Friday, October 9, 2009
Who Do You Say That I am? (Part 2)
A Protest
After a probe and a perception, Peter has a protest. When Jesus went on to describe His mission and agenda as Messiah, Peter was startled and revealed his own faulty agenda. Peter recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but he did not recognize his messianic mission, His work.
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." 23But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man." (Matt. 16:21-23)
Jesus revealed that His mission was to go to the cross. Jesus came to die. This Messiah came, “not to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom” (Mark 10:45). Jesus went out of His way to say that this was written in the scriptures, that his death was the plan God, foretold in the scriptures:
And taking the twelve, he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 3And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise." (Luke 18:31-33, ESV)
Peter is scandalized by the idea that Jesus came to die and even tries to correct Him:
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Matt. 16:22-23, ESV)
Peter is protesting the way Jesus is going to love him. “You’re the Messiah and I know what Messiahs do!” He and his Jewish kinsmen wanted a certain kind of Messiah and so do I. They wanted a political deliverer. I have a certain kind of Messiah I want. He tends to be like a therapist who will affirm me in every way. You have a certain kind of Messiah you want, don’t you? You want certain things from a God if you are to follow him. He has to meet your standards. I am just like Peter. You are just like Peter.
Why is the cross so important? Why not just deliver the Jews from their oppressors? Why doesn’t God just help me with my needs? Because the core problem of human beings is sin and estrangement from God.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:19-22, ESV)
According to this passage, the human race is in a hostile battle against the Creator. We are not just lonely victims. We resent God’s intrusion. But God sought to be reconciled to us anyway! He paid the penalty for our sin. It seems like people prefer to avoid looking at the problem of sin. Perhaps you don’t want to face that you need may more than a jump start, more than a little help with your life. Only the “blood of the cross” can help your deep alienation. This is “the gospel.”
As the reality of the gospel breaks in on you more and more as a Christian, as the depth of your sin and need to God’s grace is further revealed, you will be offended and you will, like Peter, protest (consciously or not). Nothing offends me quite so much as being reminded of my helplessness to secure God’s favor by own efforts. The gospel pours contempt on my pride. If you have not felt the gospel’s offense, you have not experienced it’s power.
My protests are revealed when I experience inordinate emotions like chronic worry, fear, and anger. These emotions are intense when God is not working the way I think He ought be working. I find myself actually giving God counsel on how he should run his kingdom. It struck me recently that if God worked the way I want, it would mean he hated me—he would be empowering my god-substitutes. He would be acting toward me like a drug dealer.
A Paradox
Finally then, Jesus directs our protests to His liberating paradox. A paradox is an apparent contradiction—in this case about the notion of freedom:
Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26, ESV)
Jesus is not saying self-denial merits salvation. Only faith in Jesus’ death on your behalf can save. But He is saying that asserting yourself will not free you. Rather, it will enslave you. It is the problem in your life—not the solution. If you recognize Jesus as the Messiah, you will, as he says, “come after Him.”. You will let go of “saving your life.” If you don’t “come after Him,” you evidently don’t RECOGNIZE Him—you don’t trust Him as the Messiah. If you see this a terrible demand on you, you don’t trust the heart of the One this call comes through.
Repentance that really changes you heart and relationship with God begins when you recognize that your main sin, the sin under all the rest of your sins, is your self-salvation project. In both your bad deeds and your good deeds we are seeking to be our own Saviors and Lords. We have alternative trusts and “gods” even though we don’t call them that. We try to prove ourselves by our moral goodness or through achievement or family or career. Even diligent involvement in church or religion may have to repented of once we understand that it was all a way to put God and others in your dept. (Keller, Reason for God, 233)
To “save your life” means to stay in control and use God to further your agenda, to serve the lifeless gods of your own imagination. To “lose your life” means to shift your allegiance, drop your agenda and give yourself to God. If you surrender to the Messiah’s agenda, you will find what you were made for. The following is a wonderful explanation of the beauty of liberation from self-love:
Self-love is mundane and tiresome. Consequently, the more thoroughly I can be done with such tedium, the freer my soul will soar to its God-intended heights.
I fear that if I do not love myself there will no one to love me quite so well. And I am not convinced that there is someone out there who is worthy to be loved more than I. Arrogance lies beneath both of these causes: I love myself supremely because I am the most worthy person I know to be loved and because I think I can do a better job at it than anyone else.
The gospel frees me from the shackles of self-love by addressing both lies. First, the gospel assures me that the love of God is infinitely superior to any love I could ever give myself. And the deeper I go into the gospel, the more I experience the truth of His claim and thereby know how far His love surpasses even my own.
Secondly, the gospel reveals to me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God, and in so doing, it lures my heart away from the love of self and leaves me enthralled by Him instead. And the more lovely He appears, the more self fades into the background like a former love interest who can no longer compete for my affections. (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer for Christians)
I really desire that! That would be freedom indeed!
I want to conclude this chapter with an invitation from Jesus:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 2Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)
These words, spoken by the same Messiah, are saying the same thing as His words about denying self and coming after him. To take his yoke is to come after him as your rightful leader. And that leads to rest. Asserting self will not give you rest—it will multiply your stresses and anxieties. Seeking to “save your life” is very, very tiring.
Jesus secured rest for you at the cross—He lost His life so you could have life. When he was taunted with “save His life and come down from the cross,” He said no. He said no to saving himself because it was the only way to save you—to say yes to you.
Summary
In this chapter we looked at a question Jesus asked that was designed to enable people to recognize him. He began with a probe to the heart, “who do you say that I am?” He granted Peter perception of his messianic identity, but the nature of his work Peter protested. Jesus then called his followers to embrace his freedom paradox. May you respond both honestly and submissively to the probe and be granted perception.
Questions for reflection and discussion
Who do you say Jesus is? Why do you say that?
If you agree with Peter, is it more than intellectual assent?
Do you really want to know God’s answers?
Do you realize that spiritual perception is a gift from God?
How do your protests to Jesus’ work come out?
What do you think about Jesus’ freedom paradox? Does it feel threatening?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Who Do You Say That I am?
I am working on turning the teaching series I did with Gary DeLashmutt ("Questions God Asks") into a book about the ways God searches out our hearts in order to reveal Himself and our true selves. This is how he prepares you for ongoing renewal through the gospel. The following is an except:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:13-18, ESV)
The issue I will focus on in this chapter is recognizing Jesus as He is. Jesus’ question about his identity was to help Peter and the disciples recognize that he was their longed-for Messiah. Over the years, the people of Israel had developed certain expectations about their Messiah that would hinder their ability to see him when he came.
Probably every America has heard of Jesus. Most people recognize the name “Jesus,” and are aware of him as a spiritual icon, but not necessarily as he revealed himself to be. It’s as if Jesus has been culturally recycled like Elvis and Einstein. Jesus has been so redefined that if you saw him on the street you probably would not recognize him.
Did you ever see someone, but not recognize them? Or hear someone, but not recognize their voice? I have. While getting groceries, I’ll see a person, but not recognize them until they approach me. Early in his marriage, my friend called his wife during the day to let her know he thinking about her. She was so astonished by his call (because it was so rare) that she asked, “who is this?” It was a problem of recognition.
Jesus desires that you, like Peter in the passage above, recognize Him. He wants to be recognized so you can know him and be assured of his love for you. However, the process of recognizing Jesus is full of surprises, which in turn reveals your own heart. Peter’s recognition of Jesus in Matthew 16 involved a probe, a perception, a protest, and a paradox. These are also an ongoing pattern for all recognizing of Jesus. Becoming a Christian involves an initial recognition of Jesus, but the process continues as you grow.
A Probe to the Heart
Jesus begins this conversation with a probe--two searching questions, one social, and one personal. The social question is, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The personal is, “Who do you say that I am?” And these two question are relevant for you today—what is society’s view of Jesus? And what is your view of Jesus? And why is that your view? Perhaps you have no opinion about Jesus—perhaps you never gave it much thought. Maybe you have a strong opinion about Jesus. Either way, Jesus wants to engage you personally about your view or lack of view of him.
According to the Bible, your response to Jesus’ question is the most important thing about you and shapes your entire life. This is true of you even if you have decided to trust him as Lord and Savior. Jesus continues to probe people who believe in Him with the same question, “Who do you say that I am?” You may consider yourself a strong believer in the biblical concept of Jesus, yet in actual life, does Jesus function as your Savior? When you are anxious? When you are sad? When you are angry? That is why Jesus probes. He probes to have you consider whether he is your lord and savior in your present trial, or will you look to something or someone else to save you. He probes so you will know the reality of your life and recognize His probe as love.
What led up to Jesus’ question?
When Jesus asked his disciples “who do you say that I am,” he had not just met them. His question was proceeded by several things—a series of “witnesses” who gave testimony. First of all, the Hebrew scriptures, which for the previous fifteen hundred years foretold and foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah, the anointed King and deliverer of Israel and the world. These scriptures showed people how to recognize the Messiah. Secondly, God sent a man named John as a prophet to announce the Messiah’s arrival. Thirdly, Jesus had been making claims to deity and validated those claims with signs and wonders in their presence.[1] Having demonstrated his messianic identity, Jesus called for them to decide: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" "What about you?" "Who do you say I am?"
To the social question (“who do people say that I am?”), the disciples list a range of answers—all which are a variation on, “He is a great man, some kind of messenger from God.” ("Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.") Perhaps you would answer the social question in a similar way: people say Jesus was a pretty cool dude—an enlightened teacher. People seem to like Jesus. They may not know much about His claims, but they seem to have a positive feeling for him.
Realize this: what the disciples saw and heard from Jesus has been preserved by eyewitness testimony and is available to you. Yes, in the documents of the New Testament, in particular, the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Have you ever read any of these accounts? Have you based your view of Jesus on what other people say?
A Perception
To the personal probe, Peter is given spiritual perception. He RECOGNIZES Jesus: “You are the Christ, [Messiah] the Son of the living God." In other words, “you are the promised king—the One that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold and foreshadowed for fifteen hundred years.” You are the One Isaiah called the Prince of peace, mighty God, the One Daniel called the “Son of Man”[2]—the ruler of the world.” You are more than a man—you are God come as man! You are the “Son of the living God”[3] not the man-made gods of religion.
Wow! Peter realized he was face to face with God! Peter’s answer is affirmed by all the New Testament authors:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ… (Col. 2:8,9)
Recognizing Jesus: “Who do you say that I am?”
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:13-18, ESV)
The issue I will focus on in this chapter is recognizing Jesus as He is. Jesus’ question about his identity was to help Peter and the disciples recognize that he was their longed-for Messiah. Over the years, the people of Israel had developed certain expectations about their Messiah that would hinder their ability to see him when he came.
Probably every America has heard of Jesus. Most people recognize the name “Jesus,” and are aware of him as a spiritual icon, but not necessarily as he revealed himself to be. It’s as if Jesus has been culturally recycled like Elvis and Einstein. Jesus has been so redefined that if you saw him on the street you probably would not recognize him.
Did you ever see someone, but not recognize them? Or hear someone, but not recognize their voice? I have. While getting groceries, I’ll see a person, but not recognize them until they approach me. Early in his marriage, my friend called his wife during the day to let her know he thinking about her. She was so astonished by his call (because it was so rare) that she asked, “who is this?” It was a problem of recognition.
Jesus desires that you, like Peter in the passage above, recognize Him. He wants to be recognized so you can know him and be assured of his love for you. However, the process of recognizing Jesus is full of surprises, which in turn reveals your own heart. Peter’s recognition of Jesus in Matthew 16 involved a probe, a perception, a protest, and a paradox. These are also an ongoing pattern for all recognizing of Jesus. Becoming a Christian involves an initial recognition of Jesus, but the process continues as you grow.
A Probe to the Heart
Jesus begins this conversation with a probe--two searching questions, one social, and one personal. The social question is, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The personal is, “Who do you say that I am?” And these two question are relevant for you today—what is society’s view of Jesus? And what is your view of Jesus? And why is that your view? Perhaps you have no opinion about Jesus—perhaps you never gave it much thought. Maybe you have a strong opinion about Jesus. Either way, Jesus wants to engage you personally about your view or lack of view of him.
According to the Bible, your response to Jesus’ question is the most important thing about you and shapes your entire life. This is true of you even if you have decided to trust him as Lord and Savior. Jesus continues to probe people who believe in Him with the same question, “Who do you say that I am?” You may consider yourself a strong believer in the biblical concept of Jesus, yet in actual life, does Jesus function as your Savior? When you are anxious? When you are sad? When you are angry? That is why Jesus probes. He probes to have you consider whether he is your lord and savior in your present trial, or will you look to something or someone else to save you. He probes so you will know the reality of your life and recognize His probe as love.
What led up to Jesus’ question?
When Jesus asked his disciples “who do you say that I am,” he had not just met them. His question was proceeded by several things—a series of “witnesses” who gave testimony. First of all, the Hebrew scriptures, which for the previous fifteen hundred years foretold and foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah, the anointed King and deliverer of Israel and the world. These scriptures showed people how to recognize the Messiah. Secondly, God sent a man named John as a prophet to announce the Messiah’s arrival. Thirdly, Jesus had been making claims to deity and validated those claims with signs and wonders in their presence.[1] Having demonstrated his messianic identity, Jesus called for them to decide: "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" "What about you?" "Who do you say I am?"
To the social question (“who do people say that I am?”), the disciples list a range of answers—all which are a variation on, “He is a great man, some kind of messenger from God.” ("Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.") Perhaps you would answer the social question in a similar way: people say Jesus was a pretty cool dude—an enlightened teacher. People seem to like Jesus. They may not know much about His claims, but they seem to have a positive feeling for him.
Realize this: what the disciples saw and heard from Jesus has been preserved by eyewitness testimony and is available to you. Yes, in the documents of the New Testament, in particular, the books of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Have you ever read any of these accounts? Have you based your view of Jesus on what other people say?
A Perception
To the personal probe, Peter is given spiritual perception. He RECOGNIZES Jesus: “You are the Christ, [Messiah] the Son of the living God." In other words, “you are the promised king—the One that the Hebrew Scriptures foretold and foreshadowed for fifteen hundred years.” You are the One Isaiah called the Prince of peace, mighty God, the One Daniel called the “Son of Man”[2]—the ruler of the world.” You are more than a man—you are God come as man! You are the “Son of the living God”[3] not the man-made gods of religion.
Wow! Peter realized he was face to face with God! Peter’s answer is affirmed by all the New Testament authors:
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and you have been given fullness in Christ… (Col. 2:8,9)
Who do you say Jesus is? Do you recognize Him? You may say “I don’t know. It’s too complicated. I don’t have time to do the research.” If this is your view, you have at least for now decided to avoid the question. Do you see? Isn’t avoiding the issue pretty similar to saying He is not who He said He is? If you are comfortable putting of deciding about Jesus, you must be fairly sure there’s nothing important at stake. If you say He is not the Christ, the Son of the Living God, why do you say that? Because of other people? Are you fine the way you are? Is it possible that you don’t want Jesus to be the Messiah? Do you fear that you would not be in control?
The Perception of Peter was a gift from God
Peter says Jesus is the Messiah, the God-Man. How does Peter come up with that? How does he know? Jesus points out that Peter did not come up with this because he is so smart or because he did such great research
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17)
God enabled Peter to recognize Jesus. God’s Spirit enlightened him and persuaded him. It was not a calculation about what “made sense” to Peter. According to the Bible, you cannot perceive who Jesus is with unaided reason. You can’t size Him up and render a verdict. In fact you can’t because you won’t. You have a bias. You want something. Human beings are spiritually blind and resist seeing. This is brought out by Jesus:
Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19,20)
Why hasn’t God shown me what he showed Peter? Why didn’t He give me a perception? Perhaps you have sought God on this matter, but have received no help. In this regard, the story of the thieves crucified next to Jesus is helpful to consider.[4] One of the thieves looked at Jesus and said, “If you are the One, get us out of here, then we will know.” (Luke. 23:39) In other words, “prove you are the One by solving my problem.” People come with a problem-centered approach to Jesus. They want to know, will Jesus give me the power and support to live the way I want to live? Keller cites four examples of this “problem-centered approach:
1) “I am thinking about Christianity and want to know whether it is true, but I am struggling. I want to be a doctor and I don’t whether I will make it through med-school. Will Jesus help me get through med-school?”
2) “I am struggling because I have a bad marriage and am thinking of getting a divorce. What is the Christian view on divorce? Will I be supported?”
3) “I have a problem with self-esteem. I have a problem with guilt. I have been in a lot of abusive relationships. If I come to Jesus, will he make me feel good about myself?”
4) “I am gay, and I want to know that if when I come to Christianity, will I be supported or will I be condemned?”
Keller goes on:
These are the wrong first questions because you, like the thief, are saying, “I want to know what you are going to do about my life before I give myself to you.” I want to know whether you are the Messiah by the way in which you support me. You are assuming you already know how your life should be lived, who you really are, and how the world ought to go before you know whether He is the One your heart was built for. How can you assume that you know who you are and what you need before you even know if you were created or were an accident? How can you know who you are and what you were made for before you know whether you can communicate with and know the creator of the universe?
If Jesus is who He says He is, then you are someone utterly different than who you think you are now. And if he is not who He says he is, he can’t help you a bit.
One of the reasons why your searching for Jesus has not got any answers, and your are still in confusion, is because your question is not a question, it’s an order. It’s a threat. You are saying to God; “I don’t want to know if you want something different for me.” You are not asking for information, you are giving an order. Yeah, I will have a relationship with you as long as you do what I know needs to be done.
You have to start by saying “Are you the One, The Messiah?” That is where everything starts because before you know that you can’t know anything else. “Are you the one?” It begins there. Once you know that it will change your perspective on everything else. It will change your perspective on marriage, it will change your perspective on sex, it will change your perspective on being a doctor. Everything will be changed.[5]
Jesus wants to reveal himself to you. Do you want to perceive? Have you been ordering God about what he must do to meet your demands?
Peter was given perception by God. But Peter did not grasp the full implications of what he was saying about Jesus. I don’t grasp the full implications either. And neither do you. Jesus desires to expand your level of perception more and more so you recognize Him in ways you don’t right now.
The Perception of Peter was a gift from God
Peter says Jesus is the Messiah, the God-Man. How does Peter come up with that? How does he know? Jesus points out that Peter did not come up with this because he is so smart or because he did such great research
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 16:17)
God enabled Peter to recognize Jesus. God’s Spirit enlightened him and persuaded him. It was not a calculation about what “made sense” to Peter. According to the Bible, you cannot perceive who Jesus is with unaided reason. You can’t size Him up and render a verdict. In fact you can’t because you won’t. You have a bias. You want something. Human beings are spiritually blind and resist seeing. This is brought out by Jesus:
Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19,20)
Why hasn’t God shown me what he showed Peter? Why didn’t He give me a perception? Perhaps you have sought God on this matter, but have received no help. In this regard, the story of the thieves crucified next to Jesus is helpful to consider.[4] One of the thieves looked at Jesus and said, “If you are the One, get us out of here, then we will know.” (Luke. 23:39) In other words, “prove you are the One by solving my problem.” People come with a problem-centered approach to Jesus. They want to know, will Jesus give me the power and support to live the way I want to live? Keller cites four examples of this “problem-centered approach:
1) “I am thinking about Christianity and want to know whether it is true, but I am struggling. I want to be a doctor and I don’t whether I will make it through med-school. Will Jesus help me get through med-school?”
2) “I am struggling because I have a bad marriage and am thinking of getting a divorce. What is the Christian view on divorce? Will I be supported?”
3) “I have a problem with self-esteem. I have a problem with guilt. I have been in a lot of abusive relationships. If I come to Jesus, will he make me feel good about myself?”
4) “I am gay, and I want to know that if when I come to Christianity, will I be supported or will I be condemned?”
Keller goes on:
These are the wrong first questions because you, like the thief, are saying, “I want to know what you are going to do about my life before I give myself to you.” I want to know whether you are the Messiah by the way in which you support me. You are assuming you already know how your life should be lived, who you really are, and how the world ought to go before you know whether He is the One your heart was built for. How can you assume that you know who you are and what you need before you even know if you were created or were an accident? How can you know who you are and what you were made for before you know whether you can communicate with and know the creator of the universe?
If Jesus is who He says He is, then you are someone utterly different than who you think you are now. And if he is not who He says he is, he can’t help you a bit.
One of the reasons why your searching for Jesus has not got any answers, and your are still in confusion, is because your question is not a question, it’s an order. It’s a threat. You are saying to God; “I don’t want to know if you want something different for me.” You are not asking for information, you are giving an order. Yeah, I will have a relationship with you as long as you do what I know needs to be done.
You have to start by saying “Are you the One, The Messiah?” That is where everything starts because before you know that you can’t know anything else. “Are you the one?” It begins there. Once you know that it will change your perspective on everything else. It will change your perspective on marriage, it will change your perspective on sex, it will change your perspective on being a doctor. Everything will be changed.[5]
Jesus wants to reveal himself to you. Do you want to perceive? Have you been ordering God about what he must do to meet your demands?
Peter was given perception by God. But Peter did not grasp the full implications of what he was saying about Jesus. I don’t grasp the full implications either. And neither do you. Jesus desires to expand your level of perception more and more so you recognize Him in ways you don’t right now.
Next time, I will post the content about the protest of Peter and freedom paradox of Jesus.
[1] Mt. 4:23,24; 5:17; 22 “But I say”; 7:24; 8:26,27 He rebukes the wind; 9:1-8; 12:8 Lord of the Sabbath; 14:33 He accepted worship; John 10:30; 14:6).
[2] 13 "In my vision at night…there before me was one like a son of man… 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
[3] The term “living God” is used in antithesis to the pagan gods of idolatry. See Jer. 10: 9,10 “Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple— all made by skilled workers. 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King. 11 "Tell them this: 'These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.' “
Acts 14:15 “We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”
[4] This is developed by Tim Keller in, “Who is the Real Jesus?” http://www.monergism.com/realjesus.html
[5] Keller, “Who is the Real Jesus?”
[1] Mt. 4:23,24; 5:17; 22 “But I say”; 7:24; 8:26,27 He rebukes the wind; 9:1-8; 12:8 Lord of the Sabbath; 14:33 He accepted worship; John 10:30; 14:6).
[2] 13 "In my vision at night…there before me was one like a son of man… 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
[3] The term “living God” is used in antithesis to the pagan gods of idolatry. See Jer. 10: 9,10 “Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. What the craftsman and goldsmith have made is then dressed in blue and purple— all made by skilled workers. 10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King. 11 "Tell them this: 'These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.' “
Acts 14:15 “We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.”
[4] This is developed by Tim Keller in, “Who is the Real Jesus?” http://www.monergism.com/realjesus.html
[5] Keller, “Who is the Real Jesus?”
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Confession, Repentance, & the Gospel
I used to think think that believers who talked a lot about confession of sin and repentance were legalistic. I perhaps some are. But I have come to see that I have suffered from not facing my sin and being cleansed by God's grace on a regular basis. Confession and repentance bring to me not a sin focus, but a gospel focus, and gratitude. I have become aware that some of the Christian leaders that I most respect strongly emphasize ongoing confession and repentance. Consider these quotes:
Francis Schaeffer said that the “present value of Christ’s blood for specific sin” was a critical factor in his spiritual renewal and ongoing effectiveness. This quote focuses on the nature of confession to God: “Let us say now that I have been living (in closeness with God) . . . And then sin reenters . . . The reality of (closeness with God) suddenly slips from me. I look up some morning, some afternoon, some night—and something is gone, something I have known; my quietness and peace are gone . . . Because God still holds me fast I do not have the separation of lostness, but I do have the separation from my Father in the parent-child relationship. And I remember what I had . . . There is a way back, and the basis of it is nothing new to us. The basis is again the blood of Christ . . . The first step in the restoration of the Christian after he has sinned is to admit that what he has done is sin. He must not excuse it; he must not call it by another name; he must not blame it upon somebody else; he must not call it less than sin. (And) he must be sorry for it . . . God the Father’s chastening hand is to cause us to acknowledge that a specific sin is sin; his hand can grow increasingly heavy until we come to acknowledge our sin and stop trying to get out from under it through some fancy terms, blaming it on other people or excusing it in some way. Do we want a restored relationship? We may have it . . . at any moment, but we are not ready until we are willing to call specific sin sin . . . Then I must bring the specific sin under the blood of Jesus Christ, by faith . . . Then my fellowship with God (will be) supernaturally restored. I am cleansed, ready to resume the spiritual life, ready again to be used by the Spirit for warfare . . . And I may come back for cleansing as many times as I need, on this basis.” (Complete Works, Vol. 3, True Spirituality, pp. 291-297).
Norman Grubb was a key missions leader in the middle of the 20th century. He wrote a little booklet called Continuous Revival in the early 1950’s to describe the relationship between ongoing confession/repentance and spiritual renewal. This quote focuses on the importance of confession to one another: “We can liken a man to a house. It has a roof and walls. So also man in his fallen state has a roof on top of his sins between him and God, and he also has walls up, between him and his neighbor. But at salvation, when broken at the Cross, not only does the roof come off through faith in Christ, but the walls fall down flat, and the man's true condition as a sinner saved by grace is confessed before (others). But the trouble soon begins again after conversion, and here lies the basic hindrance to continued revival. Continued revival is continued brokenness, but brokenness is two-way, and that means walls kept down as well as roof off. But man's most deep rooted and subtle sin is the sin of pride: self-esteem and self-respect. Though hardly realizing it . . . we soon let those walls of respectability creep up again between ourselves and our brethren. We don't mind our brethren knowing about successes in our Christian living; they can know if we win a soul, if we lead a class, if we get a prayer answered, if we get good things from the Scriptures, because we too get a little reflected credit out of those things. But where we fail, in those many, many areas of our daily lives — that is a different question! If God has to deal with us over our impatience or temper in the home, over dishonesty in our business, over coldness or other sins, by no means do we easily bear testimony to our brethren of God's faithful and gracious dealings in such areas of failure. Why not? Just because of pride, self-esteem, although we would often more conveniently call it reserve! The fact is we love the praise of men as well as of God, and that is exactly what the Scriptures say stops the flow of confession before men.” (Continual Revival, pp. 15,16)
Jack Miller was a church planter and missions leader in the late 20th century. In his book Repentance, he points out the profound connection between ongoing repentance and evangelistic effectiveness: “Unless (you allow) His Spirit (to) continually search you out, you see your life almost immediately clogged with indifference, self-will, envy, pride, lust, and unbelief. You know that yesterday's love to God can be swiftly washed away by today's fear and worry . . . It can be a struggle even to name your sin before God. You flounder because the name you give your sin often expresses further evasion. You pray: ‘Lord, forgive me for not loving Mrs. X.’ . . . Then . . . Jesus . . . begins to do His sovereign work. Suddenly you realize through the Holy Spirit that you have been trifling. Now you pray differently, with a stricken conscience: ‘Holy Father, I have not loved Mrs. X. But that's only part of my sin. In my heart I have despised her.’ So in your confession to God you fight to . . . give your sin its right name. Then you hand it over to Christ by faith and taste the happiness of guilt forgiven and find the deliverance from hypocrisy which comes through honest confession. What you now know is almost beyond words, but has the feel of clear shining after rain, sunshine after tears. Grace is for sinners, and you have felt grace make a clean sweep of your repentant heart. God loves you where you are, not where you have been pretending to be. There is a natural transition now to start loving other sinners where they are, not where they pretend to be—or where you think they should be . . . You find witnessing power only by going to the throne of grace and coming to Christ to get yourself clean and under the blessing of God. From there you go forth to share what you have received firsthand from the Father. This is the beating heart of Christian witness . . . Confess your sins freely before God and you will have freedom to confess Christ before men.” (Repentance, pp. 116-125)
Francis Schaeffer said that the “present value of Christ’s blood for specific sin” was a critical factor in his spiritual renewal and ongoing effectiveness. This quote focuses on the nature of confession to God: “Let us say now that I have been living (in closeness with God) . . . And then sin reenters . . . The reality of (closeness with God) suddenly slips from me. I look up some morning, some afternoon, some night—and something is gone, something I have known; my quietness and peace are gone . . . Because God still holds me fast I do not have the separation of lostness, but I do have the separation from my Father in the parent-child relationship. And I remember what I had . . . There is a way back, and the basis of it is nothing new to us. The basis is again the blood of Christ . . . The first step in the restoration of the Christian after he has sinned is to admit that what he has done is sin. He must not excuse it; he must not call it by another name; he must not blame it upon somebody else; he must not call it less than sin. (And) he must be sorry for it . . . God the Father’s chastening hand is to cause us to acknowledge that a specific sin is sin; his hand can grow increasingly heavy until we come to acknowledge our sin and stop trying to get out from under it through some fancy terms, blaming it on other people or excusing it in some way. Do we want a restored relationship? We may have it . . . at any moment, but we are not ready until we are willing to call specific sin sin . . . Then I must bring the specific sin under the blood of Jesus Christ, by faith . . . Then my fellowship with God (will be) supernaturally restored. I am cleansed, ready to resume the spiritual life, ready again to be used by the Spirit for warfare . . . And I may come back for cleansing as many times as I need, on this basis.” (Complete Works, Vol. 3, True Spirituality, pp. 291-297).
Norman Grubb was a key missions leader in the middle of the 20th century. He wrote a little booklet called Continuous Revival in the early 1950’s to describe the relationship between ongoing confession/repentance and spiritual renewal. This quote focuses on the importance of confession to one another: “We can liken a man to a house. It has a roof and walls. So also man in his fallen state has a roof on top of his sins between him and God, and he also has walls up, between him and his neighbor. But at salvation, when broken at the Cross, not only does the roof come off through faith in Christ, but the walls fall down flat, and the man's true condition as a sinner saved by grace is confessed before (others). But the trouble soon begins again after conversion, and here lies the basic hindrance to continued revival. Continued revival is continued brokenness, but brokenness is two-way, and that means walls kept down as well as roof off. But man's most deep rooted and subtle sin is the sin of pride: self-esteem and self-respect. Though hardly realizing it . . . we soon let those walls of respectability creep up again between ourselves and our brethren. We don't mind our brethren knowing about successes in our Christian living; they can know if we win a soul, if we lead a class, if we get a prayer answered, if we get good things from the Scriptures, because we too get a little reflected credit out of those things. But where we fail, in those many, many areas of our daily lives — that is a different question! If God has to deal with us over our impatience or temper in the home, over dishonesty in our business, over coldness or other sins, by no means do we easily bear testimony to our brethren of God's faithful and gracious dealings in such areas of failure. Why not? Just because of pride, self-esteem, although we would often more conveniently call it reserve! The fact is we love the praise of men as well as of God, and that is exactly what the Scriptures say stops the flow of confession before men.” (Continual Revival, pp. 15,16)
Jack Miller was a church planter and missions leader in the late 20th century. In his book Repentance, he points out the profound connection between ongoing repentance and evangelistic effectiveness: “Unless (you allow) His Spirit (to) continually search you out, you see your life almost immediately clogged with indifference, self-will, envy, pride, lust, and unbelief. You know that yesterday's love to God can be swiftly washed away by today's fear and worry . . . It can be a struggle even to name your sin before God. You flounder because the name you give your sin often expresses further evasion. You pray: ‘Lord, forgive me for not loving Mrs. X.’ . . . Then . . . Jesus . . . begins to do His sovereign work. Suddenly you realize through the Holy Spirit that you have been trifling. Now you pray differently, with a stricken conscience: ‘Holy Father, I have not loved Mrs. X. But that's only part of my sin. In my heart I have despised her.’ So in your confession to God you fight to . . . give your sin its right name. Then you hand it over to Christ by faith and taste the happiness of guilt forgiven and find the deliverance from hypocrisy which comes through honest confession. What you now know is almost beyond words, but has the feel of clear shining after rain, sunshine after tears. Grace is for sinners, and you have felt grace make a clean sweep of your repentant heart. God loves you where you are, not where you have been pretending to be. There is a natural transition now to start loving other sinners where they are, not where they pretend to be—or where you think they should be . . . You find witnessing power only by going to the throne of grace and coming to Christ to get yourself clean and under the blessing of God. From there you go forth to share what you have received firsthand from the Father. This is the beating heart of Christian witness . . . Confess your sins freely before God and you will have freedom to confess Christ before men.” (Repentance, pp. 116-125)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The Gospel and Sharing the Gospel
Here is the best (and most unsettling) explanation I have ever heard about what is at the heart of sharing your faith:
"And this may be the root of your problem with evangelism: you don’t understand the gospel—for yourself or anyone else! There are many Christians who have never fully grasped how lost in sin they really were, and how low God stooped to save them.
A person who has not heard God’s words of compassion for himself as a lost person can not communicate them to others. If, in your own mind, you have limited your need for the gospel, you will hardly identify with sinners in obvious need of saving grace. You feel removed from them, as you feel removed from the full impact of the gospel. The distance you feel from both the message and those who need to hear it soon disengages you altogether from the enterprise of evangelism.
Apart from a soul hunger for Christ there is no cure for the lukewarmness that forever crouches at the door or the self-satisfied Christian. A daily awareness that we must never stray from Calvary ourselves is the most important element in a God-honoring evangelism. As I experience the gospel as a message of a righteous God’s total forgiveness, and Christ as the magnetic, personal center of my life, evangelizing with a gospel of forgiveness is a natural and inevitable outgrowth. It breaks down my blinding pride; it reminds me of what our God of love has done for me… Having been humbled ourselves by our own present need, we approach the lost person with a new welcoming attitude… We will not be trying to do something alien to us. Personal witness will issue from our delight in God and appreciation of His grace in Jesus Christ. We will be able to receive strangers as friends…" (Jack Miller, Powerful Evangelism for the Powerless, 44, 45)
"And this may be the root of your problem with evangelism: you don’t understand the gospel—for yourself or anyone else! There are many Christians who have never fully grasped how lost in sin they really were, and how low God stooped to save them.
A person who has not heard God’s words of compassion for himself as a lost person can not communicate them to others. If, in your own mind, you have limited your need for the gospel, you will hardly identify with sinners in obvious need of saving grace. You feel removed from them, as you feel removed from the full impact of the gospel. The distance you feel from both the message and those who need to hear it soon disengages you altogether from the enterprise of evangelism.
Apart from a soul hunger for Christ there is no cure for the lukewarmness that forever crouches at the door or the self-satisfied Christian. A daily awareness that we must never stray from Calvary ourselves is the most important element in a God-honoring evangelism. As I experience the gospel as a message of a righteous God’s total forgiveness, and Christ as the magnetic, personal center of my life, evangelizing with a gospel of forgiveness is a natural and inevitable outgrowth. It breaks down my blinding pride; it reminds me of what our God of love has done for me… Having been humbled ourselves by our own present need, we approach the lost person with a new welcoming attitude… We will not be trying to do something alien to us. Personal witness will issue from our delight in God and appreciation of His grace in Jesus Christ. We will be able to receive strangers as friends…" (Jack Miller, Powerful Evangelism for the Powerless, 44, 45)
Anxiety
Hi all. I've been distracted from keeping up the blog lately. Here's a gem I found that helped me a lot with my tendency toward anxiety:
"Faith and presumption look alike because both qualities are characterized by confidence, but faith begins in the recognition and acceptance of our total weakness.... Presumption ... is a reliance on human moral abilities and religious accomplishments.... A mix of presumption and faith produces a personal instability that surfaces in crises and major life transitions.... Presumptive faith must have positive circumstances and feelings of success based on visible accomplishments. So when God wants to reach us, He takes away those favorable circumstances and accomplishments. He hits hard at our false trusts, false righteousnesses, things we get our strength from looking at'... Like the orphan we cry, "I am abandoned" when in fact God's grace is pursuing us ever more intensely .. .[In sum] presumptive self-trust prevails in so many lives. You can detect this attitude in yourself by your response to life when it goes out of control. If you handle it by blaming others, refusing to learn from God, becoming defensive and angry, you have the self-trust of an orphan, not the faith of a son or daughter." (Rose Marie Miller, From Fear to Freedom)
"Faith and presumption look alike because both qualities are characterized by confidence, but faith begins in the recognition and acceptance of our total weakness.... Presumption ... is a reliance on human moral abilities and religious accomplishments.... A mix of presumption and faith produces a personal instability that surfaces in crises and major life transitions.... Presumptive faith must have positive circumstances and feelings of success based on visible accomplishments. So when God wants to reach us, He takes away those favorable circumstances and accomplishments. He hits hard at our false trusts, false righteousnesses, things we get our strength from looking at'... Like the orphan we cry, "I am abandoned" when in fact God's grace is pursuing us ever more intensely .. .[In sum] presumptive self-trust prevails in so many lives. You can detect this attitude in yourself by your response to life when it goes out of control. If you handle it by blaming others, refusing to learn from God, becoming defensive and angry, you have the self-trust of an orphan, not the faith of a son or daughter." (Rose Marie Miller, From Fear to Freedom)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
God's Love: Better than Unconditional
David Powlison argues that God's love is cheapened and distorted by expressing it in the secular language of "unconditional." And because of that, people are not as free as they could by by the power of the gospel. Here are some of his thoughts:
The Lord watches you. The Lord cares. What His children do and what happens to them matters to him. His watching, caring, and concern are intense. Complex. Specific. Personal. Unconditional love isn’t nearly so good or compelling. In comparison, it is detached, general, impersonal. God’s love is much better than unconditional.
God’s love is active. He’s involved. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as He intrudes into your life.
God’s love is full of blood, sweat, tears, and cries. He suffered for you. He fights for you and he fights with you, pursuing you in powerful tenderness so he can change you. He’s jealous, not detached.
His sort of empathy and sympathy speaks out, with words of truth to set you free from sin and misery. He will discipline you as proof that He loves you. God Himself comes to live in you, pouring out His Spirit in your heart, putting out power and energy, so you will know Him.
God’s love has hate in it too: hatred for evil, whether done to you or done by you. God’s love demands that you respond to it: by believing, trusting, obeying, giving thanks with a joyful heart, working out your salvation with fear and trembling, delighting in Him.
Like Aslan, the Lord’s love for his children is no tame love. It is not characterized by calm detachment or a determination not impose His values on you. His love is good in a way that is vigorous and complex.
Unconditional love feels safe, but the problem is that there is no power to it. When we ascribe unconditional love to God, we substitute a teddy bear for the King of the universe.
What words will do to describe the love of God that spectacularly accepting, yet opinionated, choosy, and intrusive? What words will do to describe the love of God that takes me just as I am but makes me over? That accepts people but has a lifelong agenda for change? The term unconditional love seems flabby and weak in the face of God’s powerful, purposeful love.
(David Powlison, from With New Eyes)
The Lord watches you. The Lord cares. What His children do and what happens to them matters to him. His watching, caring, and concern are intense. Complex. Specific. Personal. Unconditional love isn’t nearly so good or compelling. In comparison, it is detached, general, impersonal. God’s love is much better than unconditional.
God’s love is active. He’s involved. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as He intrudes into your life.
God’s love is full of blood, sweat, tears, and cries. He suffered for you. He fights for you and he fights with you, pursuing you in powerful tenderness so he can change you. He’s jealous, not detached.
His sort of empathy and sympathy speaks out, with words of truth to set you free from sin and misery. He will discipline you as proof that He loves you. God Himself comes to live in you, pouring out His Spirit in your heart, putting out power and energy, so you will know Him.
God’s love has hate in it too: hatred for evil, whether done to you or done by you. God’s love demands that you respond to it: by believing, trusting, obeying, giving thanks with a joyful heart, working out your salvation with fear and trembling, delighting in Him.
Like Aslan, the Lord’s love for his children is no tame love. It is not characterized by calm detachment or a determination not impose His values on you. His love is good in a way that is vigorous and complex.
Unconditional love feels safe, but the problem is that there is no power to it. When we ascribe unconditional love to God, we substitute a teddy bear for the King of the universe.
What words will do to describe the love of God that spectacularly accepting, yet opinionated, choosy, and intrusive? What words will do to describe the love of God that takes me just as I am but makes me over? That accepts people but has a lifelong agenda for change? The term unconditional love seems flabby and weak in the face of God’s powerful, purposeful love.
(David Powlison, from With New Eyes)
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Luther again on faith-produced works
“When we have thus taught faith in Christ, then do we teach also good works. Because you have laid hold upon Christ by faith, through whom you are made righteous, begin now to work well. Love God and your neighbor. Call upon God, give thanks to him, praise him, confess him. Do good to your neighbor and serve him: fulfill your office. These are good works, indeed, which flow out of this faith and this cheerfulness conceived in the heart, namely that we have remission of sins freely by Christ.Now whatever cross or affliction afterwards ensue, they are easily borne, and cheerfully suffered. For the yoke that Christ lays upon us is sweet, and his burden is light (Matt. 11:30). When sin is pardoned, and the conscience delivered from the burden and sting of sin, then may a Christian bear all things easily: because he feels all things within sweet and comfortable, therefore he does and suffers all things willingly. But when a man walks in his own righteousness, whatever he does is grievous and tedious to him, because he does it unwillingly.”[1]
[1] Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, cited in John Dillenberger, Martin Luther, pp. 111,112.
[1] Martin Luther, A Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, cited in John Dillenberger, Martin Luther, pp. 111,112.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Boldness in Grace
This is from a book I have referred to a number of times:
Preaching the gospel to myself each day nourishes within me a holy brazenness to believe what God says, enjoy what He offers, and do what He commands. By the grace of God I am what I am and I have what I have, and I hereby resolve not to let any portion of grace prove vain in me! And to the degree that I fail to live up to this resolve, I will boldly take for myself the forgiveness that God says is mine and continue walking in His grace. This is my manifesto, my daily resolve, and my God be glorified by the confidence that I place in Him.
Understanding that I am not the ultimate end of gospel, but rather that God’s glory is, actually enables me to embrace my salvation more boldly that I would otherwise dare to do. For example, when my timid heart questions why God would want to love someone as sinful as I, I read the answer, “to the praise of the glory of His grace” [Eph. 1:6,12,14]. I figure, then, that my unworthiness must actually be useful to God, because it magnifies the degree to which His grace might be glorified as He lavishes His saving kindness on me.
Indeed, the more I embrace and experience the gospel, the more I delight in the worship of God, the more expressive my joy in Him becomes, and the more I yearn to glorify Him in all I say and do. (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 52, 54)
Preaching the gospel to myself each day nourishes within me a holy brazenness to believe what God says, enjoy what He offers, and do what He commands. By the grace of God I am what I am and I have what I have, and I hereby resolve not to let any portion of grace prove vain in me! And to the degree that I fail to live up to this resolve, I will boldly take for myself the forgiveness that God says is mine and continue walking in His grace. This is my manifesto, my daily resolve, and my God be glorified by the confidence that I place in Him.
Understanding that I am not the ultimate end of gospel, but rather that God’s glory is, actually enables me to embrace my salvation more boldly that I would otherwise dare to do. For example, when my timid heart questions why God would want to love someone as sinful as I, I read the answer, “to the praise of the glory of His grace” [Eph. 1:6,12,14]. I figure, then, that my unworthiness must actually be useful to God, because it magnifies the degree to which His grace might be glorified as He lavishes His saving kindness on me.
Indeed, the more I embrace and experience the gospel, the more I delight in the worship of God, the more expressive my joy in Him becomes, and the more I yearn to glorify Him in all I say and do. (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer, 52, 54)
Bookends Experience
I was reading and discussing Jerry Bridges book Bookends of the Christian life with a couple of friends last weekend. As we read and confessed that we all were in the crosshairs of Bridges' description of self-righteousness, one of the guys who had read the chapter earlier that week said, "I feel like I never read this book until now." He had read it, but it was not until we read outloud and confessed sin togther that he was gripped how much he really needed the gospel. It reminded me too of how we learn: in community with honest and vulnerable friendships.
Faith that produces works
This is Luther on how saving faith produces works:
"Faith is a divine work in us. It changes us and makes us born anew. It is a busy, active, mighty thing, this faith; and so it is impossible for it to not do good works incessantly. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace… This confidence in God’s grace makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and all His creatures; and this is the work of the Holy Spirit in faith. Hence a man is ready and glad to, without compulsion, do good to everyone, to serve everyone, to suffer anything, in love and praise to God, who has shown him this grace; and thus it is impossible to separate works from faith, quite as it is impossible to separate heat and light [from] fires." (Martin Luther, Introduction to his commentary on Romans, xvii)
When we see a lack of works of service, or lack of desire for works, we should never simply go directly to works and activity. We should, like Luther, go back to the gospel and see if we are living in it, believing it today from the heart. We repent first for unbelief, not laziness.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Question is Changed
Through the death & resurrection of Jesus, His question to the rich young ruler, “Why do you call me good?”( Luke 18:19) gets turned upside down. It is the believer saying in astonishment and wonder to God, “Why do you call me good?” And that brings humble gladness where there was sadness and smugness.
Jesus was willing to called bad so you could be called good. He was slandered with a bad report so you could have an absolutely good résumé. If you have put your trust in Jesus’ goodness rather than your own, you are astonished because you know there is nothing in you that would make God call you good. And yet, He calls you good.
By having the perfect goodness of God credited to you through Jesus Christ, it is though God has thoroughly scrutinized you and given you full approval and delights in you. If you renounce your own incomplete and questionably motivated goodness as having any merit and put your trust in Jesus’ total goodness, God pronounces you good—not just forgiven, but scrutinized and approved of, and delighted in. That is what Jesus meant in Luke 18:14 by "justified" and "exalted."
Jesus was willing to called bad so you could be called good. He was slandered with a bad report so you could have an absolutely good résumé. If you have put your trust in Jesus’ goodness rather than your own, you are astonished because you know there is nothing in you that would make God call you good. And yet, He calls you good.
By having the perfect goodness of God credited to you through Jesus Christ, it is though God has thoroughly scrutinized you and given you full approval and delights in you. If you renounce your own incomplete and questionably motivated goodness as having any merit and put your trust in Jesus’ total goodness, God pronounces you good—not just forgiven, but scrutinized and approved of, and delighted in. That is what Jesus meant in Luke 18:14 by "justified" and "exalted."
A Glorious Moment
I was stuck by this view of repentance:
"We see our first repentance and surrender to Christ as a glorious moment. But in talking to many believers, I get the impression that most of us consider the on-going repentance of the saved as a not-so-glorious experience. A sort of sad necessity.
We must not play down the seriousness of sin in the life of a believer. But we must come to terms with the fact that God’s grace is GREATER THAN ALL OUR SINS. Repentance is one of the Christian’s highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Any moment in our lives when we bask in God’s mercy and grace is our highest moment. Higher than when we feel smug in our decent performance and cannot think of anything we need to confess.
Whenever we fail, and fail we will, the Spirit of God will work on us and bring us to the foot of the cross where Jesus carried our failures. That is potentially a glorious moment. For we could at that moment accept God’s abundant mercy and grace and go forth with nothing to boast of except Christ Himself, or else we could struggle with our shame, focusing on that as well as our track record." (Muta Mahiaini, in Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace, 27, 28)
"We see our first repentance and surrender to Christ as a glorious moment. But in talking to many believers, I get the impression that most of us consider the on-going repentance of the saved as a not-so-glorious experience. A sort of sad necessity.
We must not play down the seriousness of sin in the life of a believer. But we must come to terms with the fact that God’s grace is GREATER THAN ALL OUR SINS. Repentance is one of the Christian’s highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Any moment in our lives when we bask in God’s mercy and grace is our highest moment. Higher than when we feel smug in our decent performance and cannot think of anything we need to confess.
Whenever we fail, and fail we will, the Spirit of God will work on us and bring us to the foot of the cross where Jesus carried our failures. That is potentially a glorious moment. For we could at that moment accept God’s abundant mercy and grace and go forth with nothing to boast of except Christ Himself, or else we could struggle with our shame, focusing on that as well as our track record." (Muta Mahiaini, in Jerry Bridges, The Discipline of Grace, 27, 28)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Blood That Speaks Better
Here are some thoughts I had when teaching in Cain and Abel. In Hebrews 12 :22-24, the author declares, "But you have come… to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."
Abel’s blood cries out against Cain and injustice. Jesus' blood “speaks a better word” because it cries out on behalf of unjust people--you and me. Now the justice is not against us, but for us(Rom. 8:31).
Do you know what happens when you realize the blood of Jesus cries out on your behalf? The blood of Jesus changes Cain-like, “elderbrotherish” anger. It drives it out because it changes how you view what you are owed, and what think you deserve.You realize what you are owed is judgment—for your wrong deed and for the reasons you do the right things. You realize there is an outcry against you and you deserve the righteous wrath of God. You received mercy instead! You are loved!
Anger still wells up. But now you know why. And you learn to repent of self-righteous pride and your joy returns. More and more, you lose the anger of Cain, you become sweeter. You sense the privilege of being accepted. You see your life, no matter what you are going through as a gracious gift. You stop trying to justify yourself and tear down others down.You throw away your time sheet that says God owes you. You are no longer a grumpy Cain, but a sweet Abel.
Abel’s blood cries out against Cain and injustice. Jesus' blood “speaks a better word” because it cries out on behalf of unjust people--you and me. Now the justice is not against us, but for us(Rom. 8:31).
Do you know what happens when you realize the blood of Jesus cries out on your behalf? The blood of Jesus changes Cain-like, “elderbrotherish” anger. It drives it out because it changes how you view what you are owed, and what think you deserve.You realize what you are owed is judgment—for your wrong deed and for the reasons you do the right things. You realize there is an outcry against you and you deserve the righteous wrath of God. You received mercy instead! You are loved!
Anger still wells up. But now you know why. And you learn to repent of self-righteous pride and your joy returns. More and more, you lose the anger of Cain, you become sweeter. You sense the privilege of being accepted. You see your life, no matter what you are going through as a gracious gift. You stop trying to justify yourself and tear down others down.You throw away your time sheet that says God owes you. You are no longer a grumpy Cain, but a sweet Abel.
Spiritual Sight
"When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 93)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Relational Gospel Implications
Here are two more from Milton Vincent's A Gospel Primer:
Loving My Brothers and Sisters
The more I experience the gospel, the more there develops in me a yearning affection for my fellow Christians who are participating in the glories of the gospel. This affection for them comes loaded with confidence in their continued spiritual growth and ultimate glorification, and it becomes my pleasure to express to them this loving confidence regarding the ongoing work of God in their lives.[1]
With the gospel proving itself to be such a boon in my own life, I realize that the greatest gift I can give my fellow Christians is the gospel itself. Indeed, I love my fellow Christians not simply because of the gospel, but I love them best when I love them with the gospel![2] And I do this not merely by speaking gospel words to them, but also by living before them and generously relating to them in a gospel manner.
A Heart for the Lost
What effect do the gospel meditations of Romans 5-8 have on Paul? What emotions do they produce in him besides the obvious joy he feels while reciting them? Paul bares his soul at the beginning of chapter 9: “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.. for the sake of my kinsmen….”[3] Coming down from the heights of gospel meditation, Paul’s heart is devastated by a burden for his fellow Jews to experience the saving power of the gospel… Over time, my joy in the gospel will become increasingly tinged with grief, and the grief-stained joy will lend a God-inspired passion to my ministry to the lost.
[1] Phil. 1:3-7
[2] 1 Thess. 2:8
[3] Romans 8:35-39; 9:1-4
Loving My Brothers and Sisters
The more I experience the gospel, the more there develops in me a yearning affection for my fellow Christians who are participating in the glories of the gospel. This affection for them comes loaded with confidence in their continued spiritual growth and ultimate glorification, and it becomes my pleasure to express to them this loving confidence regarding the ongoing work of God in their lives.[1]
With the gospel proving itself to be such a boon in my own life, I realize that the greatest gift I can give my fellow Christians is the gospel itself. Indeed, I love my fellow Christians not simply because of the gospel, but I love them best when I love them with the gospel![2] And I do this not merely by speaking gospel words to them, but also by living before them and generously relating to them in a gospel manner.
A Heart for the Lost
What effect do the gospel meditations of Romans 5-8 have on Paul? What emotions do they produce in him besides the obvious joy he feels while reciting them? Paul bares his soul at the beginning of chapter 9: “I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.. for the sake of my kinsmen….”[3] Coming down from the heights of gospel meditation, Paul’s heart is devastated by a burden for his fellow Jews to experience the saving power of the gospel… Over time, my joy in the gospel will become increasingly tinged with grief, and the grief-stained joy will lend a God-inspired passion to my ministry to the lost.
[1] Phil. 1:3-7
[2] 1 Thess. 2:8
[3] Romans 8:35-39; 9:1-4
How Needing the Gospel Leads to Sharing the Gospel
I have been moved by how Jack Miller connected living under the gospel with our motivation and courage to share the gospel:
And this may be the root of your problem with evangelism: you don’t understand the gospel—for yourself or anyone else! There are many Christians who have never fully grasped how lost in sin they really were, and how low God stooped to save them.
A person who has not heard God’s words of compassion for himself as a lost person can not communicate them to others. If, in your own mind, you have limited your need for the gospel, you will hardly identify with sinners in obvious need of saving grace. You feel removed from them, as you feel removed from the full impact of the gospel. The distance you feel from both the message and those who need to hear it soon disengages you from altogether from the enterprise of evangelism.
Apart from a soul hunger for Christ there is cure for the lukewarmness that forever crouches at the door or the self-satisfied Christian. A daily awareness that we must never stray from Calvary ourselves is the most important element in a God-honoring evangelism. As I experience the gospel as a message of a righteous God’s total forgiveness, and Christ as the magnetic, personal center of my life, evangelizing with a gospel of forgiveness is a natural and inevitable outgrowth. It breaks down my blinding pride; it reminds me of what our God of love has done for me… Having been humbled ourselves by our own present need, we approach the lost person with a new welcoming attitude… We will not be trying to do something alien to us. Personal witness will issue from our delight in God and appreciation of His grace in Jesus Christ. We will be able to receive strangers as friends… (Jack Miller, Powerful Evangelism for the Powerless, 44, 45)
And this may be the root of your problem with evangelism: you don’t understand the gospel—for yourself or anyone else! There are many Christians who have never fully grasped how lost in sin they really were, and how low God stooped to save them.
A person who has not heard God’s words of compassion for himself as a lost person can not communicate them to others. If, in your own mind, you have limited your need for the gospel, you will hardly identify with sinners in obvious need of saving grace. You feel removed from them, as you feel removed from the full impact of the gospel. The distance you feel from both the message and those who need to hear it soon disengages you from altogether from the enterprise of evangelism.
Apart from a soul hunger for Christ there is cure for the lukewarmness that forever crouches at the door or the self-satisfied Christian. A daily awareness that we must never stray from Calvary ourselves is the most important element in a God-honoring evangelism. As I experience the gospel as a message of a righteous God’s total forgiveness, and Christ as the magnetic, personal center of my life, evangelizing with a gospel of forgiveness is a natural and inevitable outgrowth. It breaks down my blinding pride; it reminds me of what our God of love has done for me… Having been humbled ourselves by our own present need, we approach the lost person with a new welcoming attitude… We will not be trying to do something alien to us. Personal witness will issue from our delight in God and appreciation of His grace in Jesus Christ. We will be able to receive strangers as friends… (Jack Miller, Powerful Evangelism for the Powerless, 44, 45)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
An Exciting Example of Spiritual Renewal
This is narrative (in Tim Keller's Prayer Study Guide) I read about a spiritual renewal movement in Korea:
In 1903 in the city of Wonsan, there was a Canadian missionary, R. A. Hardie, who was studying prayer. He came upon Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” He was deeply convicted that his missionary work had been motivated by a desire to prove himself to others and God; that he had not based it on grace, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.. He gave this testimony to a Korean congregation, publicly repenting of his pride, hardness of heart, and lack of faith in Christ. This was electrifying in a largely Confucian culture where losing face was considered unthinkable. The people began to repent, pray, and seek the Holy Spirit in their midst. Awakening spread in and around the region of Wonsan and the churches began to grow.
At a Bible conference meeting on January 17, 1907 in the city of Pyongyang, a huge crowd gathered. The preacher concluded the sermon and called for prayer, encouraging them to pray aloud. The whole audience began to pray out loud and in unison. Suddenly they burst into a roar of prayer as people were feeling a strong urge to prayer. William Blair, a Presbyterian missionary, was present and later described the scene:
“The whole audience would break out into audible prayer, and the effect of that audience of hundreds of men praying together in audible prayer was something indescribable. Again, after another confession, they would break out into uncontrollable weeping and we would all weep together. We couldn't’t help it. And so the meeting went on until 2 a.m., with confession and weeping and praying. …We had prayed to God for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon the people and it had come.
William Blair says that after the week was over:
All through the city people were going from house to house, confessing wrongs, returning stolen property, not only to Christians but to heathens. A Chinese merchant was astounded to have a Christian walk in and pay him a large sum of money he had obtained unjustly years before. The whole city was stirred.
Harvie Conn, a missionary to Korea for many years, writes that
Confucianism made an idol out of hierarchical authority and was therefore deeply self-righteous. This led to the belief that no one of any real stature should repent. It represented a loss of face. But the gospel brought about a power encounter with the self-righteousness of the Confucian world-view at the heart of Korean culture. A new concept of humility and greatness in the gospel brought about an enormous shift in the lives of converts. In the revival, males especially, who had next to no ability to deal with shame and failure, experienced the love of God in the gospel through the Holy Spirit. It freed them to admit their flaws.
In 1903 in the city of Wonsan, there was a Canadian missionary, R. A. Hardie, who was studying prayer. He came upon Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” He was deeply convicted that his missionary work had been motivated by a desire to prove himself to others and God; that he had not based it on grace, prayer, and the Holy Spirit.. He gave this testimony to a Korean congregation, publicly repenting of his pride, hardness of heart, and lack of faith in Christ. This was electrifying in a largely Confucian culture where losing face was considered unthinkable. The people began to repent, pray, and seek the Holy Spirit in their midst. Awakening spread in and around the region of Wonsan and the churches began to grow.
At a Bible conference meeting on January 17, 1907 in the city of Pyongyang, a huge crowd gathered. The preacher concluded the sermon and called for prayer, encouraging them to pray aloud. The whole audience began to pray out loud and in unison. Suddenly they burst into a roar of prayer as people were feeling a strong urge to prayer. William Blair, a Presbyterian missionary, was present and later described the scene:
“The whole audience would break out into audible prayer, and the effect of that audience of hundreds of men praying together in audible prayer was something indescribable. Again, after another confession, they would break out into uncontrollable weeping and we would all weep together. We couldn't’t help it. And so the meeting went on until 2 a.m., with confession and weeping and praying. …We had prayed to God for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit upon the people and it had come.
William Blair says that after the week was over:
All through the city people were going from house to house, confessing wrongs, returning stolen property, not only to Christians but to heathens. A Chinese merchant was astounded to have a Christian walk in and pay him a large sum of money he had obtained unjustly years before. The whole city was stirred.
Harvie Conn, a missionary to Korea for many years, writes that
Confucianism made an idol out of hierarchical authority and was therefore deeply self-righteous. This led to the belief that no one of any real stature should repent. It represented a loss of face. But the gospel brought about a power encounter with the self-righteousness of the Confucian world-view at the heart of Korean culture. A new concept of humility and greatness in the gospel brought about an enormous shift in the lives of converts. In the revival, males especially, who had next to no ability to deal with shame and failure, experienced the love of God in the gospel through the Holy Spirit. It freed them to admit their flaws.
Flattery verses Divine Love
This is a poem I wrote about moving from a god of the imagination to the Living God:
The thought of Your love flatters me like a commercial
When I think You are like me,
And leaves me where I am.
The taste of Your love as you reveal it
awes me like the aurora, when I see your incomparable and lavish mercy on the cross,and draws me out of myself.
There is no moral magnet in me
that attracts your love,
It all resides in You and is given not as a wage due.
Your love is a relentless pursuit of a rebel,
And feels like a kind of death as it subdues,
And yet never am I more alive and free t
han as your yoked servant.
The thought of Your love flatters me like a commercial
When I think You are like me,
And leaves me where I am.
The taste of Your love as you reveal it
awes me like the aurora, when I see your incomparable and lavish mercy on the cross,and draws me out of myself.
There is no moral magnet in me
that attracts your love,
It all resides in You and is given not as a wage due.
Your love is a relentless pursuit of a rebel,
And feels like a kind of death as it subdues,
And yet never am I more alive and free t
han as your yoked servant.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Liberation from Self-Love
Here is more Vincent:
Compared to greater endeavors, self-love is mundane and tiresome. Consequently, the more thoroughly I can be done with such tedium, the freer my soul will soar to its God-intended heights.
One of the leading causes of my natural tendency to self-love is fear. I fear that if I do not love myself there will no one to love me quite so well. An even more significant cause of self-love is a lack of persuasion that there is someone out there who is worthy to be loved more than I. Arrogance lies beneath both of these causes: I love myself supremely because I am the most worthy person I know to be loved and because I think I can do a better job at it than anyone else. Such arrogance makes me dangerous, yet it is deeply ingrained in my flesh.
Thankfully, the gospel frees me from the shackles of self-love by addressing both of these causes. First, the gospel assures me that the love of God is infinitely superior to any love I could ever give myself.[1] And the deeper I go into the gospel, the more I experience the truth of His claim and thereby know how far His love surpasses even my own.[2] His astonishing love for me frees me up to move on to causes far greater than myself.[3]
Secondly, the gospel reveals to me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God,[4] and in so doing, it lures my heart away from the love of self and leaves me enthralled by Him instead. The more I behold God’s glory in the gospel, the more lovely He appears to me. And the more lovely He appears, the more self fades into the background like a former love interest who can no longer compete for my affections.[5] (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer)
[1] John 15:13
[2] Rom. 8:32
[3] 2 Cor. 5:14
[4] 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:11
[5] Phil. 3:7,8
Compared to greater endeavors, self-love is mundane and tiresome. Consequently, the more thoroughly I can be done with such tedium, the freer my soul will soar to its God-intended heights.
One of the leading causes of my natural tendency to self-love is fear. I fear that if I do not love myself there will no one to love me quite so well. An even more significant cause of self-love is a lack of persuasion that there is someone out there who is worthy to be loved more than I. Arrogance lies beneath both of these causes: I love myself supremely because I am the most worthy person I know to be loved and because I think I can do a better job at it than anyone else. Such arrogance makes me dangerous, yet it is deeply ingrained in my flesh.
Thankfully, the gospel frees me from the shackles of self-love by addressing both of these causes. First, the gospel assures me that the love of God is infinitely superior to any love I could ever give myself.[1] And the deeper I go into the gospel, the more I experience the truth of His claim and thereby know how far His love surpasses even my own.[2] His astonishing love for me frees me up to move on to causes far greater than myself.[3]
Secondly, the gospel reveals to me the breathtaking glory and loveliness of God,[4] and in so doing, it lures my heart away from the love of self and leaves me enthralled by Him instead. The more I behold God’s glory in the gospel, the more lovely He appears to me. And the more lovely He appears, the more self fades into the background like a former love interest who can no longer compete for my affections.[5] (Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer)
[1] John 15:13
[2] Rom. 8:32
[3] 2 Cor. 5:14
[4] 2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 1:11
[5] Phil. 3:7,8
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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
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