In a time of distraction by entertainment, technology, and the media the church needs deep thinking and deep feeling Christians. Growing and maturing Christians are always reading, exploring, and learning; especially in regards to the scripture. I have an ongoing frustration with weak, shallow, glib, overly simplistic, and lazy approaches to God and His word. I often hear pronouncements about the nature of God that if they were paid attention to, would raise more questions than answers. Not only that, would have profound practical, pastoral, and personal implications in our lives if thought out and many that are not good. I know, I have seen at times during my journey in my own immature teaching, the effects on the lives of those I have taught and counseled.
I have been studying the Bible for 39 years. Yet the more I read the scripture, the more I realize how little is my understanding of God and His ways. I am not so quick to make simplistic and glib pronouncements about God these days as I once was. Sometimes I listen to myself when I make shallow pronouncements and remind myself that a preacher can sometimes say things that he does not understand and make it seem like it's your fault. Reading God's word raises many questions for me that demand prayerful reflection and thought, careful analysis, humility, teachability, and openness to what God really says and means even if I do not agree with Him, like it, or understand. I often times use the analogy of a man who has a yard full of leaves and a buried treasure in the same yard. He can either quickly rake leaves and have a nice yard or he can work hard and dig for the gold and acquire that buried treasure! I am after the treasure not the nice yard.
The Bible is both simple, yet complex; light, yet weighty; easy to understand, yet extremely difficult. Did not the apostle Peter himself say that there are some things in Paul’s writings that are hard to understand (2 Peter 3:16). Yet, we are also told that if we think, ponder, and reflect upon God’s word, that God will give us understanding (2 Timothy 2:7). Add to that, we have been given the gift of the holy Spirit to teach us, illuminate us, and guide us into all truth. When we pray like David in Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law." The Spirit of God does His eye opening illuminating work.
This is the great challenge and joy for a lifetime of studying the scriptures (2 Timothy 2:15) which are profitable for teaching and training ( 2 Timothy 3:16). I am thoroughly committed to allowing the scriptures to set my beliefs, ideas, and understanding about God and His ways excited that God has revealed Himself to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). I Agree with David that the truths of God's word are wondrous things! But they are deep and demand effort in order to glean understanding. After all, they are from the infinite, eternal God!
Recently my dear wife brought up the subject of the trinity.and her difficulty in understanding it. As I listened to myself explaining it to her, I realized how difficult it can be to explain it as well. This is perhaps one of the most difficult truth, if not the most difficult truths, in the Bible to understand. For 2000 years the church has wrestled with trying to understand the nature and relationship of the godhead. Yet, is there any more incredible revelation about God and His relational nature, than this truth?. The Bible unequivocally teaches that there is one, and only one, true God, and that there are three divine persons in the one God: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. I believe this because the Bible unshakably speaks of one true God, not three Gods, and yet reveals the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit all as God, and as distinct persons. This is both exceedingly difficult to understand and a mystery, yet consistently taught in the scripture. There is much at stake in our understanding of the nature of the Godhead.
In his systematic theology Wayne Grudem summarizes the teaching of scripture in three statements:
1. God is three persons
2. Each person is fully God
3. There is one God
Justin Taylor wrote about trying to explain the Trinity to his daughter and put it this way:
One simple way to get at the difference between person and substance/essence/nature is to say that the Trinity is “three who’s” and “one what.” Who is God? Three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What are they? The One true God.
Any way you put it, the doctrine of the Trinity is highly perplexing and exceedingly difficult to understand. It is a mystery. John Piper writes:
If this perplexes you, keep in mind: We are in no position as creatures to dictate to our Creator what he may or should be like. God is absolute reality. He was there before anything else was, and he did not come into being, but always was. Therefore nobody made him the way he is, and there is no reason he is the way he is. He simply is. That is his name: "I Am Who I Am" (Exodus 3:14). Our role is not to say what can and can't be in God, but to learn who he is and who we are, and to shape our lives according to his reality – his will. We submit to the way he is. He doesn't submit to the way we are or the way we think he should be.
People have tried to use analogies to attempt to understand it, all of which are helpful in an elementary way, but invariably turn out inadequate and misleading:
1. God is like a three leaf clover, which has three parts, yet remains one clover.
2. God is like a tree with three parts: the roots, the trunk, and branches that all constitute one tree.
3. God is like water that comes in three forms:steam, ice, and water liquid, solid, and gas.
I have wrestled with understanding the Trinity for 39 years. Nothing I have ever read has ever really satisfied my deep desire to understand. that is, until I read what Jonathan Edwards had to say about it in his An Unpublished Essay on the Trinity. You can read it for yourself at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/edwards/trinity/files/trinity.html.
He does an amazing job in communicating the meaning of saying God is three in one. It is well worth the read if you would be willing to go deep and bask in such wisdom. John Piper is helpful in summarizing Edwards profound understanding.
"There is God the Father, the fountain of all being, who from all eternity has had a perfectly clear and distinct image and idea of Himself; and this image is the eternally begotten Son. Between this Son and Father flows a stream of infinitely vigorous love and perfectly holy communion; and this is God the Holy Spirit. God's image of God and God's love of God are so full of God that they are divine Persons, not less.
So Jesus Christ, God the Son, is the perfect image of God the Father. He is a complete and living duplicate of the Father’s perfections. This is a great mystery. How can an idea, or reflection, or image of the Father actually be a person in His own right? Remember that God is God, and have neither the ability nor the right to try to manage who He is. We rest and wonder in faith.
Listen to how Piper describes the Holy Spirit:
I find it helpful to observe that the mind of God, as reflected in our own, has two faculties: understanding and will. In other words, before creation God could relate to himself in two ways: God could know himself and God could love himself. In knowing himself he begot the Son, the perfect, full and complete personal image of himself. In loving himself the Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father and the Son.
Piper goes on and says,
So the Son is the eternal image that the Father has of his own perfections, and the Holy Spirit is the eternal love that flows between the Father and the Son as they delight in each other.
How can this love be a person in his own right? Words fail. But can we not say that the love between the Father and the Son is so perfect, so constant, and carries so completely all that they are in themselves that this love stands forth itself as a person in its own right?
C.S. Lewis tries to get this into a conceivable analogy:
You know that among human beings, when they get together in a family, or a club or a trades union, people talk about the “spirit” of that family, club or trades union. They talk about its spirit because the individual members, when they’re together, do really develop particular ways of talking and behaving which they wouldn’t have if they were apart. It is as if a sort of communal personality came into existence. Of course it isn’t a real person: it is only rather like a person. But that’s just one of the differences between God and us. What grows out of the joint life of the Father and Son is a real Person, is in fact the Third of the three Persons who are God.
All these things are deep, deep, and profoundly difficult to comprehend. Jonathan Edwards concludes in his essay,
I don't pretend fully to explain how these things are and I am sensible a hundred other objections may be made and puzzling doubts and questions raised that I can't solve. I am far from pretending to explaining the Trinity so as to render it no longer a mystery. I think it to be the highest and deepest of all Divine mysteries still, notwithstanding anything that I have said or conceived about it. I don't intend to explain the Trinity. But Scripture with reason may lead to say something further of it than has been wont to be said, though there are still left many things pertaining to it incomprehensible.
I am glad that God has revealed Himself in the word as one God, who exists in three persons. It is helpful to me to read Edwards and Piper and find some deeper understand in my belief and affirmation that there is only one God, and that He exists in three Persons.
So let us stand in awe and wonder at this amazing, unique, deep, profound, awesome, Triune God!
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been His counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid?" For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:33-35
Loving and communing with the Triune God,
Pastor Bill
Monday, June 16, 2014
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
FROM FAILING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT TO WANTING TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT
Soren Kierkegaard once told a parable about a community of ducks who every Sunday would waddle off to duck church to hear the duck preacher. The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly. With these wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go, there was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish. With those wings they could soar into the presence of God himself. Shouts of "Amen" were quacked throughout the duck congregation. At the conclusion of the service, the ducks left, commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard, and waddled back home.
Too often, we waddle away from church and bible reading just as we waddled in-unchanged. We read our Bibles and we hear our preachers calling us to obedience and telling us that we can do it. So we leave the word and church inspired and hopeful and ready to obey and then find ourselves failing miserably. I have been a Christian for 40 years this year and left to myself, I must admit that I am not a very good at being good and doing obedience. At times I am grieved that after all of these years I am still selfish, egotistical, insensitive, prideful, ambitious, cold, cynical, and impatient. The harder I have tried to live the Christian life, the worse it often times gets. For every good intention, there is often a bad action. For every good action, there is often a bad intention. For every right thing I do, there are two wrongs. I am very skilled at snatching defeat right out of the jaws of victory. Oh how many tears have I cried over my sinfulness.
The apostle Paul describes this experience of himself in Romans 7:14-25, "“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”!
Left to ourselves, our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. We do not want what we ought to want. Yet God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we don't want to obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change.
Three of the most liberating truths in my life was when I understood why I don't do what I ought to do and why I do what I do. The truths are simply this:
1. WHEN I DON'T DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO, THE REASON THAT I DON'T DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO IS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO!
2. I ALWAYS DO WHAT I WANT TO DO.
3. WHEN I DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO IT IS BECAUSE I WANT TO DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO.
The whole issue of obedience and disobedience is about my desires. Our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. The root of obedience has to be a change in my desires, inclinations, and affections. Otherwise our "want to’s" will never be what we ought to want. We won’t desire what we ought to desire and our hearts will go after fleshly desires. Therefore we will do what we ought not to do. Our behavior always follows are hearts!
The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we cannot obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change?
True obedience begins in the heart where God graces the heart to give it a “want to” so that when the time for obedience comes to do what you “ought to” do you will “want to” do what you ought to do; therefore, you will do what you ought to do, a peculiar obedience!
The New Covenant promise is that beneath every act of obedience is the enabling grace of God. Behind every “ought to” done in obedience, God graces our hearts with a “want to”. Augustine put it this way:
"Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.”
God’s sovereign work in our heart is the key to obedience. True obedience is where God gives you a new desire so that you will want what you ought to want in order to do what you ought to do. That is to say, when temptation comes you will desire God and pleasing Him more than the temptation and its fleeting pleasures.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11)"Now the God of peace . . . equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
We must pray for the desire in our heart to “want to” do what we “ought to” do and God will do give it to you. We can pray Psalm 119:36, “Incline my heart to your testimonies…” Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days". Hebrews 4;16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help (us to want what we ought to want so that we would do what we ought to do) in time of need.”
May God put in your heart a “want to” like He did in Augustine, who wrote,
“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure."
Seeking to want what I ought to want so that I will do what I ought to do for God's glory and my soul's satisfaction,
Pastor Bill
.
Too often, we waddle away from church and bible reading just as we waddled in-unchanged. We read our Bibles and we hear our preachers calling us to obedience and telling us that we can do it. So we leave the word and church inspired and hopeful and ready to obey and then find ourselves failing miserably. I have been a Christian for 40 years this year and left to myself, I must admit that I am not a very good at being good and doing obedience. At times I am grieved that after all of these years I am still selfish, egotistical, insensitive, prideful, ambitious, cold, cynical, and impatient. The harder I have tried to live the Christian life, the worse it often times gets. For every good intention, there is often a bad action. For every good action, there is often a bad intention. For every right thing I do, there are two wrongs. I am very skilled at snatching defeat right out of the jaws of victory. Oh how many tears have I cried over my sinfulness.
The apostle Paul describes this experience of himself in Romans 7:14-25, "“For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord”!
Left to ourselves, our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. We do not want what we ought to want. Yet God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we don't want to obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change.
Three of the most liberating truths in my life was when I understood why I don't do what I ought to do and why I do what I do. The truths are simply this:
1. WHEN I DON'T DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO, THE REASON THAT I DON'T DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO IS BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO!
2. I ALWAYS DO WHAT I WANT TO DO.
3. WHEN I DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO IT IS BECAUSE I WANT TO DO WHAT I OUGHT TO DO.
The whole issue of obedience and disobedience is about my desires. Our hearts are spiritually and morally flawed. We do not desire what we ought to desire. The root of obedience has to be a change in my desires, inclinations, and affections. Otherwise our "want to’s" will never be what we ought to want. We won’t desire what we ought to desire and our hearts will go after fleshly desires. Therefore we will do what we ought not to do. Our behavior always follows are hearts!
The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
God holds us responsible for our obedience. We may be corrupt but we are culpable for what we ought to do. So how do we obey when we cannot obey? How do we do what we ought to when we don’t want to? To get to the root, how do our "want to’s” change?
True obedience begins in the heart where God graces the heart to give it a “want to” so that when the time for obedience comes to do what you “ought to” do you will “want to” do what you ought to do; therefore, you will do what you ought to do, a peculiar obedience!
The New Covenant promise is that beneath every act of obedience is the enabling grace of God. Behind every “ought to” done in obedience, God graces our hearts with a “want to”. Augustine put it this way:
"Give me the grace [O Lord] to do as you command, and command me to do what you will! . . . O holy God . . . when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them.”
God’s sovereign work in our heart is the key to obedience. True obedience is where God gives you a new desire so that you will want what you ought to want in order to do what you ought to do. That is to say, when temptation comes you will desire God and pleasing Him more than the temptation and its fleeting pleasures.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
“Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 4:11)"Now the God of peace . . . equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21)
We must pray for the desire in our heart to “want to” do what we “ought to” do and God will do give it to you. We can pray Psalm 119:36, “Incline my heart to your testimonies…” Psalm 90:14, "Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days". Hebrews 4;16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help (us to want what we ought to want so that we would do what we ought to do) in time of need.”
May God put in your heart a “want to” like He did in Augustine, who wrote,
“How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose! . . . You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure."
Seeking to want what I ought to want so that I will do what I ought to do for God's glory and my soul's satisfaction,
Pastor Bill
.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
JONATHAN EDWARDS ON THE SIGNS OF AUTHENTIC AFFECTIONS FOR JESUS
Have you ever wondered: What is the essence of true Christianity? What constitutes the essence of a life that is pleasing to God? Are there criteria by which we can distinguish between true Christians and those who only seem to be? Have you ever known someone who seemed so godly, but later abandoned everything they once held dear? Have you ever had the fearful thought that such a thing could happen to a loved one (or even you)? Have you ever struggled with assurance of salvation, or are you dealing with a friend who is? What makes for a true Christian? I am not talking about a professing Christian. I do not merely mean a church going Christian, a cultural Christian, a highly enthused Christian, a doctrine loving Christian, a social action Christian, a contemplative Christian, and on and on. I mean a born again, spirit filled, follower of Jesus Christ. Are there any tell tale signs that identify the real from the false?
Jonathan Edward's was the great 18th century pastor from North Hampton Massachusetts who was a huge player in the great awakening during the mid eighteenth century. He witnessed many signs, supernatural phenomenon, great enthusiasm, and massive conversions. But were they all legitimate? He wrote four books about his observations experiences, and analysis of these moves of God, and his finest, The Religious Affections is considered one of the great classics of evangelical literature. (You can access the entire critical edition from Yale University Press online for free.)
Edwards’s conclusion to what he witnessed in all that he saw is that ”True religion (Or we might say True Christianity or true conversion) in great part, consists in holy affections”. He believed the soul has two faculties: (1) the understanding (by which the soul perceives, speculates, discerns, views,and judges things); and (2) the inclination or will (by which the soul is inclined or disinclined, pleased or displeased, approves or rejects). The affections have to do with the second faculty. Affections, according to Edwards, are “the more vigorous and sensible exercises of the inclination and will of the soul”
Edwards sought to show that the Bible makes true affections an essential part of godliness and being a true follower of Jesus. But not all affections are created equal. Some are to be rejected and put to death while others are to be approved and cultivated: “The right way, is not to reject all affections, nor to approve all; but to distinguish between affections, approving some, and rejecting others; separating between the wheat and the chaff, the gold and the dross, the previous and the vile.". His book is an attempt to help us do precisely that.
So Edwards works through twelve “signs” that are uncertain. In other words, he explains twelve things that may look like indicators of truly gracious affections for God, but which do not prove things one way or the other. Edwards writes, “…as we ought not to reject and condemn all affections as though true religion did not at all consist in affection; so, on the other hand, we ought not to approve of all, as though every one that was religiously affected had true grace, and was therein the subject of the saving influences of the Spirit of God. The right way is to distinguish among religious affections, between one sort and another.”
Here are Edwards signs that by themselves indicates nothing with my own editorial comments with each one.
Challenged and prayerful,
Pastor Bill
Jonathan Edward's was the great 18th century pastor from North Hampton Massachusetts who was a huge player in the great awakening during the mid eighteenth century. He witnessed many signs, supernatural phenomenon, great enthusiasm, and massive conversions. But were they all legitimate? He wrote four books about his observations experiences, and analysis of these moves of God, and his finest, The Religious Affections is considered one of the great classics of evangelical literature. (You can access the entire critical edition from Yale University Press online for free.)
Edwards’s conclusion to what he witnessed in all that he saw is that ”True religion (Or we might say True Christianity or true conversion) in great part, consists in holy affections”. He believed the soul has two faculties: (1) the understanding (by which the soul perceives, speculates, discerns, views,and judges things); and (2) the inclination or will (by which the soul is inclined or disinclined, pleased or displeased, approves or rejects). The affections have to do with the second faculty. Affections, according to Edwards, are “the more vigorous and sensible exercises of the inclination and will of the soul”
Edwards sought to show that the Bible makes true affections an essential part of godliness and being a true follower of Jesus. But not all affections are created equal. Some are to be rejected and put to death while others are to be approved and cultivated: “The right way, is not to reject all affections, nor to approve all; but to distinguish between affections, approving some, and rejecting others; separating between the wheat and the chaff, the gold and the dross, the previous and the vile.". His book is an attempt to help us do precisely that.
So Edwards works through twelve “signs” that are uncertain. In other words, he explains twelve things that may look like indicators of truly gracious affections for God, but which do not prove things one way or the other. Edwards writes, “…as we ought not to reject and condemn all affections as though true religion did not at all consist in affection; so, on the other hand, we ought not to approve of all, as though every one that was religiously affected had true grace, and was therein the subject of the saving influences of the Spirit of God. The right way is to distinguish among religious affections, between one sort and another.”
Here are Edwards signs that by themselves indicates nothing with my own editorial comments with each one.
No Sign 1. The religious affections are very great, or raised very high. 1) intense affection or emotionThen in the third part, Edwards sets forth twelve true signs—those things which distinguish the truly gracious and holy affections as being part of true religion again with my own editorial comments.:
No Sign 2. They have great effects on the body. 2) a physical reaction to affection.
No Sign 3. They cause those who have them, to be fluent, fervent and abundant, in talking of the things of religion. 3) talking with fluency and eagerness
No Sign 4. Persons did make ‘em themselves, or excite ‘em of their own contrivance, and by their own strength. 4) affection or emotions not excited by self-effort
No Sign 5. They come with texts of Scripture, remarkably brought to the mind. 5)affection or emotions accompanied by bible verses
No Sign 6. There is an appearance of love in them. 6) affection or emotions with the appearance of a fullness of love; which actually can be counterfeited
No Sign 7. Persons having religious affections of many kinds, accompanying one another, is not sufficient to determine whether they have any gracious affections or no. 7) experiencing many different kinds of affection or emotion, any of which can be counterfeited, especially when Satan inspires someone of great self-importance
No Sign 8. Comforts and joys seem to follow awakenings and convictions of conscience, in a certain order.8) the joy and comfort of a religious experience, which can occur without the Holy Spirit
No Sign 9. They dispose persons to spend much time in religion, and to be zealously engaged in the external duties of worship. 9) time and effort spent on religion — hypocrites have great energy
No Sign 10. They much dispose persons with their mouths to praise and glorify God. 10) verbal expressions of praise — words alone do not prove the condition of the heart
No Sign 11. They make persons that have them, exceedingly confident that what they experience is divine, and that they are in a good estate.11) self-confidence — people who have a high opinion of themselves usually are self-confident
No Sign 12. The outward manifestations of them, and the relation persons give of them, are very affecting and pleasing to the truly godly, and such as greatly gain their charity, and win their hearts.12) being able to please and inspire others through the demonstration of religious feeling
True Sign 1. Arise from those influences and operations on the heart, which are spiritual, supernatural, and divine. 1) True religious affection has a divine source.
True Sign 2. Objectively grounded in the transcendentally excellent and amiable nature of divine things, as they are in themselves (and not in any conceived relation they bear to self or self-interest. 2) Religious affection is caused by the nature of God alone, not what a personal understanding of a relation to divine things means to self-interest or a sense of self-worth
True Sign 3. Primarily founded on the loveliness of the moral excellency of divine thing; a love to divine things for the beauty and sweetness of their moral excellency is the first beginning and spring of all holy affections. 3) Religious affection based on holiness focuses on the beauty of God’s righteousness
True Sign 4 Arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things. Spiritually gifted affection is based on a proper intellectual understanding of what is godly
True Sign 5. Attended with a reasonable and spiritual conviction of the judgment, of the reality and certainty of divine things. 4) Religious affections have a reasonable basis for a belief in the reality of what is divine
True Sign 6. Attended with evangelical humiliation (= a sense that a Christian has or his own utter insufficiency, despicableness, and odiousness, with an answerable frame of heart). 5) Spiritually gifted affection is not proud but humble
True Sign 7. Attended with a change of nature. 6) Spiritually gifted affection changes our inner-being
True Sign 8. Tend to, and are attended with, the lamb like, dove like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ; they naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love, meekness, quietness, forgiveness, and mercy, as appeared in Christ. 7) Spiritually gifted affection differs from false and delusional affections, in that they express the gentle temperament of Jesus Christ). True Sign 9. Soften the heart and are attended to and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit. 8) Spirit gifted affection causes us to be tender. True Sign 10. Have beautiful symmetry and proportion. 10) Spirit gifted affections are expressed with a balanced harmony. True Sign 11. The higher gracious affections are raised, the more is a spiritual appetite and longing of soul after spiritual attainments increased. 11) Spirit gifted affection moves a person to become more godly, as distinguished from being satisfied with an emotional experience itself. True Sign 12. Have their exercise and fruit in Christian practice. 12) Spirit gifted and holy emotions cause a person to be Christ-like in character and action.
Challenged and prayerful,
Pastor Bill
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
A CALL TO GOSPEL COVER-UP
"Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friend" (Proverbs 17:9)
The media loves to splash the front headlines when it hears of a "cover up". My generation remembers well the infamous Watergate Cover Up that cost Richard Nixon his presidency. The whole idea of a cover up evokes suspicion, anger, and paranoia. It seems that there is always a new cover up being exposed by the media where facts have been manipulated, voices silenced, and blatant injustice has taken place. We know that this kind of cover up whether by being the perpetrator or victim is wrong.
But there is a kind of cover up that is right. It is a gospel cover up, the stewardship of information of one another's failures, sins, and weaknesses, that requires a gospel heart. I am talking about a gospel cover up. It is a cover up of others sins, sins against us, and our own confessed sins that I'm talking about.
How often do we chose to uncover and use old offenses against our spouse, our children, our parents, or our friends in order to win an argument, gain advantage, hold leverage over, or minimize our own sin. When we do this, we act as if we never forgave them the first time. It's like the couple who came into counseling and the husband said, "whenever my wife and I fight she gets historical." The counselor responded, "you mean hysterical". The man replied, "historical, whenever we fight she reminds me of everything that I ever did wrong."
Another form of uncovering that we do is repeating someone's sin or offense to others under the guise of seeking prayer. How often have people been slandered or maligned during a supposed time of prayer to the living God of mercy, forgiveness, and grace in Jesus name!
How about the uncovering that we do where keep uncovered and constantly rehearse the sins and offenses of others to ourselves-feeding our own self righteousness, refueling and kindling our anger, and percolating our desire for revenge?
Finally, there is the uncovering of our own sins and failures repeatedly to ourselves-choosing to indulge in self contempt and loathing and listening to Satan's accusations and lies.
All of these uncovering's demonstrate how little that we really believe and treasure the gospel. The gospel reveals the forgiving, merciful love of Jesus. By His blood He has once and for all covered up, covered over, and carried away our sins forever.
David writes in exaltation of God's forgiveness and covering of his own sin in Psalm 103:12, "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.".God doesn't just forgive our sin; He actually casts it away as far from us as it's possible to be. The phrase "as far as the east is from the west" is a rhetorical description of an infinitely long distance.
Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 38:17, "you have cast all my sins behind your back" and in Isaiah 43:25, "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins".
Listen to Micah exult in God's great cover up of your sins in Micah 7:19, "He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot.You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea".
Do you hear all this cover up language dear reader? Remove? Cast? Blot out? Remember no more? Tread underfoot? Are you like that towards others? Are you like that towards yourself?
Jesus never repeats my sinful matters to me or anyone else. Neither does He repeat others sinful matters to you or anyone else. He never does and never will. NEITHER SHOULD WE!
Is it no wonder why Paul exhorts us to...“be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
John Newton writes, "[The 'wretch' who has been saved by grace] believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of Spirit. Humble under a sense of much forgiveness to himself, he finds it easy to forgive others."
Another time Newton wrote, “Whoever has tasted of the love Christ, and has known, by his own experience, the need and the worth of redemption, is enabled, yes, he is constrained, to love his fellow creatures. He loves them at first sight.”
If what I believe about myself as a flawed sinner who has a great savior and who lives upon the grace and pardoning love of my Lord is true; than is there any more important thing in my relationships with flawed people than covering up others sins by forgiving and forbearing? That is what Paul seems to think in Colossians 2:13, "...bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive"
This is the rule our Lord Jesus gave us: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). I would take it even deeper in light of the cross: Do unto others as Christ has done to us! Do to yourself as Christ has done to you! , Let love, mercy and forgiveness rule your life and be the fruit of what comes out of your life towards others and yourself. Cover up others sins and cover up your sins. Do not use them in any way against them and yourself. Why? Because God does.
It s time to not repeat others sins against you any more to God, yourself, and to others and its time to stop repeating your own sins back to yourself. After all, God does not.
ITS THE BEAUTIFUL GOSPEL COVER-UP!
Dear reader may you today begin to engage in a gospel cover up for his glory, others benefit, and your joy.
Pastor Bill
.
The media loves to splash the front headlines when it hears of a "cover up". My generation remembers well the infamous Watergate Cover Up that cost Richard Nixon his presidency. The whole idea of a cover up evokes suspicion, anger, and paranoia. It seems that there is always a new cover up being exposed by the media where facts have been manipulated, voices silenced, and blatant injustice has taken place. We know that this kind of cover up whether by being the perpetrator or victim is wrong.
But there is a kind of cover up that is right. It is a gospel cover up, the stewardship of information of one another's failures, sins, and weaknesses, that requires a gospel heart. I am talking about a gospel cover up. It is a cover up of others sins, sins against us, and our own confessed sins that I'm talking about.
How often do we chose to uncover and use old offenses against our spouse, our children, our parents, or our friends in order to win an argument, gain advantage, hold leverage over, or minimize our own sin. When we do this, we act as if we never forgave them the first time. It's like the couple who came into counseling and the husband said, "whenever my wife and I fight she gets historical." The counselor responded, "you mean hysterical". The man replied, "historical, whenever we fight she reminds me of everything that I ever did wrong."
Another form of uncovering that we do is repeating someone's sin or offense to others under the guise of seeking prayer. How often have people been slandered or maligned during a supposed time of prayer to the living God of mercy, forgiveness, and grace in Jesus name!
How about the uncovering that we do where keep uncovered and constantly rehearse the sins and offenses of others to ourselves-feeding our own self righteousness, refueling and kindling our anger, and percolating our desire for revenge?
Finally, there is the uncovering of our own sins and failures repeatedly to ourselves-choosing to indulge in self contempt and loathing and listening to Satan's accusations and lies.
All of these uncovering's demonstrate how little that we really believe and treasure the gospel. The gospel reveals the forgiving, merciful love of Jesus. By His blood He has once and for all covered up, covered over, and carried away our sins forever.
David writes in exaltation of God's forgiveness and covering of his own sin in Psalm 103:12, "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.".God doesn't just forgive our sin; He actually casts it away as far from us as it's possible to be. The phrase "as far as the east is from the west" is a rhetorical description of an infinitely long distance.
Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 38:17, "you have cast all my sins behind your back" and in Isaiah 43:25, "I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins".
Listen to Micah exult in God's great cover up of your sins in Micah 7:19, "He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot.You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea".
Do you hear all this cover up language dear reader? Remove? Cast? Blot out? Remember no more? Tread underfoot? Are you like that towards others? Are you like that towards yourself?
Jesus never repeats my sinful matters to me or anyone else. Neither does He repeat others sinful matters to you or anyone else. He never does and never will. NEITHER SHOULD WE!
Is it no wonder why Paul exhorts us to...“be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
John Newton writes, "[The 'wretch' who has been saved by grace] believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of Spirit. Humble under a sense of much forgiveness to himself, he finds it easy to forgive others."
Another time Newton wrote, “Whoever has tasted of the love Christ, and has known, by his own experience, the need and the worth of redemption, is enabled, yes, he is constrained, to love his fellow creatures. He loves them at first sight.”
If what I believe about myself as a flawed sinner who has a great savior and who lives upon the grace and pardoning love of my Lord is true; than is there any more important thing in my relationships with flawed people than covering up others sins by forgiving and forbearing? That is what Paul seems to think in Colossians 2:13, "...bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive"
This is the rule our Lord Jesus gave us: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Matthew 7:12). I would take it even deeper in light of the cross: Do unto others as Christ has done to us! Do to yourself as Christ has done to you! , Let love, mercy and forgiveness rule your life and be the fruit of what comes out of your life towards others and yourself. Cover up others sins and cover up your sins. Do not use them in any way against them and yourself. Why? Because God does.
It s time to not repeat others sins against you any more to God, yourself, and to others and its time to stop repeating your own sins back to yourself. After all, God does not.
ITS THE BEAUTIFUL GOSPEL COVER-UP!
Dear reader may you today begin to engage in a gospel cover up for his glory, others benefit, and your joy.
Pastor Bill
.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
BLESSED FORGIVENESS
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters,they shall not reach him.7 You are a hiding place for me;you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
David had sinned greatly and kept it covered for one year. (Read 2 Samuel 11-12) Then one day the prophet Nathan told David a story. It was all about a rich man who stole the one little ewe lamb of a poor man rather than taking a sheep from his own huge flock. "Surely this man deserves to die!" shouted an enraged David. With a bony finger pointed at David's nose, Nathan calmly declared, "You are the man! ... Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own'(2 Samuel 12:7, 9).
Listen to what David says in Psalm 32 about the impact of his sin as it festered unconfessed and unforgiven in his heart for that year. " When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3-4) Then David confessed his sin in 2 Samuel 12:13, "So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." Psalm 32 is a recording of Davids confession and forgiveness in greater detail. Listen more closely still to the song of God's forgiving love.
First we read David’s heartfelt and sincere confession of His sin in verses. 1-2,5. You talk about confession! David ransacks his dictionary for every word for sin he can find. He calls what he did a transgression , a word that refers to the rebellious and disloyal nature of his actions. He calls what he did a sin , a word that points to any act that misses the mark of God's revealed will. And he calls it iniquity (v. 2,5), that is to say, a crooked deed; a conscious intent to deviate from what is right.
Why do you think David goes to such verbal lengths to portray his sin? First, He knew that the prerequisite of receiving forgiveness is confession or acknowledgment of our sin to the Lord from a spirit free of deceit (verses 5 and 2). When you put these two things together, acknowledgment of our sin and not deceiving God, a very precise meaning for confession emerges. Confession to God is not merely admitting our sin as real but also rejecting our sin as repulsive.The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
There is deceit in the spirit of the person who admits with his mind that he sins but feels no revulsion in his heart at those sins: his bad temper and irritability, his hypercritical attitude, his gossiping, his lukewarm love for Christ, his failure to discipline his children, his dishonesty on tax forms and financial reports, etc. This is deceit because sin is repulsive and horrid in God's eyes and ought to be hated and shunned. So to come to God admitting to sin and feeling no grief or repugnance is to come with deceit, for what you are acknowledging is not really acknowledged as sin. The prerequisite therefore of divine forgiveness is admitting our sin as real and rejecting our sin as repulsive,
Secondly, my sense is that he does so to emphasize that every sin, any sin, whatever its cause or character, no matter how small or big, secret or public, intentional or inadvertent, all sin can be forgiven!
David also uses three different words to describe his confession. He acknowledged his sin to the Lord. He refused to cover up his iniquity. He was determined to confess his transgressions (v. 5). Why is this necessary? Why doesn't God, in His great grace just forgive all sin in everybody, no strings attached? Why does there have to be in every individuals case the prerequisite of confession? Every sin we commit is an insult to God, a slap in His face, whether we see it that way or not. That is why David says in Psalm 51:4, "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight-- that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge."
This has to be seen if we are to understand the dynamics of confession and forgiveness. When David confesses his sin, nothing is held back, there is no cutting of corners, no compromise, he comes totally clean. All the cupboards of his soul are emptied. All little black books are opened and read aloud. His confession is like opening the floodgates of a dam. It may be messy at first, but the release of ever-increasing pressure is life to his burdened heart. Three different words for sin. Three different words for confession. But better still, three different words for forgiveness!
David joyfully pronounces, " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven" (verse 1). The word literally means, "to carry away." David's sin, my sin, your sin, is like an oppressive weight from which we long to be relieved. Forgiveness lifts the burden from our shoulders.
Then he says, "Blessed is he whose sin is covered" (verse1). It is as if David says, "Oh, dear Father, what joy to know that if I will but uncover my sin and not hide it, You will" David doesn’t mean to suggest that his sin is merely concealed from view but somehow still present to condemn and defeat him. The point is that God sees it no more. He has covered it from all view.
Thirdly he says, "Blessed is that man or woman, young or old, whose sin the Lord does not impute or count against them" (verse 2). No record is kept. God isn't a spiritual scorekeeper to those who seek His pardoning favor!
Have you ever fooled around with an "Etch-a-Sketch?" I never was much good at it. I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. The Etch-a-Sketch was made for people like me. If you don't like what you've drawn, and especially don't want to be embarrassed should anyone else see it, you simply tip the screen and your work of art vanishes! It's a crude and simple illustration, but that is a lot like what God does with your sin when He grants forgiveness. Through the course of our earthly existence we sketch an ugly scenario of sin and rebellion and ingratitude and jealousy and lust. There it is, vividly imprinted on the screen of our souls. But when we confess our sin, as David did, God's loving and gracious hand tips the toy, and the slate is wiped clean! No matter how often we return to deface our lives with ugly pictures of hatred and anger and pride and envy, God is faithful to tip the screen. All it takes is confession. All it takes is the blood of Christ. But don't take my word for it, listen to what God Himself in Isaiah. 43:25, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins".
When we confess our sin and plead the blood of the Lord Jesus, God promises never again to bring it up, either to Himself, to you, or to others. How about what David says in Psalm 103:11-12, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
That's forgiveness! That's love! God's not finished yet. He's got another illustration to make His point. Hezekiah put it this way in Isaiah 38:17; "You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back." God has taken your sin and placed it out of sight behind His back. All He sees now when He sees you is the blessed righteousness of His own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Such is the love of forgiveness.
Still not good enough? Still not convinced? Still afraid that your sins will do you in? Then pay close attention to the word of the prophet Micah. He has something important to say about the kind of God we have in Micah 7:18-19, "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
How much more graphic do you demand God be before you enter into the joy of His forgiving love? All vestige of condemning guilt is gone. Again, "Just as God said He put our sins behind His back, so here He says He will hurl them into the depths of the sea. They will not 'fall overboard;' God will hurl them into the depths. He wants them to be lost forever, because He has fully dealt with them in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Finally, listen to David’s response to God’s forgiveness in verses 1-2 I don't know how all this affects you, but I agree with David when he says (shouts?), "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven ... Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him. . . ". All hope for happiness is contingent on the forgiveness of sins. The word blessed, by the way, is plural! As Spurgeon has said, "Oh, the blessedness’s! the double joys, the bundles of happiness, the mountains of delight" that abound to the forgiven. Having experienced for himself the joy of forgiving love, David encourages others to seek God's pardoning favor in verses 6-7. God is like a high rock on which we stand when the flood waters of adversity begin to rise. God is a hiding place, a shelter in whom we find safety and protection from all that threatens the soul. And remember, He is all this for men and women like David who have spurned His ways and transgressed His will! What accounts for this willingness in God to forgive? To what do we attribute the peace and release and joy that floods the pardoned soul?
David puts his finger on it in verse 10: "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him'. God's love is the bulwark of our lives, the bodyguard of our souls, the atmosphere of immutable affection in which we move and live and breath.
"Forgiveness is a powerful force. It never leaves the forgiven unchanged." Dan Allender is on target in saying that "the extent to which someone truly loves will be positively correlated to the degree the person is stunned and silenced by the wonder that his huge debt has been canceled."' Jesus said about a prostitute who had experienced His forgiving love and washed His feet with her tears in Luke 7:47, "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little".
Perhaps you haven’t sinned as David did, nor as the woman of Luke 7. Adultery, murder and prostitution may not be on your list. Perhaps your sins are more subtle and less public, whether fewer or greater in number. Whatever the case, David's only hope, the weeping ex-prostitute's only hope-your only hope-is the unfailing love of God.What is so blessed about having our transgressions forgiven? O, that we might cherish our forgiveness more! ponder the value of your eternal pardon. Compare the affections you feel for things and people in this world with the affection you feel for Jesus and for being forgiven through His death. And if you find that your heart leaps up more vigorously for anything else than it does for the forgiveness of God, repent.
Treasuring divine pardon!
Pastor Bill
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters,they shall not reach him.7 You are a hiding place for me;you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." Psalm 32:1-11
How do you picture God when you think about your sin? What do you think His expression is when you come to Him with the same old sin time after time again? What do you think His attitude toward you is in the light of your failures? What do your emotions tell you as you contemplate these questions? Are there sins from your past that continue to hang over you like a dark cloud? Do you feel your potential for God’s Kingdom has been destroyed because of your past disobedience? Your answer to these questions tells whether or not you have come to grips with God’s forgiveness or not. God has given Psalm 32 as a precious gift to encourage you. Psalm 32 is primarily about the joy and blessedness of God’s forgiving love!
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart." Psalm 32:1-11
How do you picture God when you think about your sin? What do you think His expression is when you come to Him with the same old sin time after time again? What do you think His attitude toward you is in the light of your failures? What do your emotions tell you as you contemplate these questions? Are there sins from your past that continue to hang over you like a dark cloud? Do you feel your potential for God’s Kingdom has been destroyed because of your past disobedience? Your answer to these questions tells whether or not you have come to grips with God’s forgiveness or not. God has given Psalm 32 as a precious gift to encourage you. Psalm 32 is primarily about the joy and blessedness of God’s forgiving love!
David had sinned greatly and kept it covered for one year. (Read 2 Samuel 11-12) Then one day the prophet Nathan told David a story. It was all about a rich man who stole the one little ewe lamb of a poor man rather than taking a sheep from his own huge flock. "Surely this man deserves to die!" shouted an enraged David. With a bony finger pointed at David's nose, Nathan calmly declared, "You are the man! ... Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own'(2 Samuel 12:7, 9).
Listen to what David says in Psalm 32 about the impact of his sin as it festered unconfessed and unforgiven in his heart for that year. " When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3-4) Then David confessed his sin in 2 Samuel 12:13, "So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." Psalm 32 is a recording of Davids confession and forgiveness in greater detail. Listen more closely still to the song of God's forgiving love.
First we read David’s heartfelt and sincere confession of His sin in verses. 1-2,5. You talk about confession! David ransacks his dictionary for every word for sin he can find. He calls what he did a transgression , a word that refers to the rebellious and disloyal nature of his actions. He calls what he did a sin , a word that points to any act that misses the mark of God's revealed will. And he calls it iniquity (v. 2,5), that is to say, a crooked deed; a conscious intent to deviate from what is right.
Why do you think David goes to such verbal lengths to portray his sin? First, He knew that the prerequisite of receiving forgiveness is confession or acknowledgment of our sin to the Lord from a spirit free of deceit (verses 5 and 2). When you put these two things together, acknowledgment of our sin and not deceiving God, a very precise meaning for confession emerges. Confession to God is not merely admitting our sin as real but also rejecting our sin as repulsive.The longer you walk with God, The more you understand who He is, what sin is, and who you are in Him and apart from Him, the better you become, the more you are ashamed for being bad, not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, “The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong, but the saint refined with moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong.”
There is deceit in the spirit of the person who admits with his mind that he sins but feels no revulsion in his heart at those sins: his bad temper and irritability, his hypercritical attitude, his gossiping, his lukewarm love for Christ, his failure to discipline his children, his dishonesty on tax forms and financial reports, etc. This is deceit because sin is repulsive and horrid in God's eyes and ought to be hated and shunned. So to come to God admitting to sin and feeling no grief or repugnance is to come with deceit, for what you are acknowledging is not really acknowledged as sin. The prerequisite therefore of divine forgiveness is admitting our sin as real and rejecting our sin as repulsive,
Secondly, my sense is that he does so to emphasize that every sin, any sin, whatever its cause or character, no matter how small or big, secret or public, intentional or inadvertent, all sin can be forgiven!
David also uses three different words to describe his confession. He acknowledged his sin to the Lord. He refused to cover up his iniquity. He was determined to confess his transgressions (v. 5). Why is this necessary? Why doesn't God, in His great grace just forgive all sin in everybody, no strings attached? Why does there have to be in every individuals case the prerequisite of confession? Every sin we commit is an insult to God, a slap in His face, whether we see it that way or not. That is why David says in Psalm 51:4, "Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight-- that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge."
This has to be seen if we are to understand the dynamics of confession and forgiveness. When David confesses his sin, nothing is held back, there is no cutting of corners, no compromise, he comes totally clean. All the cupboards of his soul are emptied. All little black books are opened and read aloud. His confession is like opening the floodgates of a dam. It may be messy at first, but the release of ever-increasing pressure is life to his burdened heart. Three different words for sin. Three different words for confession. But better still, three different words for forgiveness!
David joyfully pronounces, " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven" (verse 1). The word literally means, "to carry away." David's sin, my sin, your sin, is like an oppressive weight from which we long to be relieved. Forgiveness lifts the burden from our shoulders.
Then he says, "Blessed is he whose sin is covered" (verse1). It is as if David says, "Oh, dear Father, what joy to know that if I will but uncover my sin and not hide it, You will" David doesn’t mean to suggest that his sin is merely concealed from view but somehow still present to condemn and defeat him. The point is that God sees it no more. He has covered it from all view.
Thirdly he says, "Blessed is that man or woman, young or old, whose sin the Lord does not impute or count against them" (verse 2). No record is kept. God isn't a spiritual scorekeeper to those who seek His pardoning favor!
Have you ever fooled around with an "Etch-a-Sketch?" I never was much good at it. I'm not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. The Etch-a-Sketch was made for people like me. If you don't like what you've drawn, and especially don't want to be embarrassed should anyone else see it, you simply tip the screen and your work of art vanishes! It's a crude and simple illustration, but that is a lot like what God does with your sin when He grants forgiveness. Through the course of our earthly existence we sketch an ugly scenario of sin and rebellion and ingratitude and jealousy and lust. There it is, vividly imprinted on the screen of our souls. But when we confess our sin, as David did, God's loving and gracious hand tips the toy, and the slate is wiped clean! No matter how often we return to deface our lives with ugly pictures of hatred and anger and pride and envy, God is faithful to tip the screen. All it takes is confession. All it takes is the blood of Christ. But don't take my word for it, listen to what God Himself in Isaiah. 43:25, "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins".
When we confess our sin and plead the blood of the Lord Jesus, God promises never again to bring it up, either to Himself, to you, or to others. How about what David says in Psalm 103:11-12, "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
That's forgiveness! That's love! God's not finished yet. He's got another illustration to make His point. Hezekiah put it this way in Isaiah 38:17; "You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back." God has taken your sin and placed it out of sight behind His back. All He sees now when He sees you is the blessed righteousness of His own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Such is the love of forgiveness.
Still not good enough? Still not convinced? Still afraid that your sins will do you in? Then pay close attention to the word of the prophet Micah. He has something important to say about the kind of God we have in Micah 7:18-19, "Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."
How much more graphic do you demand God be before you enter into the joy of His forgiving love? All vestige of condemning guilt is gone. Again, "Just as God said He put our sins behind His back, so here He says He will hurl them into the depths of the sea. They will not 'fall overboard;' God will hurl them into the depths. He wants them to be lost forever, because He has fully dealt with them in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Finally, listen to David’s response to God’s forgiveness in verses 1-2 I don't know how all this affects you, but I agree with David when he says (shouts?), "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven ... Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him. . . ". All hope for happiness is contingent on the forgiveness of sins. The word blessed, by the way, is plural! As Spurgeon has said, "Oh, the blessedness’s! the double joys, the bundles of happiness, the mountains of delight" that abound to the forgiven. Having experienced for himself the joy of forgiving love, David encourages others to seek God's pardoning favor in verses 6-7. God is like a high rock on which we stand when the flood waters of adversity begin to rise. God is a hiding place, a shelter in whom we find safety and protection from all that threatens the soul. And remember, He is all this for men and women like David who have spurned His ways and transgressed His will! What accounts for this willingness in God to forgive? To what do we attribute the peace and release and joy that floods the pardoned soul?
David puts his finger on it in verse 10: "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him'. God's love is the bulwark of our lives, the bodyguard of our souls, the atmosphere of immutable affection in which we move and live and breath.
"Forgiveness is a powerful force. It never leaves the forgiven unchanged." Dan Allender is on target in saying that "the extent to which someone truly loves will be positively correlated to the degree the person is stunned and silenced by the wonder that his huge debt has been canceled."' Jesus said about a prostitute who had experienced His forgiving love and washed His feet with her tears in Luke 7:47, "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven-for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little".
Perhaps you haven’t sinned as David did, nor as the woman of Luke 7. Adultery, murder and prostitution may not be on your list. Perhaps your sins are more subtle and less public, whether fewer or greater in number. Whatever the case, David's only hope, the weeping ex-prostitute's only hope-your only hope-is the unfailing love of God.What is so blessed about having our transgressions forgiven? O, that we might cherish our forgiveness more! ponder the value of your eternal pardon. Compare the affections you feel for things and people in this world with the affection you feel for Jesus and for being forgiven through His death. And if you find that your heart leaps up more vigorously for anything else than it does for the forgiveness of God, repent.
Treasuring divine pardon!
Pastor Bill
Friday, April 25, 2014
TRUSTING IN GOD'S VIEW OF THE DEATH OF HIS SON
Hebrews 2:10,"For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering."
I ask questions of God often these days. When I ask the question, as I often do, why did God have to send his Son into this world as a human being, and why did God require that Jesus suffer as he did, and why did God believe it necessary that in order to save us and bring us into glory Jesus had to endure the shame and pain and horror of suffering on a cross . I confess I don't understand why it had to be this way. Jesus in my place as my substitute? Bearing God's holy and just wrath? Atoning for my sin? Satisfying God's holy justice? All of my sin imputed upon Him? My ransom price?
Allot of people now days question or are offended by such a view of the death of Jesus, even among some professing Christians. But how did God feel about what had to be done to secure our salvation? When I ask those kinds of questions, the author of Hebrews tells me: “it was fitting,” or “it was appropriate,” or “it was in perfect harmony with God’s nature and character,” or “it was compatible with God’s intentions to glorify himself,” or some such rendering.
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In other words, Christianity is what it is because it perfectly expresses the perfections of God. The way in which God has gone about securing your salvation and my salvation is entirely “fitting” and “good” and “proper” and “reasonable”, at least to God’s way of thinking! It is coherent and symmetrical and beautiful and grand. There is nothing illogical or absurd or immoral or unsavory about the way God saved you and me, namely, through the sufferings of his Son, Jesus Christ.
So, I bask in the wonder of Gods brilliance, even when I don't understand. :)
I simply wonder and pray and praise what Paul proclaimed:
“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36
Monday, April 7, 2014
THE PRECIOUSNESS OF PROVIDENCE
"I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. ” Psalm 57:2
Do you ever feel like all you see ahead of your future is darkness? Do you feel that you have messed up your life and God's will for you? Do you feel helpless, weak, and the prisoner of others, circumstances, or the consequences of your own decisions? Then listen to the straightforward truth that David clings to in Psalm 57:2 and 138:8.
Here he states two basic facts: God has a purpose for him and God will fulfill that purpose. Both these truths combine to become that deep and wondrous theological concept we call “providence.” The word means "to see beforehand".
Not only is God flawlessly at work for our good, but he doesn’t let loose until he’s finished. God providence never dries up or fizzles out. It is always in action to accomplish his intended aim. Everything he does is right, and it is all right until it is done.
God sees the moment of our failures in life at the same time He sees us on the moment that we stand before Him as a faultless bride. He sees us the moment we were born at the same time He sees us at the moment of our last breath
Day by day, and with each passing moment,Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,Gives unto each day what He deems best—Lovingly,its part of pain and pleasure,Mingling toil with peace and rest. Karolina W. Sandell-Berg, “Day by Day”
Pastor Bill
"The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me..." Psalm 138:8
Do you ever feel like all you see ahead of your future is darkness? Do you feel that you have messed up your life and God's will for you? Do you feel helpless, weak, and the prisoner of others, circumstances, or the consequences of your own decisions? Then listen to the straightforward truth that David clings to in Psalm 57:2 and 138:8.
Here he states two basic facts: God has a purpose for him and God will fulfill that purpose. Both these truths combine to become that deep and wondrous theological concept we call “providence.” The word means "to see beforehand".
Providence is the sovereignty of God made palpable. It’s the outworking of his power and authority for his children in space and time, which means, in the things we schedule, the air we breathe, the moments we move, the decisions that we and others make,
Since God is sovereign, and this world is his, then every moment, in a sense, is a moment of providence. Wherever you find yourself right now has come by the process of events he ordained. Every past moment of your life has led to your now. The same will be true tonight, and tomorrow, and ten years in the future. Our experience of providence is our experience of the present, which we know has been wondrously woven together by God.
I have written before that there are millions of micro-reasons for God doing what He does that He has chosen not to reveal to us (Deuteronomy 29:29). Most of the time we have not a clue. That is why we must ground ourselves with an iron hold onto the things He has revealed to us in His Word, His macro-reasons.God is always doing 10,000 things we can’t see. Always. God is doing “ten thousand times more” than we realize. This doing, whether seen or unseen, whether painful or pleasant, is resolutely and effectively targeting our eternal joy. We will be like Christ . . . with him . . . forever. (1 Corinthians 15:49; Psalm 16:10-11).
God’s intended aim for his people, after all, is that we are conformed to the image of Jesus. This is his decree and promise, having chosen us for this before the foundation of the world and having promised us unto this that all things will work together (Romans 8:28–30).
We may get it wrong. We may make sinful, foolish, and poor decisions. God never gets it wrong. He doesn’t swing and miss. Every detail of our days comes through the blueprints of his meticulous care for us. And even when all hope seems lost, remember he is the one who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Romans 4:17) — and he will do that for us.
Not only is God flawlessly at work for our good, but he doesn’t let loose until he’s finished. God providence never dries up or fizzles out. It is always in action to accomplish his intended aim. Everything he does is right, and it is all right until it is done.
“He does all that he pleases,” “no purpose of [his] can be thwarted,” and “none can stay his hand” (Psalm 115:3; Job 42:2; Daniel 4:35) — these words about God are assurances that he will complete what he began in us (Philippians 1:6). Nothing can separate us from his love for us in Christ (Romans 8:39), and nothing can distract the simplest of circumstances from hitting the target of our transformation. There’s no stalling with God. He doesn’t procrastinate. Even if we are clueless to his designs right now, God’s providence is blaring full-throttle toward our Christlikeness, and his glory
Providence means that God has no "plan B" for you. Gods design is that though our sins and failures He will make us into useful vessels that will far surpass the beauty we had before. I am encouraged that all my sins, mistakes, bad decisions, and and failures do not mean that I am consigned to accept Gods second best alternate plan B for my life rather than His first choice of plan A. That's not how He thinks, purposes, or operates. The Lord is free and able to fulfill His perfect and best plan for us. God is in the business of making miserable failures into beautiful demonstrations of His mercy and grace. The next time you wonder whether God is able to make something out of your life, you need to know that the answer is 1000 times, YES!
God sees the moment of our failures in life at the same time He sees us on the moment that we stand before Him as a faultless bride. He sees us the moment we were born at the same time He sees us at the moment of our last breath
Be revived, encouraged, comforted, God is fulfilling his purposes.
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.He whose heart is kind beyond all measure,Gives unto each day what He deems best—Lovingly,its part of pain and pleasure,Mingling toil with peace and rest. Karolina W. Sandell-Berg, “Day by Day”
Pastor Bill
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