The Supremacy of Christ for Righteousness: A Look at Philippians 3:4-7

Upon reading Philippians 3:4-6 one might wonder why Paul so engages in what he deems foolish boasting. But much can be said of his tactic when fully thought out. For it appears that Judaizers (Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile Christians submit to the law of Moses and the rite of circumcision *1) had crept into the church at Philippi heralding a false gospel much like that of those in Galatians. Their gospel was that of an insufficient Christ. It was Jesus plus something, or better yet, circumcision and law with a side of Jesus.

But why does Paul then seemingly join them? Perhaps they would say much of themselves and then retort to claiming the insufficiency of Paul in accordance with their human standards. In conjunction with that, Paul certainly wanted to show them that there was no saving value in mere external inheritance or religious accolade. Therefore, instead of shying away, he meets them head on. He confronts their arrogance and foolish boasting on the basis of a hypothetical - if (and I reiterate, if) there is any saving value in what you say or standardize or lay as yokes upon mens necks, and you boast in those things as your ticket to heaven, I have more to boast in than you - though such boasting is foolishness!

It is an oddly awesome tactic of retort and witness of Christ. In explanation of this Calvin writes:

"He does not speak of the disposition exercised by him, but he intimates, that he has also ground of glorying, if he were inclined to imitate their folly. The meaning therefore is, 'My glorying, indeed, is placed in Christ, but, were it warrantable to glory in the flesh, I have also no want of materials.' And from this we learn in what manner to reprove the arrogance of those who glory in something apart from Christ. If we are ourselves in possession of those very things in which they glory, let us not allow them to triumph ove Christ by an unseemly boasting, without retorting upon them also our grounds of glorying, that they may understand that it is not through envy that we reckon of no value, nay, even voluntarily renounce those things on which they set the highest value. Let, however, the conclusion be always of this nature - that all confidence in the flesh is vain and preposterous." (*2)

I find his words helpful. That if Christians have lived such exemplary external lives prior to knowing Christ, then it is leverage to be used in sharing the Gospel, so that when an unbeliever confronts us with his outward heritage and fleshly accolades as a defense against condemnation and an advantage or basis of salvation and self-glorying, we may with confidence reply, "this is a foolish thing to boast in, but on the hypothetical argument that the externalities of religion are the basis of salvation, then I have more reason to boast in the flesh than you (if in fact we do!): "I was born into a religous home, professedly Christian; I was baptized as an infant; I was confirmed at the age of 13; I partook of the sacraments regularly; as to my life, I was not the prototypical teenager - I never partied, had sex, or gave my parents mental breakdowns, etc." And then having triumphed (albeit foolishly), humbly and adamantly state, "but whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ," that is, every fleshly advantage I had, I forfeited that I might have Christ, for what is a man's righteousness before God's righteousness? What, indeed, would be the reason for me to hold on to an approximation, which is external only, when in the Gospel, perfection is offered me through faith in Christ, and perfection, internally and externally, before God and men is what is required; and this Christ is for me! He alone was pleasing to the Father in Himself, and no man could condemn Him of sin either.

My fleshly advantages were (in truth) hindrances to me in coming to that which God required of me, when I made those advantages my boast and the basis of my eternal security. Christ's rightousness does not fall short. So let us say to them that our pre-Christian lives were more exemplary, if in fact they were, but that such boasting is foolishness, for no man attains to the righteousness of God but through faith in Christ - therefore, all that I considered gain (and if you are witnessing - "all that you right now consider gain for yourself unto eternal life") I count as loss! Why? For the sake of gaining Christ, the righteousness of God for me, the sinner. May the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ's person and work ever be our solid foundation, hope, and boast.

*1: Hughes, R. Kent; Preaching the Word Commentary on Philippians; pg. 123.

*2: Calvin, John; Calvin's Commentaries; Philippians; pgs. 89-90.

All Violence and No Compassion: Bystander Syndrome or Indwelling Sin?

In the course of the last couple of months, I have seen a rash of violence and a lack of compassion like I have yet to witness in my life. Perhaps, I have been hidden from it. But our country has become that wicked land numbered with Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, who having witnessed the mighty works of God revealed in and through Jesus Christ, did not repent because of them. But have we not also witnessed the glory of God in the face of Christ as given to us in the Word of God; and do not men preach the pure Gospel in almost every corner of this nation?

But in these past months, I have seen an overflow of indwelling sin in a manner most disturbing and burdening to me:

1. In Florida, eight young teenagers, six of them young girls attack one girl, taking turns throwing haymakers, leaving the girl partially blind, deaf, and broken - and the videotaped it for public viewing! No compassion became them.

2. On the campuses of Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois, gunmen took lives without remorse.

3. Members of an FLDS sect are vindicated despite evidence that young girls, even to the age of 13, had been married to much older men, and slept with, while other children were found to have untreated broken bones.

4. A couple of days ago, I came unto a story of a mother, who having murdered her three year-old daughter in 1979, had kept the deceased child in her closet at home for over twenty years!

5. And then yesterday, a 78 year old man was the unfortunate recipient of this hit and run (continue with caution; this is extremely graphic, but a shocking portrayal of the inward reality of the fruit of indwelling sin; here the fruit is violence and a complete lack of love and compassion or moral compass involving severl people). For those of you just interested in the story (and my take on the news affiliates commentary) continue reading:

First, that the car committing the crime was crossing a double yellow line; second, that he sped off without hesitating; thirdly, how many cars continue to pass him by while he lies motionless on the street; fourthly, how many people stand idly by; fifthly, that one car coming his way stops in the road, reverses and goes the other way without a care; sixthly, a man on a moped circles the man and then leaves the scene. Absolutely no concern for human life, and of course, this is where we are today in America. This is not shocking to me, but affirming to me what I read in the Bible. How do news affiliates deal with our lack of compassion in this video? They call it "Bystander Syndrome." Bystander Syndrome? They even gave a three step process that everyone goes through when they witness something like this: First, they assimilate what they've witnessed, then they go through the "diffusion of responsibility", and lastly, they decide that they are not able to help due to lack of training! What they deem "bystander syndrome", I deem indwelling sin! I think this is a more accurate portrayal of the inward case, though not an intense one. This picture comes courtesy of bible.org:

This is the perfect portrayal:

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness...All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one...Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes," Romans 1:28-29, 3:12, 15-18.

And this is a call to Gospel mobilization. How can we who so often sit lazily and comfortably in our pews continue to do so without the slightest hint of burden for people who are dead in trespasses and sins, knowing that God is willing and able (and Him alone) to raise sinners from the miry clay? Did he not do this for you also? Oh, that "Christians" in America would stop telling themselves that everything is "fine", that we are "so blessed spiritually in this nation", and the true Church would again take up its Cross - in America! That this nation would be ground zero of a God-Awakening!

Let the Church, then, take up their Sword. Let us slay men and this nation with the Gospel; that is, let us, by the grace of God, preach the Gospel of Christ, of repentance towards God and of faith in Jesus Christ. Let our obedience be full and missionary in its activity. Let us not rely on stupid psychological babble as a means of explaining away plain sin, but instead, let us expose sin for what it is, and the eternal consequences of it, in the heralding of a pure Gospel, and then, let us turn them to the love and comfort of Christ who, Himself, we viciously crucified because, in part, He wasn't like us in our sinful ways, though He became us, and our sinful ways on the cross of His passion. May God help us in our endeavor, for nothing will be accomplished lest He grant it, and let us pray to the Lord of the harvest for this nation and its state of depravity, that God will not forsake us in holy wrath but be that which He is continuously as well- gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Brothers, today, bear Gospel arms; arise, preach the Gospel, love one another, love unbelievers, push forward for the faith of the Gospel. Our state is not one to discourage us, for Christ has already won - He is Christus Victor! Therefore, in view of God's grace upon our own previous rebellion, His love for us in Christ, His mercy cast upon us in the laver of regeneration while we all were yet sinners, let us all the more go with the Gospel in the authority of Christ, for perhaps God will relent and bear spiritual children for Christ's sake and for His glory. May it be so in Christ's name, Amen.

Luther on Substitutionary Atonement

This excerpt comes from an essay by Timothy George on The Atonement in Martin Luther's Theology in the book The Glory of the Atonement, pp. 274-275. It is quoted by George from Luther's Works 26:280:

"When the merciful Father saw that we were being oppressed through the Law, that we were being held under a curse, and that we could not be liberated from it by anything, he sent his Son into the world, heaped all the sins of all men upon him, and said to him: 'Be Peter the denier; Paul the persecutor, blasphemer, and assaulter; David the adulterer; the sinner who ate the apple in Paradise; the thief on the cross. In short, be the person of all men, the one who has committed the sins of all men. And see to it that you pay and make satisfaction for them.' Now the Law comes and says: 'I find him a sinner, who takes upon himself the sins of all men. I do not see any other sins than those in him. Therefore let him die on the cross!' And so it attacks him and kills him. By this deed the whole world is purged and expiated from all sins, and thus it is set free from death and from every evil."

Thoughts on Grace

...anyone who thinks that God's full grace is a detractor or hindrance to Christian work, obedience, and responsibility has not thought long or well concerning it. For by God's grace we are enabled to do things which formerly we could not and would not, and therefore, we are exhorted to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It is precisely because of God's gracious working in us that (1) we have a salvation to work out and (2) that we will in fact work it out and (3) that we will work it out with fear and trembling (for even the fear is given to us by God - Jeremiah 32:40 - and for to what end but that we will not turn from Him). Simply, it is a fallacious accusation that is laid upon those who attend well to the grace of God, when that accusation is that it makes us slothful in Christian living; if anyone has made such a poor appropriation of the grace of God let it be a shameful thing to him, but as for those who understand grace aright, it is known that the grace of God is both the enabling principle and the teacher that educates us to deny ungodliness; we work out our own salvation with fear and trembling precisely because God graciously works in us both to will and to work for His good pleasure...

...let it be known that the grace of God is the far greater motivation to take up our personal cross, to engage in Christian practice and responsibility, to obey our Lord Jesus Christ, to live as responsible Christians, than that human motivation alone; for by the human motivation one may attend to human things or to spiritual things in their own strength (and therefore ineffectually and incompletely), and if they do attend to them, they attend to them with an incomplete obedience (which is no obedience), for they do them with a rotten attitude that stinks in light of God. But that grace which is Divine, when it comes to us in effectual power, it masters us and by mastering us it frees us to do those things that are most pleasing to God. And our doing of them is an obedience pleasing to God, for it comes from Him, and we dare not grumble or complain in the doing of those things that glorify Him, but due to grace we rejoice even if the doing results in our dying, for by grace we know with certainty that the Gospel will advance and the Church will be edified even in the event of one's persecution and suffering for the sake of Christ. Yes, effectual grace must be our daily plea before God, so that we may do what God would have us do...

...comments...

Desiring God Staff on 2 Peter 2:1

Much has been made of 2 Peter 2:1 -

"But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction."

- and whether or not it defends an indefinite atonement (or that it opposes the view of definite atonement). An article was posted on the issue of this verse at the Desiring God website on January 1, 2007 - "Does 2 Peter 2:1 Deny Effectual Atonement?" I find it helpful and challenging. My aim is to engage in edifying discussion over key texts, as it is my hope that in your reading of this article you will feel compelled to comment and converse. The first issue in the article seems to concern the context; the second issue stems from Grudem's cross reference between 2 Peter 2:1 and Exodus 2:1, that Peter is pointing his audience to the Exodus of Israel; the third issue is that of language - is "the Lord who bought them" referring to Jesus or to God the Father in reference to Deut. 32:6; the fourth issue arises out of the question of reality vs. appearance in relation to those who deny the Master.

Beyond this, however, I find something more compelling. If you hold that this text denies definite atonement, I would lay the burden of explanation upon you. What does this text really mean by the term "bought". Do you really think that what "bought" means in this text is that those who deny the Master, when they die, will be saved if they die in their denial? Of course not - I hope! If those who deny Christhave been bought by Christ, but they are not saved in the last day, what does "bought" mean? Do you think that what this text means is that those who were bought will be in heaven if they do not believe in Christ? Again, of course not! Then what does bought mean? It means that He made a sufficient payment for those who deny, but not an effectual payment for them - unless they turn and believe, in which case Christ effectually bought them - His atonement really paid for them. If you would say that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient for all but effecient towards those who believe in Him, then (being reformed) I have no problems with that interpretation - we agree! It is not what the proponents of the contrary position affirm that I have a problem with, but what they deny (and what I happen to find taught in Scripture). In other words, every one is stuck with a limited atonement unless you are a universalist (and completely unbiblical) - it just depends on how you limit it; either in number or actuality, scope or power, etc. Regardless, the real issue hangs not on the atonement but on election - how is the atonement applied or where does faith come from? What makes the difference between those who deny and those who believe? 2 Peter 2:1 in no way denies the effecting of the sacrifice of Christ, but concerns its sufficiency. It term bought here does not negate what the reformed view calls for - please offer your thoughts...

11 Lectures From John Piper on TULIP

It is a thing noted that reformed theology is experiencing a revival within evangelical Christianity. It is not my aim here to fan the flame, but only to give food for thought. My hope is that these lectures (provided by biblicaltraining.org) will prove edifying to you just as they have been for me. Lastly, I would challenge you to set aside re-runs of Seinfeld, prop open your Bible, and listen to these lectures, praying that God will build up your biblical foundations with the doctrines of grace, or at least, that you will be opened up to them. I particularly like the 5th lecture (4b) where he attends to the difficult texts like 2 Peter 2:1, etc. You will find them amidst other Piper lectures on pastoral theology - these are under the title: T.U.L.I.P. To listen to them, go here - in the grace of God.

Confessions and Resolutions: Encouraged by Jonathan Edwards - Part 3

Part 3: Promoting God's Glory in Ministry and Personal Life (Resolutions 2-4)

Even in these early stages of thinking on Edwards' Resolutions, I find that I cannot speak for Edwards himself. His thoughts and writing come from a different era, cultureI cannot enter into the spirit of his mind. I might be able to read the output of his thoughts, and thereby, draw much from them of the man and for my own soul. But I cannot see his soul or spirit like I could his body. Only Edwards' own spirit can know the essence of Edwards' thought (2 Corinthians 2:11) - and of course, God who knew them before he had them. But I am grateful that he has given them and that God has retained them for us all in His providence, that we might be encouraged by them. I write all that to write this - I can only comment on what I hope to be in some accordance with the original meaning and purpose of his soul, and beyond that, I will write only with regards to my own reflections upon his words, attempting to add for you any biblical insight that I am inclined to see reflected in Edwards' Resolutions. With that set forth, let us comment on resolutions 2, 3, and 4.

Resolution #2: Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the fore-mentioned things.

I take this to mean that he intended to be tireless in endeavoring in those things that most glorified God and pleased Him, which glorification obviously implies that advantage for his own soul and that of others. In terms of Gospel endeavor, it seems that he was of the mind to always be finding points of reference with men to advance it; and since contrivances and inventions are intended to make difficult tasks more simple (though not without mature thinking), it appears that he intended by such inventions to make plain the glory of God in Christ to men so as to win some. But this resolve is relative to personal life also. For how does one promote the glory of God and the profit of souls without an intimate striving after holiness and satisfaction in Him who is most satisfying? By endeavoring in these inventions and contrivances, I find an echo of Paul's words in Romans 13:14, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ (apostolic shorthand for the Gospel), and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." By contrivances, we may also talk of keeping oneself out of situations in which our fleshly desires are sure to meet that attractive temptation out which wedding comes sin. By inventions, let us know ourselves and stay ahead of ourselves with the help of God's Spirit that by purity and growth in restraint we might not give ourselves occasion to sin - this is most glorifying to God and most beneficial for us and our witness to that greatest need in others. But positively, it is a call (having put off sin) to be satisfied in God and to contrive of ways in which to do this: take a walk with God as Edwards often did in the woods for prayer; in the ways that we might think of spending time with our wives, let us think likewise towards God. With the pslamist let us pant for God and so endeavor to be satisfied in Him: "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you (ah, there it is - he is earnest in his invention for seeking); my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you...so I have looked for you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory...(and you want to talk about contrivances and inventions?)...My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night," Psalm 63:1, 2, and 5.

Resolution #3: Resolved, if ever I shall fall and grow dull, so as to neglect to keep any part of these Resolutions, to repent of all I can remember, when I come to myself again.

Here we find encouragement to have our own biblical resolutions - personal accountability, that accountability with ourselves. By writing such resolutions that are the outpouring of our souls, we will in reading them be confronted with ourselves, and with that soulish resolve. Therefore, we will be reminded and held accountable, and if we have forsaken a resolve that was in accord with the Bible, then we will immediately repent of every shortcoming that He brings to mind. It is a thing worth noting that our initial repentance towards God results in an inward principle of repentance by which we continually repent towards God so long as we live. Sometimes it is comforting to know that Paul battled sin, or that Edwards battled sin, or that any modern spiritual hero battles with sin, so we are assured to have examples of them who overcame them in Christ in our own battles. How this is a humbling thing - our resolutions are often greater than our obedience! Let us then cling to Christ, and thank God for Him who was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin! Allow me to leave this resolution with a practical thought:

Have you ever awakened (as I often do) without the slightest inclination to pursue those things that most glorify God and are most to your spiritual advantage? Yes! But we should not be surprised or angry at God for this seeing He is the One who supplies even our daily rations of faith. For if we arise in complacency, it is because we have awakened in ourselves, and thus, it ought to be our humble plea to God for mercy and grace that day! It is an amazing meditation - our absolute dependency upon God!

Resolution #4: Resolved, never to do any manner of thing, whether in soul or body, less or more, but what tends to the glory of God; nor be, nor suffer it, if I can avoid it.

When we think of soul, we think of mind or will, or the immaterial aspect of our person. When we think of body, we think of our substance or matter. The resolve then seems to be never to do any manner of thing in one's thought life or practice, never to be any manner of thing in one's thought life or practice, and never to suffer any manner of thing in one's thought life or practice that does not serve the glory of God. Positively, in thought and deed, principle and practice, affection and activity, will and work, our chief attendance is to the glory of God. What an example of right striving! Let every aspect of our person be fueled by and funneled towards the glory of God. Since, in Edwards thought, and in my own, God's greatest passion is His own glory, this resolve is a resolve to will and work in accordance with God. So he sets his sights on God's glory and aims to let nothing detour him from attaining his resolve. May God help us also to propose to our own souls and bodies a like proposal to join with God in glorifying Him.

Confession and Resolution. I have often put myself in situations that I know are not ideal for glorifying God or profiting another, much less my own soul, and this in outright defiance of God's convicting Spirit. Resolved, to pursue personal and biblical creativity, sensitivity, and accountability in life and ministry chiefly aimed at maintaing my witness, advancing the Gospel, and agreeing with my Lord in promoting and attending to, with unceasing fervency, the Glory of God.