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!

Keeping the Word Central

(This is an outline and summary of one of the talks I will be giving next week to pastors in India. Thank you for your prayers and financial support for enabling this trip – Coty]

If you are to fulfill the calling to a Gospel ministry, you must keep the Word of God central. You must depend on the Word of God in all that you do.

2 Timothy chapters 2, 3, and 4 bring out this truth in five different ways:

1) God’s Word is not bound!

Paul writes this letter from prison. He is cold. He is abandoned. He is under sentence of death. But Paul knows that though he might be in chains, the Word of God is still effecting change:”I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:9).

If you are to fulfill your calling, if you are to stand before others and speak the Word, you must have this type of confidence. You may be persecuted. Your speaking may be hindered. Your preparation may be cut short. Your sleep and rest may be taken away. You may be (actually: “will be”!) inadequate for the task Indeed, you, like Paul, may be killed. But God’s Word is mighty. God’s word will run and be glorified (2 Thessalonians 3:1). God’s Word will accomplish all that He desires (Isaiah 55:10-11). No one can stand against God’s Word and hinder God’s purposes. You may be bound – but God’s Word will never be bound.

2) God’s Word is able to make you and those you teach wise unto salvation

One of the purposes God will accomplish through His Word is the salvation of those He calls to Himself: Paul writes: “From childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Note carefully: What makes people wise unto salvation? Our programs? Our evangelistic techniques? Our cultural sensitivity? Our effective rhetoric? Our clever arguments?

None of these. God’s Word accomplishes His desires, and God’s Word saves His people.

So what is your role? This leads us to our next point.

3) Think hard about the Word, and pray to understand it.

Paul tells Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). This verse is a great encouragement. I trust you have often found the Bible hard to understand. But Paul tells Timothy, “Sure, this is hard. But God is right there with you to help you understand! So think hard – not because you have the mental capacity on your own to figure out what I mean, but because God works through your diligent study, through your serious thinking, to give you understanding.”

Your role, first, is to study the Word. It must dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16). You must ponder it and pray over it. Like Habakkuk, you must query it and struggle with it, bringing your lack of understanding before the Lord, crying out, “I have to teach this to Your people! So give me understanding so that I might fulfill Your calling on my life.”

4) ALL of Scripture is useful and profitable and sufficient for the ministry

Paul goes on to tell Timothy that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). That is, the entire Bible is God’s precious revelation of Himself, telling us who He is, who we are, how we can be reconciled to Him, how we can fulfill the purpose of our creation, and where the world is heading. We need the Word in order to learn God’s character and God’s path of life. We need God’s Word if we are to reprove those who err in doctrine or practice. We need God’s Word if we are to straighten out those who are deviating from God’s path. We need God’s Word if we are to train others in how to live a life worthy of our calling. The Word alone is sufficient for such training and equipping. So we must depend on it if we are to be faithful stewards of the ministry entrusted to us.

5) Preach the Word!

Paul concludes his exhortations to Timothy with the most solemn command in the entire New Testament:

In the sight of God and Christ Jesus who will certainly judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly charge you: Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and earnestly exhort, with great steadfastness teaching all doctrine. For the time will come when they will not put up with sound doctrine, but will surround themselves with teachers to satisfy their own desires, to scratch their itching ears. They will turn their ears away from the truth, and to myths they will be turned aside. But you, be clear-headed in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of a preacher of the Gospel: that is, fully accomplish your ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-5, own translation).

According to Paul, the man called to a Gospel ministry must above all else fulfill this task: Preach the Word! Preach the Word! And Preach the Word! There is nothing more important, nothing more vital for advancing God’s Kingdom.

Every man called to ministry will be tempted in other directions. Many, as Paul says, will want him to preach something else, something appealing and uplifting. Others will want him to devote much time and energy to other tasks – including many good and important tasks.

But we must keep our heads, knowing what He has called us to. This will require enduring hardship, including having many walk away from us, deserting us – as they deserted Paul. But we must do the work of a preacher of the Gospel; we must fully accomplish the ministry to which GOD has called us. And He is the One who says: Preach the Word.

My brothers, you and I have nothing to say, nothing to offer our people, nothing to offer unbelievers, apart from the Word of God. So keep the Word of God central. Depend on the Word.

And when you look at other pastors, don’t be impressed by degrees. Don’t be impressed by titles. Don’t be impressed by those who have built big churches. Many with important degrees have abandoned their faith in God’s Word. Many with fancy titles have sought their own glory, not God’s. Many with big churches have built them by human methods, not through God’s means. Instead, be impressed with those men who faithfully and fully open up God’s Word. Make them your models. Pray for them, and emulate them. Then: Become such a man yourself. In this way, you will fully accomplish your ministry.

May God be pleased to bring that about in every man gathered here.

Giving and Thanksgiving

I am not an auto mechanic. Indeed, that is an understatement. I know almost nothing about cars.

But I do know one thing about timing belts. That is: When the timing belt breaks, bad things happen.

So last week, when we decided to drive our 1999 Honda Odyssey to Michigan for my oldest son’s wedding this coming weekend, I checked in my records to see when we last changed the timing belt. Answer: 113,000 miles ago. Not wanting bad things to happen during this 1600 mile round trip, we took the van to C & S Auto.

This was a major expenditure by our standards. Now, we know that cars cost money to maintain, and had budgeted an amount for the year. This expenditure would have pushed us a few hundred dollars above budget through the end of May. We basically would have to spend money for car maintenance for June and July in May, and hope that we would not have to pay anything in this budget category for the next two months.

But it had to be done. We certainly were driving to the wedding, and taking the van made the most sense. So I dropped off the car at C & S.

Beth went to pick it up that evening. She gave the manager, Jeff, the credit card – using the card whose cycle had just ended, so the money wouldn’t actually have to come out of our checking account until mid-July.

Jeff said, “There’s no balance. It’s already been paid.”

“Oh! Did Coty pay this morning?”

“No. I can’t say who paid. But someone loves you very much.”

We do not know who paid this bill – Jeff kept his promise. But we thank you. This is “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). For this gift is ultimately both from God and to God. It is God Himself who provides for every need of ours, using others as His agents (Philippians 4:19); and He provides to the glory of His Name (Philippians 4:20).

So we thank our provider God, who “supplies seed to the sower and bread for food,” who we trust

will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way for every expression of sincere concern, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11, own translation)

What are we trusting God to do? That is: What do these verses mean?

The main form of economic production in ancient Israel was agriculture. So seed and bread represent the inputs and the outputs of the nation’s most important economic production process. So Paul is saying that God is the provider of both the inputs and the outputs of production. We could say today, God is the one who provides steel to General Motors and the cars for us to drive.

But the expression “seed to the sower and bread for food” is a quotation from Isaiah 55:10-11, where it refers to God’s Word going out and being productive. It is not referring to the provision of material blessings, but to the provision of spiritual blessings.

So, in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul’s argues in this way: If God provides both the inputs and the outputs even in secular production, surely He will give you the inputs and the outputs of spiritual production – He will give the inputs and outputs of your righteousness. He will give you what you need to become righteous, and He will ensure that they produce that righteousness. So Paul says in verse 11, “You will be enriched in every way for every expression of sincere concern.” That is: He will give you all you need to show sincere concern to others – that is, to love your neighbor as yourself.

So clearly, “you will be enriched in every way” refers in this context to much more than money. Indeed, “the harvest of your righteousness,” the output of your having the righteousness of Christ, refers primarily to spiritual riches – becoming like Christ.

Nevertheless, God can and often does provide us with material blessings. Why does He do this? So that we can produce thanksgiving to Him through exhibiting sincere concern to others materially.  Thus, Randy Alcorn says, “When God provides more money, we often think, This is a blessing. Well, yes, but it would be just as scriptural to think, This is a test.” God has enriched you so that you might show sincere concern to others. Is that how you will use your riches?

So in verses 10 and 11, Paul in effect is saying, “Remember, God is the one who provides both the means to create wealth and all wealth itself. So when you are acting out of obedience to Him, when you are giving yourself first to God, when you are resting on His righteousness, He will provide all you need to become what He intends you to be. He will give you an abundance of Himself – the harvest of your righteousness – so that you might show what He is like to others.”

This is what some of you have done through this gift of a new Odyssey timing belt. And this is what many others of you are doing regularly through offerings to DGCC, through assistance to the needy, through support for missions work, through pouring your lives into international students, and a thousand other ways.

May God continue to give us more of Himself as we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him – and thus may His Name be magnified as we express His sincere concern for those around us.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

What is Worship?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How Can I Approach God?

How can I approach God?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But, my friend: Have you done that today?

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

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

How can we do this?

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

How can I approach God?

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

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

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

God’s Enemy and God’s Delight

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

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

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

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

David’s victory is total:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He is Risen Indeed!

He Is Risen!

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

Paul answers both of these questions in 1 Corinthians 15.

How Do We Know Jesus Rose from the Dead?

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

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

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

Note carefully:

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

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

He is risen indeed.

Why is the Resurrection Important?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He is risen indeed.

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