It’s in your self-interest.

How can we combat this calculus of temptation?

The Bible does not tell us to avoid the calculus. Rather, the Bible tells us to do the calculus rightly. Look at the true costs. Look at the true benefits. Do what is truly in your own best interests.

Consider Romans 6:20-22. Paul has said that we have only two choices: We are slaves to sin, or we are slaves to righteousness. He then instructs us to think clearly about what life is like as a slave to sin. What are its benefits?

What fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. (Romans 6:21)

In effect, Paul acknowledges that there were some short-term, seeming benefits of sin. There is some pleasure in contemplating the words you will say to get back at the co-worker who belittled you. There is some enjoyment that comes from spending the tax dollars you lied to avoid paying.

But, Paul says, consider the end of those sins. Consider the long term. Even in this life, there may be long-term, negative consequences: You may remain bitter and angry for years; you may end up in jail. But much more importantly, the end of those things is life without God. Life without the Giver of life. Life without the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). Life that is not life at all; life that is death.

So the benefits of sin are brief and temporary, at best lasting a few decades. Furthermore, the costs are huge – and eternal.

Now move to the other side of the calculus, says Paul.  Consider the benefits of being God’s slave – that is, the benefits of the obedience that comes from faith in Christ:

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Romans 6:22)

Note that in this passage Paul says nothing about the costs of obedience. Those are real, as He details elsewhere (2 Corinthians 4:7-18, for example), and as Jesus Himself tells us (John 15:20, for example). But here in Romans 6 the Apostle focuses on the surpassing greatness of the fruit of faithful obedience: Sanctification. That is, becoming like Christ. Taking on His image. Being His image-bearer. Displaying His likeness, and thereby being His ambassador. And the end, rather than death, is eternal life. Union with the Giver of life, the Giver of every good and perfect gift. And that must be true life.

So Paul concludes in Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death” – the natural consequence, the just deserts of sin is not joy, pleasure, and life, but the absence of everything good. Death itself. “But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Union with Christ now, in this life, and all the joy that accompanies His presence even as we go through trials and difficulties; and then, the new heavens and the new earth, when we see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), when there is no more mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:4), and we will be with the Life-Giver forever.

So Paul invites us: Do what is in your self-interest! Do the calculus! But judge the costs and benefits rightly. Look at the time frame of eternity. Look at each act not only in isolation, but consider how it enslaves you further under sin or under righteousness. Look at the end to which you are moving – and get off the road that leads to death.

The battle in my heart, the battle in your heart, is to truly believe that every commandment of God is for our good (Deuteronomy 10:12-13), that in His presence alone is fullness of joy, at His right hand alone are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). This is the testimony of Scripture; this is the testimony of our brothers and sisters in Christ over the centuries – including those who have given their lives for Him.

So what about you? Do you believe? Do the calculus rightly! Fight the tempter’s lies! And, saved through His blood, walk in newness of life to the glory of God the Father (Romans 6:4).

Self-Absorbed or Self-Forgetful?

“What’s that in your pocket?” The TSA officer looked sternly at me.

“My wallet.”

“Take it out and show it to me.”

I comply.

“There’s still something in that pocket!”

“Oh, yes – it’s a granola bar.” I pull out my Quaker Chewy Low Fat Chocolate Chunk granola bar, unopened, and hold it up.

She glares at me. “You’ll have to go back through the metal detector, and put that granola bar through the scanner.”

What is welling up in me as I turn around and walk back?

There could have been a question about public policy – that is, a question of truth: “Have we made air travel any safer through all these regulations, or just more of a hassle? Have the terrorists indeed won? Was this their goal – to make our lives more difficult?”

Those are legitimate questions. Had those been the questions in my mind, there would have been no sin involved.

That’s the way I am tempted to tell the story: I care about the efficiency of air travel in the US, the hassles faced by other travelers, the economic impact of making travel tedious and difficult.

But in fact, the thoughts in my head did not concern those matters of truth and policy. Instead, my immediate thoughts were annoyance at the hassle she put ME through. My immediate action was to demean her in my mind for making me take 15 seconds to put the granola bar through the scanner.

Note: I complied. I smiled at her. I was over it in a few minutes. No one could see my annoyance. I don’t think Fred noticed anything when he saw me on the other side of the security checkpoint.

But my being good at covering up sin does not lessen the depth of sin.

What is so bad about this sin?

Fundamentally, the sin I engaged in is a denial of the cross.

The cross says, “Coty Pinckney is so depraved, so rotten, so despicable, that the only way to make up for those sins is the shedding of the blood of Jesus.” I have Jesus’ blood on my hands. I deserve His punishment. And He came and gave up everything to save me.

So what do I deserve from the TSA officer? My mind functioned as if I deserve her service to me, her kindness to me. But actually, I deserve to be told I cannot board the plane, because I am dangerous and I stink.

When we truly see the cross, we cannot be defensive. As in this case, there may be a matter of truth involved: Someone may accuse us of something we did not commit, or (as possibly in this case) the procedures used may be ineffective and unproductive. There could be some value in discussing these matters of truth. But we are not defensive, because the reality of our sin is always greater than the accusation made against us.

In essence, my sin described above is self-absorption. And the opposite of this sin, the Christian goal, is self-forgetfulness. When I take on this attitude, I no longer am concerned with how others are responding to ME – but instead am desirous that others are responding to the TRUTH of who Jesus is.

Self-forgetfulness also leads to “omnivorous attentiveness” (a phrase Alan Jacobs uses to describe C.S. Lewis). That is, seeing God’s gifts everywhere, from the way light shines through a window to the way a cat curls up on a chair; and seeing evidences of God’s grace in others, as they become more Christlike.

What will DGCC look like if we become more self-forgetful and less self-absorbed, more cross-centered and less me-centered?

  • Time and again Scripture will come alive to us as we are amazed at who Jesus is and what He does.
  • Time and again we will share with one another what we have seen recently of who Jesus is.
  • Time and again we will be attune to and thankful for the common grace God gives others, including unbelievers.
  • Time and again, we will speak of Christ and His work on the cross as an encouragement to our fellow believers and as a witness to unbelievers.
  • Time and again we will be generous with time and money – and think not at all about OUR sacrifice or OUR work.

This is what we want DGCC to be; this is what we want our small groups to encourage; this is what I want in my own life: That is, we want us as a community to live out Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So we want each of us to say: “I am dead. The me that takes offense at being told to go back through the metal detector is dead. Christ is in me. He loved me, He died for me, He raised me with Himself, He made me alive so that He can display who He is through me. That is the only reason I live.”

May God make us self-forgetful and thus omnivorously attentive. And may we so marvel at the saving cross that we cannot but speak of the One who died so that He might live through us.

How Clean are Your Hands?

Psalm 24:3-6   3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?  4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Can I ascend the hill of the Lord? Can I stand in His holy place?

David here presents us with a picture of a pilgrim ascending the hill to the temple in order to engage in the privilege of worshiping God. The temple is a picture of God’s presence with His people. So the question is: Can I stand in God’s presence? Am I qualified to worship and praise Him?

Psalm 1:5 tells us that “the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” No, the wicked could never stand in the presence of a holy God – they can only fall on their faces before Him, and be overwhelmed by His righteous wrath. Only the righteous, those with clean hands and pure hearts, can stand.

But consider verse 4: How clean must my hands be? How pure must my heart be? If my heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9), what hope is there for me to stand before God? How could I be clean enough to worship Him?

Verse 6 provides the hope that verse 4 seems to preclude: Those who seek His face, who desire to know Him, are among the generation of those who receive the blessing of worshiping Him. Such people desire above all else to see the fulfillment of the High Priestly blessing in Numbers 6:25-27, by which God’s Name is put on His people: “The LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Such seekers, identified with God, subsumed under His Name, will receive God’s blessing: His own righteousness (verse 5). Therefore, to them He will become a God of salvation, not a God of wrath. Thus, they can indeed stand in His presence, in the assembly of the righteous.

But verse 4 still bites:

  • Do I have clean hands? Water does not suffice to clean them, as Pilate found out (Matthew 27:24).
  • Do I have a pure heart? Jesus echoes this psalm in saying the pure in heart will have the blessing of seeing God (Matthew 5:8). Yet my heart goes astray.
  • Do I lift up my soul to what is false – that is, do I long for what will never satisfy? That may be longing for the promise of power from a literal false god, a carved idol, but it also includes the longing for any goal in my life other than knowing God. The judgment must be, “Guilty!”
  • Do I mislead others with my speech? Do I want others to think more highly of me than I deserve? Do I twist facts and accomplishments so that I look good? Is my yes always yes, and my no always no (James 5:12)? Once again: Guilty.

So if I don’t have clean hands, if I don’t have a pure heart, if I do long for what will never satisfy, and if I do mislead others with my speech – where does that leave me? Can I climb God’s holy hill? Is there any chance I can stand to worship Him in the assembly of the righteous?

I want to seek His face. And yet, I have no ability to clean my hands. Where does that leave me?

My only hope: Receiving a pure heart as a gift. Receiving clean hands that are, indeed, Jesus’ clean hands. Having Him incline my heart to Himself (1 Kings 8:58). Having my lips purified by a coal from His altar (Isaiah 6:6-7).

That is, my only hope is God’s gift of grace through the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Timothy 1:15).  And then, because Jesus rose from the dead and lives in His people, by His grace I can and must strive to live each day with clean hands, with a pure heart, with a soul not lifted up, and with edifying speech that gives “grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). I thus strive not to gain access to the holy hill, but, having been granted access to His presence, I strive to present evidence that He is worth more than everything else in this world.

Then I can ascend the hill of the Lord. Then I can worship Him. Then I can rejoice in God, my Savior. Then I will be among His people. Then He will be my God.

So I ask: How clean are your hands?

Should Christians Be Indifferent?

In the conclusion of Sunday’s sermon, I said, “Long for God to use you for His glory. Be confident that He will. But be indifferent to whether He uses you through pain and sorrow, or through success and fame.”

In my notes, I set off the word “indifferent,” and put a question mark next to it. Was it really the right word? Biblically, should we be indifferent to these outcomes?

The answer is yes or no – depending upon how we frame the question. So consider these different situations, and whether or not we are indifferent in each one:

In looking at the present circumstances others are facing, we must never be indifferent to their pain and sorrow. As we noted last week when discussing the Haiti earthquake, we must weep with those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). In this way, we are like Jesus Himself (John 11:35).

In considering those who do not know Christ, we must never be indifferent to whether or not they come to faith in Him. Paul has “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in [his] heart” when he thinks of the unsaved state of most of his fellow Jews (Romans 9:2). This is not indifference! Our hearts similarly should long for the salvation of those around us.

In the midst of our present circumstances, we must rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4). Paul writes those words while in prison. He goes on to say, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Note that some of those reading this letter may have seen him live this out when he and Silas, beaten and bruised, praised God in song while in a Philippian jail (Acts 16:25). Now, I am sure that, other things being equal, Paul would have preferred to be out of prison rather than in prison. But he was content, he was rejoicing in the Lord, while confined. He knew God was at work. He was confident that God was in control. He was entrusting Himself to God in those circumstances (1 Peter 4:19) – and so his circumstances did not matter. In that sense, he was indifferent to them.

In looking to the future, we desire God’s glory above all else. We pray and long for His Kingdom to come, His will to be done on earth itself, and not only in heaven (Matthew 6:10). We desire the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). We are not indifferent to this outcome!

In looking to the eternal state, we long to see Jesus face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). We do look forward to living with perfected humanity without sorrow, without pain, with every tear wiped from our eyes (Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 21:4). But God Himself is our hope; all other joys of heaven pale before being with Him (Psalm 73:25). We are certainly not indifferent to that outcome.

In contemplating our personal future on earth, we want to be used by God in whatever role He chooses to bring about the coming of His Kingdom. This is the sense in which I was using the word in the sermon. God may grant us success or failure. We may be known or unknown. We may see a clear response to our ministries or no response. Our goal is not success, or fame, or even a response to our ministry. Our goal is God’s glory.

We could say that this attitude is Philippians 4:11 prospectively. We are content not only in our present circumstances, but in any possible future circumstances – if those future circumstances are part of God’s plan to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory.

As in the case of present circumstances, we certainly will have personal preferences about what those future circumstances look like. I would rather be able to walk all my life than to lie in a hospital bed from tomorrow until the day I die. I would rather live with a roof over my head than to have an earthquake devastate my city and be forced to sleep in the open with thousands of others for days on end. And I would rather be the means hundreds come to faith than to speak to those of hard and stubborn hearts who never listen (Ezekiel 3:7).

But there is a sense in which I should be indifferent to these outcomes. For Jesus was indifferent to outcomes over which he had a personal preference. When faced with the immediate threat of the cross, of taking on Himself the punishment for all the sin of all redeemed humanity, Jesus prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39). In that sense, He wasn’t indifferent. However, He continues, “Not as I will, but as You will.” Or as He says elsewhere when His heart is troubled at the prospect of the cross, “For this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name” (John 12:27-28).

He was indifferent in the sense that the joy of glorifying the Name of God so outweighed the pain that there was no comparison (Hebrews 12:2). Paul says our attitude should be similar: our terrible sorrows, real as they are, become “light momentary afflictions” when compared to the “eternal weight of glory” that they produce (2 Corinthians 4:18).

So will you have the indifference of Jesus? Will you pray, “Lord, I naturally want an easy life. And I naturally want to be used by You in ways that yield clear, obvious responses. But You are filling the earth with the knowledge of Your glory as the waters cover the sea. Above all else, I want You to use me in whatever way will bring that end about. So here I am. You choose. Enable me to serve you faithfully – in whatever way you choose: in sorrow and pain or in earthly joy and happiness; in success and fame or in obscurity and dishonor. Just glorify Your Name through me, Your slave.”

As Laurence Tuttiett wrote:

Father, let me dedicate all this year to Thee,
In whatever worldly state Thou wilt have me be:
Not from sorrow, pain or care, freedom dare I claim;
This alone shall be my prayer: glorify Thy Name.

My He do so. And may we always rejoice in Him. Amen.

Responding to Disasters

Port-au-Prince, Haiti, is devastated. Thousands and thousands of buildings have collapsed. Tens of thousands are dead. Thousands more are injured and doomed to die, as hospitals too are destroyed and the needs outstrip the remaining medical care.

How can we respond to such a tragedy?

The Bible is our guide in all matters. In His Word, God tells us who He is, who we are, how He rules the world, and how we should respond to Him. He tells us what we could never learn on our own, what we would grope after and never find apart from His revelation.

So what guidance does the Bible give us?

First, we must weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15). Our Lord wept over the coming judgment on Jerusalem (Luke 19:41); He wept at the grave of His friend, even though He was about to raise him from the dead (John 11:35). Ultimately, all sorrow and pain in this world is the result of sin – God’s initial creation was very good (Genesis 1:31). So let us weep over sin and its impact.

Second, we must pray. God works through prayer to bring about His purposes at all times (2 Corinthians 1:11), and so He exhorts us to pray about all our needs (Philippians 4:6).

Third, we must do what we can to help those in need (Luke 12:33). In so doing, we honor God (Proverbs 14:31), who has compassion on the poor and needy (Psalm 72:13). Now, in such situations we can do more harm than good – our attempts to help can hurt, as we noted earlier. So let us give to organizations that are cognizant of these dangers, who are working with local institutions, considering both the urgent relief needs and the longer term rehabilitation and development needs. Some suggestions (among many possibilities): Food for the Hungry, Child Hope International, and Water Missions International.

Fourth, we must take note of Jesus’ warning to those around Him as they considered a local tragedy:

“Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:4-5

Some people evidently were explaining the fall of the tower as God’s judgment on those eighteen people, saying that they deserved to die, and others (like themselves) did not. Jesus says, “Don’t think that way – but take the occasion of these deaths to examine yourself!” God’s judgment will come on all who do not repent (Romans 2:4-5) – and it will be much more terrible than the fall of the tower of Siloam, much more terrible than the Haiti earthquake, much more terrible than the Aceh tsunami (Revelation 6:15-17).

Fifth, we must remind ourselves of the Gospel. No one is righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10-12). We all deserve God’s condemnation, His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3). Yet God sent His Son to live the perfect life that we should have lived, loving God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day, loving His neighbor as Himself (Hebrews 4:15; Matthew 22:36-40); He sent Him to the cross to suffer and die, taking on Himself the penalty we deserve (2 Corinthians 5:21); and He raised Him from the dead, showing that the penalty was sufficient (Acts 2:24). We who believe in Him (John 1:12), valuing Him above all else (Matthew 13:44), receive the benefits of this death, and are united with Him for all eternity (Romans 6:4-5, 23).

Finally, we can rejoice that God is sovereign over all affairs of men. He is the Almighty One, who not only knows the number of hairs on my head (Matthew 10:30), but watches over and superintends all the events of my life, and of all the lives of those who are united in His Son (Psalm 1:6). So we can pray with the psalmist, “When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!” (Psalm 142:3). May our hurting brothers and sisters in Haiti know this truth, and lean on our Rock and our Refuge (Psalm 61:2-3).

May we, by His grace, be as He is in this world (1 John 4:17) – and thus, knowing our sinfulness, knowing our weakness, serve humbly as conduits of His mercy, His compassion, and His Word to the downtrodden and the needy.

My Food is to Do His Will: Nimeshiba

What do you say after eating a wonderful meal?

Imagine that you have just shared good fellowship and excellent food. You have eaten to contentment; you are full, satisfied but not bloated. What do you say?

You could say, “Wow, that was great.” Or, “Oh, what a wonderful meal!” Or, “My stomach feels just right.” But none of those expressions really captures the moment.

In this case, knowing other languages helps. In Swahili, one word captures all these ideas:  “Nimeshiba” means “I’m content, satisfied, full but not bloated, relaxed, happy, and delighted.”

Think of those ideas when looking at John 4:34.  Jesus has traveled a long distance. His disciples go to town to buy food while their master waits at the well. While they are away, Jesus speaks the Gospel to a Samaritan woman. The disciples then return with food – and yet Jesus doesn’t eat. When they urge Him to eat, He replies, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” That is, Jesus gained sustenance from submissive obedience. He delighted to do whatever His Father had sent Him to do. He was content, satisfied, relaxed, and happy when He had accomplished the tasks the Father gave Him. Though He had not eaten any physical food, He could say to His disciples, “Nimeshiba.”

Do I have that same delight in submissive obedience to the Lord? Do I hunger to accomplish the work He has given me? Am I content when I have fulfilled His purposes for me – even if many of my personal desires and needs seem to remain unfulfilled? Even if the work that I personally wanted to accomplish remains incomplete? Is my food to do His will?

One barrier to my doing His will is that I am pulled different directions. As I live in this world, I am influenced by my family, my culture, my profession, my schooling, by radio, by television, by the internet  – all these influences have an impact on my understanding of what I should do and where satisfaction lies. If I am to walk in God’s ways in the midst of these influences, I must know His ways and see His paths! So the first step in being satisfied to accomplish His work must be to pray with the psalmist, “Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths” (Psalm 25:4). We need Him to cut through the fog of this world – the fog of wrong desires, the fog of unbelief, the fog of past wounds and sorrows, the fog of anti-biblical influences. We need Him to shine brightly through His revelation in His Word, so that we can know His ways and see His path.

Having seen His path, the issue then becomes: In what do I delight? How do I get sustenance? Is my food to do the will of the One who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light? Or is my food to ignore the seemingly difficult path God has laid out for me, and to take the easier, more attractive path that seems to offer plenty of nourishment, plenty of delights, plenty of satisfactions?

Please join me in this New Year in praying to our Father, “Lord God, teach me your paths – and make walking on your paths my delight, my satisfaction. Enable me by your grace to say, ‘Nimeshiba’ when I have submitted in obedience to you. Make me like Jesus – so that my food is to do Your will.”

A Woman Who Fears the Lord

December 29 is our thirtieth wedding anniversary. God has blessed me beyond measure through Beth – and more and more with each succeeding year. In honor of this event, consider these excerpts from Proverbs 31.  I preached on this passage three years ago under the title “The Valiant Wife” (audio is here); an edited version of the conclusion to that sermon follows .

Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-31  10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.  11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.  12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. . . .  25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.  26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.  27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.  28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”  30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

God has granted me a valiant, excellent wife who displays strength and wisdom daily. She fears the Lord; she loves His Word; she is generous with her time and energy. Self-indulgence is far from her. She provides for her household with material goods, with fragrant smells, with wise teaching, with thoughtful kindness. I trust her implicitly to such an extent I can’t even imagine not trusting her. Whatever honor and respect I have, to whatever degree I fear the Lord and glorify Him, results in large measure from God’s work in my life through Beth.

So I have no hesitation in saying to my sons: Marry a woman like your mother.

  • Not necessarily in personality;
  • Not necessarily in looks;
  • Not even necessarily in the way she cooks (though there are side benefits to that!).

But marry a woman who desires to become wise. Marry a woman who wants to learn from wise women how to be wise. Marry a woman who fears the Lord, and will be worthy of your trust.

Also, remember: The lessons from Proverbs 31 are not just for marriage. This passage calls to all of us: Be like this wise, strong woman. Notice the women around you who live out this picture. Praise your mothers and grandmothers, praise the other women in your lives, to the extent they exemplify such wisdom.

Praise such women – yet remember the focus. This chapter does not tell us, “A diligent, strong woman is to be praised.” Rather, it says, “A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” For all – even the strongest and wisest of us – have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us – even the most morally upright of us – deserve God’s wrath and judgment. The only hope for any of us – virtuous by man’s standards or corrupt by man’s standards – is being united with Christ in His death and resurrection, through faith in Him.

So I praise God for His work in Beth, for her fear of Him. Indeed, I see her sinfulness, and she sees mine – better than anyone else. And I have seen Him mold and change her more and more into His likeness. So all glory to God who takes an object of His wrath and so sanctifies and purifies her so that she becomes like Christ – wise, strong, and valiant.

This is what I have seen in Beth – and what I hope you see in your wives and mothers. May such women through their wise examples show us all the way to the fountain of life and wisdom: Jesus Himself.

Christmas and Anticipation

Seasonal music on the radio. Lights on houses (sometimes beautiful, often garish). Long back-ups at the McAdenville exit. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” in this “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

What are you looking forward to this season?

You may have grown up with many wonderful Christmas memories: A mysterious present under the tree that you couldn’t wait to open; excitement about what might show up in your stocking; eagerly anticipating your loved one opening the perfect present you wrapped; building a snow fort after a big storm; sipping cider around a fire. The songs and lights stir up such memories, and you can’t wait to see what this year might bring.

Praise God for family traditions and happy childhood memories. Praise God for the opportunity for grandparents and cousins and nieces and nephews to gather together. Praise God for thoughtful gifts and joyous reunions.

But I ask you: What are you looking forward to most of all? What should you look forward to most of all?

The birth of Jesus?

No. Biblically, the answer is not the birth of Jesus.

Consider Simeon and Anna, those two elderly saints who encounter the infant Jesus in Luke 2. What were they looking forward to? Simeon was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25); Anna similarly was among those “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). The birth of their long-promised Messiah – “the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26) – was a necessary and important step to bringing about this consolation and redemption. But they were looking forward to much more than a baby! They were looking forward to the fulfillment of passages such as Isaiah 52:7-10 and Isaiah 40:1-2, 5:

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”  8 The voice of your watchmen–they lift up their voice; together they sing for joy; for eye to eye they see the return of the LORD to Zion.  9 Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.  10 The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. . . .  5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Simeon and Anna were looking forward to seeing the payment of every sin of God’s people, to seeing then the end of sinning among those people, and to seeing the glory of the Lord. God mercifully revealed to them that through the baby Jesus, He would fulfill all these prophecies – but not at that time. Not in the first century. As the author of Hebrews puts it, those such as Anna and Simeon “though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:39-40).

So in looking for the consolation of Israel and the redemption of Jerusalem, Simeon and Anna were eagerly anticipating what we now know as the second coming of Jesus – what Paul calls “our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) when God “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 25:8).

Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary while she was still a virgin. The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest!” Shepherds bowed before Him; wise men brought Him gifts. May we remember these truths with joy.

But may we also remember that this baby was born to die, in order to redeem His people from their sins; God raised Him from the dead and He sits at the Father’s right hand until He makes His enemies His footstool (Psalm 110:1; see also Luke 20:43, Acts 2:35, Hebrews 1:13, and Hebrews 10:13). And this Jesus, our Messiah, our Christ, “having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Does that include you? Note what Hebrews 9:28 says: Those who are saved are those who “are eagerly waiting for him”.

So what are you looking forward to this season? Family? Presents? Warm fires and hot cider? Chestnuts roasting?

More than all these, may you eagerly long for, may you lovingly pray for the momentous, magnificent return of our Lord and Savior.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

(These next three Sundays our services will celebrate Christ’s first advent by turning our thoughts to His second advent. Our Christmas Eve service will do the same. Please join us, and thereby deepen your desire for Jesus’ return.)

God and Man in Exodus

[Last Sunday’s sermon served as an introduction to the Book of Exodus. The following is an excerpt from the sermon, highlighting the major themes of the book. Audio of the sermon is available here. – Coty]

When you think of Book of Exodus, what comes to your mind?

  • Maybe: Baby Moses hidden along the banks of the Nile, found by Pharaoh’s daughter;
  • Maybe: Moses encountering a burning bush, which is not consumed by the fire;
  • Maybe: A series of plagues falling on the Egyptians;
  • Maybe: Charlton Heston confronting Yul Brynner in the 1956 film, The Ten Commandments;
  • Maybe: Moses leading the Israelites on dry land through the sea;
  • Maybe: The giving of the Ten Commandments;
  • Maybe: The Israelites worshiping an idol, a golden calf.

What is the book of Exodus about?

  • Evil oppressors who must be overthrown?
  • The story of a great man who leads his people out of slavery
  • The story of the founding of a nation?

For the next many months, we’ll be studying the second book in the Bible. This book contains some of the most dramatics events recorded in Scripture, and thus has been the basis for a number of films over the years. But the exciting narrative sections sometimes have obscured its primary biblical message.

  • What is this book about?
  • Why is it in the Bible?
  • What are its major themes?

We believe Scripture is recorded not to tell us history, but, as Paul tells us, to profit us by teaching us, reproving us, correcting us, and training us in righteousness – and so equipping us to love God and love neighbor, to glorify God in our lives. And Exodus is profoundly helpful in this regard.

  • This is not a story of evil masters who oppress good, virtuous people, who then overthrow the masters.
  • This is not a story of a great human leader who saves his people. Instead, this book depicts Moses as a failure when he tries to take matters into his own hands, and then as a reluctant and often frustrated leader – except when he relies fully on God.
  • While this is certainly the story of the founding of a nation, that’s not at all the main point of the book.

Instead, Exodus is a story that tells us profound truths

  • about the character of God
  • about the character of man
  • and about the only way men can approach God.

It thus sheds light on the most important points in human existence. Furthermore, though recording events that took place more than a thousand years before Jesus, it contains some of the clearest pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament.
Let’s look at the main points this book makes about God, man, and the relationship between God and man:
What Does Exodus Tell Us About God?
God’s passion is to magnify His glory

God is the central actor throughout this book. And how does He explain the motivation behind His actions? Thirteen times in chapters 6 to 16 God explains His actions by saying, “That you (or the Egyptians, or all the peoples of the earth) might know that I am Yahweh your God” or something similar. The clearest example of this is in Exodus 9, prior to the seventh plague. God says to Pharaoh,
By now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:15-16)
This Pharaoh was king for one reason: God put him in power in order to display His own power, in order to show His greatness.
God is passionate for His glory.
God is almighty in power

Egypt was the most powerful nation in the world at this time. They believed they had the most powerful gods. In the plagues, God shows that He is more powerful than the Egyptian gods.
This is particularly clear in the ninth plague: Darkness falls over all of Egypt. And who did the Egyptians consider as the greatest of their gods? The sun god, Ra, the god of light.
Thus, Moses’ father-in-law exclaims after hearing about all the plagues, “Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods” (Exodus 18:11).
God is Holy

Exodus portrays God as holy. That is, as other. Pure. Different. Unapproachable. Unless He takes the initiative, we cannot have any relationship with Him.
The word “holy” appears only one time in the book of Genesis; it appears 55 times in Exodus. And the word is first used in God’s first appearance in the book: At the burning bush. Moses begins to draw near, but God warns him, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5). Here and at Sinai (Exodus 24:17), God chooses to portray Himself as fire: hot, burning, purifying, and dangerous.
When God reveals to Moses His plans for a tabernacle – a portable temple, picturing His dwelling with His people – He describes virtually every aspect of the structure as holy. And the inmost section of the tabernacle is called “The Most Holy Place” or “The Holy of Holies.” No Israelite could enter that section, save the High Priest, and he could do so only once a year.
God is Faithful to His Promises

The entire book of Exodus is the story of God fulfilling in part the promises He makes in Genesis – particularly Genesis 15:5-16. And God explicitly tells Moses that He is “abounding in faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6).

What Does Exodus Tell Us About Man?
Exodus portrays mankind as stiff-necked, rebellious, and ungrateful, hardening their hearts against God and His revelation.
It is not surprising that this is true of Pharaoh. But it is also true of the people of Israel. They are the ones God calls stiff-necked three times. They grumble about their lack of food just a few days after God rescues them miraculously at the sea. They rebel at Sinai, worshiping a golden calf, just few days after God spoke to them verbally, saying, “You shall not make for yourself . . . any likeness of anything . . . that is in the earth” (Exodus 20:4). Thus, apart from God’s mercy, the Israelites deserve the same fate as the Egyptians.
Man is thus without hope apart from God.

What Does Exodus Tell Us About the Relationship between God and Man

God is the Righteous Judge of Those who Oppose Him

God raised Pharaoh up as king in order to display His power, so that His Name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Pharaoh mocks God, resists Him, and hardens his heart against Him. He deserves the judgment he receives.
When Moses comes down from the mountain while the Israelites are worshiping the golden calf, he gathers many of his kinsmen. They then go through the camp and put to death three thousand men (Exodus 32:25-29). And Moses promises them that they will receive a blessing. They are inflicting God’s judgment on His disobedient people.
The book of Exodus portrays mankind as sinners deserving of His judgment.
God is the Redeemer of His Covenant People

The Israelites are slaves. A slave could be free by being redeemed, by being purchased and then granted freedom. This is what Exodus pictures God doing (Exodus 15:16).
In addition, the book shows God as the One who redeems His people from their sinfulness and sanctifying them, making them holy, purifying those who are unfit to enter His presence. He says, “I, the LORD, sanctify you” (Exodus 31:13).
Furthermore, in God’s revelation of Himself to Moses, He emphasizes both His mercy and His justice:
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6)
How is God both merciful and just? His people are guilty of gross sin; how does He show them mercy and at the same time not clear the guilty?
The book of Exodus gives some hints in this direction; Leviticus, in introducing the sacrificial system and the need for blood to be shed for sin to be forgiven, takes us further. But it is not until we see Jesus portrayed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of all those who believe in Him that the question is fully answered.
God Blesses His Covenant People with His Presence

Exodus shows God to be intimately related to His people:
Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son (Exodus 4:22)
If you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Exodus 19:5-6)
And yet, there are limits to God’s approachability, even for His people. God’s holiness continues to be on display. Moses can’t see His face; the people can’t approach Mt Sinai; the fearful people ask Moses to approach on their behalf.
So the picture in Exodus 19:6 is not fulfilled in this book. Only after Jesus’ work on the cross are these promises fulfilled, so that Peter can echo these words:
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
God’s Requirements for His Covenant People

Exodus highlights the right response of the people to God several times in the book: They believe (Exodus 4:31), they fear (Exodus 14:31), they give generously (Exodus 36:5-7).
In the Law, God details how His people are to live. Note that the Ten Commandments begin by God stating that He is already their God, He is already in relationship with them: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Exodus 20:2). In effect He tells them, “You are my family. I have rescued you. Now – you must live like you are in my family. This is how family members behave.”
So the Law is not a means by which the people enter into relationship with God. Instead, the Law constitutes God’s “family rules.”

So I encourage you to join us as we make our way through this great book of the Bible. In the three millennia since these events took place, God has not changed. Man has not changed. We are still sinful, deserving His judgment. He is still holy, never tolerating sin. He will not let the guilty go unpunished. And He is merciful beyond measure, offering all of us rebellious sinners grace and forgiveness through the penalty paid on our behalf at the cross.
So ponder the God of the book of Exodus – and approach Him, on His terms.

Pain and Discipline

[Last Sunday’s sermon looked in part at Hebrews 12:3-11, which compares the discipline and training that God brings in to our lives to a father disciplining his children. I see in those verses an implicit dialogue with a reader who keeps raising objections to the idea. Here is an expanded paraphrase of those verses, trying to bring out the key points – Coty]

Reader:
I am really tired. I’ve been fighting this battle with sin so long! I can’t keep fighting any longer. I’m worn out! God can’t possibly expect me to bear up under all this!

Author:
In your contest with sin, are you growing weary? Does the contest seem too tough? Then, hey, listen: I have two things to say to you:
First: Have you died yet? Jesus struggled all the way to death. He toughed it out to a much greater extent than you. Remember that.
Second: Have you forgotten the scriptural encouragement that calls you sons? God calls you His little children! Listen to what Proverbs 3:11-12 says:
My son! Don’t shrug off the Lord’s discipline, or get all depressed about it. It’s a sign of His love! A sign of your adoption!
Furthermore, the rest of Proverbs 3 makes clear that there are tremendous benefits to staying on God’s path, even when it seems challenging and the alternative path seems so easy.
So with all that in mind, here is my main exhortation: Endure hardship as instruction and training. That is: See every pain, every sorrow in your life as God’s way of molding you into what He wants you to be.
And I do mean every pain. Pain that is the result of your sin. Pain that is the result of someone else’s sin. Pain that results from natural disasters.
God is in control. He is sovereign. You are His child. He is making you into His likeness. He is getting rid of your natural ignorance, your natural selfishness, the way you are easily deceived and distracted. He is training you, like Jesus, to be patient in suffering. You are a little child. Your Daddy is training you, strengthening you, stretching you, maturing you.
So when you suffer, trust Him! He is bringing His work in you to completion! Always remember that!

Reader:
You tell me I’m God’s child. But I sure don’t feel loved like a child when God sends pain! Instead, I feel abandoned by Him!

Author:
Have you ever heard of a son who was never disciplined? All sons are disciplined! If you don’t experience discipline: Guess what? You’re not sons! Now, there is a bit of a benefit from not being a son: You then don’t have to endure discipline! But, there’s a big trade-off: Neither do you have the rights and privileges of being a son. So realize this: Being disciplined is sign of sonship! It’s a privilege! It shows you are in the family! Jesus was a son – and He suffered. Therefore, feeling abandoned because of discipline gets the truth completely backwards.

Reader:
Well . . . I’m not sure how to answer that. But, listen: I don’t like this picture of God you’re painting. A God who sends pain! This God doesn’t match my conception of what He should be! If He loved me, He would guard me from pain; He wouldn’t make me go through it. How can I worship a God like that?

Author:
My friend, slow down, listen, and think clearly. You’re really not making any sense.
We routinely put up with pain in our earthly lives – and love and respect those who bring that pain upon us. We could go back to the athletic imagery I’ve used before – every coach brings pain upon his runners, and the best coaches make their runners go through considerable pain! – but instead, let’s stick to the image of a little child with his father:
When your fallible earthly fathers disciplined you as they thought best – in order to make you a better person in this life – didn’t you respect them for it? Even though they often erred, and punished you wrongly? How much more should you respect your spiritual, heavenly Father! How much more should you listen to His instruction and submit to His discipline! He is guiding you to the path of life! (Proverbs 4:13) All His discipline is unquestionably for our good! He is training us to become like Him – that is, holy.
So, you see, to say, “I’m not going to worship a God who sends pain,” is like a two-year-old saying, “I’m not going to love a Daddy who gives spankings.” That’s pure foolishness. Indeed, to say that proves that you need discipline and training.

Reader:
OK. I can agree intellectually that God must discipline us to train us to become like Him, and that I should respect Him for doing that. But, did you hear me? This is painful! This is horrible! This really hurts!

Author:
That’s true of all discipline, my friend. Think back to when you were a little child. When you received a spanking, it hurt, didn’t it? That’s the whole idea! It was supposed to hurt. All discipline at the moment seems to increase our sorrow. It does not seem to increase our joy. But in the end it produces a harvest of righteousness. God is so wise that in the end His discipline molds us into Christ’s likeness – so we become what God intends us to be.
So I exhort you: Endure hardship as discipline. Don’t feel abandoned when you’re in pain – for discipline is a sign of God’s love. Don’t put yourself above God, judging what He should and shouldn’t do – for a child respects his father, even when he doesn’t understand his father, even when the father’s discipline hurts. And don’t focus on your present pain – instead, like Jesus, focus on the joy set before you. Like Him, run the race! Power down that straightaway towards the finish line, towards your Savior, towards Jesus! Don’t be diverted from the race! Right now, you’re weak – indeed, virtually lame. Heal that weakness by God’s grace and by His training! And run!