Pierced by the Word: And We Walked into Paradise Itself

October 31, 1517

491 years ago, we returned to God’s Word, and we saw God’s righteousness.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

Read the account of Martin Luther’s struggle through verse 17:

“I had . . . been captivated with an extraordinary ardor for understanding Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. But . . . a single word in Chapter 1 [verse 17], ‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed,’ stood in my way. For I hated that word ‘righteousness of God,’ which . . . I had been taught to understand . . . is the righteousness [with which God] punishes the unrighteous sinner.” (John Dillenberger, ed. Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings, [Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1961], p. 11)

“Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at [Romans 1:17], most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, “In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’” There I began to understand [that] the righteousness of God is . . . righteousness with which [the] merciful God justifies us by faith. . . . Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.”  (Martin Luther: Selections, pp. 11-12)

Working with you to enter paradise itself through open gates because of God’s righteousness,

Vince R.

(Quotes retreived from John Piper’s Sermon on Romans 1:16-17)

The Rod of Affliction and the Instruction of God

From the sermon preached October 26, 2008 (Evening Service Colonial Baptist Church)

“He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne he sets them forever, and they are exalted.  And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly. He opens their ears to instruction and commands that they return from iniquity.” Job 36:7-10

“He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
and opens their ear by adversity.” Job 36:15

“Take care; do not turn to iniquity, for this you have chosen rather than affliction. Behold, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?  Who has prescribed for him his way, or who can say, ‘You have done wrong’?” Job 36:21-23

There is no teacher like our God.  He teaches us to hate sin and to love him.  That is the message of Job.  Suffering does not come because of the sins of a man.  The suffering of the righteous is not punitive and wrathful, and the prosperity of the wicked is not biased and rewarding.  The very stain of sin that stains all men is reason enough for eternal suffering.  “None are righteous” and “all have sinned” (Romans 3:10,23).  It is not logical nor is it biblical to think that Job suffered because of his sin, that is, his suffering was some penal release of God’s wrath toward Job.  Job was an upright and blameless man who turned from evil and feared God (Job 1:1), and by extension, he was a saint, saved by grace through faith.

No, Job’s sin was not the reason for his calamity.  Rather, Job’s sanctification from sin was the reason for his calamity.

The rod of affliction which God did use to instruct this man of God, this godly father who offered up sacrifices for his children and prayed for the forgiveness of their sins daily (if they may have cursed God in their hearts), was stripped of all he owned and covered with rotten loathesome sores from head to foot for only one reason.

God is supremely valuable above all things.

God’s absolute sovereignty and his incomparable worthiness destroys all the arrogances of man, thwarts all his lofty inventions, crushes all his vain philosophies and heady theories.  Because God is supremely valuable, he demolishes man’s boastful claims to self-sufficiency before him.  There are no guarantees of material or relational blessings with God.  We are not guaranteed a prestigious job, a high-browed education, a beautiful family, a wealth of friends, or a healthful body.  God is sovereign, and the supremacy of his Son Jesus Christ will be known in the hearts of his people.  God ordains suffering to teach his people these lessons.  He did it with Job, and because of this, we are, by application, asked two questions in this book:

1. Do you love your God more than you love your blessings?

2. Do you really hate sin as much as God does?

The point of Job’s affliction was to instruct him so that he could say yes to those questions, both now and even into eternity.  Our affliction is coming.  It is only a matter of time.  Calamity will come, and we will have to ask ourselves these questions.  The book of Job was written for our instruction so that we can agree with confidence and brokenhearted tender affirmations with James.

“Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James 5:11

This is sanctification: the sifting of sin and the purifying work of a heart toward undivided full affections and obedience toward God as the only one worthy of all our admiration, reverence, and worship.

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is none on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

If God is supremely valuable, then it truly is compassion and mercy that God would remove those things which keep us from viewing his steadfast love as better than life (Psalm 63:3).  Why should he sift us? Why should he sanctify our hearts?  We have sinned against him, and we deserve damnation to a life of sin and an eternal perdition consumed by it.  Therefore, we do not deserve restoration from it.  Sanctification is undeserved.  We must not believe that justification alone is by grace through faith.  Sanctification is as much by grace through faith.

Crush the thoughts in me, O Lord, that want to make my sanctification by works.

As Job instructs us: This grace and compassion and mercy will slay us.  Indeed, God will kill us, and it will be by grace when he does.  “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Yet we so often abandon that conviction.  What is the first thing abandoned when we are healthful, when we are prosperous, and when all is well?

The first thing that goes is a steadfast love for God.

What is the first thing that comes when we are afflicted, when we are brought low, and when all is not well?

The first thing that comes is cursing and regret.  When we do that, we are showing where our treasure truly is, and the world is watching and listening.

“For too little doth he love Thee, who loves any thing with Thee, which he loveth not for Thee.” –Augustine

It always hurts to receive instruction with a rod of affliction, but we must kiss that hand holding it, fighting for the faith and confidence in Christ that says that Satan always means our affliction for evil and God always means our affliction for good.  Most of all, remember that Satan is God’s devil, and he is on a leash. What a shameful curse on Satan, when in the end, all his energies and exertions of evil will vindicate God’s glory, the very thing he fought against.  For God is preparing in this momentary affliction a far greater weight of glory, for his name and for our joy (2 Corinthians 4:17).  Don’t ever think that God does not love you, beloved.  Do not give in to the temptation which says that God does not love me because he is doing this and ordained this to happen to me.  Behold, if you are in Christ, he does nothing else but love you.

Christ, himself, is the one who perfects our suffering, for he himself was perfected by suffering.

“For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering” (Hebrews 2:10).

He is our brother; indeed, he is not ashamed to call us brothers (Hebrews 2:11).

“Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For because he himself has suffered when tempted (tested), he is able to help those who are being tempted (tested).” Hebrews 2:17-18

Christ gives us the only way to suffer.  We cannot suffer rightly without him.  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:3).  So then, by grace, God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that I can say with Paul, weeping and bold, when I get that phone call that says that my parents have been in an accident and they’re dead:

“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 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 3:8-11

But with a heavy heart, I ask: How do you expect to suffer without Christ?  How do you expect to see your end with no savior?  For those not in Christ, there is no hope of gaining him.  There is not hope of attaining a resurrection from the dead like his.  There is no joy of knowing Jesus forever.

Cast yourself upon his cross, repent of your sins, and believe that he died to pay the penalty for your sins.  Then follow him to die.  There is no other way that we may suffer in this life or that we may know eternal life.

Praying that you would kiss his hand when he afflicts you, believing that he is nothing but merciful and compassionate towards his sons and daughters in Christ,

Vince R.

What is Christian Eloquence? Thoughts on John Piper’s Message at the Desiring God National Conference 2008

Hearing John Piper speak on Christian eloquence at the Desiring God National Conference 2008 in Minneapolis, Minnesota elated my soul.  He spoke of assonance, consonance, iambic pentameter, cadence, and parallelism.  What a mighty call to use words to their fullest effect in order to describe Jesus Christ indeed as he who has surpassing worth and excellencies! He is worthy of all our language convention that works to present him as the Supreme and Glorious King.  We are speaking creatures who are called out of darkness to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us to his marvelous light.

I never forgot the words of my pastor at home: “Don’t speak with the spirit of persuasion: Speak with the Spirit of God.”

Here is how I would define and differentiate between Christian eloquence and lofty, arrogant eloquence.

Christian eloquence is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit through the Christ-centered direction of language convention in proclamations which magnify and exalt the excellencies of Christ and the finality and meaning of the cross.

Lofty arrogant eloquence is the manifestation of the sinful nature through the self-centered direction of language convention in proclamations which magnify man and exalt the false excellencies of the human peformance over and against the crucified Lord.

James Dennie said this:

“No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is mighty to save.”

The Bible eloquently demonstrates this truth in 1 Corinthians:

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God.  He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” 1 Corinthians 1:27-31

Check out this sermon that cemented my soul and confirmed my calling.  Don’t waste your eloquence; make much of Him with every word that exalts his name and proclaims his cross.

Working with you to proclaim the excellencies of Christ with all unction and demonstration of Spirit,

Vince R.