The Revealed Christ

"When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8).

Jesus may have concealed Himself from the crowds during the early days of His ministry, but He revealed Himself to His disciples. In Luke 5:1–3, we find Jesus teaching the crowds. He had appropriated a boat belonging to Simon Peter as a place from which to address the crowds. After the sermon was finished, and the crowds had departed, Jesus encouraged Simon to put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.

Simon answered that they had been laboring all night and had not caught anything, “but because you say so, I will let down the nets.” They caught “such a large number of fish that their nets began to break,” and they had to call partners in another boat to help them (Luke 5:4–7).

Suddenly Simon realized that he was face to face with the holiness and power of God. He asked Jesus to depart, pleading “I am a sinful man.” Notice the parallel between Simon’s reaction and that of the demons, as we saw it a few days ago. What was the first thing the demons recognized about Jesus? They saw His holiness: “What do you have to do with us?” they asked. “You are the Holy One of God!” (Luke 4:33). Like the demons, Simon was terrified in the presence of the Holy One.

Sinful men could not abide the presence of this Holy Man in their midst. They wanted Him to leave, and if He would not leave, then they would get rid of Him in any way they could, even if it meant they must kill Him.

But there is a big difference between how Jesus treated the demons and how He treated Simon the sinner. What did Jesus say to the demons? “Be quiet! Come out of him!” (Luke 4:35). “He rebuked them” (Luke 4:41). But to Simon He said, “Don’t be afraid” (Luke 5:10). This Holy One had come to destroy demons, but to save men. Jesus encouraged them, “and they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him” (Luke 5:11).

It is interesting that the call to discipleship was in the midst of a manifestation of holiness. A disciple is to be holy as God is holy. If unbelievers are uncomfortable around us, that is not a bad thing; but we must be as quick as Jesus to assure them that God is gracious and that the kingdom is open for them as well.

Living Coram Deo

"Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. “O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance” (Exodus 34:8–9).

Last week we considered the revelation of God’s holy glory to Moses and to Isaiah. Today we need to consider their responses. Notice that when Moses caught a tiny glimpse of God’s glory, he was immediately struck with a sense of his sinfulness and that of the people. He fell to the ground, admitted that he needed God’s favor, and begged God to forgive the sins of the people.

Just so, when God revealed His holy glory to Isaiah, the prophet cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5). What stands out here is that the first prophetic oracle pronounced by the prophet is an oracle of woe against himself. When Isaiah saw God in His glory, he saw himself as he really was.

The revelation of God’s holiness, powerfully communicated through His glory, caused these righteous men to feel their utter depravity by comparison. This is the first step in reformation. Almost anyone we meet will readily admit that he does wrong sometimes, that occasionally he sins. Sadly, that does not seem to bother people at all.

There is not one person in a thousand who will claim to be perfect, but there is not one person in a thousand who understands the seriousness of not being perfect. You see, God does not judge us on the curve; rather, the standard is that of God’s perfection. But we are comfortable with our imperfection. We judge ourselves by each other. No matter how ashamed I may be at the sins in my own life, I can always look around and find somebody who is more depraved than I am.

What we need is a vision of God’s holiness and glory, a vision that will bring us back to reality, and start us on the road to true reformation. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7), and if we would be wise, we must start by saying, “Woe to me!”

Coram Deo means “before the face of God.” When you are before God’s face in prayer, do you perceive His awesome holiness as you should? As your inflated view of self is diminished in His presence, be moved like Isaiah, first to repentance and then to praise.

Christians in Debt

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law" (Romans 13:8).

Based on this verse, especially its reading in the King James Version (“Owe no man any thing”), some Christians have decided that the New Testament forbids all debt. They refuse to use a mortgage to buy a house, will only pay cash for an automobile and do not carry credit cards. What about this?

First of all, although the Bible discourages debt, it does not prohibit all debt. The Mosaic law made provision for a person who is suddenly impoverished to get a charity loan from his neighbor (Deuteronomy 15:7). In addition, the Bible makes it clear that lending money as an investment in business is perfectly all right (Matthew 25:27). Beyond this, though, we have to take Romans 13:8 in context. Paul has been speaking about paying taxes, and now he says, “Let no debt remain outstanding.” In other words, he is saying that if we do go into debt, we are to pay our debts.

Practically what does this mean? For one thing, it means that Christians should pay their bills. It means we should be exemplary in the marketplace. Sadly, this is very often not the case. In general, the business community regards the church as a very poor financial risk, because so often churches do not pay their debts. In a slightly different arena, but still in the area of paying what is owed, the music publishing world has found that the worst offenders against music copyrights are churches.

It also means that if I borrow money, I pay it back according to the terms of the contract. If I buy a house, I am renting money from the bank at a mutually agreeable interest rate, and as long as I am making my payments and fulfilling the contract, I am not violating Romans 13:8.

Most Christians too readily get into debt. Are you conforming to the world in this area by living beyond your means? One reason to avoid debt is because we do not know the future. If we get into trouble and cannot service our debts, Christ’s witness suffers. Take stock of your spending habits. Commit yourself to getting your affairs under control. If you are unable to resolve your situation, find a prudent Christian investment counselor to help you.

The Mechanistic Church by Nick Batzig

This post first appeared at Feeding on Christ.

Many wrongly view the local church as a social society that exists to meet their needs or desires. On the contrary, the church exists to bring glory to God, to spread and defend the Gospel, to build up and equip the saints unto mutual edification in love and to carry out the good works for which Christ has redeemed a people (Eph. 2:10; 4:11-16). To this end, the Christian life and Christian ministry requires personal commitment, sacrifice and diligence. There is always a real danger that believers will grow weary in well doing (Gal. 6:9). When church members cease “giving all diligence” to living out the Christian life (2 Peter 1:5-7), they sometimes start looking for the local church to live the Christian life for them. They adopt a mechanistic view of the role of the church in their lives. When they do not feel as though the church is “working” for them, they grow discontent. Discontentment then often fosters and fuels division. Likewise, when pastors or elders grow discontent in waiting on the Lord to bless His appointed means of grace, they can slide into mechanistic ministry mode–trusting in programs or external accommodations to do the work of ministry for them. This is one of the most difficult issues to expose, since those who begin to do these things are usually not aware that they have begun to do so. It is a subtle and deceitfully sinful mode of operation.

To be sure, we should all have the deepest love for the local church, because the local church is God’s sphere of special, redemptive blessings (Eph. 3:10). We should long to see believers give the better part of their lives to the growth, provision and nourishment of the local church. That being said, God never meant for the church–in its organization, leadership and structure–to live the Christian life for its members. Likewise, God never intended for programs and ministry accommodations to do the work of ministry for its leadership.

Burk Parsons has made the important observation that often “the local church programs its people with so many activities that people have no time left to spend with their families and friends to enjoy life together and rest together—let alone take care of widows and orphans.” It is also sadly the case that the local church has programmed its people with so many activities that many of the congregants have convinced themselves that they are serving the Lord, when in fact they are merely living as ecclesiastical consumers. Whether it is singing in the choir, volunteering in a church food bank, participating in a home fellowship group or serving on a ministry team, individuals can convince themselves that they are living a faithful Christian life because they are participating in one of these or similar programs. It is altogether possible to be involved in activities in a local church without “making every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love” (2 Peter 1:5-7).

I am certainly not against church programs. However, when members of a local church grow discontent because the local church to which they belong is not large enough to have a size-specific or context-specific programs, it often reveals a defect in their own hearts more than it reveals a defect in that particular local church or its leadership. When members of a local church begin to complain because they want some provision or program that God has not commanded in His word, they are manifesting spiritual unhealthiness in their own hearts. Leadership can also fall prey to this pernicious phenomenon in the realm of ministry. Instead of relying on the Holy Spirit and God’s ordained means of grace to convert and sanctify the people of God, the ordained and staff leadership of a local church can begin to look to music, programs, facility accommodations, etc. to do the work of ministry. Here the old adage holds true: “What you win them with you win them to.” If you win people to the crucified and risen Christ, who reveals Himself through the means of grace (i.e. the word, sacraments and prayer), you win them to the Lord Jesus. If you win them with music, programs, advertisement or buildings, you will always have to do better music, have better programs and develop better buildings. God never intended for these things (which in and of themselves are not unlawful or unuseful) to work in the hearts and lives of individuals. They have their place in a local church, but they must never be in the driver’s seat of the Christian life or Christian ministry.

The New Testament gives us more than enough commands to carry out among the members of whatever congregation we have committed ourselves. For instance, we are called to “bear with the failings of the weak” (Rom. 15:1), to “be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another” (Rom. 12:10), to “lay something aside, on the first day of the week, as we may prosper” (1 Cor. 16:1), to “serve one another through love” (Gal. 5:13), to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), to “share all good things with the one who teaches” (Gal. 6:6), to “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10), to “bear with one another in love, with all lowliness and gentleness, with long-suffering” (Eph. 4:2), to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:32), to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord.” (Col. 3:16), to “increase and abound in love to one another and to all” (1 Thess. 3:12), to “exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13), to “consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb. 10:24), to “obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account” (Heb. 13:7), to “visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27), to “confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16), to “love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Peter 1:22), to “have compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous” (1 Pet. 3:8), to “be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9), to “minister to one another, as each one has received a gift” (1 Peter 4:10), and to “love one another” (1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 1:5). These are merely a few of the hundreds of apostolic imperatives that God has given to the members of His church. All of them require prayerful and purposeful pursuit. They involve personal commitment, sacrifice and diligence.

If you are a member of a congregation that is faithful to the sound preaching of the Gospel, the right administration of the sacraments, prayer, the singing of God’s truth and the faithful practice of church discipline, you have every reason to be thankful and to give yourself diligently to developing your Christian life. God has appointed the means of grace for the growth of His people. They will not, in and of themselves, live the Christian life for us either. We must be diligent to “make our calling and election sure” by working out what God is working in (Phil 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:10). We must not grow weary in well doing. We must resist the urge to look to either practices or programs, procedures and policies, to live the Christian life for us or to do the work of ministry for us. Our God has given us the enormous privilege and responsibility of diligently living out, on a daily basis, the spiritual life that He has given to us in Christ.

How Do I Know if I'm a Christian?

Could there be any question more important? But you don’t hear a lot of people asking it these days. Some people think it’s unhelpful, unsettling and unnecessary to ask such a question. But if we are wrong on the matter of greatest personal concern to us – wouldn’t we want to know? Sometimes people think it’s just a case of believing the gospel and seek to convince struggling souls to do this. But you can believe these things to be true and still not be assured they apply to you. Perhaps we are also functioning at a low level of assurance. The truth is that we cannot expect to have high levels of assurance while we have low levels of obedience. The more we find the evidence of faith working by love in our lives and hearts, the more assurance we can enjoy.

One book, in particular, has been of supreme help in this area: William Guthrie’s The Christian’s Great Interest. The subject of the book is assurance of salvation and it seeks to give various tests by which someone may know that he is a Christian and in doing so also sets out very clearly the way of salvation.

“Great Interest” doesn’t just mean that the book deals with the matter of greatest importance to a Christian and his chief concern. It is a legal term and means to have a valid stake or share in something to our benefit. Guthrie’s book deals with how the Christian may know whether he has a valid legal claim. The claim that matters is one within the Will and Testament or Covenant that the Lord Jesus Christ graciously makes with His people. Guthrie helps us to put ourselves in a courtroom trial where we are under Scripture as a judge to determine if our claim is true.

Guthrie opens the book with a concern that there are many “pretending, without ground, to a special interest in Christ”. On the other hand, many others “who have good ground of a claim to Christ are not established in the confidence of His favor, but remain in the dark without comfort, hesitating concerning the reality of godliness in themselves”. This state of affairs prompts two questions – 1. How can someone know if they are in Christ and whether or not he may lay genuine claim to God’s favor and salvation? 2. What should we do if we cannot find in ourselves the marks of a saving interest?

Guthrie’s book was highly commended by John Owen. He said that it contained more theology than everything he himself had written. Thomas Chalmers said it was the best book he had ever read.

Assurance is Possible

It is important to be clear that assurance is possible, and more easily attained than many realize. It is of the utmost importance to be “savingly in covenant with God”. Scripture must be the rule by which we are able to judge whether or not this is so.

Only a few, however, seem to reach this assurance. There are many different reasons for this:

• Far too many are ignorant of the different ways in which God works.
• Others deal deceitfully with God and their own conscience in holding on to sin.
• There is also a lazy apathy that resists the effort of examining ourselves, but it is “a work and business which cannot be done sleeping”. Assurance must be labored after, it is not something that falls effortlessly into our laps.
• Many are ignorant concerning what evidence will satisfy the quest for assurance, despite the fact that it is clear in Scripture.
• Some are looking for entirely the wrong evidences, such as attaining sinlessness or continuous rapturous prayer.
• Many that are struggling to attain assurance can make the following mistakes: (a) they think that all who are in Christ know that they are; (b) they think that all who have assurance have the same degree of certainty; (c) they think that this persuasion should be continuous; (d) they think that a person must be able to answer every objection against their assurance.
• Others believe that they have sinned against the Holy Ghost and put themselves beyond pardon. Guthrie defines what this is (and what it is not) very carefully and helpfully from the Scriptures.

Guthrie speaks of the different ways in which people are drawn to Christ. Some indeed may be drawn lovingly or called suddenly in a very direct way. The “ordinary” way involves being humbled by conviction during which the conscience is awakened till the soul is full of concern about salvation and driven from resting in anything of themselves to casting their all on Christ for salvation. This is carefully distinguished from the temporary convictions of those that fall away.

Faith and the New Birth as Evidence

The first evidence that Guthrie calls for in this trial is faith. Faith is vital in the matter of assurance – indeed all other marks are worthless without it. Yet it can be mistaken. It is not as difficult or mysterious as men sometimes think; the Scriptures speak of it as a simple trusting, resting, and looking. It can be found in various marks of submissive obedience and devotion to Christ. “If men but have an appetite, they have it; for they are blessed that hunger after righteousness”. Thus Guthrie identifies the marks of true faith but also distinguishes it from false faith.

The second set of evidence called upon relates to the new birth. There is a total renewal when a man comes to saving faith in Christ. In mind, heart and will he is changed from being self-oriented and self-serving to serving and glorifying God. Attitudes to all aspects of life are renewed whether it is work or worship, relationships, recreation or eating and drinking. There is a respect to all of God’s commandments, submission to and valuing of Christ alone that hypocrites never have despite the outward similarities with believers that they may seem to possess.

Getting Assurance

The great question in the minds of many, however, is why some believers doubt. Guthrie opens this up in considerable depth dealing with God’s sovereignty and our own responsibility in these matters. He speaks of twelve areas where different levels of experience may be enjoyed but where assurance may be obtained.

Part Two of the book also proceeds to deal with the second question raised: What should we do if we cannot find in ourselves the marks of a saving interest? Many may believe that they have closed in with Christ in the gospel very few, however, really have. Yet there is a duty that lies on all under the terms of the Covenant of Grace as it is preached to all. There must be a “coming” on our part. “God excludes none if they do not exclude themselves”. “It is a coming on our part, and yet a drawing on His part”. What is it to close with God’s offer of salvation in the preached covenant? It means to recognize the full guilt of sin, our need for salvation and the impossibility of any salvation without God’s appointment in Christ. We must “quit and renounce all thoughts of help or salvation by our own righteousness”. Faith is humble though resolute, hearty rather than mere mental assent though it must depend upon knowledge.

Personal Covenanting

The Covenanters and Puritans found great benefit in personal covenanting with God. Usually, this involved explicitly accepting of Christ and confessing sin and expressing satisfaction with the gospel way of salvation. The covenant was often renewed at Communion seasons and times of difficulty or desertion. Guthrie counsels those who lack assurance to make a covenant explicitly with God, writing down and speaking their acceptance in order that they may return to it in times of doubting. The author patiently removes any obstacles or objections that readers may have about covenanting, showing that it has a clear scriptural warrant. The covenant was to be no mere decision card that was signed off unthinkingly. It was a solemn holy vow before God dealing with our never-dying souls to be taken with due meditation and consideration. Guthrie compares the covenant to marriage vows between the soul and Christ, as a way of formally confessing with the mouth the same covenant that the believer makes in the heart.

A Summary of the Book

The following is a helpful summary of The Christian’s Great Interest prepared by William Guthrie himself. The language has been slightly updated for the benefit of understanding.

Q. 1. What is the great business a person has to do in this world?

A. To make sure of a saving interest in Christ Jesus and to live in a way that is consistent with it.

Q. 2. Do all the members of the visible church not have a saving interest in Christ?

A. No, in truth only a very few of them have it.

Q. 3. How will I know if I have a saving interest in Him?

A. Ordinarily, the Lord prepares His own way in the soul by a work of humbling and shows you your sin and misery. He makes you so concerned about it that you long for Christ Jesus, the physician.

Q. 4. How will I know if I have got a true sight of my sin and misery?

A. A true sight of sin makes a person take salvation to heart above anything in this world. It makes them reject all relief in themselves, seen in their best things. It makes Christ who is the Redeemer, very precious to the soul. It makes a person afraid to sin afterward and makes them content to be saved on any terms that God pleases.

Q. 5. By what other ways may I discern a saving interest in Him?

A. By the heart going out seriously and affectionately towards Him as He is held out in the gospel. This is faith or believing.

Q. 6. How will I know if my heart goes out after Him aright, and that my faith is true saving faith?

A. Where the heart goes out aright after Him in true and saving faith, the soul is pleased with Christ alone above all things, and is satisfied with Him in all Him three offices, to rule and instruct as well as to save; and is content to cleave to Him, whatever difficulties may follow.

Q. 7. What other marks of a saving interest in Christ can you give me?

A. Those who are in Christ savingly are new creatures. They are graciously changed and renewed in some measure in the whole man, and in all their ways are pointing towards all the known commands of God.

Q. 8. What if I find sin now and then prevailing over me?

A. Although every sin deserves everlasting vengeance, yet, if you are afflicted for your failings and confess them with shame of face to God, honestly resolving to strive against them from now on, and seek pardon from Christ, you will obtain mercy and your interest stands sure.

Q. 9. What will the person do who cannot lay claim to Christ Jesus or any of those marks spoken of?

A. Let them not rest until they make sure of a saving interest in Christ.

Q. 10. How can someone make sure of an interest in Christ if they never had a saving interest in Him before?

A. He must take his sins to heart and the great danger into which they have brought him. He must take to heart God’s offer of pardon and peace through Christ Jesus and heartily accept God’s offer by retaking himself to Christ, the blessed refuge.

Q. 11. What if my sins are especially heinous and worse than the ordinary?

A. Whatever your sins may be, if you will close with Christ Jesus by faith, you will never enter into condemnation.

Q. 12. Is faith in Christ only required of men?

A. Faith is the only condition on which God offers peace and pardon to men, but be assured, faith, if it is true and saving, will not be alone in the soul but will be attended with true repentance, and a thankful pursuit of conformity to God’s image.

Q. 13 How will I be sure that my heart does accept God’s offer and Christ Jesus?

A. Go and make a covenant explicitly and speak it all by word to God.

Q. 14 How will I do that?

A. Set apart some portion of time, and, having considered your own lost condition, and the remedy offered by Christ Jesus, work up your heart to be pleased and close with that offer and say to God expressly that you accept that offer and for Him to be your God in Christ. Give yourself up to Him to be saved in His way, without reservation or exception in any way and that from now on you will wait for salvation in the way that He has appointed.

Q. 15 What if I break with God afterward?

A. You must resolve in His strength not to break, and watch over your own ways, and put your heart in His hand to keep it and if you break, you must confess it to God, and judge yourself for it, and flee to the Advocate for pardon, and resolve to do so no more. You must do this as often as you fail.

Q. 16 How will I come to full assurance of my interest in Christ, so that it may be beyond question?

A. Learn to lay your weight on the blood of Christ, and study purity and holiness in all kinds of conduct. Pray for the witness of God’s Spirit to join with the blood and the water. His testimony added to these will establish you in the faith of an interest in Christ.

Q. 17. What is the consequence of such closing with God in Christ by heart and mouth?

A. Union and communion with God, every good here and His blessed fellowship in heaven forever afterward.

Q. 18. What if I slight all these things and do not lay them to heart to put them in practice?

A. The Lord comes with His angels, in flaming fire, to render vengeance to them who do not obey His gospel. Your judgment will be greater than that of Sodom and Gomorrah and so much the greater that you have read this book, for it will be a witness against you in that day.

Conclusion

Thomas Chalmers gave a good summary of the book in his commendation. He spoke of Guthrie’s “intimate acquaintance…with the spiritual life, and his clear, affectionate, and earnest expositions of the peculiar doctrines of the gospel”. It is also full of “powerful and urgent appeals to the conscience” that awaken concern about this matter of “infinite importance”. It seeks to avoid the possibility of the reader continuing to deceive themselves while constraining them to seek after full assurance. Guthrie himself closes this plain yet deep and short but full little book with a sublime crescendo.

O blessed bargain of the new covenant, and thrice blessed Mediator of the same! Let him ride prosperously and subdue nations and languages, and gather in all His jewels, that honourable company of the firstborn, that stately troop of kings and priests, whose glory it shall be to have washed their garments in the blood of that spotless Lamb, and whose happiness shall continually flourish in following Him whithersoever He goes, and in being in the immediate company of the Ancient of days, one sight of whose face shall make them in a manner forget that ever they were on the earth. Oh, if I could persuade men to believe that these things are not yea and nay, and to make haste towards Him, who hasteth to judge the world, and to call men to an account, especially concerning their improvement of this gospel. ‘Even so, come Lord Jesus.’

Showing God's Glory

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Martin Luther used to say that every Christian is called to be Christ to his neighbor. Luther did not mean that Christians are to try to save one another as Christ has saved us. Rather he meant that our lives are to be so conformed to the will of God that people can actually look at us and see the reflected holiness of Christ in our lives, just as the ancient Israelites saw the reflected glory of God in the face of Moses. How often we misrepresent the character of Christ! We are called to show people what justice is to look like, but we commit injustice. We are called to show mercy, but we are unmerciful. We are called to show what fairness, consideration, and sensitivity look like, and yet we gossip and slander other people.

The term glory, when it is used for God, has to do with God’s inner being, His essential weightiness, and presence. The glory of God refers to who God is, not what He does. The same is true of God’s holiness: It refers to God’s being, not primarily to His actions. When the Bible refers to God’s actions, which show forth His essential holiness, the term usually used is righteousness.

Thus, since we Christians are called to reflect or show forth God’s glory and holiness, the only way we can do that is by our actions. God’s holiness is shown in His practice of righteousness, and similarly, it is only in righteous behavior that we can show forth God’s glory and holiness. For some reason, the word righteous is avoided and evaded by Christians today. We speak of piety and spirituality, but not of being righteous. We hear almost nothing about righteousness. Yet, the Bible devotes a great deal more attention to the subject of righteousness than it does to spirituality. If we want to grow in the Spirit, we shall have to concern ourselves with righteousness.

How do you distinguish between ungodly self-righteousness and godly righteousness? In your zeal to act righteously, how do you safeguard yourself against self-righteousness and hypocrisy? There must be a coupling of attitude with action. As you prepare for worship at church this Sunday, confess any self-righteousness with an honesty you have avoided in the past, and ask for the Spirit’s conviction in that area of need.

Living in Harmony

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited" (Romans 12:16).

Here is a biblical call to seek a unity of belief, concern, and feelings. We see every day how easy it is for us to disagree with each other and to enter into arguments that can tear relationships apart. Paul tells us that we need to learn to seek after places where our minds can come together.

Even when we disagree, we have to have an attitude of charity about that disagreement. No Christian deliberately sets out to distort the meaning of God’s Word. That needs to be kept in our minds when we differ.

Sometimes people go to the opposite extreme and try to suppress all disagreements. It is, however, obvious from his writings that the apostle Paul was very concerned about the specifics of truth and about settling disagreements. Thus, it is important to have good, healthy, positive arguments and discussions about issues that divide Christians. However, we have to avoid an argumentative spirit. In fact, Paul continues by ordering, “Do not be proud.… Do not be conceited.” It is arrogance that creates a contentious spirit and prevents healthy discussion of issues.

As a theologian, I find it easy to appreciate the work of other theologians and to learn from them. I think that such mutual respect is generally true of “white collar” Christians. Paul goes out of his way, though, in verse 16 to tell us to listen to the insights of “blue collar” Christians as well: “Be willing to associate with people of low position,” or “people who do menial work.”

Such people can very well have insights that white collar Christians don’t have. Maybe that other person has eyes to see through my blind spots. Humility means being able to listen to people and being willing to give an honest consideration to what they’re saying. It means being open to the whole body of Christ, the church.

Have you ever held a conviction that led you into an argument with someone else, only to find upon reflection that the other person was right and you were wrong? Such embarrassing events in our lives remind us that no one “has it all.” We very much need one another. Are you able to display the humble spirit of admitting error, and through forgiveness strive for harmony in your relationships?

Don't Skip Sunday School!

Josh Buice wrote the following post over at Delivered by Grace. I reproduce it here but encourage you to read the whole thing over at DBG.

One of the things that happens in the evangelical church world that mirrors the culture is that local churches often engage in the trends of the day.  For instance, if community churches are in vogue, it’s a common thing to see many local churches named “________ Community Church.”  If it’s multi-site church growth models, it’s common to see a church described as “one church in six locations.”  In short, many church leaders want to be ever progressing to avoid the image of age and to dodge the title of “old fashioned.”  Perhaps this is why Sunday school has fallen on hard times in many circles.  It just sounds old and outdated so it must not be profitable—right?

Wrong. To judge the Sunday school book by its cover would be to make a grievous error.  Just because one church down the road calls it “life groups” or “connection groups” and your church still refers to the Sunday morning gathering as “Sunday school” doesn’t mean that your church is behind the times.  Have you considered the many reasons why you should stop skipping Sunday school?

You Need to be Taught

Far more important than your ability to network in a local church with certain friends is the ability to learn the Word of God.  How serious do you take the study of the Bible?  Is it merely a hobby that you engage in every so often or is it at the core of who you are as a person?  Every child of God needs to be taught the Word of God, and without such teaching the individual Christian will dry up spiritually.  Sunday school is a place for Christians to learn.  God desires for us to know him and make him known.

The central aim of the local church is the teaching and preaching of the the doctrines of God’s Word.  The central agenda of pastors is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” and this is accomplished through the right handling of God’s Word (Eph. 4:12; Col. 1:28).  Are you bored with the Bible?  Do you believe God to be boring? J.I. Packer, in his excellent book, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life, once said, “Doctrinal preaching certainly bores the hypocrites; but it is only doctrinal preaching that will save Christ’s sheep.” 

Teaching and preaching overlap considerably, but the teaching atmosphere in the small group Sunday school setting is invaluable for the growth of the Christian.  There is a certain dynamic that happens in that gathering that doesn’t happen in the sermon. For instance, the ability to ask question immediately and to engage in the process of iron sharpening iron is extremely helpful and something that we should regularly engage in.

You Need a Close Community

Many churches have tried to help modernize Sunday school in the eyes of a younger population by renaming it something catchy like, “Connexion Pointe” or “Cross Groups” or “Impact Groups.”  While that may be a certain trend that many churches employ to appear to be relevant, let’s be honest—the name really doesn’t matter.  What matters is that the group actually develops into a meaningful community.  The Sunday school ministry of your local church is a place where you can know and be known by others.  Real friendships that last for a lifetime are often birthed and nurtured in these groups.

Last week I wrote an article that critiqued Mark Zuckerberg’s comments about Facebook bridging the gap of failing church membership by offering a meaningful community group through Facebook.  While Zuckerberg is correct that people feel more whole and fulfilled as they are connected in a meaningful community, he misses the mark by believing that Facebook is capable of solving the problem of falling church membership.

Facebook may serve as a tool for the local church to strengthen their community efforts, it will never replace real biblical churches.  Why not?  Because real community cannot happen through the click of a mouse or engagement in a social networking website.  For real meaningful community to take place, people must spend time in the same room, hear one another speak, show interest and care for one another, share one another’s burdens, and serve with one another at some level for an important cause.  The place where Christians can accomplish this type of genuine community is within small groups—even if it’s named “Sunday school.”  Far too often people who become disconnected and disappear from your local church disappear from Sunday school first.

You Need to Serve

One of the latest trends among the millennial population is the need to support a company that promotes, supports, or serves in some charitable way in their local community or perhaps a third world nation.  This is not a Christian thing—this is a millennial trend.  The latest trends demonstrate that many younger people are interested in buying from a company if they know that that particular company is giving back a percentage of their profits to fund some humanitarian cause.

We enjoy doing for others, and as Christians, we should enjoy serving the church and the community together for the glory of Christ.  The overall vision of the church can often be set by the pastors and that agenda often is heard from the pulpit.  However, it’s through the Sunday school (or small group) of the local church that the vision is carried out.  Often the local and foreign mission work is pushed through the local church’s Sunday school gathering by natural conversations, intentional praying, and planning means of involvement.

If you aren’t involved in a Sunday school class in your local church it’s very likely that you aren’t serving in your church or beyond the borders of your church campus beneath the banner of the gospel.  Consider your need to serve and how opportunities will arise through your Sunday school group in your church.  Get involved and start serving.

If you don’t like the name “Sunday school” — that’s fine, but don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Immerse yourself into a class and seek to know God more through the study of the Bible.  If you’re resistant to making new friends and opening up, that’s understandable—but know that you need real friends who will know you (the real you that you don’t put on Facebook), and you need people to be honest with you.  You don’t have to air out your dirty laundry each week in your Sunday school class, but a measure of openness and intimacy is necessary.  You may already know that God has gifted you for a reason, and you need to engage in serving the Lord through your local church.  What better way to do so than through a meaningful and healthy Sunday school class.

You need Sunday school and your church’s Sunday school needs you.

Lifestyle of the Righteous and Faithful

The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:17–32:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

I note especially verse 17 "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do..."

Few words are subject to more adjectives than the popular term lifestyle. Almost every day we hear something about a healthy lifestyle, an expensive lifestyle, a Hollywood lifestyle, etc. A popular television program many years ago touted the lifestyles of the “rich and famous.” In this Pauline passage from the book of Ephesians, we’re looking at a passage that describes a distinctively Christian lifestyle.

In vv. 17–19 the apostle Paul speaks insistently that we no longer walk (behave, live, lead a lifestyle) like the world around us. In verses 18 and 19, he gives us a very vivid description of a culture that disregards God and His Word. It is futile, dark, alienated from God, ignorant, and blind. In verse 19, it is described as being “past feeling,” The Greek word means to lose the ability to feel shame or embarrassment. Our culture has given itself over to lewdness (behavior completely lacking in moral restraint, usually with the implication of sexual licentiousness) “to work all uncleanness with greediness.” This description is played out for us each night when we turn on our televisions. But the Bible warns that God intends for us to be responsible moral and spiritual people, but we are living in a world that no longer tolerates moral restraint or biblical values.

In vv. 20–24, Paul tells us that when we become Christians, something different happens within us, something that separates us from the world and gives us a distinctive lifestyle. Paul goes on to describe the change in terms of wardrobe. At Calvary, we take off the old, sin-splattered rags of self-righteousness, we are bathed in the blood of Christ, and we put on a new wardrobe of holy living.

Verse 25 begins with the word, “Therefore,” indicating that in light of the world around us and the change within us, there are now some demands upon us. God expects a certain lifestyle from His people. In the remainder of the chapter, five areas are dealt with:

A. Our Morality (v. 25). We are to be people of integrity.

B. Our Mood (vv. 26–27). We’re all bound to become angry from time to time, but we must be careful about how we express that anger and how long we stay angry, otherwise we’ll give the devil a foothold in our lives.

C. Our Money (v. 28). We must never come by one cent in a deceptive or dishonest way. Christians are to be hard-working people, earning money with the express purpose of sharing some of it with others.

D. Our Mouths (vv. 29–30). The word “grieve” is a strong and emotional word. Paul could have said, “Do not displease or disappoint the Holy Spirit.” But the word “grieve” conveys emotional suffering and deep sorrow. When we engage in unwholesome talk, it causes emotional suffering and deep sorrow to the Holy Spirit who lives within our hearts.

E. Our Magnanimity (vv. 31–32). Is there someone you haven’t forgiven? God has forgiven you of all your sins in Christ; should you not also reflect His compassion and forgive your enemy?

In view of the world around us and the change within us, these are the demands upon us in terms of our morality, our moods, our money, our mouths, and our manner, our magnanimous hearts. As it is put elsewhere in Scripture: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1–2).

Are You Invested?

In his newspaper column called “Market Report,” business writer Bill Barnhart once explained the difference between investors and traders in the stock market. He wrote, 

“... a trader in a stock is making decisions minute-by-minute in the hope of shaving off profits measured in fractions of a dollar.

An investor, on the other hand, typically buys and sells stock based on views about the company and the economy at large.

In other words, traders are “wheelers and dealers.” They pursue short-term profits.

Traders may have no confidence whatsoever in the companies in which they buy stock but they go ahead and buy it, basically smelling an immediate payoff. 

By contrast, investors are in it for the long haul. They “chain themselves to the mast.” Investors commit their money to a stock, believing that over a period of years and even decades the stock will pay strong dividends and steadily grow in value. Investors aren’t flustered by the typical ups and downs of the market because they believe in the quality of the company, its leaders, and its product.

In the kingdom of God there are also investors and traders. They come to Christ with very different goals. Traders in the kingdom want God to improve their lot in this world but are not committed to much else. If following Christ means pain or hardship, traders quickly sell out. But investors in the kingdom stay true to Christ no matter what happens in this world, knowing that in the end, the promise of God is that eternal dividends await them in Jesus Christ.

So, I wonder if you are an investor or a trader? Do you pursue the kingdom of God and your relationship with Jesus for the immediate, short-term payoff like a trader would, eager to sell out when the going gets tough? Or do you rather have a more eternal view like the investor, content to stay committed no matter come what may?

It’s important to ask and answer this question for yourself, whether you are a trader or an investor, because the difference between the two is the difference between a Christian who flourishes over the long-term or a Christian who is stunted, who languishes, and who is in danger of losing the race set before them.

Karl Barth on the Christian Disciple and Social Status

Along a second line the instructions given by Jesus have to do no less directly with the destruction by the coming of the kingdom of what is generally accepted as honour or fame among men: "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account" (Matt 5:11). For "If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household" (Matt 10:25). And, therefore, "if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also" (Matt 5:39). Or according to the parable of' the wedding-guests: "do not sit down in the place of honor ... but at the lowest place . . . For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 14:7-11). Or again: "whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant (Matt 20:26). Or again, in the presence of a real child whom Jesus called and set in the midst when his disciples were concerned about the question of the greatest in the kingdom of heaven: "unless you change and become like children, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 18:1-2). Or again, in direct contrast to those who love and claim the uppermost rooms at feasts and the chief seats in the synagogue and greetings in the market, we are not to be called Rabbi or father or master (Matt 23:6-7). "How can you believe when you receive glory from one of another," is Jesus' charge against the Jews (John 5:44); and by way of' contrast, he demands that the disciples should wash one another's feet: "For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you" (John 13:14-15). To come to Jesus is to take a yoke upon oneself like a gallant ox (Matt 11:29). 

All this can hardly be formulated, let alone practiced, as a general rule for improved social relationships. It is again clear that these sayings assume the existence of people who are freed by the concretely given command of Jesus from the universal dominion and constraint of ordinary conceptions of what constitutes social status and dignity and importance. It is not concealed from these people that all such conceptions are transcended and outmoded by the incursion of the kingdom of God; that there is a transvaluation of all values where the grace of God rules. They can and should reveal this in their action and abstention, in which they are no longer concerned with what those around regard as honor or dishonor. The disciple of Jesus can descend from the throne-the little throne perhaps-which even one may he allotted in human society. One does not do this willfully or of one's own choice, but as one is commanded. Yet as one is commanded one does it.

--Karl Barth. Call to Discipleship (Kindle Locations 402-403). Kindle Edition.