The best preaching is, “We preach Christ crucified.”
The best living is, “We are crucified with Christ.”
The best man is a crucified man.
The more we live beholding our Lord’s unutterable griefs, and understanding how he has fully put away our sin, the more holiness shall we produce.
The more we dwell where the cries of Calvary can be heard, where we can view heaven, and earth, and hell, all moved by his wondrous passion—the more noble will our lives become.
Nothing puts life into men like a dying Savior.
Get close to Christ, and carry the remembrance of him about you from day to day, and you will do right royal deeds.
Come, let us slay sin, for Christ was slain.
Come, let us bury all our pride, for Christ was buried.
Come, let us rise to newness of life, for Christ has risen.
Let us be united with our crucified Lord in his one great object—let us live and die with him, and then every action of our lives will be very beautiful.
A little old English from John Bunyan, but this is how he views humility! Thought you would like to read it, Jue! :) ♥
"If thou find me short in things, impute that to my love of brevity.
[if you find that my work is lacking, it is because I love to be concise]
If thou find me besides the truth in aught [any respect], impute that to my infirmity.
[if you find my writings to be missing any part of the truth, it is because of my weakness as a human]
But if thou find anything here that serves to your furtherance and joy of the faith, impute that to the mercy of God bestowed on thee and me.
[if you find anything encouraging in me, it is because of the mercy of God on you & me]
Yours to serve you with what little I have."
[his note to his readers]
~ John Bunyan, Note to Reader, “Saved by Grace,” in The Works of John Bunyan, 1:336."
Did Paul preach the gospel of Jesus? That was the question Dr John Piper sought to address last night at T4G in a message that became one of my personal conference highlights. The sermon manuscript and audio (forthcoming) can be found here. At one point Piper connected the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9–14 (his main text) and Paul’s words in Philippians 3:4–9. It’s quite interesting to read the two accounts together:
Jesus (Luke 18:9–12):
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
Paul (Philippians 3:4–6):
If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
Jesus (Luke 18:13–14):
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Paul (Philippians 3:7–9):
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.
Paul preached the gospel of Jesus–and it was this gospel that changed his life forever.
He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. (v. 14)
If last week we looked at the importance of following Jesus with more than words, today we look at how our words about Jesus still matter. The work of the Holy Spirit is to take “what is mine”–who Jesus is and what he has done–and declare it to us.
In other words, speaking good theology glorifies God. Sometimes people say “I’m into the person of Jesus, not propositions about Jesus.” This sounds pious, but how can we have one without the other? Is your wife honored when you profess undying love for her, but describe her as a tall, blonde when she’s really a short brunette? How can you make much of God if you cannot tell me who he is? How can you magnify his character if there is no definition to it? How can you honor his worth if you don’t know why he’s worthy?
Don’t buy the “deeds not creeds” mantra. Truth matters. God does not get glory by our being uncertain and ambiguous about who he is, what he has done, and why is supremely valuable. God gets glory when we lovingly and truthfully declare theological, propositional truths about his internal excellencies, his saving work, and the weight of his glory.
"Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley."
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).
What would happen if we started every day with this prayer? How different would our lives look?
Vulnerability is difficult. It requires a great deal of humility and trust especially when we face challenges that are more personal than we are comfortable sharing. Weaknesses can be hard to admit, and I think this is especially true when it comes to talking with God.
Vulnerability is not one of my strongest qualities. It’s hard for me to talk about personal struggles with others even if I do trust them. I would much rather exhibit my strengths than my weaknesses even though I know God is glorified through those weaknesses.
I have been blessed over the years with several close friends who challenge me to drop the façade that everything is always OK and force me into a place of healthy vulnerability. They are the friends who ask me on a consistent basis what God is doing in my life or how I really feel about certain situations. They get me to open up even when I don’t feel like talking about those things. They don’t accept answers that are only surface deep. You may have friends like that and can relate to what I mean.
While I’m learning to be more open, I still lack a consistent vulnerability before God. It’s an interesting statement when I think about it because God already knows how I feel.
For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything (1 John 3:20).
The times when I approach God with vulnerability are those times when I am the most broken. That is not to say my prayers are not always sincere, but there is a stronger, more heartfelt longing for God and His Word when I reach breaking points in my life.
I can’t help but wonder how different my life would look if my heart were more aligned with God’s heart. It’s hard for me to approach God about struggles or decisions before they become overwhelming. I know there are times when I am afraid of the changes and challenges God may have in store for me or what He might reveal about my character.
Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name (Psalm 86:11).
Maybe we’re only vulnerable before God when we are truly open to what He will do in our lives. Giving our struggles up to God usually means we’re in for some big changes or some big challenges. Maybe it takes getting us to a breaking point before we’re finally willing to let go of the plans we have for our lives and follow God’s call to something new.
I know my relationship with God would be a lot stronger if I invited Him to evaluate my life daily in such a no-nonsense way. I would have to be willing to hear His report and be open to making changes in my life. Starting each day with such an emphasis on who God is would make me more careful to make sure my thoughts and actions align with Scripture.
When I think about asking God to point out the areas in my life that need the most work, I almost don’t want to know what He would reveal to me. I don’t think any of us enjoy working through our hardships and raw emotions, but imagine what our lives would be like if we intentionally did it anyway.
The bolded statements are what I can relate to so much. About being authentic, real, and reminding myself daily (or consistently) who God is.
Jonathan Edwards:
An eminent saint is not apt to think himself eminent in any thing; all his graces and experiences are ready to appear to him to be comparatively small; but especially his humility. There is nothing that appertains to Christian experience, and true piety, that is so much out of his sight as his humility. He is a thousand times more quick-sighted to discern his pride, than his humility: that he easily discerns, and is apt to take much notice of, but hardly discerns his humility. (Religious Affections, 334-35)
Are you often aware of your own humility? Then you’re probably not humble.
Have you noticed your pride? Then you may be more humble than you realize.
Here are two signs of Christian maturity: a keen eye to discern your sins and blessed self-forgetfulness.
Father, make me humble. Make me love the Lord with all my heart and love my neighbor as myself. Give me that glorious paradox: the ability to see my sin and at the same time look away from myself. And when I am tempted to posture and position as the world does, remind me that the meek will inherit the earth.
I once assumed the gospel was simply what non-Christians must believe in order to be saved, while afterward we advance to deeper theological waters. But I’ve come to realize that ” the gospel isn’t the first step in a stairway of truths, but more like the hub in a wheel of truth.” In other words, once God rescues sinners, his plan isn’t to steer them beyond the gospel, but to move them more deeply into it. All good theology, in fact, is an exposition of the gospel.
In his letter to the Christians of Colossae, the apostle Paul portrays the gospel as the instrument of all continued growth and spiritual progress, even after a believer’s conversion.
“All over the world,” he writes, “this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (Col. 1:6). He means that the gospel is not only growing wider in the world but it’s also growing deeper in Christians.
After meditating on Paul’s words, a friend told me that all our problems in life stem from our failure to apply the gospel. This means I can’t really move forward unless I learn more thoroughly the gospel’s content and how to apply it to all of life. Real change does not and cannot come independently of the gospel. God intends his Good News in Christ to mold and shape us at every point and in every way. It increasingly defines the way we think, feel, and live.
We can’t escape a stark contrast in this story—the tribal heart of Jonah versus the missionary heart of God. These two mindsets involve fundamentally different values. The highest value of a tribal heart is self-preservation. A tribal heart exists solely for itself, and those who nurture it keep asking, “How can I protect myself from those who are different from me?” A tribal heart typically elevates personal and cultural preferences to absolute principles: If everybody were more like me, this world would be a better place.But for a missionary heart, the highest value isn’t self-preservation but self-sacrifice. A missionary-hearted person exists not primarily for himself but for others. It’s a heart willing to be inconvenienced and discomforted for the well-being of others. A tribal mindset is antithetical to the gospel. The gospel demands that we be missionary minded, because the gospel is the story of God sacrificing himself for his enemies.
Both these approaches are robustly present in Jonah’s story. Jonah represents the best of a tribal mindset, the absolute best. He’s like the trophy-winner for tribalism. And God—ever-gracious, ever-pursuing, ever-compassionate—carries the trophy for mission-mindedness. Jonah runs from his enemies; God runs toward his enemies.
Jesus says that he is “greater than Jonah.” He is the greater-than-Jonah who succeeded where Jonah failed. For instance, in sending Jonah as his messenger to sinful Nineveh, God showed his boundless grace and faithfulness. But centuries later, God sent another messenger to sinful mankind. Only this messenger went willingly and joyfully because he knew the heart of God. In fact, he was the heart of God. He would be called “the Word” because he himself was God’s message. He was everything God wanted to say to the world—all wrapped up in a person.
Instead of fleeing from God’s call in rebellion and running away from his enemies, this new messenger ran toward his enemies, in full submission to his Father’s will, despite what it would cost him. For “we were enemies” of God (Rom. 5:10)—all of us—so much so that we rejected and crucified his Son.
Fully knowing that this death was his destiny, this new messenger nevertheless pursued God’s rescue mission with a totally engaged heart. “For the joy that was set before him,” the Bible tells us, he “endured the cross” (Heb. 12:2) so that God’s enemies, you and I, could become God’s friends.
Like Jonah thrown overboard, this new messenger would be a sacrifice, with the result that others were saved.
This new messenger, like Jonah, would spend three days in utter darkness. But unlike Jonah, he would emerge with wholehearted determination to pursue his enemies with life-giving love. He went on this mission because he wanted to—not because he had to.
When God’s mercy was shown to Jonah and to his enemies, Jonah was intensely angered. But this new messenger was the happy extension of God’s grace toward his enemies—not angry and embittered, but “anointed . . . with the oil of gladness” (Heb. 1:9). Jonah is all about self-protection; this new messenger is all about joyful self-sacrifice. So Jesus and his Good News, rescue of sinners, is all over this story of Jonah.
Taken from Kevin DeYoung's blog at:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung
In this corner you have our friend Mr. Bookworm. He’s not quite thirty years old. He’s very intelligent. He’s read Calvin, Edwards, Luther, and Bavinck. He knows Warfield and Hodge, Piper and Carson too. Since coming to the Lord in college, Mr. Bookworm has been on fire for learning. He listens to a dozen sermons each week on his iPod. He has a better grasp of current theological debates than most pastors. He loves Chrstian conferences, the good meaty ones. Mr. Bookworm knows all about hermeneutics, propitiation, covenant theology, the regulative principle, and the ordo salutis. He’s even teaching himself a little Greek. Hebrew and Latin are around the corner. Ugaritic, if he’s got time.
Mr. Bookworm is smart, serious about his faith, and genuinely wants to serve the Lord. But he’s twentysomething and not all that mature. In terms of knowledge, he’s playing in the Major Leagues, but as far as wisdom he’s batting below .200 in A ball. He doesn’t have gross sins, just some annoying ones. On the truth-grace scale, he’s all truth. He’s obnoxious, bordering on abrasive. He lacks all sense of proportion. He can’t see that a debate over presuppositional v. evidentialist apologetics is not as serious as Athanasius v. Arianism. Everything is a first-order issue because there are no other kinds of issues.
To make matters worse, Mr. Bookworm talks too much. He sees every conversation as a forensics match waiting to happen. He’s opinionated. He doesn’t ask questions. People are scared of him and he doesn’t know why. Except for those in complete agreement with him, Mr. Bookworm doesn’t have many friends. He’s not trying to be rude or arrogant. In fact, push come to shove he can be a winsome fellow. The problem is he has all this knowledge and doesn’t know how to use it wisely or winsomely.
In the other corner is Mr. Simple-Faith. He’s been a Christian for 40 years. He prays and reads his Bible every day. He’s raised four godly children. He’s been married for over 30 years. He’s quiet, sincere, and well-respected by everyone. But he’s not a huge reader. He never has been. He reads two or three books a year, one of them might be a Christian book, usually something popular and pretty lightweight. Mr. Simple-Faith has decent theological instincts. He knows the Bible is all true, Jesus is the only way to God, hell is real, and we can’t earn our way to heaven. He’s orthodox, but beyond the basics he’s pretty ignorant and, frankly, not very interested.
So who would you rather have as an elder in your church? Mr. Bookworm is more impressive, but Mr. Simple-Faith is probably going to make better decisions and be better received by the members of the congregation. Personally, I’d rather have maturity outpacing knowledge instead of the other way around.
Learning to Drive the Right Ride
It should go without saying that the goal is to have both. A mature Christian with little theological knowledge is not living up to his potential. A knowledgeable Christian without maturity has potential he doesn’t know how to use.
A theologically astute, immature Christian is like a five year old flying an Apache helicopter. Here’s this massive weapon; it can destroy arguments and defend against heresy. It can soar to the heavens and take in glorious sights no one at sea-level will ever witness. This theological helicopter is good for search and rescue, just as good for seek and destroy. Every congregational army would be thrilled with such a vehicle. It’s fast. It’s furious. It’s impressive. But it’s also dangerous. And with a five-year old behind the wheel (or whatever they have in choppers), some people are going to get hurt. It’s not wrong for a little kid to have a helicopter, but it would be nice if he grew up and took some flying lessons before taking the thing out for a spin.
On the other hand, a mature Christian content with the barest theological knowledge is like a 45-year old riding a tricycle. If I had to choose, I’d go with the trike-riding middle-aged man, but only because he’s a little safer than the five-year old fighter pilot. In a perfect world, the 45-year old would learn to ride something for grown-ups. Sure he can get around on the tricycle. But he can’t go very fast or very far. He’s limited in terms of what he can see and experience. He can’t do much to beat back enemies or scale new heights. He’s steady, but not the best he can be.
The goal in Christian discipleship is that we don’t have to choose between kids flying helicopters and adults riding little bikes. We want the most mature pilots flying the most intricate machinery. Our aim is for Mr. Knowledge to grow into Mr. Head-and-Heart and for Mr. Simple-Faith to learn to be Mr. Deep-Truth.
Something I came about reading online, which I find it so necessary to digest! Posting it here..
The Danger of Getting Bored of the Gospel, by Doug Smith.
Four hundred ninety years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Today, we celebrate Reformation Day to commemorate what took place through men such as Luther and John Calvin. Their study of the Scriptures brought them to a clear understanding of the Gospel. The Gospel had been obscured through ignorance, false teaching, and unholy living, but the Reformers helped to recover the Bible's clear teaching about the good news of Christ.
The Gospel is the good news that God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins and raised Him from the dead. The holy God created man in His own image, to reflect His glory and worship Him. Man chose to go his own way and rebel against God, thus imaging a lie about God instead of accurately representing Him. Man therefore deserved eternal punishment for offending this great God. Yet, God in His mercy sent a Savior. Jesus was God in the flesh, who lived a perfect life as a man. He was a sinless substitute, bearing the wrath of God for all who would turn from their sin and trust Him alone for their salvation. God will forgive the sins of everyone who repents and believes in Christ. He will count Jesus' righteousness to their account, and give them eternal life and a guarantee that they will share in Christ's resurrection and enjoy God forever. The Reformers understood these things and knew that the salvation revealed in the Scripture alone is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone.
It has been said that the Gospel is embraced by one generation, assumed by the next, and then forgotten or rejected. Although the Reformation helped recover the truth of the Bible concerning the Gospel, we are in danger today of losing it again. Far too many among those who call themselves Christians (and even "evangelicals," ironically, since that word comes from the Greek for gospel) assume or reject the Gospel. We are threatened with the loss of the true Gospel and the substitution of a false one.
Even in the early days of the Christian church, there were those who were in danger of embracing another Gospel. The apostle Paul addresses this matter in his epistle to the Galatians. He writes in Galatians 1:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (verses 6-9, ESV)
The Galatians were moving away from the Gospel Paul had proclaimed clearly to them. They were beginning to look like traitors. They were yet in the process of moving away, but they were moving. False teachers were agitating them so much that they were deserting the only hope and truly good news there was.
People are moving away from the Gospel in our day as well. People who know better are moving away from the Gospel. Churches and denominations blessed with a history of a clear Gospel witness are deserting the truth. False teachers are leading many astray. Why?
While ignorance, false teaching, and a love for popularity surely contribute to widespread defection, I think there is another malady much closer to home than many of us would like to admit. I believe boredom with the Gospel can plant the seeds for deserting the truth.
A friend recently attended a conference for ministers and overheard this response to a sermon: "It was very good, even if it was a simple gospel message." It would appear that some think that a simple gospel message is simply pedestrian and ordinary. No big deal; it's just the gospel, right? But when we begin to lose the wonder and awe we should have at the fact that the righteous God has lavished His mercy and grace through Jesus Christ on sinners who deserve His punishment, we should never be bored. We should forever be in shock that He would do such a thing! We should overflow in praise and thanksgiving upon hearing the Gospel, no matter how many times we have heard it.
Some say that the people of God need edifying messages, not another evangelistic message. But is the assumption that the Gospel is not necessary for edification, or that once you've "got" it, you can move on? Saints should never tire of hearing this good news that secured their salvation. And even if a text does not have an explicit summary of the Gospel in it, it surely touches on an element of the Gospel, such as God's character, how we deserve judgment for our sin, the person and work of Christ, and the need to turn to Him in repentance and faith. As Christ is the focal point of Scripture, so biblical expository preaching should always include a natural presentation of the Gospel, as each book and passage is part of God's big story. Paul never tired of preaching Christ and Him crucified, and neither should we. In this spirit, Spurgeon labored to make a bee-line to the cross from his text, and so should preachers today. Apart from the Gospel-context, sermons can easily tend toward moralism and a distortion of the purpose of the Bible.
Speaking of things people say, does the Gospel interest us enough that we actually tell other people about it? Yes, fear of man can squelch our evangelism, as can being overly busy, and failing to love others as we ought. But could it also be that we're not sufficiently interested in the Gospel? Could it be that we'd rather talk about our hobbies and aspirations and problems than the best news in the world? If it's true that we feel the deepest about the things we think about the most, should we not spend more time reading and meditating on God's Word, so that that Gospel will cause a spontaneous combustion in our lives that affects those we come into contact with? If we are interested in the Gospel, will it not result in us sharing the message of the Gospel?
What do our lives reveal about our interest in the Gospel? A holy life says that we take the Gospel seriously. A flippant, indifferent, careless attitude toward sin says that we never understood it in the first place or that it's really not that important.
Getting bored with the Gospel leaves us wide open to false teaching. We may even unwittingly distort the Gospel ourselves. It may mean that we eventually come to think that since the Mormons talk about Jesus and Christians talk about Jesus, that we're pretty much on the same page. However, this is a different Jesus and a different Gospel. Paul wrote of his fear that the Corinthians would falter in this area: "For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough" (2 Cor. 11:4).
We may be tempted to embrace heretical elements of the New Perspective on Paul that deny the Scripture's clear teaching on the Gospel (which the Reformers correctly apprehended). We too might end up calling imputed righteousness "nonsense," as Bishop N. T. Wright has done, if we are not sufficiently impressed with the biblical Gospel.
Penal substitutionary atonement might also fall by the wayside if we're bored with the Gospel. It's not too popular; it's been called "divine child abuse"; would God really require this? Yet, if there is no substitution of a sinless sacrifice in the place of sinners, there is no Gospel and no salvation.
Getting bored with the Gospel has many other ramifications. Boredom with the Gospel may mean that we turn to the business world for ministry models instead of viewing the Scriptures as sufficient. It may mean preaching gets squeezed out by entertainment and other things we think will better "reach" people. It may mean that we neglect private and family worship. It may mean that we seek our hope in politics and spend our time endorsing political candidates out of a misguided understanding of how we are to impact our culture, instead of proclaiming and living the Gospel. It may mean that we actually do begin to think and live as though "our best life" really is now, and pander to those who would rather hear that God wants them to find a good parking space rather than that God is so concerned that His name be honored and that His people have joy in Him that the Father punished the Son for our sins on the cross. Boredom with the Gospel will surely fail to prepare us for opposition and persecution for the sake of Christ.
Finally, and quite seriously, boredom with the Gospel that leads to its distortion also results in destruction. Paul could not have used stronger words for anyone who preaches a different Gospel: let him be accursed – that is, cut off from all blessing. Those who embrace and teach another Gospel have no hope, but only damnation in the life to come.
Reformation Day is something to celebrate, because of the recovery of the Gospel. But this day also reminds us that there is something we must guard. We must guard the purity and clarity of the message of the Gospel. But we must also guard our own hearts so that we never become immune, inoculated, or bored concerning the wonderful news that Jesus Christ really does save sinners. We must never assume that it is known, understood, and embraced. We must make sure that we know, understand, and embrace the Gospel ourselves and that we faithfully share it with others. Let us have the fires of our heart continually stoked with this good news, so that we may be faithful witnesses who speak and live in light of what God has done by His grace and for His glory.
