This years General Assembly of the PCA rejected two overtures that called upon the assembly to establish a study committee to study and report on the role of women in the church as it relates to the Book of Church Order. Those putting forth the overtures believed this is necessary to give pastoral leadership to churches in dealing with the issue of the roles of women in ministry.
In the PCA there are three church courts established by our constitution. The Session governs over the local church body meeting monthly, the Presbytery serves a particular area of churches meeting four times a year and the General Assembly meets once a year. These church courts are made up of Ruling and Teaching Elders from particular churches. The General Assembly meets to worship together, to hear reports made by committees within the PCA such as Reformed University Ministries (RUF), Mission to the World (MTW), Review of Presbytery Records, which reviews and reports on all the records of Presbyteries in the PCA, and the Bills and Overtures Committee. Some of these committees only report but some report in order that the gathered assembly can vote on various issues facing the PCA. Each year there are a number of overtures that come before the assembly on various issues. This year there were four overtures dealing particularly with the role of women in ministry within the PCA.
The assembly voted 427 in favor and 446 against the overtures to form a study committee to study the role of women in ministry for the purpose of crafting a pastoral letter to be sent to the churches on this issue. This demonstrates how the PCA is divided not only on an issue of the role of women in ministry but how the church is governed.
There are those in the church who believe that the church is very confused as to the role of women in the church. This confusion they believe leads to the suppression of women in the church. Therefore, they believe that it would be helpful to our churches if a group was appointed to study the issue and present the churches with a study report that would help guide them in their leadership of women in the church. However, what most often happens is that a study report becomes the “official stance” of the denomination and that study report is often used authoritatively in dealing with difficult matters in the church. Therefore, there becomes a top down leadership in the church or the “tyranny of the majority”. The PCA is most helpfully lead from the grass roots. At the grass roots level churches can govern themselves from the Scriptures and the constitution. This enables elders, deacons and church members to study and make decisions on important matters such as the roles of women in the particular church. Also, if there are matters such as churches or presbyteries wanting to ordain women as deacons then they must do this by way of overtures to the General Assembly in regard to our constitution. In this way the courts are not circulated in making important decisions. The vote demonstrates that there are still those in our denomination who are interested in this issue and seeing women use their gifts for the service of God’s church according to the authority of God’s Word and under the constitution of the PCA, but who want to see the difficult decisions made at the grass roots of the church and Presbytery and not handed down to them by the General Assembly in committee.
The second issue this brings to the forefront is the role of women in the church. There are two main views in the evangelical church on the role of women in the church. The complimentarian and the egalitarian views. The complimentarian view holds to the order of creation and the explicit teaching of Scripture that men and women are to carry out their roles in the church in compliment of one another. There are specific roles given to men such as the office of elder and deacon that women are not called by God to pursue. However, there are particular roles that are given to women in the church where they work in a complementarian way with men. In this view a man is not less than a woman nor is a woman less than a man, but both are one as created after the image of God and redeemed in Christ. However, they are created and redeemed for differing roles. This is reflective of the Triune God who made us and sustains us. He is one God but three persons acting in different roles as regards those persons. However no person of the Godhead is less than any other person of the Godhead, but they are all fully God. The Son does not rival the Father nor the Spirit the Son but all are glorified as one in their acting together for their own glory in perfect love. This view of the church should direct the culture.
However, the egalitarian view of the culture is affecting the church. The egalitarian view looks at man and woman as equal and says that all should be able to carry out the same roles as one another based upon the gifts given to the man or woman. In this view nothing should prohibit a woman from leading in a particular office in the church if she has gifts for that office. Though in the PCA there may not be those who are egalitarians they want to be more open to seeing women serve as deaconesses because they want to provide more freedom to women in ministry and not be seen as a denomination that suppresses women in our culture. While I applaud their desire to see women exercising their gifts in ministry we must all be willing submit our wills to the authority of God’s Word no matter what our culture may dictate. There are many roles open for women to serve in the church. The Scriptures do not suppress a woman and her gifts but they give her freedom to follow Christ by faith in love in accordance to the freedom of his will.
If I had been at General Assembly and not driving 3,000 miles with my family to from Georgia to Wisconsin then Michigan and home again I would have voted against the study committee overture. The Word of God is clear and the issue has been clearly studied so that elders and pastors can teach their congregations and help them steward the gifts given them under the authority of his Word. Unity in the PCA will continue to be forged on our submission to God’s Word as authoritative and a willingness to live in the present culture not according to it’s whims but in accordance with God’s Word. I pray men and women in our church will freely follow Christ by faith in the roles he calls them to using the gifts he gives them grace for. I also pray that these men and women will work as unto to God and not man as bond slaves of Christ for his glory in the earth and not for their own or their churches glory.
You can read more about this decision of the GA by linking to By Faith Magazine Online.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
How Will You Spend the Time 2
In the last article on time I considered why we are to be wise stewards of the time that God has given us and our children. You can read that article at redeemerchurchbrunswick.wordpress.com. This week I would like to offer some practical suggestions as to the wise use of your summer that is saturated in time. While this article is particularly geared to parents with children at home it should be helpful to anyone who is thinking about being a wise steward of the time given them by God.
READ to Discover Truth, Goodness and Beauty
Parents should be teaching their children to be life long learners. Therefore teach them to enjoy learning through reading. Read to your children and give them time to read each day. When you are with them ask them to tell you about what they are reading. If they are older teach them to reflect on what they are reading through writing. There are many resources that are helpful for parents to know what to read to their children and what their children should be reading. I would suggest the following resources to get you started The Book Tree and The 1000 Good Books List. And if you are not sure about how to encourage your older children to write in reflection upon what they are reading you may want to read The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. You are never to old to become a life long learner. Take up and read.
LABOR to Develop Skills and Discover Interests
Parents should be looking to their children’s adult life. Therefore the time is given you to teach them that God has made them to work for his glory. The work ethic that will enable them to provide for their families, contribute to the needs of the saints and subdue the earth for God’s glory can be discovered during childhood and the young adult years. They will learn different skills as you give them different jobs and in the development of skills they will find what God has given them abilities for and interests in. Seek to give them regular duties they must perform each day and week. But you should also give them opportunities to perform special tasks or jobs that will help them explore the God’s gift of cultivating the earth. Those labors may even require them to do jobs for people outside of their own house at church, for a neighbor or in the community.
PLAY to Enjoy the Pleasures of God and the People God has Made
In redemption Christ is making all things new and the recreation we participate in and hold out for our children should reflect this. God has given your children a world to discover and enjoy his pleasures in creation and the preservation of that creation. Parents should be putting their children in situations where they play in the enjoyment of what God has made and sustains. It does not have to be organized at a park but can be within the confines of the linen closet that turns into a secret headquarters, cave or a house of their own. Parents should seek to put their children in situations where they play by themselves and with others. And the others should not always be the people they get along best with or the people the parents can tolerate the most. Play may involve organized sports, playing in a creek, on some rocks at the beach or out in the backyard with the “same old stuff”. However, the word nor any form of the word “bored” should allowed to be spoken by the child who is given the privilege of playing in God’s creation.
SERVE to Learn to Love Neighbors
Life is ministry and ministry takes a life. God has redeemed his church to serve his creatures not to be served by his creatures. Therefore, parents have a particular responsibility to set an example before their children as servants to those inside and outside of the church. Parents should be seeking opportunities to take their children with them as they serve others. Serving and loving our neighbors does not require and invitation or a special program set up by the church or the government. You do not have to look far beyond your family, your church family or your neighbors to find an opportunity to steward the time God has given by doing the works of him so that others will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
DISCOVER to See Beyond Their Present Reality
Places of discovery are the windows into the breadth of the world that God creates and sustains. There are places in the backyard or in the community that can be places of discovery. You do not have to spend great amounts of money to participate in discovery. Your children can learn a lot from the complexity of the places where you live. But there is also discovery to be made beyond in the wide earth. And if time and money permit then plans should be made to open the doors of discovery not for entertainment sake but for opening up the realms of God’s general revelation to ourselves and our children. But places are not the only places of discovery. Our present reality is the people we spend the most time with, but God has created and he sustains people who are living in very different situations than our own. Children and adults will benefit greatly from spending time each week around people whose lives are not like their own.
The time we have been given is not our own. Let us make the best use of the time knowing that the days are evil and that we will be held accountable when our King returns.
READ to Discover Truth, Goodness and Beauty
Parents should be teaching their children to be life long learners. Therefore teach them to enjoy learning through reading. Read to your children and give them time to read each day. When you are with them ask them to tell you about what they are reading. If they are older teach them to reflect on what they are reading through writing. There are many resources that are helpful for parents to know what to read to their children and what their children should be reading. I would suggest the following resources to get you started The Book Tree and The 1000 Good Books List. And if you are not sure about how to encourage your older children to write in reflection upon what they are reading you may want to read The Well Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. You are never to old to become a life long learner. Take up and read.
LABOR to Develop Skills and Discover Interests
Parents should be looking to their children’s adult life. Therefore the time is given you to teach them that God has made them to work for his glory. The work ethic that will enable them to provide for their families, contribute to the needs of the saints and subdue the earth for God’s glory can be discovered during childhood and the young adult years. They will learn different skills as you give them different jobs and in the development of skills they will find what God has given them abilities for and interests in. Seek to give them regular duties they must perform each day and week. But you should also give them opportunities to perform special tasks or jobs that will help them explore the God’s gift of cultivating the earth. Those labors may even require them to do jobs for people outside of their own house at church, for a neighbor or in the community.
PLAY to Enjoy the Pleasures of God and the People God has Made
In redemption Christ is making all things new and the recreation we participate in and hold out for our children should reflect this. God has given your children a world to discover and enjoy his pleasures in creation and the preservation of that creation. Parents should be putting their children in situations where they play in the enjoyment of what God has made and sustains. It does not have to be organized at a park but can be within the confines of the linen closet that turns into a secret headquarters, cave or a house of their own. Parents should seek to put their children in situations where they play by themselves and with others. And the others should not always be the people they get along best with or the people the parents can tolerate the most. Play may involve organized sports, playing in a creek, on some rocks at the beach or out in the backyard with the “same old stuff”. However, the word nor any form of the word “bored” should allowed to be spoken by the child who is given the privilege of playing in God’s creation.
SERVE to Learn to Love Neighbors
Life is ministry and ministry takes a life. God has redeemed his church to serve his creatures not to be served by his creatures. Therefore, parents have a particular responsibility to set an example before their children as servants to those inside and outside of the church. Parents should be seeking opportunities to take their children with them as they serve others. Serving and loving our neighbors does not require and invitation or a special program set up by the church or the government. You do not have to look far beyond your family, your church family or your neighbors to find an opportunity to steward the time God has given by doing the works of him so that others will see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
DISCOVER to See Beyond Their Present Reality
Places of discovery are the windows into the breadth of the world that God creates and sustains. There are places in the backyard or in the community that can be places of discovery. You do not have to spend great amounts of money to participate in discovery. Your children can learn a lot from the complexity of the places where you live. But there is also discovery to be made beyond in the wide earth. And if time and money permit then plans should be made to open the doors of discovery not for entertainment sake but for opening up the realms of God’s general revelation to ourselves and our children. But places are not the only places of discovery. Our present reality is the people we spend the most time with, but God has created and he sustains people who are living in very different situations than our own. Children and adults will benefit greatly from spending time each week around people whose lives are not like their own.
The time we have been given is not our own. Let us make the best use of the time knowing that the days are evil and that we will be held accountable when our King returns.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
How Will You Use the Time Given to You?
The bell is about to toll. For whom does it toll? It tolls for the children, teachers, administrators and parents who’s lives change for several months as they leave the daily school hours for summer days. How will those days be spent when there are no teachers, administrators and staff to lead the children and teach?
The summer months offer a saturation of time for families. In the summer months parents have an additional seven hours a day to spend with their children. This is an additional 35 hours a week and a total of 420 hours in the twelve week summer. Therefore as the bell tolls for families this summer how will this 420 hours be used?
The Apostle Paul states, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) In these verses the apostle Paul is speaking to the church about redeeming the time. He literally means here to buy up the time at the marketplace, or to buy back the present time which may now be being used for evil and godless purposes. He knows that every creature is given time to be exchanged in the market of life. The time given is exchanged for occupations and activities that may or may not be worthy or productive for God glorifying gain.
Time is a precious gift that must be measured by days (Psalm 90:12) knowing that the years will care for themselves under the Lord of time. Believing this truth causes the Christian to be careful about opportunities and responsibilities that occur in a day. If a person takes eight hours a day for sleep, three hours for meals and conversation, ten hours for work on five days, that person is still left with thirty-five hours each week to exchange in the market of opportunities and responsibilities. How are your days being spent in the time of five hours a day for opportunities and responsibilities in the callings God has given you? Granted, sometimes we sleep four hours, work fourteen, eat for thirty minuets. But however you do the math or whatever chaos may rule your schedule we are still left with the fact that time is given to redeem.
God is sovereign over the Christian’s time, and the Christian is responsible for the time that God gives. The Christian must seek to manage the time given in his range of control as a responsible steward of the gift. In this management of time he must be careful about many dangers. Three of these dangers are procrastination, “urgent needs,” and leisure. Procrastination is the thief of time. We must make decisions and act on them, set deadlines and do not miss one or postpone one. The Christian who wants to read more does not get more time for it. He takes time for it. He makes a decision with the time he has been given and redeems it for the opportunity to read more.
We must also be aware of the danger of “urgent needs” and interruptions when managing our time. Every call for help is not necessarily a call from God. However, we cannot say to every interruption or urgent need that interrupts our schedule, “Get behind me Satan!” We must take interruptions and urgent needs into our schedules, because our schedules are God’s gifts to us to arrange at His pleasure. If we treat our schedule with this Godward focus then we will be looking for reasons why God has brought this interruption or urgent need. This allows us to get to the point of why God has sent this situation our way, and we will be more efficient in handling it in time.
Last, in our practical responsibility of the management of the time God gives, we must be careful with leisure. Leisure is not a bad thing, but in these evil days we are taught it is something we deserve and something to be used to satisfy the pleasures of our flesh. Leisure is a gift from God to be enjoyed for the glory of God, under the authority of His revealed will. The Christian should seek to be wise and redeem the time given in the market of leisure in a planned and purposeful mode for his good and the good of others. However, in the management of time leisure should never supplant responsibility. When we “owe it to ourselves,” we can count on someone else paying for our indulgence in leisure. And when we redeem a little time here or there in the market of leisure opportunities, when our lives are in the market of responsibility, we can count on an unwise use of the gift given and someone else paying the cost. Leisure is a good thing when managed under the control of the Holy Spirit according to the revealed will of God.
God is the giver of good gifts. He has given to His people the gift of time to be used for the glory of His name in all things, and He is concerned that we spend the time he gives wisely. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)” We must fear the Lord in the planning and use of the time he gives us and our children this summer under the direction of His revealed will in the Scriptures and by prayer. To do any less is to live as if we have no Lord.
In the next post we will think practically about how time can be used for God’s glory.
The summer months offer a saturation of time for families. In the summer months parents have an additional seven hours a day to spend with their children. This is an additional 35 hours a week and a total of 420 hours in the twelve week summer. Therefore as the bell tolls for families this summer how will this 420 hours be used?
The Apostle Paul states, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16) In these verses the apostle Paul is speaking to the church about redeeming the time. He literally means here to buy up the time at the marketplace, or to buy back the present time which may now be being used for evil and godless purposes. He knows that every creature is given time to be exchanged in the market of life. The time given is exchanged for occupations and activities that may or may not be worthy or productive for God glorifying gain.
Time is a precious gift that must be measured by days (Psalm 90:12) knowing that the years will care for themselves under the Lord of time. Believing this truth causes the Christian to be careful about opportunities and responsibilities that occur in a day. If a person takes eight hours a day for sleep, three hours for meals and conversation, ten hours for work on five days, that person is still left with thirty-five hours each week to exchange in the market of opportunities and responsibilities. How are your days being spent in the time of five hours a day for opportunities and responsibilities in the callings God has given you? Granted, sometimes we sleep four hours, work fourteen, eat for thirty minuets. But however you do the math or whatever chaos may rule your schedule we are still left with the fact that time is given to redeem.
God is sovereign over the Christian’s time, and the Christian is responsible for the time that God gives. The Christian must seek to manage the time given in his range of control as a responsible steward of the gift. In this management of time he must be careful about many dangers. Three of these dangers are procrastination, “urgent needs,” and leisure. Procrastination is the thief of time. We must make decisions and act on them, set deadlines and do not miss one or postpone one. The Christian who wants to read more does not get more time for it. He takes time for it. He makes a decision with the time he has been given and redeems it for the opportunity to read more.
We must also be aware of the danger of “urgent needs” and interruptions when managing our time. Every call for help is not necessarily a call from God. However, we cannot say to every interruption or urgent need that interrupts our schedule, “Get behind me Satan!” We must take interruptions and urgent needs into our schedules, because our schedules are God’s gifts to us to arrange at His pleasure. If we treat our schedule with this Godward focus then we will be looking for reasons why God has brought this interruption or urgent need. This allows us to get to the point of why God has sent this situation our way, and we will be more efficient in handling it in time.
Last, in our practical responsibility of the management of the time God gives, we must be careful with leisure. Leisure is not a bad thing, but in these evil days we are taught it is something we deserve and something to be used to satisfy the pleasures of our flesh. Leisure is a gift from God to be enjoyed for the glory of God, under the authority of His revealed will. The Christian should seek to be wise and redeem the time given in the market of leisure in a planned and purposeful mode for his good and the good of others. However, in the management of time leisure should never supplant responsibility. When we “owe it to ourselves,” we can count on someone else paying for our indulgence in leisure. And when we redeem a little time here or there in the market of leisure opportunities, when our lives are in the market of responsibility, we can count on an unwise use of the gift given and someone else paying the cost. Leisure is a good thing when managed under the control of the Holy Spirit according to the revealed will of God.
God is the giver of good gifts. He has given to His people the gift of time to be used for the glory of His name in all things, and He is concerned that we spend the time he gives wisely. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)” We must fear the Lord in the planning and use of the time he gives us and our children this summer under the direction of His revealed will in the Scriptures and by prayer. To do any less is to live as if we have no Lord.
In the next post we will think practically about how time can be used for God’s glory.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Suffering as Followers of Christ
As followers of Christ we need a biblical worldview of suffering. We have and will continue to face difficulties throughout our lives and it is necessary that we ask the right questions and look for answers in the right places during times of suffering. How do you view suffering? When “bad things” happen to you or someone you love what directs your view of what is taking place? I want to offer four biblical reasons for suffering in the life of the Christian. My hope is that through God’s truth we can learn to face sufferings not as the world but as those who believe and live in the certainty that all things are from him and through him and to him for his glory forever (Romans 11:36).
View #1: Suffering in this fallen world is universal to all. The creation after the fall was subjected to futility (Rom.8:20) and is groaning under the curse of sin (Rom.8:22). Therefore, as Job said in his suffering, man is born to trouble as the sparks upward (Job 5:7). Everyman is destined to die once and we all as we grow older are wasting away day by day. Suffering in this fallen world is common to all. This view is contrary to our rejuvenating culture. Man is always searching for a quick fix to the problems of everyday life, a cure and a way to take the inevitability of suffering away forever. In our home we seek to eat right, get enough rest and exercise, but we will all at some time see our health decline.
View #2: Suffering in this fallen world is sometimes for correction. When I was a child I lived with my father and mother who loved me. The expression of their love sometimes came in the form of corrective discipline that caused me to suffer in some way. On one occasion I “took the Lord’s name in vain”. I did not know what that phrase uttered by my mother meant, but after she shoved a bar of soap in my mouth I knew that the way I spoke of God was not correct. My suffering was not great, only a bad taste in my mouth for a good part of the day, but her discipline corrected me. In the same way God disciplines those he loves. He uses discipline to bring about our training and makes known to us through this discipline that we are truly his children. This kind of corrective discipline from the Lord results in our own suffering and difficulty, but it is for our good to bring us the fruits of righteousness and peace in the Lord (Hebrews 12:5-11). Elizabeth Prentiss in her hymn entitled “More Love to Thee, O Christ” leads us to pray to the Lord for this kind of corrective suffering when we sing,
Let sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love O Christ, to thee.
When we find ourselves enduring a particular suffering we must go to the Lord in prayer and his Word asking him to reveal to us where we may be traversing outside of his will. He may show us clearly as we examine our relationships, circumstances, or particular attitudes and actions in the light of his revealed will. However, there may not always be anything in particular that is revealed.
View #3: Suffering in this fallen world is for the certainty of hope. The apostle Paul, Peter and James, the half brother of Jesus, make this clear. Paul says in Romans 5:3-4, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Paul looks at the sufferings Christians face for the purpose of bringing us to all that God is for us in Christ through the instrument of hope. When Christians suffer they are given grace by God to endure suffering so that in that weakness they see more of the grace of God for them in Christ. These times of testing produce a life of faith, hope and love. This is why Peter says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you,...but rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1Peter 4:12-13) When the Christian suffers he suffers in Christ sharing in his sufferings. But he does this in hope that just as Christ suffered and was raised up to glory so to all who suffer in Christ will be raised up in glory with him. And this hope is strengthened in suffering. This is why James tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). God is bringing his children to completion in Christ through suffering, and it is the hope that is forged on the anvil of suffering that leads his children to glory where they lack nothing.
View #4: Suffering in this fallen world is for the glory of God. When we see suffering we will sometimes assume that the reason is because of particular sins. Jesus’ disciples made this assumption with a man born blind. When they saw him they asked Jesus if he was suffering from blindness because of his own sins or the sins of his parents (John 9:1-2). Jesus declared that it was not because of sin that this man suffered but so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3). This view must penetrate the mind and heart of the Christian so that he does not live a fatalistic life. We must ask, “Were those years of suffering worth the glory of God being revealed in Christ who gave him sight and life?” The praises around the throne of God resound with a clear, “Yes!” Job suffered for the glory of God refusing his wife’s instruction to “curse God and die” and when he endured such unexplainable suffering he was able to say, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” (Job 42:5) God is glorified when he is known and enjoyed by his own and it is through suffering that his children will see his glory revealed. The way to the glory of the Son was the way of the cross, and the way to God being glorified in his sons and daughters in Christ is to follow in the road that Jesus walked.
View #1: Suffering in this fallen world is universal to all. The creation after the fall was subjected to futility (Rom.8:20) and is groaning under the curse of sin (Rom.8:22). Therefore, as Job said in his suffering, man is born to trouble as the sparks upward (Job 5:7). Everyman is destined to die once and we all as we grow older are wasting away day by day. Suffering in this fallen world is common to all. This view is contrary to our rejuvenating culture. Man is always searching for a quick fix to the problems of everyday life, a cure and a way to take the inevitability of suffering away forever. In our home we seek to eat right, get enough rest and exercise, but we will all at some time see our health decline.
View #2: Suffering in this fallen world is sometimes for correction. When I was a child I lived with my father and mother who loved me. The expression of their love sometimes came in the form of corrective discipline that caused me to suffer in some way. On one occasion I “took the Lord’s name in vain”. I did not know what that phrase uttered by my mother meant, but after she shoved a bar of soap in my mouth I knew that the way I spoke of God was not correct. My suffering was not great, only a bad taste in my mouth for a good part of the day, but her discipline corrected me. In the same way God disciplines those he loves. He uses discipline to bring about our training and makes known to us through this discipline that we are truly his children. This kind of corrective discipline from the Lord results in our own suffering and difficulty, but it is for our good to bring us the fruits of righteousness and peace in the Lord (Hebrews 12:5-11). Elizabeth Prentiss in her hymn entitled “More Love to Thee, O Christ” leads us to pray to the Lord for this kind of corrective suffering when we sing,
Let sorrow do its work,
Send grief and pain;
Sweet are thy messengers,
Sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me,
More love O Christ, to thee.
When we find ourselves enduring a particular suffering we must go to the Lord in prayer and his Word asking him to reveal to us where we may be traversing outside of his will. He may show us clearly as we examine our relationships, circumstances, or particular attitudes and actions in the light of his revealed will. However, there may not always be anything in particular that is revealed.
View #3: Suffering in this fallen world is for the certainty of hope. The apostle Paul, Peter and James, the half brother of Jesus, make this clear. Paul says in Romans 5:3-4, “we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Paul looks at the sufferings Christians face for the purpose of bringing us to all that God is for us in Christ through the instrument of hope. When Christians suffer they are given grace by God to endure suffering so that in that weakness they see more of the grace of God for them in Christ. These times of testing produce a life of faith, hope and love. This is why Peter says, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you,...but rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” (1Peter 4:12-13) When the Christian suffers he suffers in Christ sharing in his sufferings. But he does this in hope that just as Christ suffered and was raised up to glory so to all who suffer in Christ will be raised up in glory with him. And this hope is strengthened in suffering. This is why James tells us, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). God is bringing his children to completion in Christ through suffering, and it is the hope that is forged on the anvil of suffering that leads his children to glory where they lack nothing.
View #4: Suffering in this fallen world is for the glory of God. When we see suffering we will sometimes assume that the reason is because of particular sins. Jesus’ disciples made this assumption with a man born blind. When they saw him they asked Jesus if he was suffering from blindness because of his own sins or the sins of his parents (John 9:1-2). Jesus declared that it was not because of sin that this man suffered but so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:3). This view must penetrate the mind and heart of the Christian so that he does not live a fatalistic life. We must ask, “Were those years of suffering worth the glory of God being revealed in Christ who gave him sight and life?” The praises around the throne of God resound with a clear, “Yes!” Job suffered for the glory of God refusing his wife’s instruction to “curse God and die” and when he endured such unexplainable suffering he was able to say, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” (Job 42:5) God is glorified when he is known and enjoyed by his own and it is through suffering that his children will see his glory revealed. The way to the glory of the Son was the way of the cross, and the way to God being glorified in his sons and daughters in Christ is to follow in the road that Jesus walked.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Fighting for Hope in the Storm
While journeying on the sea from Caesarea to Rome the apostle Paul is lost at sea with 275 others on an Alexandrian vessel. In the midst of the storm tossed seas with darkness all around they find themselves in a hopeless situation. In Acts 27:20 Luke records there hopelessness in this way, “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small tempest lay on us; all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.” This physical storm that the apostle and others faced is symbolic of many of the difficulties and storms of life that buffet us in a fallen world. It may be the storm of a sick child without any word of a diagnosis. It may be a call from the police that your wife or husband has been killed in a car accident. It may be the words from the doctor that your scans have come back and you have terminal cancer. It may be the news from your spouse that he or she is leaving you for someone else. It may be that you have lost your job, your retirement, investments or a business you have poured life into. Whatever the storm may be it buffets your soul and in the darkness of that storm you lose all hope.
These storms strike against the roots of our lives so that when we give way to hopelessness in the midst of the storms, our lives will bear fruit or spring forth life from the roots of hopelessness. John Piper says, “But when we lose hope, the world becomes fearful, threatening place, full of chaotic futility. Hopelessness saps us of energy and desire. It robs us of interest and appetite. We just want to curl up and protect our soul. We call it depression. The Bible calls it hopelessness.”
Why does this happen? The writer of Proverbs helps us to understand our hearts with these words, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Pr.13:12). When our hopes are deferred by the storms of life our hearts may enter into a sickened condition. And as we know from the Scripture we live our lives out of our hearts. Our hearts are the root system for the fruit of our lives born through speaking, seeing, hearing, thinking and acting. As the writer of Proverbs says in 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life”. Therefore if the storms that buffet us put off a fulfilled hope then the fruit will be: Fear, Anxiety, Despair, Depression, Fatalism (nothing really matters), Bitterness, Anger, Self Preservation, Dependence on Sex, Drugs, or Spending. Those 276 persons on board that ship all had hopes of different kinds, they had desires that they saw would be lost forever, unfulfilled. There hearts were sick and it is evident in the words, “all hope of being saved was at last abandoned.” Have you ever been there or are you there right now? What is the fruit that your life is bearing because of your sickened heart?
The apostle Paul stood before those on the ship in the midst of the storm to strengthen them for hope in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation. I want to give you five theological principles derived from Paul’s words or situation that will enable you to face hopelessness in the storms of life, so that your hearts will be strengthened to bear fruit for God’s glory and yours and others good.
First, be assured that God is with you. I believe Paul was struggling with the same heart sickened condition that all the other passengers were facing, but in the midst of this God sent an angel to speak the truth to his heart (Acts 27:23). This assured Paul that God was with him, and with this certainty he sought to strengthen those on board that God was with them. Our sickened hearts need to be reminded that God is with us even when our hopes are deferred by the storms of life. He says to his own, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh.1:5) and that, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt.28:20). He will be with all who draw near to him by faith in Jesus Christ.
Second, be assured that you belong to God. Paul told them to “take heart…for this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong…” (Acts 27:23). He not only knew that God was with him but that he belonged to God. He knew he was his own and that he cared for him particularly as his own. This strengthened Paul’s heart. Do you know that you belong to God? If you are alive by the Spirit in Christ “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (1Cor.6:19-20). The Scripture uses many different metaphors to make it known to those who are in Christ that they belong to God. We are told that as the church we are his body and that Christ is our head (Eph.5:23). We are told that we are living stones being built into a spiritual household (1Pe.2:5). We are told that if we are believing in Christ we have the right to be called the children of God (John 1:12). We are told that we are his own treasured possession (1Pe.2:9). We are told that we as the church are the bride of Christ (Eph.5:25-27). These and other metaphors are used by God to encourage his children so that they may be assured they belong to him even in the midst of great storms so that our hearts will be strengthened when our hopes are deferred.
The third way we fight for hope in the midst of the storms of life is to be assured that we are in the service of God. Paul says, “the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.” (v.23). Paul was sure he was in the service of God. He was sure that he had been called by God and that he would speak of Christ before the emperor in Rome (v.24). Paul tells all who have been saved by grace in Christ that, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph.2:10). Just as he brought Israel out of Egypt to worship or serve him, so he has brought all who belong to him out of sin and death to worship and serve him for his own glory. The storms come by his providence to strengthen us for his worship. But our hopes and desires must be in him seeking first his kingdom and righteousness then our hearts will not grow sick, but we shall be as a tree of life because our hopes are fulfilled in him who is never moved.
Fourth, Paul was assured that God was working in every circumstance. He had heard from God and he said, “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” (v.25). Paul knew that even the storm and the subsequent shipwreck (v.26) were the circumstances God was using for his glory. He says in Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” Hope is secured not in circumstances, situations or relationships but in God who is in the heavens doing everything that he pleases (Ps.115:3). As William Cowper wrote,
“God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never failing skill he treasures up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break with blessings on your head.”
Can you be assured that the circumstances in the midst of the storms are for God’s glory and good toward you? Take heart in the midst of the storms, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom.8:28).
Fifth, be assured for hope through God’s revelation. The apostle Paul is strengthened in hope when God reveals himself and his word to him through the angel (v.23-24). He was then able upon the certainty of the authority of God’s word to encourage others to take heart (v.22, 25). In the midst of the storms that buffet us we do not rely upon revelations from angels but we have a more sure word from God, the prophetic word (2Pe.1:19). The Word of God that is breathed out by God (2Tim.3:16) is the light shining in the dark places and it is not from man but from God as he carried men along by the Spirit (2Pe.1:19-21) to give us the Word of the prophets and apostles with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone (Eph.2:20). In the Word of God we have the surety of who God is and what his will is, we have the certainty of who he has been in the past and what he has done in the past fulfilling all his promises. We have the certainty of his promises for our future and this is the bread that feeds the soul in the midst of the storms of life. Those who were at sea with Paul had not eaten for fourteen days in the midst of the storm and when Paul knew they had been without food (v.21) he stood to give them the food of God’s promise to strengthen their sickened hearts (v.22-25). We must eat the bread of heaven in the times of calm so that we are prepared for strength in the storm. And in the storm we must fight to eat from God’s hand the bread of who he is, who he promises to be for us and what he has promised to do. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt.4:4; Deut.8:3).
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” The heart that is assured that God is with him, that he belongs to God, that he has the grace to worship and serve him, that every circumstance and situation are in the realm of his sovereign providence and that holds fast to his revelation in his word, will be a heart that hopes in the midst of storms and from it will be a life that glorifies God and does others good. The storms are a reality, they are inevitable and are coming. We do not know their times or seasons, but let the church be ready by desiring him who is able to keep us from falling and who will not let anything separate us from the love he has for us in Christ Jesus.
These storms strike against the roots of our lives so that when we give way to hopelessness in the midst of the storms, our lives will bear fruit or spring forth life from the roots of hopelessness. John Piper says, “But when we lose hope, the world becomes fearful, threatening place, full of chaotic futility. Hopelessness saps us of energy and desire. It robs us of interest and appetite. We just want to curl up and protect our soul. We call it depression. The Bible calls it hopelessness.”
Why does this happen? The writer of Proverbs helps us to understand our hearts with these words, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (Pr.13:12). When our hopes are deferred by the storms of life our hearts may enter into a sickened condition. And as we know from the Scripture we live our lives out of our hearts. Our hearts are the root system for the fruit of our lives born through speaking, seeing, hearing, thinking and acting. As the writer of Proverbs says in 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life”. Therefore if the storms that buffet us put off a fulfilled hope then the fruit will be: Fear, Anxiety, Despair, Depression, Fatalism (nothing really matters), Bitterness, Anger, Self Preservation, Dependence on Sex, Drugs, or Spending. Those 276 persons on board that ship all had hopes of different kinds, they had desires that they saw would be lost forever, unfulfilled. There hearts were sick and it is evident in the words, “all hope of being saved was at last abandoned.” Have you ever been there or are you there right now? What is the fruit that your life is bearing because of your sickened heart?
The apostle Paul stood before those on the ship in the midst of the storm to strengthen them for hope in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation. I want to give you five theological principles derived from Paul’s words or situation that will enable you to face hopelessness in the storms of life, so that your hearts will be strengthened to bear fruit for God’s glory and yours and others good.
First, be assured that God is with you. I believe Paul was struggling with the same heart sickened condition that all the other passengers were facing, but in the midst of this God sent an angel to speak the truth to his heart (Acts 27:23). This assured Paul that God was with him, and with this certainty he sought to strengthen those on board that God was with them. Our sickened hearts need to be reminded that God is with us even when our hopes are deferred by the storms of life. He says to his own, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Josh.1:5) and that, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt.28:20). He will be with all who draw near to him by faith in Jesus Christ.
Second, be assured that you belong to God. Paul told them to “take heart…for this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong…” (Acts 27:23). He not only knew that God was with him but that he belonged to God. He knew he was his own and that he cared for him particularly as his own. This strengthened Paul’s heart. Do you know that you belong to God? If you are alive by the Spirit in Christ “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” (1Cor.6:19-20). The Scripture uses many different metaphors to make it known to those who are in Christ that they belong to God. We are told that as the church we are his body and that Christ is our head (Eph.5:23). We are told that we are living stones being built into a spiritual household (1Pe.2:5). We are told that if we are believing in Christ we have the right to be called the children of God (John 1:12). We are told that we are his own treasured possession (1Pe.2:9). We are told that we as the church are the bride of Christ (Eph.5:25-27). These and other metaphors are used by God to encourage his children so that they may be assured they belong to him even in the midst of great storms so that our hearts will be strengthened when our hopes are deferred.
The third way we fight for hope in the midst of the storms of life is to be assured that we are in the service of God. Paul says, “the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.” (v.23). Paul was sure he was in the service of God. He was sure that he had been called by God and that he would speak of Christ before the emperor in Rome (v.24). Paul tells all who have been saved by grace in Christ that, “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph.2:10). Just as he brought Israel out of Egypt to worship or serve him, so he has brought all who belong to him out of sin and death to worship and serve him for his own glory. The storms come by his providence to strengthen us for his worship. But our hopes and desires must be in him seeking first his kingdom and righteousness then our hearts will not grow sick, but we shall be as a tree of life because our hopes are fulfilled in him who is never moved.
Fourth, Paul was assured that God was working in every circumstance. He had heard from God and he said, “So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.” (v.25). Paul knew that even the storm and the subsequent shipwreck (v.26) were the circumstances God was using for his glory. He says in Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” Hope is secured not in circumstances, situations or relationships but in God who is in the heavens doing everything that he pleases (Ps.115:3). As William Cowper wrote,
“God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform; he plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never failing skill he treasures up his bright designs, and works his sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy, and shall break with blessings on your head.”
Can you be assured that the circumstances in the midst of the storms are for God’s glory and good toward you? Take heart in the midst of the storms, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom.8:28).
Fifth, be assured for hope through God’s revelation. The apostle Paul is strengthened in hope when God reveals himself and his word to him through the angel (v.23-24). He was then able upon the certainty of the authority of God’s word to encourage others to take heart (v.22, 25). In the midst of the storms that buffet us we do not rely upon revelations from angels but we have a more sure word from God, the prophetic word (2Pe.1:19). The Word of God that is breathed out by God (2Tim.3:16) is the light shining in the dark places and it is not from man but from God as he carried men along by the Spirit (2Pe.1:19-21) to give us the Word of the prophets and apostles with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone (Eph.2:20). In the Word of God we have the surety of who God is and what his will is, we have the certainty of who he has been in the past and what he has done in the past fulfilling all his promises. We have the certainty of his promises for our future and this is the bread that feeds the soul in the midst of the storms of life. Those who were at sea with Paul had not eaten for fourteen days in the midst of the storm and when Paul knew they had been without food (v.21) he stood to give them the food of God’s promise to strengthen their sickened hearts (v.22-25). We must eat the bread of heaven in the times of calm so that we are prepared for strength in the storm. And in the storm we must fight to eat from God’s hand the bread of who he is, who he promises to be for us and what he has promised to do. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt.4:4; Deut.8:3).
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” The heart that is assured that God is with him, that he belongs to God, that he has the grace to worship and serve him, that every circumstance and situation are in the realm of his sovereign providence and that holds fast to his revelation in his word, will be a heart that hopes in the midst of storms and from it will be a life that glorifies God and does others good. The storms are a reality, they are inevitable and are coming. We do not know their times or seasons, but let the church be ready by desiring him who is able to keep us from falling and who will not let anything separate us from the love he has for us in Christ Jesus.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
President Obama at Notre Dame
President Obama stepped to the microphone last week to deliver a commencement address to the graduates of Notre Dame in the wake of stirring controversy regarding his position and decisions regarding human life in the womb. In his speech he praised Father Jenkins, the president of the school for setting an example as one who is participating in “honest, thoughtful dialogue”. The remainder of the speech was a call “to live together as one human family” with an “open heart, open mind, and fair minded words.”
His speech was a lesson on can’t we just all get along in a postmodern world, or is it post-post modern, I can’t keep up. His speech focused on the fact that “we must find a way to live together as one human family”. He admitted that this is not easy because “part of our problem lies in the imperfections of man” which he referred to as “rooted in original sin”. He also said the obstacles to our one global family lies in the fact that we “seek advantage over one another”, live with “outworn prejudices and fear”, seek “immediate self interest and crass materialism”, “the strong dominating the weak”, and “the wealthy and powerful justify their lifestyles in the face of poverty and injustice.” And of course his answer is that all these well educated graduates have wrestled with these wrongs and now they can in their own ways seek to right the wrongs to help us become on big happy family.
It was inevitable that President Obama would talk about abortion in this speech. However in his Obamaesque delivery he only talked about how we talk about abortion. He used the issue of abortion to call the graduates to be active in addressing issues like abortion with their lives with an open heart, open mind and fair minded words. Therefore, Obama faintly referred to his position on abortion by using an example (“one that I describe in a book I wrote called The Audacity of Hope”).of how he decided to change his rhetoric on a web site where an aid had posted a line about Obama’s stance against “right wing ideologues who want to take away a woman’s right to chose.” In the speech he says that a pro-life democrat had emailed him and was upset with him, not because of his position on abortion, but because of his narrow rhetoric. Obama admits that he did not change his position but only his words. This example he uses to urge the graduates on how to hold your positions, be active for what you believe is right and remain open and fair minded to your opponents. This is his answer for finding a way to live together as one human family. He even used some positive talking points in his speech to urge a concerted effort to reduce the numbers of women seeking abortions by “reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term. Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women." In this one statement there is something everyone can agree on and applaud. But he is still only talking about talking about abortion.
If he sees through the lenses of “sound science” that a womb is only a holding ground for a mass of stem cells then the almighty woman under the guise of “sound ethics” can chose to do with those cells whatever she determines is right. But if those cells in the womb are a baby and the creative work of the Almighty God to make a son or a daughter for his own glory that lasts forever then “clear ethics” says to do with that child whatever the woman wants is sin, and to take that child’s life through abortion is murder. But this kind of rhetoric cannot be delivered with a smile, flattering words, and a line to sell another book. President Obama is calling for human civility while in the United States this year there will be over 1.3 million children killed through abortion. Can we call it civil to keep legally killing children and is this the way to “live together as one human family” while the politically strong dominate the weak unborn without a voice, while they call on their constituents practice an open heart, open mind and fair minded words? The President did not expose his moral position and so kept himself in a safe political position, while millions of babies lie in a vulnerable position unprotected from the power of “freedom of choice”.
His speech was a lesson on can’t we just all get along in a postmodern world, or is it post-post modern, I can’t keep up. His speech focused on the fact that “we must find a way to live together as one human family”. He admitted that this is not easy because “part of our problem lies in the imperfections of man” which he referred to as “rooted in original sin”. He also said the obstacles to our one global family lies in the fact that we “seek advantage over one another”, live with “outworn prejudices and fear”, seek “immediate self interest and crass materialism”, “the strong dominating the weak”, and “the wealthy and powerful justify their lifestyles in the face of poverty and injustice.” And of course his answer is that all these well educated graduates have wrestled with these wrongs and now they can in their own ways seek to right the wrongs to help us become on big happy family.
It was inevitable that President Obama would talk about abortion in this speech. However in his Obamaesque delivery he only talked about how we talk about abortion. He used the issue of abortion to call the graduates to be active in addressing issues like abortion with their lives with an open heart, open mind and fair minded words. Therefore, Obama faintly referred to his position on abortion by using an example (“one that I describe in a book I wrote called The Audacity of Hope”).of how he decided to change his rhetoric on a web site where an aid had posted a line about Obama’s stance against “right wing ideologues who want to take away a woman’s right to chose.” In the speech he says that a pro-life democrat had emailed him and was upset with him, not because of his position on abortion, but because of his narrow rhetoric. Obama admits that he did not change his position but only his words. This example he uses to urge the graduates on how to hold your positions, be active for what you believe is right and remain open and fair minded to your opponents. This is his answer for finding a way to live together as one human family. He even used some positive talking points in his speech to urge a concerted effort to reduce the numbers of women seeking abortions by “reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term. Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women." In this one statement there is something everyone can agree on and applaud. But he is still only talking about talking about abortion.
If he sees through the lenses of “sound science” that a womb is only a holding ground for a mass of stem cells then the almighty woman under the guise of “sound ethics” can chose to do with those cells whatever she determines is right. But if those cells in the womb are a baby and the creative work of the Almighty God to make a son or a daughter for his own glory that lasts forever then “clear ethics” says to do with that child whatever the woman wants is sin, and to take that child’s life through abortion is murder. But this kind of rhetoric cannot be delivered with a smile, flattering words, and a line to sell another book. President Obama is calling for human civility while in the United States this year there will be over 1.3 million children killed through abortion. Can we call it civil to keep legally killing children and is this the way to “live together as one human family” while the politically strong dominate the weak unborn without a voice, while they call on their constituents practice an open heart, open mind and fair minded words? The President did not expose his moral position and so kept himself in a safe political position, while millions of babies lie in a vulnerable position unprotected from the power of “freedom of choice”.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
How Bad are You?
If you are trusting in Christ for salvation do you know how greatly loved you are? The doctrine of the new birth or regeneration is the orthodox explanation of the greatness of God’s love for his children. As John Piper says, “The new birth is the act of being greatly loved by God.” But many of us do not know the magnitude of God’s love towards us because we do not understand why the new birth or regeneration is necessary.
How many times have you looked at another person and asked, “How bad am I, really?” The asking and answering of this question is a necessary step in understanding why regeneration is necessary and in being able to fathom how great the Father’s love is for us. So how bad are you? Here are ten answers from the Scriptures (there are more!):
1. You are dead in your sins. (Ephesians 2:1,4). You are a “horizontal corpse”.
2. You are a child of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3) By your very nature you are a child made ready by your sins to be justly deserving of God’s wrath.
3. You love the darkness. (John 3:19) You desire, long for, and hunger and thirst after the darkness.
4. You have a heart of stone. (Ezekiel 36:26)
5. You are unable to submit to God. (Romans 8:7) God has a holy pleasure and you cannot submit to his will.
6. You are unable to accept the gospel. (1Corinthians 2:14) The gospel is foolish to you and you do not understand why it is desirable.
7. You are unable to come to Christ as Lord. (1Corinthians 12:3) You shun the Lord of the universe as the delight and desire of your life from the heart.
8. You are a slave to sin. (Romans 6:6) You are in the shackles and bounds of sin.
9. You are a slave to Satan. (Ephesians 2:2). You are compelled and bound to follow him in the way of disobedience.
10. You have nothing good that dwells in you. (Romans 7:18).
These truths about who we are magnify the necessity of the new birth or regeneration. We do need help, we need to be brought from death to life. Therefore Jesus can say to a very religious man, you must be born again (John 3:7). A religious man will look to his own belief, obedience or love to God as an assurance of belonging to God. But a person who knows who they truly are will look to the greatness of God’s love and mercy toward him in the new birth. It is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63) showing us the riches of his mercy and the greatness of his love in making us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). Understanding who we are necessitates more than a renewal or rejuvenation. Understanding who we are necessitates a new birth or regeneration. And it is the act of God’s sovereign grace in the new birth that magnifies his love toward his children.
What wonders are wrought in the garden of the King.
He transplants weeds from the dunghill, and makes them
to grow as lilies in the midst of his fair garden.
-Spurgeon, "The King's Garden"
How many times have you looked at another person and asked, “How bad am I, really?” The asking and answering of this question is a necessary step in understanding why regeneration is necessary and in being able to fathom how great the Father’s love is for us. So how bad are you? Here are ten answers from the Scriptures (there are more!):
1. You are dead in your sins. (Ephesians 2:1,4). You are a “horizontal corpse”.
2. You are a child of wrath. (Ephesians 2:3) By your very nature you are a child made ready by your sins to be justly deserving of God’s wrath.
3. You love the darkness. (John 3:19) You desire, long for, and hunger and thirst after the darkness.
4. You have a heart of stone. (Ezekiel 36:26)
5. You are unable to submit to God. (Romans 8:7) God has a holy pleasure and you cannot submit to his will.
6. You are unable to accept the gospel. (1Corinthians 2:14) The gospel is foolish to you and you do not understand why it is desirable.
7. You are unable to come to Christ as Lord. (1Corinthians 12:3) You shun the Lord of the universe as the delight and desire of your life from the heart.
8. You are a slave to sin. (Romans 6:6) You are in the shackles and bounds of sin.
9. You are a slave to Satan. (Ephesians 2:2). You are compelled and bound to follow him in the way of disobedience.
10. You have nothing good that dwells in you. (Romans 7:18).
These truths about who we are magnify the necessity of the new birth or regeneration. We do need help, we need to be brought from death to life. Therefore Jesus can say to a very religious man, you must be born again (John 3:7). A religious man will look to his own belief, obedience or love to God as an assurance of belonging to God. But a person who knows who they truly are will look to the greatness of God’s love and mercy toward him in the new birth. It is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63) showing us the riches of his mercy and the greatness of his love in making us alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5). Understanding who we are necessitates more than a renewal or rejuvenation. Understanding who we are necessitates a new birth or regeneration. And it is the act of God’s sovereign grace in the new birth that magnifies his love toward his children.
What wonders are wrought in the garden of the King.
He transplants weeds from the dunghill, and makes them
to grow as lilies in the midst of his fair garden.
-Spurgeon, "The King's Garden"
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