"The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you," John 14:26, -
"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning," John 15:26-27, -
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth," Acts 1:8, -
The Holy Spirit is the forgotten Person in the Trinity. Many, it seems, are afraid of Him. Others have confused the purpose and goal of His ministry. This may be an oversimplification, but the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to transform sinners into disciples of Jesus who daily pursue Christ-likeness and an identification with Christ in His resurrection ministry. By Him we are inclined towards the means of grace and personal sanctification. The Holy Spirit regenerates and quickens dead sinners, and energizes the dynamic of God's Word. And among these and many other things, the Spirit of Jesus Christ works in us to testify of Jesus Christ, - to speak up concerning the Gospel.
It is this particular aspect of His ministry that I'm concerned with in this blog. Many of us who have been indwelt by Him have experienced that powerful tug upon our hearts to open our mouths and share the Gospel of Christ with the unbeliever nearby. Perhaps we have begun a conversation with them, - we shoot the breeze with them about sports, food, drink, and then we go deeper towards more offensive things like politics and objective morality, and then there comes the tug (will I or will I not - what will I say - how will I do this exactly - how will they respond - this is the spiritual warfare of the moment when eternal consequences hang in the balance!)
It is a worrisome thing not to feel this tug; it is a blessed reality to know it; it is more blessed to act upon it in the power of God's Spirit. But how many of us are so full of God's Holy Spirit that when that occasion of witness comes we will quite supernaturally overflow with the words of grace and mercy, of the Law and Gospel of Christ, and these things with all boldness?
Any amount of time spent in Acts reveals a power working within the converts that compelled them to bear witness of Christ before all men, even at the inevitable prospect of suffering persecution or death. John the Baptist prepared the way and Jesus Christ our Lord came saying, "I am the Way," and that exclusively. Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the coming of the kingdom of heaven. But when Christ had finally been taking up into heaven and was seated at the right hand of power above all rule and authority and name, He sent the Holy Spirit, and the immediate effect was an outbreak of Christian testimony. This is the great consequence of really knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection, that we are filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ and set free to serve all in the proclamation of the Gospel at all costs.
Allow me an example to conclude with, - "deacon Stephen!" Three times the Bible says that Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit:
1. The first mention of this fullness stands as a qualification of his being chosen as a deacon and of that example that we ought to imitate, - "they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit," Acts 6:5.
2. The second mention of this fullness pertains to his apologetics, - "then some...rose up and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking," Acts 6:9-10. Notice that he was speaking!
3. The third mention of this fullness comes after he has been falsely accused and seized. Standing trial the high priest asks him if the things that he had been falsely accused of were true. Being full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen took the opportunity to (you guessed it!) open up the Scriptures concerning Jesus Christ (I recommend you reading it!) They didn't like being told that they resisted the Holy Spirit and murdered the Messiah. Because of these things they became enraged and ground their teeth at him, intending to kill him. Impending martyrdom is the context where we find the Bible saying of Stephen, "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God," Acts 7:55. And full of the Holy Spirit, Stephen proclaimed to them, - in the face of death for it, - exactly what he had seen, - Jesus at the right hand of God! Again, he spoke!
I mention these things because they prove a wonderfully biblical point and offer a penetrating challenge: The point is this, - If God has filled us with His Holy Spirit He intends for us to speak by Him, in Him, of Christ to all with every opportunity at all costs. Stephen was so full of the Holy Spirit that he delightfully succombed to that which is most natural for the Holy Spirit to do, namely, bear witness of Jesus Christ! The challenge is this, - are you so full of the Holy Spirit? For it is only by that fullness that we, like Stephen, will shun silence and herald Christ! And although it is true that God has given the Holy Spirit to believers in such a way that He could not give any more of Him, yet at the same time we need to be practically, daily, devotionally, passionately filled with Christ's Holy Spirit. The principle is given, and the practice is on that basis commanded.
My encouragement then is to go and get so drenched with the Holy Spirit that when the opportunity arises to speak up for Christ and for the sake of the lost you will not shy away from it and keep silent but rather overflow with the testimony, wisdom, and power of nothing less than the Holy Spirit Himself which no man can withstand, - in Jesus' name.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The Sinfulness of the Sin of Silence, Part 2: Disassociations and Disobedience
My intention in this blog is to examine the disassociations from and disobedience to the Word of God in relation to Gospel endeavor. I cannot find a text in Scripture that leads me to believe that a person born of God may disassociate themselves from the clear commands of Christ to share the Gospel on the basis of extenuating circumstance, preference, or opinion.
Our disassociations seem to come on the basis of human distinctions and personal disobedience. We will talk about Christ and have Gospel conversation with those like us. But the tattered beggar at the McDonald's asking for change, or the tattoed trucker at the gas station; the person whose flesh is of a different color, whose ethnicity is distinctive from our own, whose political slants are insulting to us, whose bank accounts are too high or too needy; the co-worker who cusses too much, whose gluttony disturbs you, whose character is...well, they have nothing good going for them, - they are too sinful to talk to about salvation. They are different. Let us go to our own neighborhoods, our own people, our own kind. We have disassociated from some basic biblical realities, -
1. We were them, - sinners at enmity with God, - and yet God graciously saved us. We are sinners saved by grace. Have we forgotten this so quickly? We are sinners. We are in pursuit of Christ-likeness, but we are nevertheless sinners, and by that reality we ought to endeavor to share the Gospel with other sinners. And we are sinners saved by grace, that is, God was not obligated to save us apart from Christ but He set us in Christ, and that not due to anything in us (we are sinners) but due to everything in Christ and on that basis alone God freely bestowed salvation upon sinners. We didn't earn it and we aren't worthy of it, but for Christ's grace. I often think, - "If God saved me, what reason do I have to doubt that He will save these, and by that reckoning, why have I persisted in withholding Christ from them?"
2. The Gospel implores us to see beyond external distinctions to the internal, spiritual need of all people without distinction. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free; but Christ is all, and in all, Colossians 3:11. Because of the binding power of the Gospel, Euodia (a Jew) and Syntyche (a Gentile) are sisters in Christ whom Paul entreats to agree, - on what basis? - that they are in the Lord, Philippians 4:2. The cross-work of Christ knows no distinction but sinner in need of salvation, and we are all him or her. So it is our aim to evangelize the world knowing that the everyone in the world, regardless of human distinction, have at least one thing in common, - we are all sinners in need of Christ. Like Christ let us see the great need of the people we converse with tomorrow and take aim at offering the Lord to them.
3. Then there is always that Great Commission! "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age," Matthew 28:18-20. Why then are the laborers few (Matthew 9:37-38)? A lack of prayer to the Lord of the harvest for sure, but also a disassociation from the authority of Scripture and its infallible binding upon the very life of Christ's disciples. In so far as we move away from the Bible, we move away from our Lord Himself, and His exhortations for godly living. Christ commissioned us to be active in making disciples and teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. How are we to teach others if we are unwilling ourselves to obey the authoritative commission and rule of our Lord to advance the Gospel at all costs.
4. We have disassociated ourselves from the cost of advancing the Gospel of Christ and the gracious privilege of sharing in His sufferings. Many of us upon our conversions simply did not count the cost of following Jesus Christ. We did not count all things loss for His sake so that on the occasion of actually losing them for His sake we would not be sidelined from sharing Christ but emboldened to advance the Gospel all the more courageously knowing more intimately the Treasure that is our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:7-9; Acts 9:15-16; Luke 14:26-33). We are all too comfortable. At the slightest hint of persecution or suffering, - of which by and large we know nothing of, - do you recant and recoil or like the apostles, do you rejoice at being counted worthy of suffering for the sake of Christ and the advancement of His Gospel (Acts 5:41, 16:25).
5. We have disassociated ourselves from eternal musing or meditation. Take time to think about the worst of temporal diseases, those that have no known cure. Think about the worst possible thing that these diseases can do to a person. Answer: Take their life. And then comes judgment and an eternal verdict! What disease can ravage the soul, the mind, and the body so as to take a person to hell? What is the consequence of this disease? Answers: Sin and a second death, that is, eternal torment in hell consequent of a personal and eternal rejection of and transgression against the Eternal God. And because these things are eternal and can capture your soul into hell, this disease, and its consequences are infinitely greater than anything that ravages the body alone unto the first death. But the Eternal God has given, offered, and commanded a Gospel, a cure, - Jesus Christ stepping out of heaven, into flesh, and on a cross, becoming sin for us who knew no sin so that we, the sinner, might become in Jesus the very righteousness of God before God who demands that we are so savingly clothed. This Gospel, beloved, we carry around with us. Every person that we pass is condemned already, embodying sin. Of the deepest sinfulness, then, is this sin of silence when we withhold the only means of eternal salvation and reconciliation to God through faith in the truth as it is in Jesus alone.
These are just some thoughts concerning my personal disassociations and disobedience in Gospel endeavor. There are, undoubtedly, many more reasons for my silence. I would hope to encourage you in this, however, - that the only true failure in Gospel endeavor is to say nothing at all. Every attempt that is made God is pleased to plant. These disassociations are my attempt at getting beneath that singular failure of silence to the "why" have I neglected so great a commission, privilege, and interest in the greatest need of human beings (sinners in need of Christ for righteousness). I hope that this strikes an edifying cord with you, as it does a convicting and repentant one in me. I pray that God might challenge us all, daily, to associate with and acquaint ourselves with Christ, His Gospel, and the condition of the lost, so as to overflow our spirits with an urgent desire to speak to all men, in all places, at all times of repentance towards and faith in Jesus Christ.
Your additional comments to these things are greatly desired by this bondservant who is in such great need of daily reminders to make the main thing the main thing.
Our disassociations seem to come on the basis of human distinctions and personal disobedience. We will talk about Christ and have Gospel conversation with those like us. But the tattered beggar at the McDonald's asking for change, or the tattoed trucker at the gas station; the person whose flesh is of a different color, whose ethnicity is distinctive from our own, whose political slants are insulting to us, whose bank accounts are too high or too needy; the co-worker who cusses too much, whose gluttony disturbs you, whose character is...well, they have nothing good going for them, - they are too sinful to talk to about salvation. They are different. Let us go to our own neighborhoods, our own people, our own kind. We have disassociated from some basic biblical realities, -
1. We were them, - sinners at enmity with God, - and yet God graciously saved us. We are sinners saved by grace. Have we forgotten this so quickly? We are sinners. We are in pursuit of Christ-likeness, but we are nevertheless sinners, and by that reality we ought to endeavor to share the Gospel with other sinners. And we are sinners saved by grace, that is, God was not obligated to save us apart from Christ but He set us in Christ, and that not due to anything in us (we are sinners) but due to everything in Christ and on that basis alone God freely bestowed salvation upon sinners. We didn't earn it and we aren't worthy of it, but for Christ's grace. I often think, - "If God saved me, what reason do I have to doubt that He will save these, and by that reckoning, why have I persisted in withholding Christ from them?"
2. The Gospel implores us to see beyond external distinctions to the internal, spiritual need of all people without distinction. In Christ there is no Jew or Greek, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free; but Christ is all, and in all, Colossians 3:11. Because of the binding power of the Gospel, Euodia (a Jew) and Syntyche (a Gentile) are sisters in Christ whom Paul entreats to agree, - on what basis? - that they are in the Lord, Philippians 4:2. The cross-work of Christ knows no distinction but sinner in need of salvation, and we are all him or her. So it is our aim to evangelize the world knowing that the everyone in the world, regardless of human distinction, have at least one thing in common, - we are all sinners in need of Christ. Like Christ let us see the great need of the people we converse with tomorrow and take aim at offering the Lord to them.
3. Then there is always that Great Commission! "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age," Matthew 28:18-20. Why then are the laborers few (Matthew 9:37-38)? A lack of prayer to the Lord of the harvest for sure, but also a disassociation from the authority of Scripture and its infallible binding upon the very life of Christ's disciples. In so far as we move away from the Bible, we move away from our Lord Himself, and His exhortations for godly living. Christ commissioned us to be active in making disciples and teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. How are we to teach others if we are unwilling ourselves to obey the authoritative commission and rule of our Lord to advance the Gospel at all costs.
4. We have disassociated ourselves from the cost of advancing the Gospel of Christ and the gracious privilege of sharing in His sufferings. Many of us upon our conversions simply did not count the cost of following Jesus Christ. We did not count all things loss for His sake so that on the occasion of actually losing them for His sake we would not be sidelined from sharing Christ but emboldened to advance the Gospel all the more courageously knowing more intimately the Treasure that is our Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:7-9; Acts 9:15-16; Luke 14:26-33). We are all too comfortable. At the slightest hint of persecution or suffering, - of which by and large we know nothing of, - do you recant and recoil or like the apostles, do you rejoice at being counted worthy of suffering for the sake of Christ and the advancement of His Gospel (Acts 5:41, 16:25).
5. We have disassociated ourselves from eternal musing or meditation. Take time to think about the worst of temporal diseases, those that have no known cure. Think about the worst possible thing that these diseases can do to a person. Answer: Take their life. And then comes judgment and an eternal verdict! What disease can ravage the soul, the mind, and the body so as to take a person to hell? What is the consequence of this disease? Answers: Sin and a second death, that is, eternal torment in hell consequent of a personal and eternal rejection of and transgression against the Eternal God. And because these things are eternal and can capture your soul into hell, this disease, and its consequences are infinitely greater than anything that ravages the body alone unto the first death. But the Eternal God has given, offered, and commanded a Gospel, a cure, - Jesus Christ stepping out of heaven, into flesh, and on a cross, becoming sin for us who knew no sin so that we, the sinner, might become in Jesus the very righteousness of God before God who demands that we are so savingly clothed. This Gospel, beloved, we carry around with us. Every person that we pass is condemned already, embodying sin. Of the deepest sinfulness, then, is this sin of silence when we withhold the only means of eternal salvation and reconciliation to God through faith in the truth as it is in Jesus alone.
These are just some thoughts concerning my personal disassociations and disobedience in Gospel endeavor. There are, undoubtedly, many more reasons for my silence. I would hope to encourage you in this, however, - that the only true failure in Gospel endeavor is to say nothing at all. Every attempt that is made God is pleased to plant. These disassociations are my attempt at getting beneath that singular failure of silence to the "why" have I neglected so great a commission, privilege, and interest in the greatest need of human beings (sinners in need of Christ for righteousness). I hope that this strikes an edifying cord with you, as it does a convicting and repentant one in me. I pray that God might challenge us all, daily, to associate with and acquaint ourselves with Christ, His Gospel, and the condition of the lost, so as to overflow our spirits with an urgent desire to speak to all men, in all places, at all times of repentance towards and faith in Jesus Christ.
Your additional comments to these things are greatly desired by this bondservant who is in such great need of daily reminders to make the main thing the main thing.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Sinfulness of the Sin of Silence, Part 1
I want it to be known that this series will be blogged due in large part to my own evangelical apathy and the burden and conviction that I have personally felt as time and time again I continue to fail in "setting the Pearl of greatest price" before all men. Accountability is another reason for this series. It is my hope that we will be encouraged by the posts that follow. Much of what is offered is a remembrance of and a thinking upon the many times that I have clipped my lip or bit my tongue even though God's Spirit was compelling me to speak up. I'd like to address the questions like, "What do I say?" or "How can I get it off my tongue?" or maybe even "Why don't I have a passion to do this?" and "Where does it come from?"
My aim is to display a universal guilt in the multiplicity of Gospel shortcomings, - everyone has failed in a variety of ways and arenas, and therefore, all must repent towards a more Christ-like means of evangelism. I will attempt at rectifying biblically and logically the sinfulness of this sin of silence, and thereby, to encourage all believers practically in Gospel endeavor, - that we may know the privilege of being the Divine means, a.k.a., the role of human responsibility in God's end of evangelizing the world for the sake of His name. Let us aspire to that triumphant sentence - "I have warned everyone; I am clean of the blood of all men."
I have entitled the series The Sinfulness of the Sin of Silence to bring about a deep realization of the nature of that evil that becomes us when we shut up from the world that exclusive and most urgent cure which is able to alleviate the fallen nature of man, the ultimate disease of humanity, and reconcile them to God. But this is necessary, for if we do not feel this, we will not feel a burden for the lost or the great assurance that comes from walking in Christ's command.
May God bless you - whoever you are - as you read, and me as I blog, that we might all become more passionate and intense for the salvation of sinners. Please dialogue with me on these things that God's Spirit might be glorified in the edification of His Body. In Jesus' name, Amen.
My aim is to display a universal guilt in the multiplicity of Gospel shortcomings, - everyone has failed in a variety of ways and arenas, and therefore, all must repent towards a more Christ-like means of evangelism. I will attempt at rectifying biblically and logically the sinfulness of this sin of silence, and thereby, to encourage all believers practically in Gospel endeavor, - that we may know the privilege of being the Divine means, a.k.a., the role of human responsibility in God's end of evangelizing the world for the sake of His name. Let us aspire to that triumphant sentence - "I have warned everyone; I am clean of the blood of all men."
I have entitled the series The Sinfulness of the Sin of Silence to bring about a deep realization of the nature of that evil that becomes us when we shut up from the world that exclusive and most urgent cure which is able to alleviate the fallen nature of man, the ultimate disease of humanity, and reconcile them to God. But this is necessary, for if we do not feel this, we will not feel a burden for the lost or the great assurance that comes from walking in Christ's command.
May God bless you - whoever you are - as you read, and me as I blog, that we might all become more passionate and intense for the salvation of sinners. Please dialogue with me on these things that God's Spirit might be glorified in the edification of His Body. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
In A 2004 Article by Jeff Robinson...
Robinson quotes Gary Knapp, and although the circumstances of such a quote saddens me, the quote itself I find encouraging and worthy of reflection in light of postmodernism and the churches taken captive by the waves of culture and individual subjectivism as the basis of reality and truth. The Resurgence website supplied Robinson's article. I would encourage you to read the whole article, for it concerns the compromise of a popular megachurch.
In the article Knapp says (though the italics belong to me),
In the article Knapp says (though the italics belong to me),
"Despite how [some] might define and understand postmodernism and the church, I think the classic definitions apply to Mars Hill and churches like it..."
"Truth for them seems to be more subjective and experiential than a product of a worldview developed by means of an interaction with God's Word, an interaction that often requires rigorous exegetical study and a measured reflection upon the results of that study."
Monday, June 30, 2008
A Farewell Thought to June of 2008
In God's providence, He has allowed me to spend this month largely in Philippians 2:5-11 and Philippians 3:1-11. These texts have truly been a blessing to my soul, as God has granted to me from them a greater treasuring of Jesus Christ above all things. Christ's self-humiliation has astounded me, while His recommendation to follow His mindset has, in itself, served to bring me low quite often in the past 30 days as I continue to battle with sin, selfishness, and evangelical apathy. His super-exaltation has become my battle cry - my Jesus is the Great "I AM"! He is Sovereign Savior and Lord (cf. Isaiah 45). It has also served to give me an earnest anticipation of His future exaltation when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - to the glory of God the Father. But I am also exceedingly thankful that in His majestic grace and mercy, He has bent my knee and clothed my tongue with His praises, and not left me to myself like many who will do the same with much bitterness and horror at the revelation of His mighty wrath - though this has also tenderized my heart and mind towards the lost who currently stand in such a position.
Philippians 3:1-11 has simply forced me, wonderfully forced me, to gaze longingly and musingly at the supremacy of Christ - how treasuring Jesus helps us to endure the toughest of trials, for in Him exists a triumphant joy that serves to strengthen us in the midst of our deepest loss and greatest sufferings for His sake. His Gospel stands supreme against all contemporary "Judaizers" - Jesus is completely sufficient to save. Paul has defined for me a wonderful caricature of the Christian as one who (1) worships by the Spirit of God, (2a) glories in Christ Jesus, (2b) puts no confidence in the flesh, (3) counts all things loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, (4) whose great passion is to "gain Christ and be found in Him," - which means to forfeit the righteousness of works that we so earnestly contend for as the basis of salvation before Christ, and instead, to trust in the righteousness from God that depends on faith in Christ, a.k.a., a perfect imputed (alien) righteousness given on the basis of faith alone! (5) But also one who in contemplation of the supremacy of Christ - Savior, Lord, Righteousness, Treasure - and the faith that binds one to Him, yearns - yearns! - to know and be transformed by the sanctifying power of Christ's resurrection - an earnest knowing, sharing, conforming, and attaining! - to know Him, to know Jesus Christ - with increasing intimacy! This will help us suffer the loss of all things for His sake - and we must!
Lastly, my wife and I have been given over to the consideration of "counting all things loss" - not just confidence in the flesh for salvation, but quite literally, the adding up and counting of all things as LOSS for the sake of Christ. It is as John Piper is well-known to have said in that wonderful dialogue on the prosperity gospel - that when one suffers the loss of all things, even and especially those things most dear to them, and he or she can still say that Christ is enough, Jesus is all-satisfying, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever - this makes Jesus look beautiful! I don't know about you, but I want to make Jesus look beautiful, because He is supremely beautiful. I have thought - what is most dear to me in this life - my wife - the prospect of children with her - family - friends - my own life - these we must hate, these we must consider rubbish in so far as they hinder us from gaining Christ (Luke 14:26 cf. Philippians 3:8-9), for in themselves they are of the sweetest blessings of God. To write LOSS over everything in this life, so that when and if we are to suffer the loss of it, it will not sideline us for Christ, but though we grieve, it will strengthen our dependency upon and delight in and propagation of Him - Jesus, the Lord, to the glory of God.
I will, therefore, leave you and this month now passed in history with a parable and a thought to sum up God's work in me:
Parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it," Matthew 13:45-46.
Thought: If God were to require your life from you this very hour, what would you want Him to find you supremely treasuring? And thus, what are you supremely treasuring? Kingdoms that an hour in hell will cause you to quickly forget? Or Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Glory? And, ah, that we would endeavor at all costs to set this Pearl before all men!
For us all, may it be the latter in Jesus' beautiful name. Amen.
Philippians 3:1-11 has simply forced me, wonderfully forced me, to gaze longingly and musingly at the supremacy of Christ - how treasuring Jesus helps us to endure the toughest of trials, for in Him exists a triumphant joy that serves to strengthen us in the midst of our deepest loss and greatest sufferings for His sake. His Gospel stands supreme against all contemporary "Judaizers" - Jesus is completely sufficient to save. Paul has defined for me a wonderful caricature of the Christian as one who (1) worships by the Spirit of God, (2a) glories in Christ Jesus, (2b) puts no confidence in the flesh, (3) counts all things loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, (4) whose great passion is to "gain Christ and be found in Him," - which means to forfeit the righteousness of works that we so earnestly contend for as the basis of salvation before Christ, and instead, to trust in the righteousness from God that depends on faith in Christ, a.k.a., a perfect imputed (alien) righteousness given on the basis of faith alone! (5) But also one who in contemplation of the supremacy of Christ - Savior, Lord, Righteousness, Treasure - and the faith that binds one to Him, yearns - yearns! - to know and be transformed by the sanctifying power of Christ's resurrection - an earnest knowing, sharing, conforming, and attaining! - to know Him, to know Jesus Christ - with increasing intimacy! This will help us suffer the loss of all things for His sake - and we must!
Lastly, my wife and I have been given over to the consideration of "counting all things loss" - not just confidence in the flesh for salvation, but quite literally, the adding up and counting of all things as LOSS for the sake of Christ. It is as John Piper is well-known to have said in that wonderful dialogue on the prosperity gospel - that when one suffers the loss of all things, even and especially those things most dear to them, and he or she can still say that Christ is enough, Jesus is all-satisfying, God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever - this makes Jesus look beautiful! I don't know about you, but I want to make Jesus look beautiful, because He is supremely beautiful. I have thought - what is most dear to me in this life - my wife - the prospect of children with her - family - friends - my own life - these we must hate, these we must consider rubbish in so far as they hinder us from gaining Christ (Luke 14:26 cf. Philippians 3:8-9), for in themselves they are of the sweetest blessings of God. To write LOSS over everything in this life, so that when and if we are to suffer the loss of it, it will not sideline us for Christ, but though we grieve, it will strengthen our dependency upon and delight in and propagation of Him - Jesus, the Lord, to the glory of God.
I will, therefore, leave you and this month now passed in history with a parable and a thought to sum up God's work in me:
Parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it," Matthew 13:45-46.
Thought: If God were to require your life from you this very hour, what would you want Him to find you supremely treasuring? And thus, what are you supremely treasuring? Kingdoms that an hour in hell will cause you to quickly forget? Or Jesus Christ, the Pearl of Glory? And, ah, that we would endeavor at all costs to set this Pearl before all men!
For us all, may it be the latter in Jesus' beautiful name. Amen.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Concerning Moral Free Will and Irresistable Grace/ Effectual Calling: A Definition for Any Inquirers
Here are some definitions/ discussions that I find in keeping with the Scriptures and, thus, the doctrine of Christ concerning the will of human beings. This I provide in light of the blog I posted on Daniel Akin's article concerning Divine Sovereignty and human responsibility, where it was made clear that I love what Akin addresses and clarifies. These links I offer, however, to make plain a better definition or discussion of the ideas of human moral agency and omnipotent grace:
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter IX.
From Desiring God
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter IX.
From Desiring God
And a definition from the Canons of Dort:
Article 12: Regeneration a Supernatural Work
And this is the regeneration, the new creation, the raising from the dead, and the making alive so clearly proclaimed in the Scriptures, which God works in us without our help. But this certainly does not happen only by outward teaching, by moral persuasion, or by such a way of working that, after God has done his work, it remains in man's power whether or not to be reborn or converted. Rather, it is an entirely supernatural work, one that is at the same time most powerful and most pleasing, a marvelous, hidden, and inexpressible work, which is not lesser than or inferior in power to that of creation or of raising the dead, as Scripture (inspired by the author of this work) teaches. As a result, all those in whose hearts God works in this marvelous way are certainly, unfailingly, and effectively reborn and do actually believe. And then the will, now renewed, is not only activated and motivated by God but in being activated by God is also itself active. For this reason, man himself, by that grace which he has received, is also rightly said to believe and to repent.
Counting All Things Loss in View of Our Treasury, Jesus Christ
Something every Christian ought to do - and I would say immediately upon conversion - is count the cost of following Jesus Christ. In Philippians 3 Paul defines the Christian as one who worships by the Spirit of God, glories in Christ Jesus, puts no confidence in the flesh, and as one who considers the cost of knowing Christ, counting all things loss in order to gain Him. Our Lord said as much, and the apostle Paul was certainly convinced. Jesus said,
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me...whoever loses his life for my sake will save it," Luke 9:23.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish,'" Luke 14:26-30.
These things our Lord said when great crowds accompanied him. Does this not seem to contrast in a great way the methodology of today designed to bring masses of people in to the church? He does not comfort them with worldly pleasantries - no, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ you had to write LOSS over those things that are most dear to you in this world - your wife, your children, your family and friends, etc. But there is good reason: Jesus is the Treasure; Jesus is to be our dearest delight. He comforts us rather with the prospect of Himself - Jesus is our only GAIN. This is (but by grace) a nearly unbearable word - when a child comes forth from the womb, a climactic moment in this life, we write "loss" over them for the sake of Christ so that if we actually suffered the loss of them (although we will rightly grieve with many tears and sorrows and wailings) we will not be sidelined for the cause of Christ, but rather we will know Christ more intimately, extol Him more passionately, describe Him to the lost more all-satisfyingly - Christ is the Treasure, and He is our portion...forever.
If we treasure Jesus above all else, then "all else" becomes expendable for His sake. If Christ is most dear to us, and we suffer the loss of those things beneath Him, then we maintain that no matter the loss, Christ we still have. What is it to suffer the loss of those things which we have already considered loss...that we may gain Christ and be found in Him? I find this extremely heavy but a necessary meditation. Have I..have you counted the cost of following Christ, and thus, written LOSS over everything because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord? Not only our pre-Christian confidence in the flesh as the basis of salvation, although this is essential to salvation; but everything that in any circumstance would hinder us from knowing, gaining, and treasuring Christ above all else!
Our Lord told Ananias of Paul, "For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name," - a name that Christ chose Paul to carry to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, - and why is suffering for carrying this name essentially linked, - because, "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved," Acts 4:12. That is, to the exclusion of every other name - Buddha, Muhammad, or Brian. This will cause us to suffer - carrying the name in which lies the Person and Work unto an exclusive salvation. But do we not, like Paul, carry that name as Christians?
What was Paul doing after his encounter with Christ - we find him praying, spending time with the disciples for "some days", stowing away into Arabia for three years, staying with Peter for 15 days, - why? Why all of this spiritual discipline, all of this musing? In part, I think, Paul was counting the cost of following Jesus Christ, - Christ was "(showing) him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." And one by one, Paul wrote LOSS over everything - everything - on purpose - that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, that he would know Him and the power of His resurrection.
In view of the supremacy of Christ have I...have you counted the cost and found all things LOST for His sake? What things have you counted LOSS? What things must you reckon still that you have not yet? "If anyone comes to me and does not hate...his own life, he cannot be my disciple." May we all count the cost in view of the indescribable beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ and the promise that we have in Him, for if we have Him we have all things pertaining to life and godliness and glory.
"If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me...whoever loses his life for my sake will save it," Luke 9:23.
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish,'" Luke 14:26-30.
These things our Lord said when great crowds accompanied him. Does this not seem to contrast in a great way the methodology of today designed to bring masses of people in to the church? He does not comfort them with worldly pleasantries - no, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ you had to write LOSS over those things that are most dear to you in this world - your wife, your children, your family and friends, etc. But there is good reason: Jesus is the Treasure; Jesus is to be our dearest delight. He comforts us rather with the prospect of Himself - Jesus is our only GAIN. This is (but by grace) a nearly unbearable word - when a child comes forth from the womb, a climactic moment in this life, we write "loss" over them for the sake of Christ so that if we actually suffered the loss of them (although we will rightly grieve with many tears and sorrows and wailings) we will not be sidelined for the cause of Christ, but rather we will know Christ more intimately, extol Him more passionately, describe Him to the lost more all-satisfyingly - Christ is the Treasure, and He is our portion...forever.
If we treasure Jesus above all else, then "all else" becomes expendable for His sake. If Christ is most dear to us, and we suffer the loss of those things beneath Him, then we maintain that no matter the loss, Christ we still have. What is it to suffer the loss of those things which we have already considered loss...that we may gain Christ and be found in Him? I find this extremely heavy but a necessary meditation. Have I..have you counted the cost of following Christ, and thus, written LOSS over everything because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord? Not only our pre-Christian confidence in the flesh as the basis of salvation, although this is essential to salvation; but everything that in any circumstance would hinder us from knowing, gaining, and treasuring Christ above all else!
Our Lord told Ananias of Paul, "For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name," - a name that Christ chose Paul to carry to the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel, - and why is suffering for carrying this name essentially linked, - because, "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved," Acts 4:12. That is, to the exclusion of every other name - Buddha, Muhammad, or Brian. This will cause us to suffer - carrying the name in which lies the Person and Work unto an exclusive salvation. But do we not, like Paul, carry that name as Christians?
What was Paul doing after his encounter with Christ - we find him praying, spending time with the disciples for "some days", stowing away into Arabia for three years, staying with Peter for 15 days, - why? Why all of this spiritual discipline, all of this musing? In part, I think, Paul was counting the cost of following Jesus Christ, - Christ was "(showing) him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." And one by one, Paul wrote LOSS over everything - everything - on purpose - that he might gain Christ and be found in Him, that he would know Him and the power of His resurrection.
In view of the supremacy of Christ have I...have you counted the cost and found all things LOST for His sake? What things have you counted LOSS? What things must you reckon still that you have not yet? "If anyone comes to me and does not hate...his own life, he cannot be my disciple." May we all count the cost in view of the indescribable beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ and the promise that we have in Him, for if we have Him we have all things pertaining to life and godliness and glory.
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