We Can’t Think Straight: The Authority of Scripture, Part 2

Over three blog posts, we’re considering our position before God’s revelation in Scripture. Last week, we looked at the biblical image of us as two-year-olds before God. Today we consider the impact of sin and the Fall on our ability to think and reason.

Two-year-olds push the limits against their parents. They rebel against authority.

Scripture tells us that this holds for every one of us: All humans have rebelled against God. This rebellion so permeates our being that we cannot think straight. Our reasoning is distorted. Our view of the world is twisted. Some theologians term this the noetic effects of sin.

Many passages bring out this truth. Perhaps the most in depth discussion is found in 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16. I commend the entire passage to you; here are a few excerpts:

1: 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  . . .  21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.  22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,  23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  . . .   27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,  31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” . . . 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Note three points from this text and related passages. These points then lead to a few corollaries:

First, Scripture says that the truths it presents will be rejected – indeed, that those whose minds have not been renewed by the Spirit are not able to understand these truths (see especially 2:14). Put that idea in the context of the overall storyline of the Bible: God created mankind in His image as the pinnacle of His work, to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever. Yet the first man and the first woman rejected God’s purposes for them, choosing to believe Satan’s lie that God was withholding good from them. They chose to disbelieve God, and to establish themselves as the arbiters of what was in their own interest. They then deserved to be wiped out. All of their descendants normally born display that same rebellion. Yet God in His mercy established a plan of redemption which He implemented over the centuries, eventually sending His Son to live the life all men should have lived, and to die to pay the penalty we deserve for our rejection of Him. God raised Him from the dead, and will send Him again to usher in a new heavens and new earth, in which redeemed and perfected humanity will indeed glorify Him by enjoying Him forever.

In this interim period between the first and second coming of the Son, all mankind is stained by the Fall. Should we hear this story, should we read Scripture, we naturally reject it; we belittle it; we mock it. Unless God intervenes, our very thought processes are infected with a disease we do not notice that keeps us from seeing Truth.

This leads to a corollary: When a skeptic launches a broadside assault on Scripture, he is fulfilling Scripture. Now, clearly this corollary does not in and of itself prove that Scripture is true. But we must realize that attacks on scriptural authority are perfectly consistent with Scripture being true.

One more corollary of this first point: If we are to understand Scripture, we will have to come to God as supplicants, asking for His Spirit to open our minds, to clarify our vision, so that we might understand His Word.

Second point to note from 1 Corinthians 1 and 2:

b) God predominantly does not choose to renew by His Spirit the minds of the most intelligent of men. (see especially 1:27). He does renew the minds of some of the most intelligent (including the Apostle Paul himself). But God’s redeemed people are not exclusively or even on average from among those who, based on their worldly accomplishments and education, would be considered the brightest men and women on the planet. Paul tells us here why God works this way: So that no human being will have any grounds for boasting before Him (1:29). That is, so that no one might think, “God picked me because I was so smart. God needed me on His team. I have so much to contribute to His cause that God had to draft me.” No. God works in such a way that all of our boasting can be only in Him. Otherwise, we would be glorifying ourselves, not Him.

This leads to another corollary, but some personal information first: My undergraduate degree in mathematics is from Davidson; my PhD is from Stanford. Here’s the corollary: God is not impressed by a Davidson bachelors or a Stanford PhD. He doesn’t need me. He doesn’t need my intellectual abilities or my credentials. Indeed, no intellectual accomplishment is impressive to God. No intellectual accomplishment earns merit with God. Should He open my mind to see Him, the only reason will be His grace and mercy.

Third point: The wisdom of God is not intellectual only or primarily. The wisdom of God is fundamentally relational. Through His plan of redemption, God is reconciling men and women to Himself. Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, God restores men and women to an intimate relationship with Him. So Paul says that Christ becomes to us not only wisdom, but also righteousness (granting us what we lost in the fall), sanctification (setting us apart for God Himself as His precious possession), and redemption (covering the relational distance necessitated by our rebellion) (1:18-24, 30).

This point also flows from the summary of the overall storyline of the Bible: Since God created us to glorify Himself by enjoying Him forever, His plan of redemption must restore the relationship, and not only enable us to appraise truth intellectually.

One final corollary: God is not and cannot be solely the object of our study. If the Bible is true, God is not an impersonal unmoved mover; He is not some abstract force or principle. He is personal. To know Him truly is to love Him deeply.

Similarly, my wife Beth is not and cannot be solely the object of my study. In order to be a good husband, I should learn all I can about her. But if I treat her as an object, I will fail miserably as a husband. My knowledge of her must lead to greater love and more effective service for her.

Just so, our knowledge of God must be relational – for it originates with His reaching out to us. He is the offended party. We are under His judgment. We owe Him everything – for life, for breath, for food, for shelter, for intelligence. We are not blank slates rationally looking at the evidence and deciding if Scripture reflects truth. If Scripture is true, we are rebels against Him, grasping at any straw we can find that will indicate, “I am in control; I am wise; I can forge my own path.” He graciously offers us His love and mercy; indeed, He graciously offers us Himself, a relationship with Him, for all eternity.

So consider those points from 1 Corinthians. Next week we’ll ask: Why did a Davidson math major and Stanford PhD submit himself to the authority of Scripture?

(For printing, download this pdf file.)

Traveling on God’s Road

Whose road are you on?

Scripture often compares life to traveling:

  • We are to take care how we walk (Ephesians 5:15), not walking in the counsel of wicked (Psalm 1:1);
  • men often judge a particular road to be right, but it leads instead to death (Proverbs 14:12);
  • when God’s people turn off of His road, He will call to them, “This is the way, walk in it!” (Isaiah 30:21).

Among the many other comparisons of life to a journey is Psalm 25:8-10. To help us in our American context to capture the sense, I’ll change all instances of “way” or “path” to “road:”

Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the road. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his road.  All the roads of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Consider this image: You are driving down the highway of life. You think you know the right directions. You think you know the most desirable destination. You’ve packed your bags; you’ve filled up the tank; you’re on your way. But God’s GPS – that is, the Scriptures – instruct you: “You’re on the wrong road! Your directions are wrong; even your destination is wrong! This is not the road to life; this is not the road to joy; this is the road to everlasting pain and sorrow, to lack of fulfillment and lack of purpose, to eternal rebellion and loss.”

  • Will you say, “Oh, that old GPS! It’s outdated! It’s unaware of recent road improvements!”
  • Will you say, “Ha! Never rely on a GPS when you’ve got a brain! I know shortcuts no one else has even discovered!”
  • Will you say, “I know what destination will really give me joy, and no one else can possibly know better!”

Or will you humble yourself before God’s GPS?

How do we do that?

Isaiah 66:2 uses the same Hebrew word for “humble:”

This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

To be humble is to confess that we do not and cannot know the right road apart from God’s GPS, God’s Word, God’s Scripture. To be humble is to acknowledge that all His directions lead us on roads of lovingkindness, roads of covenant faithfulness, roads of joy, roads of life – even when they lead initially to hardship and persecution. To be humble is not to be “overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” (as a major lectionary defines the Greek translation of the Hebrew word in Psalm 25).

In commenting on verse 9, Charles Spurgeon writes:

[The humble] know their need of guidance, and are willing to submit their own understandings to the divine will, and therefore the Lord condescends to be their guide. . . . Proud of their own wisdom, fools will not learn, and therefore miss their road to heaven.

So: Whose road are you on? Whose directions are you following?

God has given us His GPS. He tells us to drive on His roads. He knows what is around the corner, what is past the next town. The road may be potholed; the pavement may be cracked. But He promises that, whatever their appearance, all His roads are steadfast love and faithfulness.

Will you then humble yourself, and travel on His roads?

 

The Boston Marathon Horror: A Response

As I write, one alleged Boston Marathon bomber is dead; the other is on the run. Both, apparently, are Muslim; both have been in the US for more than a decade. The younger brother was an excellent, scholarship-winning student and captain of his high school’s wrestling team. The older brother was a boxer.

These young men grew up in schools and in communities like those around Charlotte. They played sports, they hung out with friends, they worked hard in school.

And then they attempted to commit mass murder.

How should we respond to this shocking tragedy?

Here are four biblical guidelines:

First: We all rightly long for justice. Our God is the moral authority in the universe. He will see to it that all sin are paid for, all wrongs duly punished. Vengeance is not in our hands as individuals (Romans 12:19). Our anger and bitterness and vitriol will not effect justice (James 1:20). In the present age, however, God has provided the government to act as His “servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” (Romans 13:4)

Second: Your prayers matter. In light of government’s heavy responsibility, the Apostle Paul instructs us:

I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

So may we thank God for the hundreds of police who, right now, are tracking down the fugitive – many risking their lives. May we lift up civil servants and political leaders who make decisions about lockdowns and public transport and school closures. May we pray for judges and attorneys should the fugitive be captured and tried. And may this episode end with increased confidence throughout our nation that our authorities will act bravely and professionally to enable us to live peaceful and quiet lives.

Third: Life is fleeting. Lu Lingzi, Martin Richard, and Krystle Campbell woke up this Monday excited to watch friends and loved ones run the Marathon. They had plans for that evening, this weekend, and years into the future. And in a flash, murderers snuffed out their lives.

How long do I have in this world? How long do you? We have no idea. As James tells us:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil (James 4:13-16).

James is not telling us to forget about plans for the future. Rather, we must live knowing that we are dependent, fragile creatures, living and breathing today by the mercy of God. Thus, we should live humbly before the eyes of our all-knowing, all-seeing, all-sovereign Lord, confessing that He knows best, and gladly subjecting ourselves to Him, for His glory.

Finally: Your light matters. The deceased alleged bomber wrote, “I don’t have a single American friend, I don’t understand them.” Note that he came to the US more than ten years ago. Yet Scripture instructs us:

When a foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him.  You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native-born among you. You are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.  (Leviticus 19:33-34)

What might have happened if a follower of Christ had done unto Tamerlan Tsarnaev as he would that others do to him? How might lives have been changed if followers of Christ had been salt and light in this young man’s life?

And what might happen if you and I love the foreigners among us? If you and I reach out to those who have come to study, to those who have come because of war and chaos, to those who have come because of political oppression?

Our response to this tragedy must not be to shrink back into a fear of foreigners. Our Lord calls us to go, to be light and salt – so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, we are heirs of eternal life, entrusted with the message of God’s abundant mercy, to be proclaimed to all. May the horror of Boston compel us all the more to be His ambassadors, His heralds, holding out the word of life with love and compassion to all the peoples God has brought to Charlotte.

 

What Was Purchased on Good Friday

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of dust and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
If I lack’d anything.

‘A guest,’ I answer’d, ‘worthy to be here:’
Love said, ‘You shall be he.’
‘I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,
I cannot look on Thee.’
Love took my hand and smiling did reply,
‘Who made the eyes but I?’

‘Truth, Lord; but I have marr’d them: let my shame
Go where it doth deserve.’
‘And know you not,’ says Love, ‘Who bore the blame?’
‘My dear, then I will serve.’
‘You must sit down,’ says Love, ‘and taste my meat.’
So I did sit and eat.

George Herbert (1593-1633)

They All Left Him and Fled

And they all left him and fled (Mark 14:50).

Jesus fed thousands. So many gathered to hear Him, He had to leave the lakeshore and get in a boat to teach. A multitude welcomed Him to Jerusalem, shouting “Hosanna,” proclaiming Him as the fulfillment of the promise of a coming Son of David.

But now, after a show of force by the authorities, Jesus is alone. “They all left Him and fled.” All abandon Him. Not just the crowds. Not just those who saw miracles. But even those who have spent years at his side. Even those who have shared His bread. Even those He loved to the end. Even Peter, who only hours before proclaimed his faithfulness to Jesus until death. That faithfulness lasts only until a servant girl says she saw him with Jesus.

Only Jesus is faithful until death.

Something in us desires to be the hero. We all are tempted to say with Peter and the other disciples, “Even if I must die with you, I will never deny you” (Mark 14:31).

And whenever we try to be the hero, we fall flat on our faces – months or years later, if not (like Peter) that very day.

Only Jesus is the hero.

The Gospel is not the story of great men who do great deeds for God. The Gospel is not the story of heros of the Christian religion who, through tenacity, boldness, and strength conquer kingdoms and overcome evil. The Gospel is not the story of women of great insight and cleverness who outsmart evil oppressors.

The Gospel is the story of a holy and loving and faithful Trinitarian God: The Gospel is the story of God the Father planning and orchestrating all affairs of this world to display His character, His glory. The Gospel is the story of God the Son leaving His throne to become incarnate as Man, living the life God always intended for mankind, and then suffering and dying on the cross so that He might rise to be the first among many brothers. The Gospel is the story of God the Holy Spirit making alive hell-deserving sinners, opening their eyes to treasure God the Son, and empowering them to accomplish good works by faith for God’s glory.

By faith. That is, by looking away from their own abilities and limitations, by looking away from their strengths and their weaknesses, by looking away from themselves and their organizations, and leaning on God and His power to accomplish His purposes.

The Gospel is the story of man’s dependence and God’s independence, of man’s failures and God’s successes, of man’s moral bankruptcy and God’s moral integrity. The Gospel is about Jesus, not us; He must increase, and we must decrease.

Yet as we decrease in our egotistical self-confidence, something marvelous happens. His increase does not result in our fading into obscurity. As we walk by faith and not by sight, He increases, while we revel in our dependence. As we become poor in spirit and meek, we become heirs of the Kingdom; as we delight in His greatness and our weakness, we become the light of the world and the salt of the earth.

So as we consider over the next several days Jesus’ triumphal entry, His arrest, trial, beatings, and crucifixion, and as we rejoice in His resurrection, remember: The Gospel is all about Him. He is the center. Faith is a looking away from ourselves and what we have to offer. He paid the penalty. He rose from the dead. He is at the right hand of the Father. He always lives to make intercession for us. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower us. The Gospel is all about Him.

We must decrease. Praise God! We are dependent. Praise Jesus! We are children. Praise the Spirit! We are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. Amazing grace! Amazing love!

 

“We Want God!”

What are people longing for?

Consider the attention paid this week to the conclave of cardinals in Vatican City. Roman Catholics, of course, followed events closely. But interest in the selection of a new pope crosses Catholic/Protestant divisions, crosses secular/religious divisions. NPR, the New York Times, and the Washington Post highlighted the news from Rome; the Times of London and the Times of India headlined Pope Francis.

Why such interest?

Peggy Noonan, writing in the Wall Street Journal this week, suggests this interest reflects a longing:

After all the strains and scandals they still came running. A pope was being picked. The smoke came out and the crowd was there in St Peter’s Square. They stood in the darkness, cold and damp, and they waited and cheered and the square filled up. As the cameras panned the crowd there was joy on their faces, and the joy felt like renewal.

People come for many reasons. To show love and loyalty, to be part of something, to see history. But maybe we don’t fully know why they run, or why we turn when the first reports come of white smoke, and put on the TV or the computer. Maybe it comes down to this: “We want God.” Which is what millions of people shouted when John Paul II first went home to Poland. This is something in the human heart, and no strains or scandals will prevail against it.

“We want God.” Yes, and more: “We want to see people who have a real relationship with God. We want to encounter those who are not going through life amassing the greatest number of toys. We want to know that there are those who are neither hypocritical nor power-hungry. We want God – and we want to know those who truly follow Him.”

That longing exists among those around you: in Charlotte, in Concord, in Matthews, in Fort Mill, in Cornelius, in Davidson. That longing exists among your relatives, your friends, your colleagues.

So: When those with such a longing look at you, what do they see?

Do you look like you are pursuing comfort and ease? Do you look like someone who just goes through the motions of some religion to make good contacts and assuage your conscience?

Or do you look like – rather, are you truly – poor in spirit, mourning over sin and its effects, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, and pure in heart?

Jesus says those who follow Him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Again and again He says, “You must not be like the hypocrites.” Rather, those around us are to see our good works, and give glory to our Father – for they see Him in and through us.

This longing – “We want God!” – is all around us. In many it is suppressed and hidden. In some it is on the surface and obvious. In others it may not be present at all. But as our Lord told the Apostle Paul about Corinth: “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people” (Acts 18:9-10).

He has many people in this city also. They have the longing. They don’t know the Savior. They have abandoned what they saw as a hypocritical church; or they have been hurt by overbearing pastors. They have seen that money and success don’t lead to joy; or they have seen that alcohol and drugs destroy their joy. They find their relationships crumbling; or they have spent decades in loneliness and isolation. They have seen the dead end of amusing themselves to death; or they have found that even good health and a big family and close friends don’t ultimately satisfy. From deep within they cry out, “We want God!” – but they don’t know where to find Him. They don’t know how to know Him.

So will you be salt and light? You have the answer! Jesus says the harvest is plentiful. Do you believe it?

Ask those around you about Good Friday, about Easter; ask about the selection of the new pope – if they were interested, and if so, why?  Ask if God were to do a miracle in their life, what would they like it to be? Offer to open up God’s Word in their home. Take the church to them – and see what God does.

Will you be rejected? Surely yes, by some. Will you be mocked, or even reviled? Our Savior says, “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” (Matthew 5:11).

Will you see the longing? Will you witness tears of repentance? Will you be present as God’s Spirit works to bring another into His Kingdom?

Step out. God will work. “We want God!” May they find Him through you.

 

The Compost Pile: An Analogy of Forgiveness and Forbearance in Marriage

[This article was originally written six years ago, when John Piper was preaching the series of sermons that eventually became This Momentary Marriage. The sermon referred to here was revised to become chapter 4 of the book. Beth and I use this document both in preparing couples for marriage, and in helping those who are dealing with marital problems.]

This last Sunday, John Piper continued his series on marriage, discussing forbearance and forgiveness. In conclusion, he relates an analogy he and his wife have found helpful. What follows is an edited transcription of that analogy; I’ll extend it with some additional thoughts afterwards:

The compost pile: Trying to pull together forbearance and forgiveness and all the things we’ve seen – I’m closing with the compost pile. Picture your marriage . . . as a grassy field. You enter it at the beginning full of hope and joy. You look out on the field and you see beautiful flowers and grass stretching and rolling hills and trees. . . . It is beautiful. You want to walk in this all your days. (The grass, the flowers, the hills, the sky, the warm breeze: [these represent] not what happens to you, [but] the relationship. . . . I’m describing the relationship). And on the wedding day, I want this woman, and I want this man, and we want to be together, to walk in the beautiful fields of green grass, and spring flowers, and trees, and hills, and bright sunshine and cool breezes. That’s the way [we think] it’s going to be. But before long, you step in a cow pie. And in some seasons of your marriage they seem to be everywhere: “This is not grass; this is just manure!” Late at night they become especially prevalent. . . . These [cow pies] are sins, flaws, idiosyncrasies, weaknesses, annoying habits in your spouse. And you try to forgive them and you try to forbear.

The problem is, they can tend to dominate the relationship. Everywhere you step, it smells. It may not be true that they’re everywhere; it just feels that way. I think the combination of forbearance and forgiveness leads to the creation of a compost pile. Here at the compost pile, you and your wife or husband begin to shovel cow pies into this pile. And you put a fence around it to hold them in. And you look at each other and you simply admit that there are a lot of cow pies, . . . [saying,] “You and I bring a lot of cow pies to this relationship.” And you say to each other, “You know, we’ve got to do this because [these cow pies are] all we’re thinking about. I mean, we’re looking for them to step in. So let’s get them and throw them in one place. Let’s throw them in a . . . compost pile. Compost can do some good. . . . When we have to, we will go there . . . and we’ll smell it, and we’ll feel bad and we’ll deal with it as best we can. Then, we’ll walk away from the pile . . . and we’ll set our eyes on the rest of field.” [This] is right at the heart of what I’m trying to say. Satan and our flesh can begin to take a few disappointments, a few frustrations, and multiply them so out of proportion that we think there is no green grass anywhere, there are no flowers anywhere, there are no trees, there are no hills, there is no sunshine – which is an absolute lie. And then we say to each other, “We’re going to walk away from that pile and set our eyes on the rest of the field, and we’re going to pick some favorite paths and hills that we know are not strewn with cow pies. And we’re going to be thankful that that part of the field . . . is sweet.” It may be a small part now, but that part is sweet.

Our hands may be dirty. And our backs may ache from all the shoveling. But we know one thing: We will not pitch our tent by the compost pile. . . . We won’t go live there. We won’t retreat there. We won’t lick our wounds there. . . . We will go there when we must. This is the gift of grace that we will give each other again and again and again. . . . Why? Because you and I are chosen and holy and loved.

This is covenant keeping. I recognize that I am a forgiven sinner. And, with eyes wide open, not eyes that are blind to her faults, I recognize that Beth is a forgiven sinner. Furthermore, I recognize that she and I are credited with the righteousness of Christ Himself. And so, having been forgiven much, and living with a forgiven sinner who has  Christ’s righteousness, I promise to pick up all the cow pies that she is responsible for that are strewn over the hills of our marriage, and carry them to the compost pile and leave them there. She promises to do the same.

That’s the promise. And that’s vital in marriage. It’s vital in any intimate Christian relationship.

But then a miracle happens. Have you ever had a compost pile? We keep vegetable scraps under our kitchen sink before carrying them out to the compost pile. And sometimes, if we’re slow to take out the buckets, they can smell putrid by the time we take them out. Even rinsing out the container can be a chore. It stinks! The compost pile smells rotten when you first dump the bucket on it. But if you add some dirt and leaves and mix it and turn it occasionally – after a few weeks, it no longer smells bad. Instead, it smells fresh. Deep. Earthy. And if you then take that compost and spread it over the grassy fields, the grass sucks up the nutrients, and thrives, and becomes deep and thick and luscious and green.

Just so in marriage. The compost created by all the forgiveness and forbearance represented in the pile deepens and enriches the marriage. You now grow wonderful grass in areas where, in the past, the hilltop was barren and bleak. You can now stop and rest – yes, you can enjoy – parts of your shared life that previously were messy and stinking and unapproachable. You can laugh at your former insensitivity and stand amazed at what God’s grace has done in your shared life through His Spirit’s enablement of forgiveness and forbearance. Oh, you will each continue to create cow pies. But your covenant is: “I will take these to the compost pile. And I believe that God will use these too to enrich, and not to make barren, our life.”

Will you make that covenant with your present – or future – spouse? Will you commit to forgiving and forbearing one another – to the glory of God? Will you practice covenant faithfulness?

That is my commitment to you: To model such faithfulness in my marriage, to seek forgiveness quickly when I do not, and to help you to live this out through opening up the Word. May God be pleased within DGCC to make us a people who forbear, who forgive – and who thus make wonderful, nourishing compost to the glory of God.

Will You Pay Attention?

When God speaks, do you listen?

We often plead with God to speak to us, to tell us what we should do, whom we should marry, where we should move. We ask God to guide us and direct us and comfort us and lead us.

Yet do we answer when He calls?

How does He call?

1)      He calls through the evidence of creation around us:

Psalm 19:1-2, 4a  The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. . . . Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

2)      He calls through His Word, His revelation to mankind:

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

2 Peter 1:19  We have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

3)      He calls through His people proclaiming His message:

2 Timothy 4:2a Preach the Word!

Luke 9:60b “As for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Mark 5:19  “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Jesus commands us to answer that call, to obey what we hear:

Luke 9:44 “Let these words sink into your ears.”

Matthew 7:24-27 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Yet time and again we have not paid attention to His Word, instead closing our ears and willfully refusing to hear:

Zechariah 7:11-13  But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.  They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts.  “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts.

Seeing this danger in history, understanding the stain of sin within us, we must be sensitive to the stubbornness and rebellion in our own hearts. So will you pray with me?

Father God, guard my heart from stubbornness, from stopping my ears so I do not hear Your Word. I see those elements of rebellion within me, the desire to go my own way, to forge my own understanding of reality, instead of depending upon You and upon Your revelation. There is within me the longing for independence, for autonomy rather than for being Your child, looking to You for wisdom and understanding. Forgive me for these longings. Time and again You have shown me that true joy and fulfillment come from leaning on You, from depending on You, from acknowledging that I am not wise on my own, that I can do nothing on my own, that I will destroy what I love most and will dishonor the One to whom I owe everything unless I humbly acknowledge my need. So free me from the slavery of Self, and lead me willingly and joyfully in Your paths, for my own good and for the glory of Your Name. Amen.

God Glorified in Man’s Dependence

[This is a summary of Jonathan Edwards’ sermon in Boston July 8, 1731 – his first published work. See the entire sermon – almost five times as long – here. I encourage you to meditate on your dependence on God as the year concludes, and to resolve to live more and more fully in light of that dependence in 2013 – Coty]

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:28-31)

Paul wrote this letter to Greeks, who held human wisdom in high regard. God destroys human wisdom through the Gospel. Even the greatest human wisdom cannot lead to a full knowledge of God; but it pleases God to reveal Himself graciously, so that “no human being might boast.” By this we see:

1)      God’s aim in His plan of redemption: that man should glory not in himself, but in God alone.

2)      How that end is attained: By man’s absolute dependence on God in the work of redemption.

Doctrine

I) There is an absolute and universal dependence of the redeemed on God

The redeemed have all of their good of God, through God, and in God: Of Him, in that He is the cause and origin of all good things; through Him, in that He is the means by which we obtain every good thing; and in Him, in that He Himself is the greatest good. Therefore, the redeemed are entirely dependent upon God for their all.

Consider these in turn:

1)      The redeemed have all good OF God.

  1. God gives us our Redeemer, as Christ is His only Son.
  2. God gives us faith so that we might be in Christ (Ephesians 2:8).
  3. The benefits that come to us in Christ are from God: He is the one who pardons and justifies and cleanses and transforms and sanctifies.
  4. God Himself is the source of the means of grace He uses in our sanctification.
  5. God gives us His Word.
  6. God gives us His ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
  7. God gives us His human ministers, and their success depends entirely and absolutely on Him.

All these are given purely by grace – indeed, by infinitely great grace. For we were completely unworthy of His gift, instead meriting His wrath. And God gave this gift most freely. He could have rejected fallen man, as He did the fallen angels. There was nothing in us to attract Him, and nothing in the saved to distinguish them from the unsaved. We are completely dependent upon Him for holiness, for His favor, for happiness – we would have none of these apart from His free grace.

Furthermore, all of these come from the power of God (Ephesians 1:19). We are dependent on God’s power through every step of our redemption: To convert us, to give us faith in Jesus, and to give us a new nature. For God must create us anew (2 Corinthians 5:17); indeed, He must raise us from the dead (Colossians 2:12-13). Yet this is a more glorious work of power than the first creation or even raising a man from the dead, because the new spiritual life is more glorious – especially in contrast with the depth of corruption to which we fell. God magnifies His power then further in preserving us in His grace (1 Peter 1:5). The redeemed are dependent on God’s power for every exercise of grace, for continually redirecting our hearts, for subduing sin, for producing good works, for becoming Christlike – and ultimately for our new bodies in the new heavens and new earth.

2)       The redeemed have all good THROUGH God.

All the benefits the redeemed receive come through the Mediator, Jesus, who is God Himself. God is both the purchaser and the price of our redemption, for Christ purchased these blessing for us by offering up Himself.

3)      The redeemed have all good IN God. And this holds both for the good that gives them joy, and for the pleasure itself in their souls.

  1. a.      The good that gives the redeemed their highest joy is God Himself. God is the inheritance of the saints, their wealth, treasure, food, life, dwelling-place, crown, honor, and glory. They have none in heaven but God. The beauty of God will forever give joy to the saints, and His love will be their everlasting feast. While the redeemed will enjoy the angels, one another, and the redeemed creation, whatever yields delight in these will be what is seen of God in them.
  2. b.      The joy itself of the redeemed comes from a kind of participation in God. God puts His own beauty upon their souls. They are made partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4), partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). This occurs through the Holy Spirit dwelling in the redeemed. He, acting in, upon, and with the soul, becomes a fountain of true holiness and joy (John 4:14, 7:38-39). By partaking of the Holy Spirit, the redeemed have communion with Christ in His fullness. Indeed, the Spirit of God is the great promise of the Father (Luke 24:49).

All the benefits the redeemed receive come through the Mediator, Jesus, who is God Himself. God is both the purchaser and the price of our redemption, for Christ purchased these blessing for us by offering up Himself.

II) God is glorified in the work of redemption through this great, universal dependence on Him

1)      Through this dependence, man has greater occasion and obligation to acknowledge God’s character. It is easy for us to neglect and ignore those things on which we do not depend, but we of necessity think of and concern ourselves with those things on which we depend.

2)      This dependence demonstrates the greatness of God’s glory compared to the creature’s. The greater that men exalt themselves, so much the less they exalt God. But God’s work of redemption shows that the creature is nothing, and God is all. He is seen to be infinitely above us in strength, wisdom, and holiness. It is this acknowledgment of the difference between us and God that yields God the glory He deserves.

3)      God therefore has our whole souls, and should be the object of our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God and partly on something else, we would divide our respect among God and the other. But now this cannot happen once we understand the nature of redemption: Whatever attracts our respect is seen to be the gift of God, and so our respect unites in Him as the center.

Application

1)      Marvel at God’s wisdom in the work of redemption! God has made man’s ruined state through the Fall an occasion for the advancement of His glory. He does this through our being even more dependent on Him today than Adam and Eve were before the Fall. God lifts us up and exalts us in such a way that we deserve no glory, but He deserves it all. Furthermore, God accomplishes this in such a way that each person of the Trinity is equally glorified in the work, as the redeemed are absolutely dependent on every Person for all.

2)      Any teaching that takes away our absolute dependence upon God attempts to diminish the glory God deserves, and thus to thwart the design of our redemption.

3)      This explains why salvation is by faith. For faith is an acknowledgment of absolute dependence on God for salvation. This is how God glorifies Himself in redemption. Faith declares that man can do nothing, and God does everything, so that He receives all the glory for redemption. To be saved, man must humble himself as a child; he must acknowledge that he is “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). It is the delight of the believing soul to humble itself and to exalt God alone (Psalm 115:1).

4)      Therefore, let us exalt God alone, and ascribe to him all the glory of redemption. Let us have a greater and greater understanding of our great dependence upon God; let us put to death a self-dependent and self-righteous disposition. Man is prone to exalt himself, and to depend on his own power or goodness, thinking happiness will come through his efforts. He is prone to think that happiness will come from objects God withholds or denies. But this doctrine should teach us to exalt God alone – by trust, by reliance, and by praise. So let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.

  1. Do any of you think that you are saved, that your sins are forgiven, that you have God’s favor, that you are God’s child – indeed, that you are an heir of eternal life? Then give God all the glory! He alone makes you different from the worst of men.
  2. Do any of you have much comfort and strong hope of eternal life? Do not let this hope exalt you, but rather reflect on your own unworthiness of such a favor, and so exalt God alone.
  3. Are any of you abundant in good works and holiness? Take no glory of that abundance to yourself, but ascribe it to him who “created [us] in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10).

Man’s Nothing-Perfect and God’s All-Complete

[Robert Browning was a great 19th century British poet. His religious beliefs are not clear – in many of his poems, the voice belongs to someone other than the poet. The following is an excerpt from “Saul” (1845 and 1855). Browning imagines David playing the lyre and singing when “a harmful spirit from God was upon Saul” (1 Samuel 16:23). The voice throughout is David’s. In the first section, David, echoing Isaiah 6, is overwhelmed by seeing the majesty, wisdom and love of God laid bare, and submits himself willingly, lovingly to God. In the second section, David first addresses God, then, in the last four lines, Saul. He expresses confidence that God’s love is greater than his own, and that God will become incarnate in David’s own descendant for the salvation of the ungodly. While Scripture does not give us warrant for thinking that Saul is saved in the end, these lines beautifully express deep biblical truths. You can read the entire poem (more than 4000 words) at this link and a number of others. Thanks to Carla Stout for pointing me to this poem – Coty]

I spoke as I saw:
I report, as a man may of God`s work – all`s love, yet all`s law.
Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me. Each faculty tasked
To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
I but open my eyes, – and perfection, no more and no less,
In the kind I imagined, full-fronts me, and God is seen God
In the star, in the stone, in the flesh, in the soul and the clod.
And thus looking within and around me, I ever renew
(With that stoop of the soul which in bending upraises it too)
The submission of man`s nothing-perfect to God`s all-complete,
As by each new obeisance in spirit, I climb to his feet. . . .

Would I suffer for him that I love? So wouldst thou – so wilt thou!
So shall crown thee the topmost, ineffablest, uttermost crown –
And thy love fill infinitude wholly, nor leave up nor down
One spot for the creature to stand in! It is by no breath,
Turn of eye, wave of hand, that salvation joins issue with death!
As thy Love is discovered almighty, almighty be proved
Thy power, that exists with and for it, of being Beloved!
He who did most, shall bear most; the strongest shall stand the most weak.
`Tis the weakness in strength, that I cry for! my flesh, that I seek
In the Godhead! I seek and I find it. O Saul, it shall be
A Face like my face that receives thee; a Man like to me,
Thou shalt love and be loved by, for ever: a Hand like this hand
Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee! See the Christ stand!