Category Archives: Gospel Centrality

Belief, Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Why We Worry

Do not be anxious about your life. (MATTHEW 6:25)

“Why do we worry? Because we don’t believe. We’re not really convinced the same Jesus who can keep a sparrow in the air knows where our lost luggage is, or how we’ll pay that car repair bill. Or if we believe He can deliver us through our difficulties, we doubt if He will. We let Satan sow seeds of doubt in our minds about God’s love and care for us.

The great antidote to anxiety is to come to God in prayer about everything. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Nothing’s too big for Him to handle or too small to escape His attention. Paul said we’re to come to God “with thanksgiving.” We should thank Him for His past faithfulness in delivering us from troubles. We should thank Him for the fact that He’s in control of every circumstance of our lives and that nothing can touch us that He doesn’t allow. We should thank Him that in His infinite wisdom He’s able to work in this circumstance for our good. We can thank Him that He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The promised result is not deliverance, but the peace of God. One of the reasons we don’t find this peace is that all too often we won’t settle for anything other than deliverance from the trouble. But God, through Paul, promises us peace, a peace that is unexplainable. It will guard our hearts and minds against the anxiety to which you and I are so prone.”

Gerald Bridges;Jerry Bridges. Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey Devotional (p. 81). Kindle Edition.

Gospel Centrality

The “how” matters

3 Comments

“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!

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

The Everyday Work of Appropriating the Gospel

1 Comment

“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.

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

A profoundly practical way to build belief

4 Comments

 “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!

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Beating fear, anxiety & worry involves a transference of trust

2 Comments

“The Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5–7 ESV)

If you have been a Christian very long then you have undoubtedly read this verse, memorized this verse, had this verse quoted to you or clung desperately to it in the midst of difficult seasons in your life.  How many times have you said (out loud or to yourself), I have prayed about it, but I am still just as nervous about this situation as I was before – maybe even more so!  Maybe the Apostle is not giving us a “secret formula” or “silver bullet” for beating anxiety.  So what hope is there in becoming less anxious if this verse does not seem to help?  We need to dig a little deeper to understand what surrounds this verse so that we can better apply it in the context of the broader letter and apply it in our lives.

You know you aren’t supposed to be anxious (Jesus said it in Matthew 6:25-33, 10:19; Luke 10:41, 12:11, 12:22, 12:25) and Paul says it here in Philippians.  So how do we begin to beat anxiety?  To word translated “anxious” literally means “troubled with cares” or “to seek to promotes one’s interest” (Thayer’s Greek-English of the New Testament).  Beating anxiety is not as a easy as praying a prayer, as if it were a magic incantation.  What the Apostle is laying out for us in this passage is a transference of affections.

First and foremost, beating anxiety and fear is built upon the gospel truth that God is faithful, good and able (3:20-21) to do what He has promised.  The Apostle starts this passage by looking back at this reality by writing, “The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5).  Remember, Jesus is coming soon, rest in that promise.  When we are anxious, it is a sign that we are struggling to believe that God is good, that He is really in control of all things or that He will be faithful to do that which He has promised to do.  This is reminiscent of Jesus’ admonishment not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34.  Why should we not worry?  Not merely because it is unprofitable (worry won’t add a single hour to your life).  No, the primary reason that Jesus is telling us not to worry is because God is in absolute control of everything!  The birds and lilies know it, and so should we.  Fear, anxiety & worry begins to loose its grip on our souls as we grow in our belief that God is in absolute control and that He is working good for those who love Him.

This happens by prayer – not just short prayers, but a deep wrestling in the soul with the Creator of the cosmos.  A wrestling that will ultimately deliver us from our own self centeredness.  There is a transference of affections from us and our wants to the One who is faithful.  All of this connects to a trust in God that yields rejoicing.  The root is a trust in the good and sovereign nature of God – believing this is the work that we must do.  The byproduct is a truly supernatural peace that transcends our own ability to understand it, reminiscent to Jesus promising rest for the weary soul in Matthew 11:28-29.  This transference of trust and reliance is especially true in the midst of severe difficulty (Paul writes this from prison) and Romans 8 boldly proclaims:  “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (v18), “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (v28), “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (v31).  Wrestle in prayer to believe that God is good, that He is sovereign and that He is faithful; the more that we believe this gospel truth, the less anxious we become.

See A profoundly practical way to build belief.

Faith, Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Frustrated & Fruitless?

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” (Philippians 4:4–5 ESV)

The Apostle once again brings rejoicing back in to focus.  Rejoicing (joy) is a deep contentment, an abiding joy, a soul level happiness that is not dependent upon our circumstances – it has at its root a dependent trust in and reliance upon a good and sovereign God.  All Christians know that they are supposed to be joyful, after all if is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  So why are so few Christians really joyfully?

We may think that it is our responsibility to manufacture joy (and many other traits like love, patience, compassion).  But it is not our responsibility to produce these traits in our lives – we cannot and will not ever be able to manufacture these.  Most Christian’s wear themselves out trying to produce them.  Simply put, we lack the resources on our own to produce good things in our lives.  Joy is a byproduct of something deeper – it is the fruit of something that is happening inside.

So how do we become joyful like the Apostle is admonishing us to be?  Our lack of joy indicates a deeper problem.  We all know, that we can’t just make ourselves joyful.  Lacking joy, indicates a lack of faith (trust) in God which is often times manifested in our believing that we know what is best (though we’d never say it) as if we have ultimate vision and perspective on things or that God is not really after our good.  Do you see that?  We think we are privy to how things really work.  We think we have things all figured out.  We think we know what is best.  We are not convinced that God is really after OUR good.  Our work (and it is work) is to believe that God is good and that He is able to do all that He has promised (Philippians 3:20-21).  The more that we believe this and draw near to Jesus in utter dependance, the more He will produce wonderful things in our lives.  Your role is dependance and faith, His role is producing beautiful things – don’t get those backwards or you’ll be frustrated and fruitless.

Gospel Centrality, Growth/Pursuit

Good people don’t need grace

2 Comments

““A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:41–50 ESV)““A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:41–50 ESV)

I once had a friend tell me that the reason that a pastor of ours was so passionate about his pursuit of Christ was because he had lived such a dark life before he became a Christian.  He quoted Luke 7:47 to justify his thinking (“those who have been forgiven much, love much”).  I still recall that conversation because it is true.  We often times think that God’s grace covers the gap between what we have done right & His perfect standard.  The problem with this thinking is that we fail to understand that we have never done anything right before God – all of our affections, actions and motivations are stained by sin.  The bible describes us using phrases like:  dead (last time I checked, dead people don’t do stuff), enemies of God, objects of wrath, destined for destruction and that no one is good in His sight.

Isn’t that the point of this parable?  Isn’t Jesus trying to get us to see the absurdity of our morality based thinking.  This is the Creator of the Universe – do we really think that we have anything that we can bring before Him that makes Him say, “that guy is really killing it, I’m really glad he’s on my team?”  It is true that many people who were saved out of checkered pasts fraught with promiscuity, drugs, drunkenness & immorality have a passion that other Christians lack.  The reason for this is because they are more likely to realize their desperate need for the grace of God because they have such a good understanding of their own depravity.  But, the truth is that EVERYONE is in dire need of grace.

Think about the parable of the prodigal son that Jesus tells in Luke 15.  We love the idea of God’s amazing grace towards the “worst of sinners” like the younger brother.  Unfortunately, we are some times more like the older brother in the story – indignant that the Father would be so gracious to that undeserving rebel and not doting over us for our faithful obedience.  Do you see it?  The older brother (like many of us) had grown dependent on his own obedience as the reason that God should approve of him.  He was self righteous because he had followed the rules; he had lived obediently.  The problem is that we can never earn the approval of God (God’s approval of you was earned by Jesus on the cross, period).  This thinking causes us to believe that God now “owes us” us because we have so faithfully obeyed.  The God of this universe owes us nothing – except His just wrath.

We all slip into this thinking without intentionality in our lives.  We must regularly beg God to quicken our hearts and enlighten our eyes to see His perfect, holy & sovereign nature AND just how rebellious our hearts are towards Him.  The better we understand these things at a deep heart level, the more profoundly grateful (like the woman in the parable above) we are for the unearned approval of the Creator.  Good people don’t need grace, but you aren’t good (Romans 3:12) – only One was good.

Gospel Centrality

Jesus + Anything = Nothing

“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—” (Philippians 3:2–3 ESV)

The Apostle Paul’s overall upbeat & positive tone in this letter suddenly takes on a harsh tone when he begins to address a quasi Christian sect of Jews known as the Judaizers.  He calls them dogs, which is not a compliment – this word can also be translated as “male prostitute” so we can begin to see the angst that the Apostle has towards these people.  The basic message of the Judiazers was that you need Jesus plus a list of your own works (culminating in circumcision) to be acceptable to God.  It was a “Jesus +” theology.  The letter to the Galatians was written to combat these people’s works-based righteousness theology.

This is no minor issue – this is a major issue, upon which there is no compromise.  Those who teach that something besides Jesus’ sacrificial death is required to be right before God have departed from the gospel.  It is unfortunate that many Christians, over time, migrate to this view.  After years, we often begin to think (though we’d never say it) that our hard fought efforts for the kingdom earn us additional favor with God.  We effectively believe that God is happier and more pleased with us because of our obedience and sacrifice.  Be careful, whenever we approach the Creator with a pile of our works in hand thinking that He will be pleased, it evokes a visceral response from the Almighty.  He calls our best works, when offered as self righteous justifying works, as a pile of filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  You are completely dependent on the finished work of Jesus alone to be acceptable to God – you can do nothing to add to His approval of you.  Rest in this, for it is finished!

We must be a people who place no confidence in our flesh.  We place no worth on anything that we can contribute to Christ and our relationship with Him.  As we glory in Christ, we will find that placing confidence in our flesh is a fools exchange!