The Necessity of Believing in Jesus Christ

As a pastor, I am sometimes asked about the Jewish people today who believe the Old Testament, but not the New Testament. Are they saved? The Bible is clear on this. When Jesus Christ came, God revealed Himself as a triune God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are hints of this in the Old Testament. But it was not revealed until Christ came. Now that God has revealed Himself as a triune God, He holds man accountable to believe in His triunity. In fact, the New Testament speaks many times of the necessity of believing in Jesus as the Christ and the unique Son of God. This morning I came across one such verse. 2 John 9 says, "Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son" (ESV). In other words, now that Christ has come, if a person does not believe and follow the teaching of Jesus, they neither truly know God nor are in relationship with God nor can receive His greatest blessings. This reminds me of 1 John 5:11-12, which says, "And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (ESV). Now that Christ has come, eternal life is found only in relationship with Jesus. The reason for this is that it is Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. There is no salvation apart from Jesus and the blood He shed for those who will believe in Him. The good news is that He graciously invites all to believe in Him for salvation!

Being a Doer of the Word of God

The last two Sundays I preached Luke 8:1-21, in which Jesus teaches about being a doer of the Word of God. Such a person is one who believes the Word, holds fast to it, and bears fruit with perseverance. I spoke about the importance of applying to our life every passage we read or hear preached, which is what Jesus is getting at. To be someone who is responsive to the Word, we need to understand the various ways in which God wants His Word to affect our lives. There is much more to the Word of God than commands to be obeyed. So there is much more to being responsive to the Word than obeying the commands. Below is a list of 8 questions that are helpful for discerning the way that God intends for us to respond to any passage of Scripture:

1. Is there a truth about God for which to worship Him?

In Exodus 34:6-8, the Lord revealed Himself to Moses, saying He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.” Moses’ response was to worship the Lord. We also should worship Him for any truth about Him revealed in a passage we are meditating upon.


2. Is there a truth to believe?

For example, Romans 6:1-11 teaches that we who believe in Christ have died with Christ to sin and are alive in Christ to God. It teaches us this truth so that we will believe it, and so that believing this truth we will not live in sin. Actively believing this truth is an essential way to apply the passage to our life.


3. Is there a theological error to avoid?

Galatians 5:1-4 warns against seeking to be justified by obeying God’s law. Avoiding this error, and any other error Scripture warns against, is an essential type of application.


4. Is there an example for me to follow or avoid?

1 Corinthians 10:1-11 says God’s punishments of the Israelites for their sins that are recorded in the Old Testament, happened as an example so that we would not repeat the same sins. God intends that we will avoid the negative examples and follow the good examples in Scripture.


5. Is there a command to obey?

Some of the commands in Scripture are not for us, such as circumcision, which was only for the Israelites. But many of the commands in Scripture are there so that we will obey them, especially the commands of Jesus and the commands in the epistles. After Jesus gave such commands He asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).


6. Is there a promise to claim?

For example, in John 14:2-3 Jesus promised believers, “I go to prepare a place for you,” and “I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” If you are a believer, an essential application of this passage is to believe this promise.


7. Is there a condition to meet?

For example, 1 John 5:14-15 teaches that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us and we will have the requests which we have asked from Him. The condition given for answered prayer is asking according to God’s will. So an essential application of this passage is to seek to pray according to God’s will.


8. Is there a prayer to repeat?

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 is a prayer of Paul for the believers in Thessalonica. This and many of the other prayers in the Bible are examples for us of how God wants us to pray. Following these examples is one way in which God intends for us to apply them to our life.


The next time you read the Bible devotionally, ask these eight questions of the passage you are reading. Then respond to the passage appropriately, in the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God. Remember Jesus' promise of blessing upon those who are doers of the Word of God: "So take care how you listen; for whoever has [whoever is faithful to respond appropriately to the Word], to him more shall be given."

Christian Books for Children and Youth

I recently found a Christian book recommended reading list for children and youth, organized by grade-level. At the bottom is a set of links to other recommended reading lists for Christians that are not geared toward children. The list looks very good to me.

Is Christ an Authentic Example?

In my last post, I said that Jesus is an example for us to follow of befriending unbelievers for the purpose of leading them to salvation (Lk 7:34). An interesting question was raised in response to this. Is Jesus truly an example for us in this? Jesus couldn't be sinfully influenced by the unbelievers He befriended because he was 100% God. Just because Jesus could do it doesn't mean we are strong enough to do it. Then if Jesus could resist temptations that we can't, how do we use Christ as an example?

Here is my response. First, we need to be absolutely clear that Jesus lived His life as an example for us to follow. This is taught in the following verses:

1 John 2:6 the one who says he abides in Him [Jesus Christ] ought
himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

1 Peter 2:21-23 For you have been called for this purpose, since
Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His
steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Second, we need to realize that, even though Christ was unable to sin due to His divine nature, He truly experienced temptation. The temptation He faced was real, authentic temptation. The only difference between His experience and ours is that He never gave in to the temptation.

Hebrews 2:17-18 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all
things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For
since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come
to the aid of those who are tempted.

Hebrews 4:15-16 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot
sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we
are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the
throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.

As our example, who was "made like His brethren in all things" and was "tempted in all things as we are," Christ resisted temptation in the same way we are to resist temptation, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not use His own power to resist temptation, but relied on the Holy Spirit in the same we are to do, for after Jesus resisted the devil's temptations in the wilderness, the Bible says that "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14 NASB). This is how Jesus lived His life. He lived in dependence upon the Spirit, which is part of what it means that Christ humbled Himself in becoming a man (Phil 2:6-8). If He had not depended on the Spirit, He would not be the authentic example for us that Scripture says He is.

The very same power Jesus used to resist temptation is available to all believers, the power of the Holy Spirit. We should never seek to resist temptation in our own limited power, always in the Spirit's infinite power. This requires faith exercised through serious prayer, which Jesus also models for us in His habits of serious prayer.

So Jesus' example of befriending unbelievers is an example that we can follow in the power of the Spirit and one that we should follow. This does not mean we should do something foolish like going with unbelievers to a bar if we have a tendency to get drunk. But it does mean we should seek to befriend unbelievers while exercising wisdom.

Of course there will be times when we give in to temptation. But the good news is that when we do sin, there is a sympathetic High Priest who is merciful and faithful, who has made propitiation for our sins!

Interaction with the World - Part 2

I received an excellent question regarding my last post. 2 Cor 6:14-18 instructs us, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers..." (NASB). How does this fit in with the idea I asserted that it is OK for a Christian to have a friendship with an unbeliever? I asserted that we have a tendency to become like the people we get to know, including unbelievers. But Christ sent us into the world (John 17:15-18). To keep ourselves from becoming like the world, the solution is not to isolate ourselves from unbelievers, but to (1) actively seek to get to know God and become like Him, and (2) exercise discernment, carefully examining everything unbelievers say and do, holding on to the good, and abstaining from every form of evil. So what about 2 Cor 6?

2 Cor 6 must be understood in the context of what Paul already said to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 5:9-11 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. (NASB)

So Paul's intention in his letters to the Corinthians is not to keep them from associating with the immoral people of this world. Because believers are, by the will of God, in the world, they will eat with unbelievers and associate with them in various other ways. To not do so is absurd in Paul's mind.

1 Corinthians 9:19-22 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself
a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so
that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though
not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the
Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without
the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are
without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have
become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. (NASB)

Paul gave his life as an example to the Corinthians, of drawing as near unbelievers as possible for the sake of winning them to Christ. Yet all the while Paul is seeking to submit to the "law of Christ." There are ways of life that unbelievers participate in that the law of Christ prohibits. Yet as far as the law of Christ allows, we are to draw near unbelievers for the purpose of leading them to Christ.

1 Cor 10:27 explicitly allows a believer to go to a meal hosted by an unbeliever, "If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake" (NASB).

So then when Paul says in 2 Cor 6:14, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers" (NASB), he certainly isn't forbidding casual friendships with unbelievers, where you periodically share a meal or coffee together, or converse with one another. To learn what he is forbidding, we must consider the words Paul uses and the context.

Paul uses one Greek word translated, "bound together" (NASB), or more literally, "unequally yoked" (ESV). This word was surely associated in Paul's mind with the prohibition in Deut 22:10 of yoking an ox and a donkey together for plowing. It speaks not of any relationship between two people, but of a relationship which causes the two people to go the same direction in life.

We also need to consider the context. In this epistle, Paul is defending his ministry, because people in Corinth have been discrediting him. These people are false teachers and unbelievers. Paul says in 6:11-13 that the heart of him and his fellow missionaries is opened wide to the Corinthians, but the Corinthians' hearts are not opened wide toward Paul and his associates. The reason for the Corinthians' restraint toward Paul is the fact that they are being influenced by the people in Corinth who have been discrediting Paul. So when Paul then says not to be bound together with unbelievers in 6:14, and to "come out from their midst and be separate" (6:17), he has in mind the relationships the Corinthians have which are pulling them away from Paul. That this is Paul's thinking is evident as he continues in 7:1-2, giving similar instruction...

2 Corinthians 7:1-2 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God. Make room for us in your hearts; we
wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. (NASB)

So the prohibition, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers," meant that the Corinthians were not to be looking to unbelievers for spiritual leadership of any sort. Their having done this has soured them towards Paul.

So how do we apply 2 Cor 6:14-18 to our personal situations? Certainly the common application to marriage is a valid one--do not marry an unbeliever. Being one flesh involves being heavily influenced by one another. It is very hard to resist being influenced in the wrong direction by an unbelieving spouse. Yet God does give grace to empower one to do so, for 1 Cor 7:12-14 prohibits a believer from divorcing an unbeliever, as long as the unbeliever consents to live together. A second application would be that believers should not seek counsel for spiritual problems, such as anxiety, from unbelievers. A third application would be that believers should not seek Bible training from unbelievers, such as professors at liberal seminaries. We could make a long list of applications, but refraining from casual friendships with unbelievers wouldn't be one of them.

Because of Jesus' close interaction with unbelievers, such as is recorded in Luke 5:29-32, he was known by unbelievers as "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Lk 7:34). Jesus has commissioned us with continuing His ministry of calling sinners to repentance and making disciples. We must do so using His methods, which includes befriending sinners. Part of the key is to be intentional about calling them to repentance. It is when we let up on this, that we become susceptible to their influence away from Christ.

Interaction with the World

I asked the people of our church to submit questions about the Bible and the Christian life, and I promised to answer them in a sermon. This morning I gave the answers, but ran out of time. The question that I wasn't able to answer is a very good question, and I think the answer I prepared will be edifying not just to the people of our local church, but to other believers as well. So I am posting the question and my answer here.

Question: Where do you draw the line in interaction with the world for adults and for children?
What about watching TV shows that feature people who are known for sinful lifestyles off-screen, such as a lifestyle of sexual immorality? What about friendships with unbelievers?

Answer:
There is a better question than, “Where do you draw the line?” This question is about externals rather than the heart. It presupposes that a person will be OK if they stay away from a certain level of worldliness.

Take movies as an example. Some Christians use the movie’s rating to draw a line. Perhaps children are not allowed to watch PG-13 or "worse," while adults do not allow themselves to watch R or "worse." Anything with a "better" rating is considered OK to watch. The mentality is that smaller amounts of inappropriate material won’t hurt a person, but larger amounts will. So you need to know where to draw the line.

This is not the Christian mentality but the mentality of the Pharisees. They sought conformity to the Law of God by creating and following all kinds of new laws regarding external behavior. In other words, they were all into drawing lines. For example, they said that on the Sabbath, it was OK to spit on a rock, but not on the dirt, because spitting on dirt makes mud, which is work.

The Christian mentality, on the other hand, recognizes that our biggest problem is with our heart, and the condition of our heart is NOT a product of our environment.

Mark 7:18-23 And He said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do
you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile
him, because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is
eliminated?" (Thus He declared all foods clean.) And He was saying, "That which
proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of
the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders,
adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality,
envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within
and defile the man." (NASB)

The big problem is with our heart. If the problem were our worldly environment, Jesus would not have prayed the way He did...

John 17:15-18 "I do not ask You to take them [Jesus' disciples] out of the
world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I
am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent
Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." (NASB)

Jesus did not want the Father to take His disciples out of the world. Instead, He sent His disciples into the world. You should have friendships with unbelievers, and you should be training your children how to live for Christ in the world.

So what would be a better question than, “Where do I draw the line for my kids and myself?” A better question regarding yourself is, “How can I glorify God while I interact with the world?” A better question regarding your kids is, “How can I equip and encourage my kids to glorify God while they interact with the world?”

I could write a series of messages on the question, “How can I glorify God while I interact with the world?” Let me scratch the surface for now.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil."

While interacting with a non-Christian friend, you should be examining carefully everything they do and say. While your kids interact with non-Christian friends, they should be learning to do the same. While you watch TV, you should be examining carefully everything that is said and portrayed on the screen. When your kids watch TV, they should be learning to do the same.

You and your kids are to examine whether the things you hear and observe are “good” or a “form of evil." If something is good, you are to “hold fast to it” (follow the example). If it is a “form of evil,” you are to “abstain” from it (keep yourself from following the example).
This is the exercise of discernment.

Here is an example. If your kids watch Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, you ought to pause the movie at different points to discuss what is going on. These movies in particular send a message that the greatest thing in life is to find your Prince Charming, your true love. It tells a young girl that the greatest thing is to have a romance with a boy. Together with your kids, compare this message with Scripture. Consider the following:

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.

Matthew 22:37-38 "'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD
YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment."

The Bible indicates that the greatest thing in life is be loved by God and to love Him in return. Though God may give your children a spouse some day, they don't need such a relationship. A relationship with God is far greater and what they truly need. If you don't discuss this with your children, they will probably be deceived, even by something as "innocent" as Sleeping Beauty. The solution isn’t to keep your kids from ever watching Sleeping Beauty. Then they would not be trained to exercise discernment but to be legalists.

If you watch a movie with your spouse, don’t just watch it and move on with your life. Discuss together what you saw. What were the examples of good? What were the examples of evil?


After spending time with an unbeliever, pray about what you observed in their life. “Lord, give me Your perspective on how this person talked and behaved. What was good that I can learn from? What was evil that I must abstain from?” The solution isn’t to distance yourself from unbelievers. You will never lead them to Christ that way. The solution is to actively exercise discernment.


If you and your kids do not examine everything carefully, holding fast to the good and abstaining from the evil, you will inevitably follow the world. God has created us with a tendency to become like the people we get to know. They tend to rub off on us. This is a wonderful thing if you are spending time getting to know God. But this tendency to become like others must be resisted when we are interacting with the world.


The tendency to follow the world must be actively resisted in two ways. The first way is what we have been talking about—exercising discernment. The second way is to work hard at getting to know God for the purpose of becoming like Him. Actively getting to know God and becoming like Him will keep you from becoming like anyone else.


Both the exercise of discernment and the pursuit of knowing God require an ongoing process of being sanctified in the truth of the Word of God. Consider Jesus' prayer again. Notice the mention of being sanctified in the truth...

John 17:15-18 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep
them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not
of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is
truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the
world."

As a follower of Jesus who has been sent into the world, you must be immersing yourself in the Word of God day and night. And as a parent, you must be teaching your children the Word of God. You must be teaching them the Word in regular times of family worship. And you must be teaching them the Word throughout the day as you go through life together, using the issues of life to point your children to the Word.

Deut 6:6-7 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on
your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall
talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when
you lie down and when you rise up.

Immerse yourselves in the Word so that you and your kids are getting to know God, in order to become like Him rather than like the world. Immerse yourselves in the Word so that you and your kids are getting to know the truth, in order to examine the world according to the truth.


There is one last principle to keep in mind that is gleaned from Paul's discussion of eating food sacrificed to idols...

Romans 14:22-23 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction
before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he
approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his
eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

If you have doubts that a certain interaction with the world would please God, then this passage says going ahead with the interaction would be sin. As Christians, we are to only engage in an activity if we have the faith that it is pleasing to God.

What the Bible Says About Physical Illness

In order to understand physical illness, we must get to know what the Bible says about it.

First, the Bible reveals what the causes of physical illness are. All physical illness is a result of the curse God placed upon the world when mankind fell into sin (Isa 33:24). In addition, physical illness is sometimes caused by Satan and demons, as the four gospels show. Other times physicall illness is a result of sin in one's life. It can be a natural consequence of our sin, as when a person breaks their hand because they punch a wall in sinful anger, or when a person contracts AIDS through sexual immorality. Illness can be God's discipline of our sin (2 Chron 21:12-18; Psa 32:1-5; 1 Cor 11:29-32). Or illness can be a symptom of sinful thinking and attitudes (Prov 17:22; 14:30).

Not only does the Bible reveal the causes of illness, it also reveals the proper motive for seeking good health--to keep our body useful to the Lord (Rom 12:1).

The most important way of seeking good health is by fearing God, keeping His commandments, turning from evil, and following Jesus (Prov 3:7-8; 4:20-22).

Every physical illness occurs under the sovereign control of God, and God has a good purpose for every occurrence of illness. The Bible reveals some of God's good purposes for illness. They include bringing glory to God (John 11:1-6), making you more like Christ (2 Cor 12:7; Rom 8:28-29), making you useful to Christ (2 Cor 12:8-10), exposing your true character (Job), and increasing your ministry (Gal 4:13-14).

The thoughts above come from a message I preached in January. The audio file can be downloaded from www.cfcnb.org. Click "messages." Then look for the message from 1/13/08 entitled, "Themes in Luke: Physical Illness."

The Canaanite View of the LORD

We learn something very interesting in Joshua 9 about the Canaanite view of the LORD. In chapter 9, the Gibeonites deceived the leaders of Israel into making a treaty with them. They did so out of fear of the LORD.

The Gibeonites said to Joshua, "From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth." (Josh 9:9-10 ESV)

Later when Joshua asked them why they had deceived Israel, they answered Joshua, "Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you--so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing." (Josh 9:24 ESV)

Word got around. The Gibeonites knew the name of Israel's God--the LORD (Yahweh). They understood that the LORD rescued the Israelites out of Egypt. They understood that the LORD gave Israel victory over Sihon and Og. And they understood that the LORD had commanded Israel to take possession of the land of Canaan and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land.

This tells us that the world was observing Israel, and that they recognized God's powerful working on their behalf. So it is with us. The world is observing us. Do they also recognize God's powerful working on our behalf? If not, why not?

Purposes of Romans and the Gospel

Romans is a fuller revelation of the gospel than any other book in the Bible. 1:18-8:39 is pure gospel. And Paul continues to cover gospel-related issues all the way through the end of chapter 11. The purpose of this gospel revelation is not primarily to evangelize the readers of Romans, for the epistle is addressed to believers (1:7). I see three main purposes of this gospel revelation.

One purpose is that believers would be spurred on to serve their Savior and would be transformed into the image of Christ. Paul's transition from gospel to Christian living is 12:1-2 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (ESV).

A second purpose of the gospel revelation is that believers would praise and glorify God. The conclusion to Paul's presentation of the gospel is 11:33-36 "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (ESV).

A third purpose of the gospel revelation is to strengthen believers to evangelize the world. In Paul's introduction, he says that he and the other apostles "have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" (1:5 ESV). "The obedience of faith" is the obedience to Christ that is produced by faith in Christ and the gospel. God had commissioned the apostles and graciously empowered them to lead the lost throughout the nations to faith in Christ and the resulting obedience to Christ. Paul speaks in chapter 15 of how he has been bringing about the obedience of faith among all the nations. "For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience--by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God--so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation" (15:18-20 ESV).

Then Paul's last words are a doxology in which he praises God for the strength He supplies to all believers for the task of bringing about the obedience of faith among all the nations. "Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith--to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen" (16:25-27 ESV).

This is a complex sentence. Let's break it down. The main thought is this, "Now to him who is able to strengthen you to bring about the obedience of faith, be glory." Paul says this is "according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ." In other words, the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ compel and equip us to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations. Paul also says this is "according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations." This is a reference to the gospel just mentioned. Now that Jesus Christ has come, the gospel has been revealed. Our task of bringing about the obedience of faith among all the nations is of epic proportions, for God spent long ages preparing for this world-wide endeavor. Paul also says that this is "according to the command of the eternal God." In other words, our glorious God doesn't ask us to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, He commands it! Paul's words are in the form of a doxology, thus giving God the praise and glory for the work He is doing through us among the nations.

So the purposes of the gospel revelation in Romans include our service & sanctification, God's praise & glory, and evangelism & missions.

When I Don't Desire God, ch. 2

Here are some quotes that struck me from chapter 2 of, When I Don't Desire God, by John Piper:

Piper discusses the relationship between desire for God and delight in God. "Desire would not exist if the thing enjoyed had not already been tasted. That's how the heart comes to feel something is desirable. Desire is awakened by tastes of pleasure. The taste may be ever so small. But if there is no taste at all of the desirability of something, then there will be no desire for it. In other words, desire is a form of the very pleasure that is anticipated with the arrival of the thing desired. It is, you might say, the pleasure itself experienced in the form of anticipation" (page 26).

"Finite creatures like us, who have a spiritual taste for the glory of God, will always want more of God than we presently experience--even in eternity. There will always be more of God to enjoy. Which means there will always be holy desire--forever" (pages 27-28).

"Our desires--no matter how small--have been awakened by the spiritual taste we once had of the presence of God. They are an evidence that we have tasted" (page 28).

"In the age to come, desire for more of God will never be experienced with impatience or ingratitude or frustration. All desire in the age to come will be the sweetest anticipation, rooted ever more deeply in the enlarging memories of joy and in the ever-gathering pleasures of gratitude. God will not take from us the pleasure of anticipated pleasures. He will heighten it. He will give us for all eternity the perfect intermingling of present pleasure and anticipation of future pleasure. Anticipation will be stripped of all frustration. Its ache will be a wholly pleasant ache" (page 28).

"Desire and delight have this in common: Neither is the Object desired or delighted in. God is. I make this obvious point because all of us from time to time speak loosely and say that the aim of our pursuit is joy. Or we way that we want to be happy. Those are not false or evil statements.... But the loose way of talking can be misleading. Both ways of saying it can be taken to mean: The object of our wants is ultimately a psychological expreience of happiness without any regard to what makes us happy. In other words, they may mean: the final object of our pursuit is joy itself, rather than the beauty of what we find joy in" (page 29). Piper quotes C. S. Lewis, who explains that seeking joy itself rather than God will leave you empty. "I had been equally wrong in supposing that I desired Joy itself. Joy itself, considered simply as an event in my own mind, turned out to be of no value at all. All the value lay in that of which Joy was the desiring" (Lewis, Surprised by Joy, in Piper, page 30).

"God is glorified in his people by the way we experience him, not merely by the way we think about him. Indeed the devil thinks more true thoughts about God in one day than a saint does in a lifetime, and God is not honored by it. The problem with the devil is not his theology, but his desires" (pages 30-31).

"I have found for thirty years that preaching and teaching about God's demand that we delight in him more than in anything else breaks and and humbles people, and makes them desperate for true conversion and true Christianity. Oh, how easy it is to think we are what we ought to be when the emotions are made peripheral. Mere thoughts and mere deeds are manageable by the carnal religious mind. But the emotions--they are the weathercock of the heart. Nothing shows the direction of the deep winds of the soul like the demand for radical, sin-destroying, Christ-exalting joy in God" (page 31).

Love Your Enemies

When Jesus commands us in Luke 6:27-28, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" (NASB), He gives reasons why we are to live this way. Probably the most significant reason is that it shows us to be "sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men" (Lk 6:35 NASB). In other words, it displays His character in our lives. Every mere human being that God has loved has been His enemy at some point, for sin makes a person God's enemy (Rom 5:9-10), and "all have sinned" (Rom 3:23). One way that we are different from God is that there are human beings in our life that have never been our enemy. So it is not really our love for these people that make us like God (Lk 6:32-33), but our love for our enemies that makes us like God. What joy God has in turning His enemies into His friends! Let's follow His example!

When I Don't Desire God, ch. 1

I have started reading, When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight for Joy, by John Piper. I really appreciated the foreward and first chapter. Piper writes in an even more personal and pastoral style than usual. Here are some sentences that stood out to me:

"When all is said and done, only God can create joy in God. This is why the old saints not only pursued joy but prayed for it (Ps 90:15). To be satisfied by the beatuy of God does not come naturally to sinful people. By nature we get more pleasure from God's gifts than from himself. Therefore this book calls for deep and radical change--which only God can give. But if I didn't believe God uses means to awaken joy in himself, I would not have written this book" (page 9).

"Christian Hedonism is a liberating and devastating doctrine. It teaches that the value of God shines more brightly in the soul that finds deepest satisfaction in him. Therefore it is liberating because it endorses our inborn desire for joy. And it is devastating because it reveals that no one desires God with the passion he demands. Paradoxically, many people experience both of these truths. That certainly is my own experience" (page 13).

"My indwelling sin stands in the way of my full satisfaction in God. It opposes and perverts my pursuit of God. It opposes by making other things look more desirable than God. And it perverts by making me think I am pursuing joy in God when, in fact, I am in love with his gifts. I discovered what better saints than I have found before me: The full enjoyment of God is my ultimate home, but I am still far off and only on the way" (page 14).

"Conversion is the creation of new desires, not just new duties; new delights, not just new deeds; new treasures, not just new tasks" (page 16).

"The misunderstanding of this book that I want most to avoid is that I am writing to make well-to-do Western Christians comfortable, as if the joy I have in mind is psychological icing on the cake of already superficial Christianity. Therefore let me say clearly here at the beginning that the joy I write to awaken is the sustaining strength of mercy, missions, and martyrdom" (pages 19-20).

"I am addressing the question: 'How can I obtain or recover a joy in Christ that is so deep and so strong that it will free me from bondage to Western comforts and security, and will impel me into sacrifices of mercy and missions, and will sustain me in the face of martyrdom?'" (page 20)

Free in Christ and His Bondslave

In Galatians 1:10, Paul refers to himself as a "bond-servant of Christ" (could also be translated "slave of Christ"). The same idea is in Romans 6:22 "But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life" (NASB). A similar idea is in Romans 6:18 "having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness" (NASB). So every true believer is a slave of Christ.

Yet Galatians also teaches that the true believer is free in Christ. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal 5:13). "But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage" (NASB). "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (NASB).

How is it that Christ set us free, yet we are slaves of Christ? We can answer that question by finding out the sense in which Christ set us free, and the sense in which we are slaves of Christ.

Being free in Christ does not mean that obedience to God no longer matters. The rest of the New Testament indicates that it matters to God and affects our life. That Christ set us free means five things:

1. We once were a slave to the law, but now God has adopted us as His son (Gal 4:3-7; Rom 7:6). The change was from a slavish relationship with something other than God, to a loving father-son relationship with God.
2. As a slave we had good reason to live in fear of the Law's curse, but now as a son we live by faith in God's promise of blessing (Rom 8:15; Gal 2:20; 3:5-10).
3. As a slave we sought to fulfill the requirement of the Law, but now as a son Christ has fulfilled the requirement of the Law in us (Rom 8:2-4).
4. As a slave we walked by the flesh, but now as a son we walk by the Spirit (Gal 3:2-3; 5:16, 22).
5. Now as a son we are tempted to use our freedom to gratify the flesh, but we have been set free in order to love and serve people (Gal 5:13-14).

Being a slave of Christ means He is the one and only person we seek to please. This servitude is very different from our former one. We have a new Master--the rightful Master. And we are in a new type of servitude that is chiefly motivated by love and gratitude rather than fear, a servitude energized by the Spirit rather than self.

According to Galatians 1:10, an additional freedom comes with this servitude, freedom from seeking the favor of men! "If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ" (NASB).

Love, Grace, and the Gospel

I was meditating upon Ephesians 2:1-10, which emphasizes that we are saved by God's grace. His grace is God's motive in saving us, which means that His motive has nothing to do with anything attractive or appealing in us. A parallel idea is found in verses 4-5, "God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ." Based on this passage, we could define God's grace as the great undeserved love (or favor) God freely gives to people who only deserve wrath from Him (2:3 “by nature children of wrath”).

Now let’s compare the reason we love God, to the reason He loves us so much to save us.

Our reasons are very different, in a sense. We love Him because of how attractive and appealing He is to us. But His saving love has nothing to do with anything attractive or appealing in us. We were in no way attractive or appealing to Him.

Yet there is a sense in which our reasons for loving each other are very similar. We love Him because of how attractive and appealing His grace is to us. And He savingly loves us because of how attractive and appealing His grace is to Him. Because we are attracted to His grace, we receive it, which is loving God. Because He is attracted to His grace, He gives it, which is loving us.

Praise God for the saving grace which He lavishes on His people!

McCain Info

I found an entry in Justin Taylor's blog helpful for understanding McCain better. I especially appreciated an article he links to by Gerald Bradley, professor of law at University of Notre Dame, regarding the strength of McCain's pro-life record. Here is the link:
http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/06/mccain-pro-life-and-quiet-courage.html

Ryan Kelly Parenting Sermons

I ran across three very helpful messages on Christian parenting, preached by Ryan Kelly, pastor of Desert Springs Church. They were part of a larger series he is doing on the book of Proverbs.

I especially appreciated the first message, "The Wisdom of Parenting with Toughness." This was the first time I heard someone explain how, as parents, we should model God's righteous anger before our children. There is a lot of other material that, for good reason, warns against becoming sinfully angry with our children. Our anger tends to be sinful, and much harm is done to children when parents are sinfully angry toward them. We do need to show an enormous amount of love to our children, and we all are deficient in this. But there is still a need for righteous anger. There is more to the sermon than this. But this is the part that really stood out to me.

You can download the message here http://www.desertspringschurch.org/content_page.php?selectedCat=8&catName=Messages&subID=

The other messages are "The Wisdom of Parenting with Instruction" and "The Wisdom of Parenting Toward the Gospel." They can also be downloaded from the same page.

"Do not be angry with yourselves...for God sent me"

Joseph tells his brothers in Gen 45:5 "Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life" (ESV). Joseph emphasizes this by repeating it in verse 7, "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors" (ESV). Joseph knows that his brothers are now tempted to be angry with themselves for a bad decision they made in the past. We can completely understand such a response. Their decision involved sin against their brother and against God. We also have made bad decisions in the past that we are tempted to be angry about today--some that were plainly sinful, some that were foolish, and some that were neither of these but have nevertheless led to regret. But Joseph also knows that God was sovereign over his brothers' bad decision. God was in control, as He always is. God delights in incorporating our sin, foolishness, and bad decisions in His wise plan. And God's plan is good (Rom 8:28). Because God was sovereign over his brothers' bad decision, and used it to save the entire family from starvation, Joseph encourages his brothers, "Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves." And today God is saying the same thing to you if you are angry with yourself for a bad decsision you made in the past. May our thoughts not be filled with such regret, but may they be filled with prayer that God will gloriously fulfill His good purposes behind our past decisions.