When we don’t get holiness right…

Last evening, I taught our church briefly on the ever important topic, the holiness of God. The result was typical; I was deeply convicted during my preparation time.

Good definitions of holiness:

• Wayne Grudem describes holiness as God’s being ”separated from sin and devoted to seeking His own honor.”

• “The essence of our God’s holiness,” writes Bryan Chapell, “is that He is wholly other. He is separate from anything that could sully His glory or diminish His perfection. He is majestic, elevated, high and lifted up. He is not entangled by His creature’s failures. He is not tainted by earth’s stain. He is pure.”

• R.C. Sproul maintains regarding holiness, “At times it points toward pure, at other times it points toward separate and at other times it points toward transcendent.”

I believe that there are some serious ramifications in our personal spiritual lives as well as in our corporate spiritual lives when we fail to get the holiness of God right.

• If we don’t get the holiness of God right, we are committing idolatry. At a certain level, we have all committed idolatry. Each time we sin, we fail to think rightly about God and thus end up worshipping a creature of our own creation instead of the true God who created us. If we miss the fact that God is altogether separated from sin, we cannot possibly be worshippers of the true God at any level.

• If we don’t get the holiness of God right, the amazement of His love, mercy, and grace will fade into regular, ordinary, common-place cliches that are stripped of their spiritual power. God’s love is amazing precisely because it is undeserved. His mercy captivates us because the judgment we deserve has been withheld. His grace overwhelms hearts because by it we are granted what is undeserved and could never be earned. When holiness is ignored, minimized, or even inaccurately conceived, then in our estimation love becomes deserved, mercy a misnomer, and grace expected.

• If we don’t get the holiness of God right, we will never see the seriousness of sin nor will we be able to understand the target that we pursue, holiness as God is holy. Isaiah had to see the Lord in all his splendor, grandeur, glory, and holiness before he could respond, “Woe is me, for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips…” (Isaiah 6). If we don’t grasp the holiness of God, then we will lose sight of what He expects of us (1 Peter 1:13-16). If we are not careful, instead of seeking to measure up to the holiness of God, we will content ourselves with measuring up to others in our Christian communities or perhaps even comparing ourselves with our unregenerate neighbors.

• If we don’t get the holiness of God right, we will not be able to worship with the right heart attitude. We cannot possibly have the proper gratitude for our salvation, if we miss God’s holiness, and then we cannot possibly worship Him with a heart overwhelmed from that salvation and overwhelmed with the majesty of His person.

Hebrews 12:4 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Continue in Prayer in the New Year

As I’ve been preaching through John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit has been convicting my heart regarding this matter of prayer. I certainly want God to use me for the furtherance of the gospel, but I confess that my knees are not worn out yet. In this season of spiritual growth, the Holy Spirit graciously continues to expose my self-dependency, arrogance, and pride — for thinking that I can function without daily appropriating His power through prayer. And He’s been revealing the truth of Scripture to me, truths that are really all about Him, God-centered, if you will. Quite frankly, I’m tired of hearing about the power of prayer. We need, rather, to speak of the power of God, which can be appropriated by a believer through prayer.

In John 14, Jesus tells the disciples that they will do greater works than He has done. Pause and let that sink in for a moment. Greater works than Jesus? Certainly, in some sense Jesus masked His own majesty during His earthly ministry, but yet the works that He did do are astounding still (i.e. feeding the multitude, turning water into wine, raising Lazarus, etc.). Our greater works are greater only with respect to the worker. In other words, in His earthly ministry Jesus did less than He was actually able to do, while in our time to work for the Lord, through His divine enablement, we will do more than we should be able to do! Haddon Robinson illustrates this idea really well (not word for word),

Aboard a US submarine in enemy waters of the Pacific, a sailor was stricken with acute appendicitis. The nearest surgeon was 1,000′s of miles away. Pharmacist Mate, Wheller Lipes, watched the seaman’s temperature rise to 106 degrees. His only hope was an operation. Said Lipes, “I have watched doctors do it. I think I could. What do you say?” The sailor consented. In the wardroom, about the size of a drawing-room, the patient stretched out on a table beneath a floodlight. The mate and assisting officers, dressed in reversed pajama tops, masked their faces with gauze. The crew stood by the diving places to keep the ship steady; the cook boiled water for sterilizing. A tea strainer served as an antiseptic cone. A broken-handled scalpel was the operating instrument. Alcohol drained from the torpedoes was the antiseptic. Bent tablespoons served to keep the muscles open. After cutting through the layers of muscle, the mate took twenty minutes to find the appendix. Two and a half hours later, the last stitch was sewed, just as the last drop of ether gave out. 13 days later the patient was back at work. Admittedly, this was a much more magnificent feat than if it had been performed by trained surgeons in a fully equipped operating room of a modern hospital.

Thus, when God uses mere humans to preach the gospel of life to a dark world, dead in their sins, it is a greater work! One for which only He can receive the glory. And these greater works can only be accomplished in and through the Church as we continue in prayer, thus appropriating the power of God. Jesus said,

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I yam going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

In chapter 15, then, Jesus reminds the disciples of the importance of abiding in Him, saying, “Without me, you can do nothing” and “If you abide in Me and if my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will be unto you.” The more we abide in Jesus and His word abides in us, the more our heart (still riddled with sinful desires) will be aligned to His will, the more we will pray according to His will (in His name) and then ultimately the more prayer we will see answered as Jesus brings forth spiritual fruit in our lives (Christian character, conduct, and converts) as He does greater works through us, His Church.

If God’s leading me to John 14-15 weren’t enough (and the fact that I know John 17 is coming!), I read this a couple days ago in Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening (actually given to me for Christmas by a friend whom God saved through the ministry of our church, himself one of God’s “greater works”),

It is interesting to notice how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, ‘Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord’; and just as we are about to close the volume, the ‘Amen’ of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob — there a Daniel who prayed three times a day — and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elijah; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in his Word, he intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If he has said much about prayer, it is because he knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Do you not need anything? Then, I fear you do not know your poverty. Have no mercy to ask from God? Then, may the Lord’s mercy show you your misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, and the honour of a Christian. If you are a child of God, you will seek your Father’s face, and live in your Father’s love. Pray that this year you may be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter more often into the banqueting house of his love. Pray that you may be an example and a blessing to others, and that you may live more for the glory of your Master. The motto for this year must be, ‘Continue in prayer.’

Do I Obey Jesus Like I Obey My Football Team?

What would you think of a guy who says, “I am a really big Packers fan,” but doesn’t have a sweatshirt, has never been to Lambeau Field — not even for a free tour, has never worn styrofoam cheese on his head, cannot name even three present players, and hasn’t watched one of their games all season? You would say, “He’s no fan at all!”

I consider myself an excellent football fan. When my team says, “We have a game on Sunday night,” I’m there. Thursday night? I’m there. Name any time, and chances are, I’m there. And I’m not just there in presence. I’m all there. I’m usually wearing my team shirt and annoyingly spouting what I think is well-thought-out, in-depth, and incredibly accurate game analysis.

All across the country today we are obeying our football teams. They say, “But $125 tickets to our games,” and we do. “Pay $25 to park in our parking lots,” and we do. “Give us 3 and a half hours of your day,” and I will. “Purchase and wear our clothing,” and I will. “Visit websites throughout the week that provide you a taste of what will happen Sunday,” and I do on many occasions. Our football teams have basically asked us to orient our lives around them and we have.

The question hit me, though, this week: “Do I obey my Savior like I obey my football team?”

What would you think of a person who says, “I’m a serious Christian” but then only touches his Bible on the Sundays he attends church, rarely prays, knows only the five verses in the “Romans Road” by memory, and spends most of his free time watching programming on television that really doesn’t reflect anything that Jesus values?

Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Our love for Jesus should result in passionate obedience to Jesus. Sadly, though, we often obey our respective football teams more than we obey our Savior. Quite frankly, this reveals where our heart-affections are placed; it means that at times we probably love our football team more than we love our Savior.

What’s wrong with this picture? Everything. Your football team doesn’t love you. As much as you may have an infatuation with your team, the fact is that they fleece you for cash and time every year. But the Savior, on the other hand, bled and died, facing God’s wrath that we deserved so that we could be reconciled to God, enjoying His fellowship now and for all eternity.

If Jesus is the greatest love in our lives, we will read His Word more than the latest analysis on our team. We will orient our lives around the meetings of His people. We will spend our resources on the furtherance of His gospel. Our thoughts will consumed with Him. Our greatest passion will be loving Him and obey His every word.

Jesus says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

Abundant Life

I am preaching the beginning of John 10 this week. In this portion of Scripture, Jesus claims to be the good Shepherd, over against thieves, robbers, and hirelings. At the end of vs. 10, Jesus says, I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. This quote from D.A. Carson’s commentary was especially thought-provoking in regard to the phrase above:

This is a proverbial way of insisting that there is only one means of receiving eternal life, only one source of knowledge of God, only one fount of spiritual nourishment, only one basis for spiritual security — Jesus alone. The world still seeks its humanistic, political saviors — its Hitlers, its Stalins, its Maos, its Pol Pots — and only too late does it learn that they blatantly confiscate personal property (they come ‘only to steal’), ruthlessly trample human life under foot (they come ‘only…to kill’), and contemptuously savage all that is valuable (they come ‘only…to destroy’). Jesus is right. It is not the Christian doctrine of heaven that is the myth, but the humanist dream of utopia.

Free in Christ

Here’s a section from this morning’s sermon on John 8: and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.

Christ, having paid our penalty on the cross, has swung open the door of our prison cell, has loosed our chains, has released us from the power of sin, has freed us from the authority of the devil, and has lead us triumphantly out of the prison of sin and death into a new domain of freedom and righteousness in Christ. In light of this truth, why do we travel back up that familiar pathway, stained with the stench of our former sins, all the way back to the prison cell where we once wallowed in servitude without view of the light of Christ? Why do we swing the door back open and return once again to our former chains of bondage, preferring the shackles of sin and the brutal master that compels us to do that which destroys us, over the freedom that the Savior has purchased for us? We’ve been freed from the power of sin by the Son Himself; the rest of our Christian existence is learning to live as a freedman.

“I Don’t Have Peace About It”

A friend and I were recently voicing our frustration with the pseudo-spiritual mysticism that masquerades as I just don’t have peace about it as it relates to our decision making as Christians. Just last week, I was given a copy of Biblical Manhood: Masculinity, Leadership, and Decision-Making by Stuart Scott. In a chapter on biblical decision making, he identifies “inner peace” as a means of subjectivity that should be avoided or handled with caution. He writes,

This is interpreting a sense of peace or an unrest in your soul as direction from God. This is also a feeling. We are commanded to be at peace with God (salvation). We are also commanded to be at peace in our mind (free from anxiety). We are even commanded to be at peace with one another (as much as depends on us). If we are truly not at peace, we are in sin. If someone is using the phrase ‘I don’t have peace about it’ to mean they have a gut feeling that they shouldn’t do something or to mean that God is letting them know that they shouldn’t do something — this is subjective and totally unreliable. If they mean, ‘I feel troubled about making that choice because I am thinking about certain things that concern me’ or ‘because I don’t have enough information to make a wise (or holy) decision,’ this is a matter of wisdom and discernment which involves factual data, God’s wisdom, and the thinking process — not just feelings.

It would be better to say, ‘I can’t be sure that this is a wise decision yet.’ This is exactly the case with Paul in 2 Corinthians 2:13. He had ‘no rest in his spirit’ because he did not think it was wise to go to Troas without Titus. Paul was not saying that his unrest was a message from God. Nine times out of ten a person is ‘not at peace’ about a decision because of something they are thinking and they mistakenly attribute their feelings to a mystical message from God. If their feeling is not from their thinking, it could be from any number of physical or personal reasons (desires). Whether or not a person has inner peace is never used for decision-making in the Bible…Brother, sometimes what you feel worst about is the most right thing to do.

On Meaning and Application

I strongly believe that preaching should not stop at the level of what this text means, but that it must proceed to the realm of real-life application. However, there is a caution that must accompany this conviction. We must always communicate a clear “line of demarcation” between the meaning of a Biblical text and applications which flow from that same text. I think there’s some great reasons for this.*

• Our applications may not accurately flow from the text; the Scriptures are inspired, not my applications of it. When my applications are communicated as being on the same level as meaning, and when those applications turn out to be wrong, then the authority of the Scriptures is unintentionally done damage in my local church. People can say “no,” “I’m not sure about that,” or “let me think about it” to my applications without necessarily saying “no” to God’s Word. I should not communicate otherwise.

• If our people get the idea that a given application of the text is actually the meaning of the text, that portion of Scripture is potentially limited from saying all that it really says. For example, 1 Corinthians 6:19 (your body is the temple…) does not mean, “Do not do drugs.” That is an application. When the text is reduced to “Do not do drugs,” the actual meaning of the text is eclipsed by a seemingly solid application. Good intentions, bad result.

• When personal application from a text becomes the meaning of that same text, soul liberty is potentially truncated. In other words, if “Abstain from all appearance of evil” now means “Do not go to the movie theater under any circumstances because someone may see you and think the worst..” we are not only guilty of bad exegesis, but we have also unintentionally armed people to do some real damage in our local church. Now, in light of what was wrongly communicated, those who go to the theater are not simply applying the Scriptures differently in their personal lives, they are actually disobeying the Scriptures themselves!

• Confusing the text and the application potentially undermines the Holy Spirit’s work of illumination by placing the onus on the pastor to do the Spirit’s Job.

• Confusing the text and the application provides a potential cop-out for our people. They may lose their own sense of responsibility for applying scripture by relying almost exclusively on the pastor or teacher to do so for them.

*Thanks to Jeremy Horneck for his collaboration on this list.

Oceans are not for swimming…

I often remind my wife that 90% of all shark attacks happen in 6 feet of water or less. Naturally, she tries to explain to me the logic behind this shocking statistic, namely that most humans, when inhabiting the ocean, are in the 6 feet of water or less. Naturally, her “logical” response is mere rhetoric intended to lure me into the salted pool of death that many associate with “fun,” “relaxation,” and “vacation.”

I am pro-life. If I want to be consistent then I will be pro-my-life and pro-her-life as well (furthermore, no man ever yet hateth his own flesh). So, when given the opportunity to swim in the ocean, I naturally and with great intelligence choose life. Therefore, since I choose life, I will not be lured into a situation where my limbs and organs are dangled as fish-bait in front of a slew of almost-half-ton, stealthy, razor-blade-teeth-equipped monsters of the sea. I’ll bring my towel and a good book, thank you very much, and curl up on the warm, sandy beach, perhaps allowing the waves to roll up and hit my feet (although there’s a hint of danger there as well), while I sip one of those lemonades with the little umbrella in it.

Here’s my top five reasons to avoid swimming in the ocean:

5. It takes two or three showers to finally get clean from all that sand and salt.

4. These live in the ocean. And they happen to think that we taste good. We are their Oreo’s. Get the picture?

3. Have you ever seen Jaws? Neither have I. But that movie looks pretty scary.

2. This happened this week. My dog playfully nibbles on me from time to time, even licking my face. I live to see another day. When sharks playfully nibble, you go to the hospital. When they lick your face, you die.

1. I’m sure this picture is 100% authentic, and not a product of any photo editing. This should convince you, like it did me, to stay out of the ocean.

Military Order Prevents US Soldiers From Practicing Christianity

Last evening as we watched the ABC news piece on “Jesus Guns,” my wife and I were outraged both as Americans and as Christians. Apparently the provider for our country’s rifle scopes, a Christian company named Trijicon, places Scripture references in tiny print near the serial number of the scope to reflect the company’s Christian identity. These particular verses (like John 8:12 and 2 Corinthians 4:6) speak of Jesus as the lighting shining out of darkness and as the light of the world. In and Out Burger (and other esteemed American businesses) do something similar, placing Scripture references on the bottom of their fountain soda cups.

The piece on the gun sights is not what troubles me the most. If they want to ask Trijicon to remove the verses from the serial number area of their product so that our liberal media can get out of their over-reaction-ICU-condition, then fine. But that is not the biggest part of this story! In launching this story, every American has heard that the US Military is not allowing our soldiers (US citizens) to practice Christianity in Afghanistan and Iraq. Apparently, the US Military has been given an order that prevents our soldiers from sharing and promoting their Christian faith to the indigenous peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq. Since when is the freedom of religion restricted for those who would fight to protect those same freedoms?

The truth of the matter is that in order to practice Christianity, a Christian must be actively involved in making disciples of Jesus Christ; this job does not end until until the message of Christ has been extended to every socio-political group or until Jesus returns at the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen (NKJV)

It sounds nice to say that our soldiers can “hold religious services,” but that is a far cry from allowing soldiers to practice their Christian faith. Intrinsic to a Christian walk is obedience to the command of Jesus Himself to make disciples.

Piper on Pleasures

From John Piper’s most recent sermon on John 6:

Every honorable pleasure that we have in this world was designed to give a faint taste of heaven and make us hunger for Christ. Every partial satisfaction in this life is designed by God to point to the perfect satisfaction in Jesus, who made the world for Himself. The pleasures of warm bread should send our senses and our spirits to Christ, the bread of life. The pleasures of cold water on a hot day when we are really thirsty should send our sense and our spirits to Christ, the living water. The pleasures of light which makes all beauty visible should send all of our senses and spirits to the light of the world, Jesus Christ, which is why light exists. That’s why water exists. That’s why bread exists, and everything exists for Him. If you don’t know that, you are probably drowning in idolatry.

Satisfaction in Doing

With the rising popularity of John Piper’s Desiring God as well his overall emphasis of being satisfied in God, my generation has been moved to seek satisfaction in our relationships with God. In Psalm 17:15, the psalmist passionately declares:

As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness. 

This emphasis is right and proper. In an age when individuals are incessantly tempted to be distracted by what is shiniest, Christians, as they progress in sanctification, should be increasingly satisfied in God and decreasingly satisfied by stuff. 

Sadly, however, what I’ve seen on occasion and what I’ve known experientially is not complete satisfaction from God. Sipping a mint mocha frappe at Starbuck’s while reading Mortification of Sin or Valley of Vision is not the purposed end of deep and sustaining satisfaction in God. 

I fear that too many Christians are only finding half of the satisfaction that God intended for us. If we only search for satisfaction in God, and never put our hands to the plough in working for God, then we will not gain the whole of the satisfaction that God designed for us. 

That was Jesus’ point in John 4. While the disciples were in the city buying food for them and for Jesus, an immoral Samaritan woman approaches Jacob’s well. You know the story; our Lord lovingly confronts the sin of her heart, convicting her of sin. When the Lord, then, reveals his messianic identity, the woman runs to her home proclaiming that Jesus is some sort of prophet sent from God. The disciples stumbled upon this scene and said something like this in their hearts, 

Master, why are you speaking to a woman? Why this woman? How could you defile yourself like this, Lord? Why aren’t you reading the Puritans…

But none of them said a word. Instead, they told Jesus that he must eat. Naturally, they would think that Jesus needed something to sustain and satisfy him amidst their long journeying. Jesus answered, 

I have meat to eat that you don’t know about…My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish his work. 

Here, Jesus reveals that there is satisfaction in doing, in accomplishing – in working. Usually, when we think about being satisfied in our Christian life, we think of satisfaction primarily in terms of our relationship with God. Here, Jesus explains that there is satisfaction in our work for God. 

What is this satisfying work? 

The context is clear. Immediately preceding, Jesus has a spiritual encounter with the Samaritan woman that leads to confrontation and conviction of personal sin. Immediately after this scene, Jesus says, “Lift up your eyes and look unto the fields, for they are white already to harvest.” The work that our Lord speaks of is a gospel, disciple-making work. 

The great commission is not an option from peer to peer; it is a command from the King to his servants. Here, however, Jesus is reminding us that there is delight to be found in our service to the King.

I Can Do All Things (Like What?) Through Christ

As I prepared for Bible study this week on Philippians 4:10-13, I was surprised by the differences in perspective on Philippians 4:13. 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Norman Vincent Peale offered this advice to a man with problems (found here): 

As you walk down the streets tonight I suggest that you repeat certain words which I shall give you. Say them over several times after you get into bed. When you awaken tomorrow, repeat them three times before rising. On the way to your important appointment three additional times. Do this with an attitude of faith and you will receive sufficient strength and ability to deal with this problem. Later, if you wish, we can go into an analysis of your basic problem, but whatever we come up with following that study, the formula which I am now going to give you can be a large factor in the eventual cure.

Folowing is the affirmation which I gave him- “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

In a 140 character tweet, John Piper says: 

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13), like go hungry, get cancer, be killed and go home.

Philippians 4:13 is so much deeper than a mantra to be repeated in order to dunk a basketball, win the lottery, receive a scholarship, or take the Stanley Cup. It is a gentle assurance that we can make it through any trial to which God has called us because we are in Christ and carried along by his grace. That’s why Paul can say that he knows how to be at the bottom and at the top, because through Christ he can patiently endure any trial.

Safety in Repetition

How many times have I rolled my eyes in my heart when I heard a familiar text announced from the pulpit? Have I grown tired of hearing the same doctrines explained over and over? Do I find myself skimming when an author cites a familiar verse?

I often forget that there is safety in hearing over and over again the warning of God’s Words. 

Philippians 3:1 

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble for me, but it is safe for you. 

Paul goes on in that text to warn the believers again (he had probably done this while present with them) about the Judaizers — the dogs, evil workers, the mutilators of flesh, the teachers of a false gospel (3:2). Warning against false teaching and warning about the dangers of sin should never get old, should never be viewed as obscurantist, outdated, unfashionable, or uninformed. 

The fact is, repetition of biblical truth is not boring but safe. Reiterated spiritual warning is not overbearing but caring.

God’s Word will never be hidden in our hearts unless its truths are repeated over the course of years. Furthermore, many will continue in a child-like state, and will continue to be carried about by every wind of doctrine and by the deception of false teachers, until in wisdom the warnings that have been repeated over and over again are heeded.

There is wisdom in repetition — OT saints were “to bind them [God's Words] upon their fingers and to write them upon the table of their hearts.” Parents were instructed to teach the Word to their children dilligently — when they arose, when it was bed-time, when they were out and about, and when they were sitting in their house (Deut. 6:7).

I need incessant reminders of biblical truth because sin is too appealing, because false teaching is too prevalent, and because I’m not glorified yet. 

Repetition may seem lame, but God says it’s safe. Next time the pastor announces a familiar text, don’t respond in pride — be wise, and rest in the safety that repitition brings.

Hermeneutic of Arrogance: Philippians 2:9-11

A while ago, I tried to pull away the facade and admit that I read the Bible with a hermeneutic of arrogance. Although, I must admit, that even in posting something like that, I struggled with pride. It’s a strange sort of pride that glories in admitting the need for humility. That vicious cycle aside, last week as I prepared for a Bible study, I came across Philippians 2:9-11: 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

My first thought was to take this text and run with it regarding those outside Christ, as I’ve heard some well-intentioned preachers do. We’ve all heard it said, “they can bow now or they can bow later, it’s their choice.” That’s true. However, that’s not the point in Philippians 2. If you read the Bible with a hermeneutic of arrogance (as I do), you will be prone to missing the true point. 

The point here is not that others will one day bow before the exalted Jesus Christ. The point is that one day, I will bow before Jesus and confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The point is that every member of the body will be there, humbly prostrated before the Lord. The Philippians were struggling with unity; Paul reminds them that while they think they are pretty high and mighty right now, that one day, each of them will occupy the same position, sprawled out, face to the ground, as the Lamb of God is glorified for who He is. 

My knees will bow. 

My tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

God, by your grace, deliver me from the hermeneutic of arrogance.

Salvation: Not a Reward for Being Good

CH Spurgeon said,

The gospel does not come to us as a premium for virtue, but it presents us with forgiveness for sin. It is not a reward for health, but a medicine for sickness

Lest I elevate a personal hero to the place of authority that only God, as revealed through the Bible, should maintain in my life, let me clarify. The above is true not because Prince Charles said it, but because it’s thoroughly biblical. As I read Ephesians 2:1-10 this morning, I was reminded with the truth that my pre-salvation works were worthless, but yet after my “by grace through faith salvation,” I can walk in the good works that God has prepared for all those who are in Christ.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast. ¹⁰ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The gospel provides forgiveness for the wickedness described in verses 1-3 and frees us from the power of our former sinful desires. I was worldly in the truest sense; I did what I wanted to do — fulfilled the desires of my flesh and mind. Certainly, if I were to be rewarded for these works, I would receive the wages guaranteed by Romans 3:23 — spiritual death. Thankfully, though, God does not reward me for my efforts. The gospel does not give me what I deserve or else it would not be good news. Jesus gave me what He deserved, and that’s grace.