Trials and the Gospel

Perspective in Trials (from Milton Vincent's A Gospel Primer)

The gospel is the one great permanent circumstance in which I live and move; and every hardship in my life is allowed by God only because it serves His gospel purposes in me. When I view my circumstances in this light, I realize that the gospel is not just one piece of good news that fits into my life somewhere among all the bad. I realize instead that the gospel makes genuinely good news out of every other aspect of my life, including my severest trials.[1] The good news about my trials is that God is forcing them to bow to His gospel purposes and do good unto me by improving my character and making me more conformed to Christ’s image.[2]
[1] Rom. 5:1-5
[2] James 1:2-4; Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 12:9,10

Humility and the Gospel

Cultivating Humility

Vincent goes on:

God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatever.[1] This is actually a wonderful mercy of God, for pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the Garden,[2] and pride always precedes every stumbling in my life.[3] Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it.
Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of God, the gravity of my sin, and the crucifixion of God’s Son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell that I deserve.
Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified in me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and others. Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel, and the more humility flourishes in me, the more I experience God’s grace[4] along the strengthening that grace provides.[5]
[1] Ephesians 2:8,9 “…that no one can boast…” 1 Cor. 1:27-29
[2] Gen. 3:4,5
[3] Proverbs 16:18 “Prides goes before destruction…”
[4] James 4:6
[5] Hebrews 13:9

More Unpacking of the Gospel

Here is another section from A Gospel Primer:

A Cure For Distrust

Every time I deliberately disobey a command of God, it is because I am in that moment doubtful as to God’s true intentions in giving me that command. Does He really have my best interests at heart? Or is He withholding something (Gen. 3:1-5)? However, the gospel changes my view of God’s commandments, in that it helps me see the heart of the Person from whom those commandments come. When I begin my train of thoughts with the gospel, I realize that if God loved me enough to sacrifice His Son’s life for me, then He must be guided by that same love when He speaks His commandments to me. The gospel cures my suspicion of God, disposing me to walk more trustingly on the path of obedience to His commands.

Does the Gospel have a bearing on daily life?

I recently attended a workshop called, "The Functional Centrality of the Gospel." The speaker, Mike Bullmore, said this: “One of the greatest challenges of ministry is to help people actually see the connections between the gospel and the thinking and behavior that make up their everyday lives. We know well the centrality of the gospel message but in order for it to have a functional (functioning) centrality it must be clearly, carefully and consistently connected to the real issues – issues of thought and conduct – of people’s lives.” He went to challenge the assumption that people who have heard the gospel stated in church can automatically connect it to the struggles they have. Bullmore calls on preachers to do this work in their own lives and help people learn to do so. I realized that I have often proclaimed the gospel in words, but in my actual struggles with fear and insecurity, the gospel is not functioning. I lean on false saviors like work and accomplishment. No wonder I was not showing people how to make the gospel functionally central. I didn't know. I am now begining to understand. May God keep teaching me so I show others the wonder of the gospel.

Two Recent Finds

My friend Gary sent me these recomendations:

Jerry Bridges’ new book The Bookends of the Christian Life is an outstanding exposition of what it looks like to depend in all areas of our lives on the two great “bookends” of Christ’s imputed righteousness and the power of the Holy Spirit. You may find that this book “opens the eyes of your heart” (Eph. 1:17ff.) to God’s grace in a life-changing way. Read it slowly and prayerfully.

Milton Vincent’s book The Gospel Primer does an amazing job of expounding the implications of the gospel for things like: daily protection from Satan, a cure for distrust, freedom from sin’s power, loving my brothers and sisters, a heart for the lost, cultivating humility, liberation from self-love, obedience motivated by love, perspective in trials, a heart for the poor, generosity, etc. Here is Vincent’s thesis: “The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom), so scandalous (according to my conscience), and so incredible (according to my timid heart), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should. There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemnings of my heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel.”

The "basics" are sometimes the hardest to believe

The quote below is striking to me because I tend to assume people that know about the doctrine of justification actually believe it. But then I realized more clearly that though I know about the doctrine of justification, I have trouble believing it when I am insecure and threatened. I don't thrive on the thought that God has declared me righteous. I wake up feeling He is not pleased.

"Much that we have interpreted as a defect of sanctification in church people is really an outgrowth of their loss of bearing with respect to justification. The importance of this principle cannot be overemphasized. It is a major mistake to think that dead congregations simply need to be more sanctified, when they do not understand the gospel. Christians who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons." (Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life, 212)

Are you a "radically insecure person"? Do you see why?

Personalizing the Psalms

My friend Steve Sutters sent me this:

Here is a medley of psalms concerning joy that I have put in the first person for meditation. (Ps. 32:1,34:5,92:4.40:8,32:11)

Oh what joy since my disobedience is forgiven, my sin is put out of sight. Yes, what joy, for my record has been cleared of guilt. I will seek the Lord for help and will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken my face. You thrill me Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart. So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey Him! Shout for joy all you whose hearts are pure!

Gospel-Based Joy II

Here are some implications of GOSPEL-BASED JOY (see yesterday's post)
1.You can’t live FOR the gospel if you don’t live FROM the gospel. So don’t start with trying to live for the gospel because you feel guilty. But if you are not living FOR the gospel, you surely are not living FROM the gospel Start there. Repent there. Go back to Philippians 3 and change your base of confidence. Cry uncle!
2. If you are living FOR the gospel, your devotion to the work of the gospel is not dependent on the responsiveness of people to your effort or the amount of recognition you get. If you quit or work half-heartedly because of a lack of results or recognition, that shows you were not living for the gospel, but for success and recognition. Here’s something God challenged me on: “are you more thrilled about the idea of church planting about loving individual people freely for Jesus’ sake?”
Yet at the same time, even though you don’t need results to go on, you have an intense desire to see Jesus exalted in the eyes of people. You have a jealously, a zeal for His name.

THE OUTCOME OF GOSPEL-BASED JOY
It is a joy in the Lord. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with circumstances. It can be there amidst suffering. It can be chosen (Philippians 3:1; 4:4)
“There is a joy which is given to those who love you [God] for your own sake, whose joy you yourself are. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to you, of you, for you; this it is, and there is no other.” (Augustine)
Rejoicing in the Lord produces peace and contentment. Why? Because you have it all in your salvation, in the gospel, you have no need to control circumstances. You believe in the goodness of God and the profit of trials. You get liberated from idols.
Rejoicing in the Lord produces love, unity, and friendship. Why? Because you have it all, in your salvation, in the gospel, you are not using or controlling others. You are moved by Jesus’ self-emptying to humility (Phil. 1:7,8; 2:3-8; 4:5)
Rejoicing in the Lord produces spiritual fruit (impact that glorifies God). Why? Because you have it all in the gospel, you don’t use people to be successful and your joy draws people to Jesus Christ. ( Phil. 2:14-26)
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in the first chapter of his book, Spiritual Depression, argued that a lack of joy as the main reason people are not drawn to Christ. The world should be compelled to look at Jesus because of our joy.

You want joy and peace and contentment and all that. But you wonder, “Where do I start?” You need both to live from and live for the gospel, but one of the two likely needs more attention in your life right now. Which do you think it is?
Live from. Are you nourishing yourself on the gospel? Or are you trying to fix yourself?
Live for. Some of you have been living from. But you have not put yourself out into the mix to live for the gospel. Start by praying for this. Pray for guidance and zeal and courage and a big heart. Put aside a little time to be among people who need to hear.

The Danger of Pride in Renewal

One of the most sickening realizations I have had about my sin nature is how effortlessly it takes credit for the work of God and judges other people. Surely if I am being renewed and awakened to a greater appreciation of God's grace, I would be concerned chiefly with own sins and not the sins of others. And if I have been awakened to any degree, it was was not an achievement but a merciful gift from the Lord. So there is no room for boasting or a critical spirit. Here is a warning from Jonathan Edwards, who saw the renewal movement of the 1740's partly discredited by a spirit of pride:

We must expect that the great enemy of this work will especially try his utmost with us; we had need to watch and pray, for we are but little children; this roaring lion is too strong for us, and this old serpent too subtle for us. Humility and self–diffidence and an entire dependence on our Lord Jesus Christ will be our best defense. Let us therefore maintain the strictest watch against spiritual pride, or being lifted up with extraordinary experiences and comforts, and the high favors of heaven that any of us may have received.
We have need to keep a strict and jealous eye upon our own hearts, lest there should arise self–exalting reflections upon what we have received, and high thoughts of ourselves as being now some of the most eminent of saints and peculiar favorites of heaven, and that the secret of the Lord is especially with us. God saw that the apostle Paul (though probably the most eminent saint that ever lived) was not out of danger of it, no, not when he had just been conversing with God in the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:7).
Pride is the worst viper in the heart; it is the first sin that ever entered into the universe, lies lowest of all in the foundation of the whole building of sin, and is the most secret, deceitful, and unsearchable in its ways of working, of any lusts whatever. It is ready to mix with every thing; and nothing is so hateful to God, contrary to the spirit of the gospel, or of so dangerous consequence; and there is no one sin that does so much let in the devil into the hearts of the saints, and expose them to his delusions. (Jonathan Edwards, The Distinguishing Characteristics of a Work of the Spirit of God)

Gospel-Based Joy

I recently went to a retreat for leaders that focused on serving the Lord from joy. It stimulated me to further meditation on Paul's letter to the Philippians.
There is an emphasis in Philippians on joy. And there is an emphasis on the gospel. People tend to pick either joy or the gospel rather than connect joy and the gospel.
Joy is a deep seated happiness, a sense of privilege, wealth, and security—a mindset that is focused on how much you have been given compared to how little you deserve. It is the realization that you have everything in Jesus Christ and you will be able to get through anything with Jesus Christ. This joy is accompanied by contentment and peace rather than complaining and anxiety.
The gospel is a message of salvation, an advancing movement, a cause. Paul uses the term “the gospel” to refer not only the good news of what God has done in Jesus, but it is a way of life in community (1:27). The gospel is not only a message of how to be saved, but how to live from God’s resources how to be set free from every bondage. It is not just how we begin, it is how we go forward The message of the gospel should shape every attitude and activity in the Christian community.
What is the connection between joy and the gospel? Joy is the result of living for the gospel and living from the gospel. Those two things together bring about joy. Paul models both and calls upon them to rejoice the way he does.
Examples of living FOR the gospel: 1:5-8 4:3; In 1:20-25, Paul describes his commitment to suffer for the advancement of gospel (“to exalt Christ in my body by life or by death”). To live for the gospel is something he does just when he is speaking it, but in every way—choices to pray, to say no to self, etc. Living for the gospel includes sharing your faith, but is not limited to that. It is rejoicing together in community that embodies the message (1:27; 2:2). It is humility, the laying aside of selfish demands and self-glory (2:5-7). It is discerning opportunities from God in your circumstances (1:12).
Examples of living FROM the gospel: 1:2 & 4:23; 1:11; 2:13; 4:4,9; 4:19. In chapter 3 Paul shares his story of how he started to live from the gospel and how that led him to live for the gospel. It is a grand description of turning from religious idolatry. It was a grand repentance.
3:1 He rejoices in the Lord (not in circumstances or things He gives you). Before he knew Christ,
his righteousness was a barrier (3:2-6). Self-righteousness, that is. Good things done for self-glory.
When you are not living from the gospel, you living from what Paul calls “confidence in the flesh,” which is a performance identity. And when you don’t rejoice in the Lord, you rejoice in self. Your identity is built on who you are in the eyes of people. You matter if you are respected. The results of your performance makes you OK. You are secure if you are in control.
Is this you Paul is describing? I know it is me. And I don’t mean only before I became a Xian.
After Paul repented, he lived from the gospel with a righteousness that comes from God.. (3:9) Living from the gospel means living by grace, putting confidence in the resources of the gospel, being satisfied in God Himself. When you live from the gospel, there is nothing you must prove, nothing you must defend, nothing you must have, no one you must look down on.

My next post will draw out some implications of from living from and living for the gospel.

Before the Beginning

Today I was studying for a teaching I am doing called "Before the Beginning" (Genesis 1) and was tipped off to this quote by C.S Lewis about the love of the trinity before the beginning:
For in self-giving we touch a rhythm not only of creation but of all being. For the Eternal Word also gives Himself in sacrifice; and that not only on Calvary. For when He was crucified He ‘did that in the wild weather of His outlying provinces which He had done at home in glory and gladness’ from the foundation of the world… And as the Son glorifies the Father, the Father also glorifies the Son… From the highest to the lowest, self exists to be abdicated and, by that abdication, becomes more truly self, to be thereupon yet the more abdicated, and so forever. This is not a… law from which we can escape… What is outside the system of self-giving… is simply and solely Hell… that fierce imprisonment in the self… Self-giving is absolute reality. (The Problem of Pain, 157,158)
We could never be self-giving if the Lord Jesus has not intervened at the cross and brought us into the love of the Trinity. This is was Jesus' prayer:
John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
John 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Bookends

Last week at the Gospel Coalition Conference I received a free book. I put in my stack of stuff, not intending to read it any time soon. Then my friend Gary read it over the weekend and spoke of it enthusiastically.. When Gary suggests something, it is always good. So I read it myself in two days. The book is called The Bookends of the Christian Life, by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington. The two bookends, which stabilize our lives, are the righteousness of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. The book does a great job showing the subtle ways we rely on other things than those two bookends. The authors show that it is not enough that you know the theology of the gospel. You must also preach it to yourself daily. I highly recommend this short work (150 pages)--especially if you are in Christian service.