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All posts by Bruce Henry
The “how” matters
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39–40 ESV)
You will find no mature Christian that will not tell you that one of the foundational ways to grow in your faith is to read the bible. This has always been one of the foundational disciplines that leads to authentic spiritual transformation, especially since the scriptures have been translated and available to the common man. But how we read our bibles matters greatly. According to the the text above, it is possible to read our bibles and miss the Author all together.
It is not uncommon for us to read our bibles and see how we should behave, what we should feel and what we need to be doing. Yes, indeed, the bible is full of these things, but if this becomes our primary focus in our bible reading, then we miss the entire point of the bible. The bible is not about us and what we must do, the bible is about a good, sovereign and holy God and what He has done on our behalf. The more that we read the bible through this lens, the more we will begin to see a God who is sovereignly ruling over what often times seems to us like an “out of control” world. The more that we read through this lens, the more we will begin to experience the peace that transcends all understanding that Paul talks about in Philippians. If you read your bible and hear “do more, try hard, run faster” then you will ultimately be worn out by what seems to be a litany of commands that you must follow to appease God. Jesus perfectly obeyed on your behalf because you can’t. Jesus said, “it is finished;” Hebrews tells us that the alter is closed and that we no longer need to drag our sacrifices into the temple. All that is required now is your sacrifice of praise.
Our primary work is to abandon our work and believe in the One who worked on our behalf. Jesus was asked “what must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (John 6:28). That sounds like us, doesn’t it? What do we need to do? Our identity is far too often tied up in what we do – even spiritually – rather than whose we are. Jesus answers their (and our) question in the following verse (29), “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Martin Luther said it like this, “It ought to be the first concern of every Christian to lay aside all confidence in works and increasingly to strengthen faith alone and through faith to grow in the knowledge, not of works, but of Christ Jesus, who suffered and rose for him, as Peter teaches in the last chapter of his first Epistle (1 Peter 5:10). No other work makes a Christian. Thus when the Jews asked Christ, as related in John 6:28, what they must do “to be doing the work of God,” he brushed aside the multitude of works which he saw they did in great profusion and suggested one work, saying, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent John 6:29.” Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings by Martin Luther, Timothy F. Lull, William R. Russell and Jaroslav Jan Pelikan. Page 395, chapter 32, The Freedom of a Christian.
That sounds good, you might say, but how in the world do I develop that kind of belief (faith)? As a friend of mine put it, “you stare until you see it.” Paul says it like this, “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV). We become like that which we worship. Worship is an old English word that means worth-ship. Whatever captivates and occupies the upper most affections of our heart is the object of our worship – and our lives will be marked by it. It might be a relationship (or relationships), financial success, athletics, marriage, Christian service or a litany of other things. John Calvin said that our hearts are little “idol factories.” Unfortunately, in the church, these idols are good things that we turn into “god things” – these are secondary things that we make primary things. Paul tells us that being transformed is the work of God (“for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”) Our work is to stare, to beg God to enlighten the eyes of our hearts (Ephesians 1:18-21), to root out those things which we have come to rely upon other than Him, to see Him as the ultimate Treasure (Matthew 13:44) and to give us the faith to believe (Mark 9:24).
For most of us we know what we should and should not do, but lack the fuel to actually obey. Who among us would say that fear, anxiety and worry are a good thing? And yet, fear, anxiety and worry rule the hearts of far to many Christians. Didn’t Jesus tell us not to worry about the things of this life in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:25-33). We know we shouldn’t, and the advice that most people give us is to just “seek first the kingdom of heaven.” Is there any more ethereal and abstract counsel than that? We miss the entire middle part of the text – the birds don’t worry about these things, the lilies don’t work to be clothed in all of their splendor. Why don’t they? The real power to overcoming worry is understanding what the birds and lilies intuitively understand – that there is a good God on the throne that is in absolute control. For me, I began to actually win the battle with anxiety when I began to believe at a deeper level that God was actually in control of all things – despite how things currently looked in my life.
How do you start? “What can I do,” you might ask? Pick a book of the bible (try the gospel of John) and start reading. Ask God to show you who He is, what He’s like and what He’s done. Then take some notes, write down everything that you notice about God’s character, nature and behavior. Avoid writing down what you should be doing (you already know that). Try this for a month or two and see if the Creator of the universe does not reveal Himself to you in new ways!
Moses’ Farwell Address
The book of Deuteronomy is a sermon given by Moses just before the people cross the Jordan River and enter the promised land. We can learn a lot from the man who met face to face with the Living God. Here are a few things that stand out:
- Moses intends to instruct and inspire the people that their God is both faithful and able to do what He says! Moses shows that God is faithful to a sinful people because of the promise that He made to Abraham. They are a people of His choosing, not because of their own effort, striving or obedience.
- God’s sovereignty and grace are in focus. He is sovereign over all nations. He is gracious to those who do not deserve it.
- Moses explains how the Law is the outflow of the Great Commandment given in 6:5 (Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might).
- “Deuteronomy constantly addresses the “heart” of its audience: embracing this law, seeking the good of this people, is the right response to God’s grace and the embodiment of virtue.” ESV Study Bible
- Moses recognizes that God must act in the heart of the Israelites if they are to be faithful.
- Israel exists to love God with every fiber of their being which is the means by which the world will learn of the one true God.
- Remembering God’s faithfulness & the people’s unfaithfulness AND looking forward to God’s continued faithfulness & warning the people not to fall in to idolatry. The theology of Deuteronomy provides the fuel for the reforms instituted by Josiah in 2 Kings 23.
- The heart and the need for full embodiment of the Law through heart felt affection and obedience. Deuteronomy recognizes that God must move in the hearts of men if they are to faithfully obey Him and His law.
- The Sovereign hand of the Almighty is in focus. God provides Egypt as provision in the midst of drought to Joseph (who acknowledges the sovereign hand of God by working out for good, what his brothers meant for bad), God protects and raises up Moses – even raising him under Pharaoh’s own roof. Then God calls Moses, who is weak of speech, to lead the people out of Egypt. God commands control over all things with the plagues, parting the sea and provisions for His rebellious people in the wilderness. He continues His display of His sovereignty as the people take the land. It is not because they were faithful or special of their own doing, it is because He is mighty and will glorify His name.
The Everyday Work of Appropriating the Gospel
“How then do we learn to live daily in the present reality of our justification and the hope of God’s blessings on our lives coming to us through Christ? The answer is we must work at it daily. As I stated previously, we have a natural drift toward a performance-based relationship with God. We are like a person in a rowboat trying to row upstream against the current. The instant the rower stops pulling on his or her oars, the boat will start drifting backward with the current. We can never, as the old saying goes, “rest on our oars” in our daily dependence on Christ. Practically speaking, how do we keep plugging along? We go to the Scriptures containing the promises of God regarding the forgiveness of our sins and the imputation (crediting) to us of Christ’s perfect righteousness.
The following are Scriptures regarding God’s promise of forgiveness of our sins:
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25)
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — every one — to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. (Romans 4:7-8)
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
Here are some Scriptures regarding reliance on Christ’s perfect righteousness:
As by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)
Being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:3-4)
Because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians 3:9)”
Bridges, Jerry (2012-01-13). The Transforming Power of the Gospel (Growing in Christ) (Kindle Locations 858-887). Navpress. Kindle Edition.
The Great Story
Learn more about the Gospel Project here
Tim Keller on True Happiness
“Missions exist because worship doesn’t”
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the Church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.
Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. “The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Ps 97:1). “Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!” (Ps 67:3-4).
But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. Missionaries will never call out, “Let the nations be glad!” who cannot say from the heart, “I rejoice in the Lord…I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High” (Ps 104:34, 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”
–John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad! The Supremacy of God in Missions (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993/2003), 17.
You can stop striving
“though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:4–11 ESV)
Of all people, Paul had reason to place his confidence (faith, trust, reliance) in his own spiritual accomplishments and heritage, but he exchanges it all for a righteousness that is through faith (v9). Paul’s pedigree was perfect and his ability to execute external religion was pristine. Most of Paul’s resume falls on deaf ears to us. Imagine the person who was born into a family with godly parents, who prayed a prayer to receive Christ as a youngster, attended church every time the doors were open, went to every youth camp and was practically perfect in executing all of the “externals” of Christianity. They tithed, had a quiet time regularly, memorized scripture, went on mission trips, fed the poor and served dutifully. Their identity, like Paul’s, is in where they came from and what they did instead of whose they were. This was Paul, tirelessly attempting to earn a righteousness that was freely offered through faith.
Don’t brush over this. Is this you? Are you trying to do all the right things in lieu of completely relying on the finished work of Christ on your behalf? Do you feel as though you need to obey flawlessly for God to love & approve of you? Do you think that you need to add something to the righteousness that Jesus has given you in order to be pleasing to God? Whenever we offer up our goodness to God as a reason for Him to love and approve of us, it evokes a repulsive action from the Creator of the cosmos (Isaiah 64:6). Relying on our own righteousness is repulsive to a holy God who freely offers a righteousness that is by faith alone
Paul had a shift in what he relied upon to please God. He now considered all of those externally “good things” as rubbish when compared to knowing God. All things – religious performance, family heritage, moral striving, his own goodness – are now considered loss, indeed more than loss they are now rubbish, trash or dung when laid against the requirements of God. This is the only appearance of this Greek word (skubalon) in the New Testament – it is dung or excrement – which is more than just worthless, it is repulsive. Paul had shifted his reliance from himself & his ability to obey to Jesus and His perfectly obedient life & sacrificial death.
Paul says that all of his previous striving and pedigree were now loss. But this is really no loss when compared with the gain that we have in Jesus: right standing before God not based upon our abilities, heritage or performance, but by trusting solely in the finished work of Jesus. The goal of this great exchange is to know God. We get reconciled into a FAMILY relationship with the Creator! Paul wants to follow Christ and taste what He tasted so that he can know the Savior more intimately v10-11. This is the beauty of the Gospel, a good, holy and sovereign God has made a way to redeem His children to Himself – and this not based upon anything that we do, but on the undeserved favor of God. If you’re a Christian, then you are forgiven, adopted and loved – not because of where you come from or what you do, but because of your older brother who has freely provided God’s forgiveness and approval for you.
Contentment is not the goal, it is a byproduct of the goal
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11–13 ESV)
Paul is grateful for the Philippians’ gift to him & for their partnership in the gospel (1:5), but he has learned a contentment that transcends his external circumstances. To be content means to be OK with the lot that we have in life or with the means that have been afforded to us, regardless of whether they are slim or plentiful. However, we normally associate lacking contentment with being in need. For most that are reading this, that is not the case – we have more than enough. Paul said that he had learned the secret of finding contentment whether in abundance or in need. So why is contentment, even when all of our basic needs are met, so difficult to obtain & experience?
Contentment looks different in abundance and in need. When in need, there must be an abiding trust that God will provide all that is required for life. This is a trust issue in the sovereign goodness of God. When living in abundance, contentment is also difficult; it involves seeing Christ as more beautiful than anything else that is vying for our attention. Becoming content is tied back to abiding in Christ and thinking on things that stir worship in our souls (4:4-7, see here & here).
When in abundance the risk is to treasure and look to created things as objects of our worship. When we worship created things, we are looking for them to satisfy the deepest longings of our soul – something that they are incapable of doing because they were not designed to hold the weight of our worship. Contentment, at its root is a worship problem. When we have abundance in our lives – there are many shiny, new things to distract us from Ultimate realities. When we latch on to all of the things around us as “necessary” things to make our lives worth living then we will never find contentment. We will always be looking for the next gadget, car, house, spouse, accomplishment, pay raise, toy, relationship, experience or whatever. But, the man who can learn to not place his trust in worldly wealth and can enjoy all things as a gift from God is a fortunate man: “as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17 ESV).
We might think that the remedy to our discontentment is to sell all of our worldly possessions and move over seas to serve God. This is not the remedy, this is just transferring the problem to a different venue. You trusting in created things more than the Creator of all things is not a function of what you have, it is a function of what you believe is most worthy of your worship, praise & adoration.
So how did the apostle become content in all things? Paul saw Christ as more glorious, more worthy, more spectacular than anything else the world had to offer (3:7-11). The work is not to lower the value or allure of the things that compete for our affections – this will prove a fools errand as most can attest to. The real secret of contentment is not in lowering other things, but in seeing Christ more clearly – seeing Him as so far above anything else that we are willing to joyfully exchange all things to have Him.
We need a yearning in our soul (like Paul had) that considers everything as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus. This is a supernatural act, this is not something that we muster up, this is something that is Holy Spirit wrought. This puts us in a place of utter dependance upon God to do what only He can do in our souls. This goes back to a place where we intentionally quiet ourselves and pray desperate prayers like, “enlighten the eyes of my heart, quicken my mind, help me to see things as they really are, make your kingdom come in ME, I do believe – help me with my unbelief. Help me to taste and see that you are good, that in your presence is deepest satisfaction and that your steadfast love is better than life.” Contentment is not the goal, it is a byproduct of the goal – which is to know the good, sovereign, Lord of the universe. To lack contentment in one’s life is merely symptomatic of a deeper, heart problem; contentment is not the problem, the object of our worship is the problem.
A profoundly practical way to build belief
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8–9 ESV)
The post from yestereday, beating fear, anxiety & worry involves a transference of trust, was about how we must build belief in the fact that God is good, sovereign and faithful if we wish to overcome fear, anxiety & worry in our lives. Today, we will explore a profoundly practical way to begin doing that. The Apostle transitions from telling us not to worry (because God is in control) to telling us to fill our lives with things that inspire a worship of God instead of our idols. This is an incredibly practical thing that we can do. Far too often, we read this verse as a precaution to avoid thinking or exposing ourselves to immoral things – that is not the intent at all! This is an admonishment to find things that stir one’s affections for Christ. These are true, gospel saturated truths that evoke worship in the soul – this worship then overflows in to service. What kind of things?
- True things – seeing things as they actually are. Jesus is true (Matthew 22:16, Mark 12:14), God is true (John 3:33, 7:18, 8:26, Romans 3:4), Jesus’ flesh & blood is true food and true drink
- Honorable things – serious, reverent, holy, dignified, honest
- Just things – righteous, right, upright, virtuous, observant of divine & human laws
- Pure things – holy, morally upright, blameless, innocent, chaste, exciting reverence
- Lovely things – friendly, affectionate, sentiment & feeling, acceptable, pleasing
- Commendable things – worthy of praise
- Excellent things – virtuous, praise worthy, moral goodness
- Praise worthy things -things that evoke worship in your heart
THINK on these things. To think means to take a mental inventory, esteem, to take an account of and treat accordingly, reckon, run debits & credits, meditate, weigh, understand, count (accounting term), reason, regard, remind, understand or consider. This is no fleeting thought, what is in view is a disciplined effort to take a mental inventory of things that are right, things that stir up our affections, things that cause us to worship. This is only done with intentionality. There are so many different things vying for our attention nowadays (ie Facebook, Twitter, politics, athletics, activities, hobbies, relationships, family, friends, work, and the list goes on and on) – good things – it is the rare person that has disciplined himself or herself to drive out the distractions and dwell upon transcendent, ultimate, eternal things. It is easier to open up the computer, turn on the TV or run to the next activity than it is to still ones heart and mind and beg the Almighty to do what only He can do – irrigate our dry parched soul. Being intentional will never irrigate our souls, it merely places us in proximity to the waterfall of God’s grace, we still must dependently and desperately beg for His divine intervention. Being still is a hard fought discipline.
What do you dream about? What fuel are you feeding your fantasies? What sermon are you preaching to yourself when no one is there to hear it? What you dream about, fantasize about or preach to yourself shapes your life, emotions and actions. “If I only had that, if my life was more like hers, if I had a family like them, if my marriage looked like theirs, or if I was wired like him.” These things are idols, these things are false gods that we often place our trust in for deliverance, these hopes and dreams will never enable you to walk freely. We need to think upon greater things and beg God to root out these idols in our hearts. We must pray for God to enlighten our eyes, quicken our hearts and give us a desire for Him and Him alone. To be free, we must be willing to let go of our heart’s idols and desperately grasp a hold of God and God alone. We must come to a place, like Habakuk, where God alone is enough.
How do we begin to do this? We should use our time (especially our discretionary time) and be disciplined in our minds. The Apostle apparently believes that what we meditate upon, fantasize about and spend time turning over in our minds has a profound effect on the way that we feel, what we do, and how we behave. This is a more expanded version of 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV). This is a call to think more about the manifest glory of the Almighty – to see Him as who He really is. Spend time thinking about and mulling over the trueness of God, the holiness of God, the righteousness of God; find things (ie nature, Olympic competition, children, etc) the stir up your affections for a big, true, holy, loving, just, good, gracious God. It is not easy nor natural – there is no secret formula, but nothing in our faith is easy, natural or formulaic – our faith is supernatural. BEG GOD FOR HELP!
The Gospel Centered Life 