Calvin: Why He Still Matters

W. Robert Godfrey, author of the new biography of John Calvin entitled John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor, wrote an inspiring article on Calvin’s significance to ministers today.  Here is an excerpt:

Calvin exemplified in his life and work a determination to seek to bring every thought captive to Christ. That was his passion, such was his confidence in the Word of God. That is also what he wanted to teach others. To quote Calvin, “Whoever, therefore, would desire to persevere in uprightness and in integrity of life, let them learn to exercise themselves daily in the study of the word of God; for, whenever a man despises or neglects instruction, he easily falls into carelessness and stupidity, and all fear of God vanishes from his mind” (Commentary on the Psalms, on Ps. 18:22). Calvin was certain that many people tended very naturally to carelessness and stupidity. That is surely a lesson that does not need to be taught from Scripture; it is a lesson that pastors learn by experience! Calvin recognized, and we should recognize because it is even truer today, that we are surrounded by voices that are blaring lies. The only way to sort that out is to be sure that the Bible is constantly speaking to us, that the Bible is in our hearts and in our ears and in our mind so that that authority of the Word of God is a living and vital authority for us. The Bible must constantly challenge the way we look at the world, the way we look at our fellow men and women, the way we think about God and his world.

The Goodness of God and the Pure in Heart: Meditations on Psalm 73:1

For the past week, I have been meditating on Psalm 73:1.  It is my spiritual goal to meditate on one verse of this Psalm each week until I finish it.  I want to share some of my meditations with you.

Psalm 73:1 “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.”

There is a longing in us that wants to believe in a benevolent God.  We want to believe that God is good–all the time.  Even when we hear the age old question: If God is so good, why does he let evil happen?, we still cling to the promise the Scripture gives of God’s omnibenevolence.

But why is it so hard to believe sometimes?

Asaph wrote Psalm 73.  He doubted God’s goodness.  This desperate poem and song to God truly meditates on the real experience of doubting God’s goodness.  Verse one openly proclaims the truth that Asaph has come to doubt.  It also answers the question I just proposed.  Why is God’s goodness hard to believe? Because our hearts are not pure. I see two things that this verse communicates, both explicitly and implicitly.

1.)  God is good, specifically in the person and work of Christ.

There is no doubt that the scriptures declare his goodness uniformly and specifically.  Psalm 136 is the text of the congregational song of Israel.  It repeats this phrase in its first verse:  “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” It is the phrase that the people of God sing to him when they meditate on his wonderous deeds.  Psalm 118 describes this as well.  The Psalmist who wrote the longest chapter in the Bible declared it completely:  “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes” (119:68).  When Moses pleaded to God to show him his glory, this is how the LORD answered him:

“I will make my all my goodness pass before you  and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exodus 33:19).

In the New Testament, Jesus chastizes one man for calling him “good teacher.”

“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

It is the apostle John, however, who ties the encouter that Moses had with God with Jesus.  He makes it clear that Jesus was not denying his own deity in Mark 10:18, but he was rather pointing out the heart of the man who approached him, for this man cared little about the goodness of God.  Though Moses couldn’t see God (Ex. 33:20), Jesus is described as the only one who seen God and can perfectly reflect him.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…And from his fulness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:14, 16-8).

John doesn’t so much emphasize the Mosaic law (condeming man) and Jesus (liberating man) as he is emphasizing God’s glory being made known perfectly in the person of Jesus Christ.  “He has made him known.”  It is here that we are given the undeniable truth that Jesus is the good God spoken of in the Old Testament.

Indeed, Christ’s miracles manifested his glory (Jn. 2:11), but most specifically, God’s glory in Christ is made known when evil men do not believe in him.

“Though he had done so may signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ [Isa. 53:1] Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said, ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them’ [Isa. 6:10]. Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.  Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess, so they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43).

It was that frightening vision of God’ s glory in Isaiah 6 that changed, justified, and atoned for Isaiah.  It is here that John makes it clear: Isaiah saw Jesus Christ.  “He is the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Heb. 4:3). “…the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4, 6).  Every bit of God’s glorious nature is found in Christ.  Most especially, God’s goodness is found in Christ.  If we look at 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, we see that the glory of God is found in his gospel.

This is the way the writer of Hebrews describes God’s good for his people-

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12).

It is because of God’s goodness in the giving of the Son that we have “an eternal redemption” paid for “by means of his own blood.”  This is the ultimate way God is good to his people.  He gives us his Son so he can bring us to himself.  He wants his goodness to be known to his people, so he provides the way for them to experience it. Notice how Jeremiah prophecies of this giving of the Son as the means by which God will finally dwell with his people:

“And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them.  And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and soul” (Jeremiah 32:38-41).

God is good to his people-with all his heart and soul. This is amazing!  But notice this passage’s emphasis on the heart. “I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good…”  He even speaks of giving his people “one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever.”  It is in this sense, then, that we see what God’s goodness does to our hearts.

2.) God’s goodness makes us pure in heart.

If God has nothing but good for his people, and this is most specifically manifested in the gospel, we must consider what the gospel does to us.  “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God“  The way in which we draw near to God (and this is the climax of Psalm 73) is through the gospel.  The gospel  purifies our hearts and thusly allows us to see God the clearest.  Matthew 5:8 says it this way: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  There is a direct tie between purity of heart and seeing God for who he is.  Note how the apostle John puts it:

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

The very appearance of God (as he is) and the fervent meditation of God (as he is) inevitably leads to purity.  Being near to God thus equals purity of heart.  The apostle James says this:

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double minded” (James 4:8).

Conclusion:

Thusly, I think we see from Scripture that God’s goodness both demands purity and supplies what it demands.  This is grace so amazing!  By being close to God and considering him for who he is, the heart is purified.

Application:

If in those times of doubt, when you speculate and intellectualize over the goodness of God with a heart of unbelief, you are committing grievous sin.  God’s goodness is not subject to your belief.  Your belief is subject to his goodness!  God is good to his people. Though evil surrounds you and doubt fills your minds, the goodness of God is not compromised.  Your purity is compromised!  Hoping in him as he says he is will result in a pure heart.

This has tremendous implications for our holiness because anytime we sin we demonstrate that we are 1.) impure in heart, 2.) far from the true and revealed God, 3.) doubtful of whether or not God is good.  Anytime we sin we demonstrate that we doubt if God’s way (of holiness, godliness, honor, integrity, blamelessness, pleasure) is good.  It is a heart of unbelief.

God says he is good, and though you cannot now see every way in which his goodness is made known to you, you must hope in him as he says he is.  But behold the manifold ways he has revealed his goodness!  Have you forgotten the wonderous deeds of the Lord in your life?  Have you spurned his blessing of life? Have you begrudged his blessing of family, friends, food, home, and other providences?  There is always a reason to give thanks.  But if, by some wise and gloriously good plan of God, you have nothing but loneliness, hunger, homelessness, persecutions, and sword, have you spurned God’s ultimate good blessing?  Have you forgotten the gospel?  He gave his Son! Is that not enough for you? If you, like Asaph, wonder if God is truly good to Israel, you must examine your heart, for it is not God who has ceased to be good, it is your heart that has ceased to be pure.

Fly to the gospel and thusly purify your hearts.  What love the Father has made known to you in Him!  His goodness and glory washes you from all uncleanliness and unbelief.  Purify yourself, and wash your hands by drawing near to God, meditating on who he says he is.

I leave you with four truths from St. Augustine that have helped me:

1.) God always enables that which he commands.

 “Lord command what you will, and will what you command.”

If he says to believe him, he will create that in your heart.  Plead with him until he makes his goodness pass before you!

2.) Our hearts will never rest until they rest in God as he has reavealed himself to be.

“Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.”

You will have a wayward, tossed, double-minded way about you until you rest finally in the truth of God’s goodness.

3.) Our love for God is compromised when we love anything apart from him.

“He loves thee too little who loves anything besides thee which he loves not for thee.”

God goodness wants you to enjoy his blessings.  God’s goodness also wants you enjoy them for him.  His goodness will thus take that from you which will result in your losing sight of his goodness.  He gives! But he will take away, and this is his goodness, kindness, and mercy.  Remember, however, that there is one thing God cannot take away: His promises in the gospel. Find your love for God in this love he has for you.

4.) To truly experience the goodness of God, we require one thing: Humility.

“If I should be asked what is the first thing in religion. I would say that the first, second and third thing therein is humility.”

Doubt and speculation are not admirable.  Humble and contrite hearts that tremble at his word is what God looks to. Carnal speculation and fleshly intellectualism do not impress God.  He does not command your theodicy; he commands your humility.

Working with you for purity,

Vince R.

Regeneration vs. the Idolatry of Decisional Evangelism

It was about the time I heard this sermon that I was only 90% sure how I felt about the “sinner’s prayer.”  After this sermon, I was 100% sure.  I put the “sinner’s prayer” in the ground, buried it, and put up a tombstone that said “anathema.” Our evangelism is weak, unbiblical, and it is eternally destroying some.  What are we preaching? See for yourself, and examine yourself. What are you preaching?

Echoes of the Reformation in 2009

Check out this article from Time Magazine: Ten Ideas Changing the World Right Now: #3 The New Calvinism.

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Thanks Sareena for finding this.

All of Grace and None of Us

When we turn the gospel into a message expressing our worth and proclaim it as a message all about us, we can sing with many fuzzy feelings words that say Christ was crucified thinking ”of me above all.”  We should be uncomfortable with such words because in singing them we imply that God is not concerned with his glory.  In becoming comfortable with such an idea, we will begin to manifest our own glory because of our obedience rather than Christ’s and our worth rather than Christ’s.

I often hear the old cliche:  ”If you or I or he or she was the only person on earth, Christ would have died just for that person.”  Though I appreciate the sentiment, the person who says this has exalted a man.  Rather, if I take that phrase and turn it on its head to make it biblical, then we can add, “and that proves that your sins alone were wicked and black enough to call for the death of an innocent lamb.”  We do not constrain God to save us by our inherent worth.  Rather, he chose to save unworthy rebellious creature like us because of his free and sovereign grace.  As Charles Spurgeon put it, it is ‘All of Grace.’  And understanding this puts the amazing back into grace!

The gospel is not about us; it is about the glory of God.  God did not save us for and because of  us. He saved us for and because of him.  But in this truth, we find all our calling, all our joy, and all our purpose found complete: to glorify God and enjoy him forever.  There is no other point of salvation but God and God alone. Indeed, the cross was the ultimate expression of God’s love, but it was also an expression of so many more aspects of his character.  There, on that hill, we see God’s holiness, justice, righteousness, wrath, glory, mercy, grace, and patience.  The cross of Calvary brings all of God’s attributes into clear focus, for it is there that we find the apex of God’s redemptive work to make himself all in all for his glory and our joy.

Working with you for your complete joy in All of Grace,

Vince R.

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)

God Should Have Aborted Me!

“Your origin and your birth are of the land of the Caananites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.  And as for your birth, on the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.  No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, for you were abhorred, on the day that you were born.  And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’  I made you flourish like a plant of the field.  And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment.  Your breasts were formed, and your hair had grown; yet you were naked and bare.  When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered in a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.” Ezekiel 16:1-8

Here we see a wretched baby.  A pagan child thrown out and cast asunder as some rejected creature.  It was an unknown and unwanted child of God.  Note some truths of this baby:

1.) Its Origin

This child was born of two pagan and godless parents,  “an Amorite” for a father, and ”a Hittite” for a mother.  “Your orgin and your birth are of the land of Canaan.”

It was a baby born of the enemies of God’s people  It was a baby born of the pagans who worshipped and sacrificed before idols, pouring the blood of infants on their altars.   A wretched and grotesque picture to behold!  The origin was deplorable.  Who would want this baby?!

2.)  Its Condition

When it was born, its cord was still hanging from its middle. “…your cord was not cut.”  This paints the picture of a quick and inconsiderate parent.  Not even the umbilical cord was worth cutting.  It stuck out and hung there like some symbol of a sluggard too lazy to clean itself.  It was a sad picture, and a grotesque reminder of depravity and rejection.

When it was born, the baby was dirty. “…nor were you washed with water to cleanse you…”  It was a filthy child.  Combined with the dirt and sludge of the streets.  Blood dripping from its tiny digits.  Who would want this baby?

When it was born, it was not purified.  “…nor rubbed with salt…”  Salt purified.  It was in impure entity.  Some defiled child lying helpless in black sin.  No one dared look at this unwanted creature.

When it was born, it was naked and unkept.  “..nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.”  It was some naked and uncovered hairless animal.  No one even covered it!  Despite its ugliness, it was too ugly to cover.

3.)  Its Rejection

Who dared look at this creature? “No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you…” No eye dared look with compassion.  This seemed some pitiful sight to behold, yet no eye even dared to behold it!  No eye considered its origin.  No eye considered its filth.  No eye considered its impurity. No eye considered its nakedness.

What happened to it? “…but you were cast out on the open field…”  It was thrown like some shiny and grotesque rubber humanoid, cast away in a death field.  Thrown from memory, the baby was left in the open where no eye dared look.

How was it considered? “…for your were abhorred, on that day your were born…”  This creature was not just too ugly to consider.  It was not some indifference to which it was to be held.  It was with a real feeling, with a real emotion and consideration.  What it was it? Of what was its consideration?  Abhorrence.  A biting hatred that cast it out in darkness.

4.)  Its Resurrection

But, Lo!  Who is that who approaches this baby, this pitiless fossil?  “And when I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood.” Who is this “I”?  When asked to recount this story, Ezekiel is told: “say, Thus says the Lord God…” This “I” is the Lord of heaven and earth.  It is the holy one of Isreal who approaches.  He sees the creature there.  He passes by and looks.  When no one else dared approach, when all others abhorred and rejected this things in the field, the Lord comes nigh and sees.

But, behold! Does the Soveriegn One simply walk on by?  Does he just see and reject and abhor as all the others did?  Does he do what he should? Does he kill it and throw it to sheol where it belongs, this pagan baby?  Look! He bestirs his holy powers and opens his mighty mouth and gives one word, “Live!”  Where was this creature when this word poured forth? “I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’”  While this bloody reject lies wallowing in filth, the Lord says one word, and what he says, he accomplishes.

5.)  Its New Life

What becomes of this creature?  What does the Lord do for it? ”I made you flourish like a plant of the field.”  It flourishes with life and beauty.  It comes forth through the dirt and grime, giving evidence of newness.  It lives! Not only that, it flourishes.

“Your breasts were formed and your hair had grown.” Suddenly, it is no longer an “it.”  It is a “she.”  She is a beautiful young woman with life and vigor.  She grows into elegance and femininity.

Yet, what remains of her.  She is now grown, but she is naked.  She is still open and uncovered.  “yet you were naked and bare.”

6.) Her Covering

When she is older and comes “at the the age of love,” the Lord passes by and covers her.  “I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness.”  She is vital.  She is ready for loving and holy covenental union.  The Lord covers her.  No one can look upon her now.  Why?

7.)  Her Union

Why must she be covered? “I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine.”

Now we see.  She belong to him. No else may gaze upon her as some rejected whore.  She belongs to her husband.  They are joined and glory and joy ensues!  “…a covenant…

This, my friends, is the picture of salvation.  You were rejected and unwanted.  You were dead. You were dirty.  Yet the Lord walks by and sees you wallowing in your blood, and he says to in your blood, “Live!”

And thus it was.  Why?  That you may be his.

Friends,  what does this imply? How does this apply?

He had every right to choose to kill…but he didn’t.  He chose life.

What right have we to do murder to our own, when the only one who really has that right chose life?

Choosing life, it seems, is choosing godliness.

Working with you to cherish and choose life,

Vince R.

Humility and what Some Call “Calvinism”

Recently, a friend asked me to sit next to him during class.  Prior to the introductory statements from the professor, he said something to the effect of, “I want to know about Calvinism and I hear you’re the guy to see.”  I laugh now even thinking about that.   Why do I laugh?  Because I appreciate anyone’s desire to learn; it gives me joy.  But I tell you what I did.  I got so joyful that I began to mention some books that helped me, the titles waning as the professor began to speak.  I said I would make him a list of books to which he can refer.

Then, mildly attentive to the professor, I was convicted.  “Does this friend really care for truth?”  Well, I have no idea about that because I don’t know his heart, but I do know this: Why would I care to share this truth with him?  Do I really care for orthodoxy transforming someone’s walk with God and transforming their ministry or do I care more about showing how much I know?

Well, frankly, I’m a fallen man.  I am prideful and horribly arrogant, so I won’t say that I wasn’t exulting in myself at times during that short conversation.  But within momemts, the Holy Spirit was correcting me.  That’s good.

For the moment, I have not made the list of books like he asked me to do for him.  In fact, I won’t until he asks me about them again.  But right now, I think that encounter served as a reminder to my often wandering heart that God, himself, is above all things.  Not Vince, not his doctrinal understanding, and certainly not John Calvin.

I will boldly exclaim first that in my minor page-flipping through his institutes, I see a man not concerned for his name but for God and his truth.  HE DID NOT INVENT THE DOCTRINES!!!  He was a fallen man just like all of us.  The doctrines come from Scripture; not his mind.

In fact, on many points, I don’t agree with him.  I am not a Calvinist, if you define it the way it is rightly defined.  I don’t avow to infant baptism; I don’ t avow to some points of Amillenial eschatology.  I am not a follower of Calvin, I’m a follower of Christ.  The Bible doesn’t say that I am not to humble myself under the hand of Calvin; it says that I am to humble myself under the mighty hand of God.

Who, seeking to understand what they call “Calvinism” is remotely interested in that?  I hope all, but if not, I won’t waste my time.

Before I teach the doctrines SYSTEMATICALLY (because it will pepper my teachings anytime I teach because it’s only natural that it does), I must know in my heart that this person knows the Lord.  Does he have fruit suggesting that he walks closely with the most high God?  If not, he must as Spurgeon once said, “graduate from the prep school of the gospel before he can attend the university of the Doctrines of grace.”

Next, I must ask myself does this person care about God and his truth or does he care about knowledge and its degrees?

I declare boldly that I would take one John Wesley, passionately sharing the gospel and preaching God’s word, over five dead calvinists who would rather drive across the state to defend those doctrines than walk across the street to share the gospel.

The gospel of God is the main thing.  Keep it there!!!

But now you must understand that before any man can go to the unversity of the doctrines of grace he must be prepared to come to the end of himself and cherish God’s power far above his own.  He must bow his knees down lowly before God’s revealed word before he would ever bow his head mildly to his own reasoning.

That’s the fruit of a passionate man who holds to these doctrines.  He must be humble.

“If you carry your orthodoxy in pride and arrogance, you haven’t truly understood it because an accurate understanding of God and his grace humbles the soul.”  -Joshua Harris

And so as a prerequisite to any further teaching on the Doctrines of Grace, a phrase to which I prefer to refer to them,  (In fact, I don’t like the Dortian terms coined in TULIP), I want to propose that humility is required before God’s revealed word.

In this study, o seeker of deeper truth, “know thyself,” as Shakespeare once wrote.

Why do you need to take the time to know?  Do you want to grow closer to the heart of the most High or do you just want more knowledge which will further puff you up?

First, is the gospel even precious to you? If not, go back and learn it anew.  I certainly wish I had.  It would saved me a lot humiliating experiences when I forgot to keep the main thing the main thing.

And so I post a five part video of Pastor John Piper in which he exposits the humility required to believe the Doctrine of Election.  Don’t waste your time if you don’t even care about God, period.

Proceed further ONLY if you want to understand something that will transform your walk to a whole new level of humility, holiness, and godliness.  I, myself, have so much to learn, and I’ve held to these doctrines for the past three years.  Every new glimpse into God’s grace humbles me to the dust as it rightly should.

Working with you to cherish orthodoxy with humility and conviction,

Vince R.

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That’s the Amazement of Grace, AMEN.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Amazement of Grace and the Life of John Newton

“And you he hath quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Among whom also we all had our conversations in times past in the lusts of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath.  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye have been saved) And raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.  That in the age to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:1-7

 This passage resounds with “The Amazement of Grace.” 

That is the title of the sermon from my former pastor Robert Malcom.  Taken from this text, it is the most powerful sermon on grace I have ever heard.

I almost wept as he preached because I finally experienced the treasure of Amazing grace.  Never before have I understood (with intense experiential understanding) what God did even before I met him.

 That’s the whole of point of Ephesians 1.  That day, I saw how beautifully it carried over to Ephesians 2.  Many know that Romans is my favorite book in the Bible.  It is hard to understand, but it is a labor of love to try.  Ephesians, however, is the most precious book to me.  It is hard to understand, too, but I always study it in humbled awe because God’s grace abounds in it.

Yes, I believe in the doctrines of grace, but if those doctrines of that grace are more precious to me than that grace of those doctrines, I profane the mighty work of God in me, and I am sounding brass, meaningless and noisy.

In that sermon, it became real:  God is gracious. 

As he preached, I understood finally that apart from grace, I was capable of all manner of evil.  By my nature, I was hardening my heart in deadness.  I should be dead or maybe even in prison. 

“The same grace that saves you from the sins you committed also keeps you from committing the ones you never did.” –Brother Robert Malcom

That statement will stay with me for a long time.  God was gracious when he kept me in certain circumstances and kept me away from others.  What makes me different from that pedophile or that gang banger who shot that liquor store clerk?  The grace of God is what makes the difference.  In those days, I spat in his face daily, worshiping myself and profaning the blood of Christ.  Why didn’t I become like the “worse” sinners? That humiliates me to think about… 

 

This thought should compel me to pray for the lost even more fervently:  “God keep them alive another day! Grant them another chance to repent and believe! Fall on their hearts with such a mighty rush of grace that their knees begin to bend even now!”

 I should be like John Newton, for instance.  He raged with ungodliness, hate toward his fellow man, and intense demand upon his slaves. 

As I look back, I was on a similar path of ungodly hate and anger.  I was ill-tempered, selfish, grumpy, moody, and just one plain sawed-off jerk.

   

But the same God that saved John Newton saved me, too.  On his epitaph, John Newton’s self scribed text shines with the grace of God: 

  JOHN NEWTON,

Clerk,
Once an Infidel and Libertine,
A Servant of Slaves in Africa,
Was,
by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior
JESUS CHRIST,
Preserved, restored, pardoned,
And appointed to preach the Faith
He had long laboured to destroy,
Near 16 years at Olney in Bucks;
And [28] years in this church.

Like him, I was saved “by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior.” 

 

Once angry, lost, raging and blinded with hate, the Spirit of God so transformed his heart that he became known for meek compassion and humbling tenderness.  One of the main reasons for this is that he could never get past the fact that God saved him.  He was so amazed by grace, he couldn’t help but be gracious to others.  Note his amazement in his last will and testament:

I commit my soul to my gracious God and Savior, who mercifully spared and preserved me, when I was an apostate, a blasphemer, and an infidel, and delivered me from the state of misery on the coast of Africa into which my obstinate wickedness had plunged me; and who has been pleased to admit me (though most unworthy) to preach his glorious gospel.

Thusly, he stood in awe and produced such humiliating maxims such as this one about correcting falsely led believers and/or blinded unbelievers: 

 

As to your opponent, I wish, that, before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord’s teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every page you write. . . . [If he is a believer,] in a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts. . . . [If he is an unconverted person,] he is a more proper object of your compassion than your anger. Alas! “He knows not what he does.” But you know who has made you to differ. 

What grace!  The very grace that changed him manifested itself in his new life, lovingly admonishing and compassionately rebuking.  Note also his tenderness when speaking of the doctrines of grace:

 

Of all people who engage in controversy, we, who are called Calvinists, are most expressly bound by our own principles to the exercise of gentleness and moderation. . . . The Scriptural maximum, that “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God,” is verified by daily observation. If our zeal is embittered by expressions of anger, invective, or scorn, we may think we are doing service to the cause of truth, when in reality we shall only bring it into discredit.

 

I pray that I could be so tender and gracious.  God grant it, please!

 

John Piper, for instance, in his study of John Newton from where I retreived these quotations, mentions his longing for pastors with such tender compassion to people and intense devotion to truth:

 

I dream of such pastors. I would like to be one someday. A pastor whose might in the truth is matched by his meekness. Whose theological acumen is matched by his manifest contrition. Whose heights of intellect are matched by his depths of humility. Yes, and the other way around! A pastor whose relational warmth is matched by his rigor of study, whose bent toward mercy is matched by the vigilance of his biblical discernment, and whose sense of humor is exceeded by the seriousness of his calling.

 

Now, I think of me in particular:  a quiet, timid, ill-tempered young fool who finds the Spirit manifesting his glory in his life through the preaching and teaching of that ancient sword of truth.  The Spirit bears witness with his spirit that he is a child of God, a fellow heir with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Romans 8:16-17), and with this mighty sonship, comes the privilege to work for the Lord of all creation.  That’s grace!

 

Therefore, he who cherishes such grace must consequently pour it out on others.  It not only logical, it’s compelling.  When people talk with me, see me interact with others, listen to me preach and teach the word before groups, they must know that the God of all grace dwells richly in me.  Those who knew me when I was a child of wrath, must see the grace of God shining through all the more brightly and intensely.  If they don’t, I have preached, taught or spoken in unholiness, profaning the grace God poured out so uncompromisingly upon me.

 

Friends, God has chosen not many wise, not many noble, not many mighty, to serve him (1 Corinthians 1:26-30).  Why?  So that when they see his people doing his work, they must think, “That must be God doing it through them because that person just isn’t like that.”

 

“That, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:31

I can’t think of a better verse to sum up the doctrines of grace.  GOD DID IT!

 

Amazing Grace!  Recently, I haven’t been able to sing that hymn in worship without having to hold my composure.  It’s suddenly so sweet.

 

Working with you to treasure the Amazement of Grace,

 

Vince R.

 

Works Cited:

 

Piper, John.  John Newton:  The Tough Roots of His Habitual Tenderness.  Accessed on April 25, 2008.  http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1485_John_Newton_The_Tough_Roots_of_His_Habitual_Tenderness/

 

Why Scattered Suffering Saints Can Still Say, “Yes, Lord.” An Easter Exposition of 1 Peter 1:1-3

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.” 1 Peter 1:1-2

The apostle Peter, a great man of God, bold and zealous for the faith, writes his letter to suffering saints.

But, we should ask, why do they suffer?

Because they are obedient to their Lord.  This, I think, is the main application of this text.

Friends, if you are not suffering in some way for being a Christian, you must ask yourself: “Am I being obedient to my Lord?”

If not, you must repent, and obey your master who is in heaven.

Your suffering is not your back ache. It is not the fact that you are growing up, and life is complicating.  All of that experience is just life.  Even the pagans suffer in that way!

But you, child of the Most High, are called to obey your Father.

And He has promised it; the world will hate you for it when you do.  John 15:18-20 says:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

Friends, consider: He says this to his disciples directly following his discourse on the vine and the branches in John 15:1-17, whereby he asserts that all of his followers will bear fruit. He declares it resolutely and definitively. His people are obedient to him. Though they may have bad moments in which a bad fruit appears, their lives are defined by good fruit, that is, obedience to their Lord. Look at the text:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1-2

Not only does he promise that his people will be obedient, but even when they are, they will still be pruned. “…every branch that does bear fruit he prunes…”

Do you think that this feels good? Of course not! It hurts to be pruned. But look at why they are pruned:

“…that [they] may bear more fruit.”

Astonishing! It hurts in order that they may be even more obedient to him.

God puts his own through trials. Do you seriously think that He does not control those trials? He owns those people.  They are His.  They are kept.

So, I hope, you see that obedience to God brings about persecution from the world.

That is the situation of Peter’s readers. They are obedient saints suffering for their obedience.

Look at the end of verse 2 again:

“To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion… for obedience to Jesus Christ.”

Do you see it?

So again, I ask: Are you suffering for obeying your Lord?

I want you to notice three foundations for this outcome of obedience to Jesus Christ.  They are given in verse 2.

1.) God’s foreknowledge.

“To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion…according to the foreknowledge of God.” v.v. 1 and 2

Now there are two possible meanings behind this text. We must ask Peter which he means. Or does he mean both?

Does he mean they are ‘elect” according to the foreknowledge of God?

Does he mean they are “exiles of the dispersion” according to the foreknowledge of God?

Or possibly, does he mean both? Are they “elect” and “exiles of the dispersion” according to the foreknowledge of God?

I am going to argue for the former but with a confidence that the latter is still true and supports my case.

There is explicit biblical support for the first, and there is implicit support for the second.

First, they are elect according to God’s foreknowledge.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:28-30

That is the great chain link of grace.

He foreknew his people in an intimate way long before they were born. v. 29a

He predestines them to be conformed to the image of his Son (only God’s people will be conformed to his Son’s image) v. 29b

He calls those he predestined to life even when they are dead in trespasses and sins walking according to the prince of the world i.e. Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3)

He justifies those who he called out of death into life. Justification means that they are imputed with the righteousness of Christ because of the faith they have in Christ even when they themselves are unrighteous. (Romans 3:21-24)

He will also call them to glorification (which means that they will be totally conformed to Christ’s image, and they will gain their uncorrupted inheritance). (1 Peter 1:4-5)

All of this is grace sovereignly bestowed on them in such a way that is totally independent of any good or bad they themselves have. (Romans 9:9-12)

This is a hugely disputed doctrine, yet Peter affirms it plainly, using it as a huge foundation for the obedience of God’s people in verses two.  In verse three, he will praise God for it.

Also, I said that their dispersion must have been according to God’s foreknowledge.

In Hebrews 11, the writer says:

“[The saints of the Old Testament] all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth.” Hebrews 11:13

So we establish that saints (people with faith in God), are strangers and exiles on earth.

All of them experience the suffering of strangeness and “exileness” when they are obedient to God.  Every Old Testament example given in Hebrews 11 testifies that those with faith in God are obedient. The writer cites the obedience resulting from faith displayed in Abraham (verse 8-10), Isaac (verse 20), Jacob (verse 21), Joseph (verse 22), Moses (verse 23-29), etc.

Also note that when Jesus spoke to the disciples, he promised they would be persecuted.

“…he began to say to his disciples first…I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God? Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Luke 12:1, 4-7

In this passage, Jesus is proving the greater by stating the lesser. If God takes such good care of sparrows, not forgetting even one, then he will take better care of his followers, and never forget a single one. If he has such an intimate understanding of his followers that he numbers their very hairs, then he will most certainly take care of them in all things.

That testifies to God’s care for his people in suffering through obedience.

But Jesus continues:

“And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 12:11-12

Jesus makes a bold statement in which he guarantees the suffering of his servants, and subsequently, he promises that the Holy Spirit will guide them in that time.

Why promise that which will not be needed? Jesus promises the Holy Spirit during these hardships. If God’s people are definitely his people (as we looked at earlier), then their hardships are not given apart from his will.

Christ’s obedience to the Father was displayed in his death on the cross (Philippians 2:8), our mind is to be like his (Philippians 2:5).

People like to use that Scripture in Philippians 2 to emphasize being humble before others. But that is not the point of the text. Obedience to the Father is the point of the text.

That takes humility before God. No one can have one mind and love (Phil. 2:2), avoid rivalry and conceit (Phil. 2:3a), in humility count others more significant than themselves (Phil. 2:3b), or look to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4), if they are not first being humble before God the Father in obedience like Christ did. That is point of Philippians 2:5.

“Have this mind among yourselves, which [was also] in Christ Jesus.”

That mind is humility and obedience to the Father in heaven.

Do you see where man-centered preaching takes you? It thwarts the obedience that glorifies God.

But I digress…

Lastly,

If Christ’s suffering was preordained according to the foreknowledge of God (Acts 2:23), why wouldn’t the suffering of his people (those being conformed to his image) be foreknown in the same way?

2 and 3.) The Sanctification of the Spirit.

The elect are going to be obedient to Christ because of the sanctification of the Spirit.

There are two sanctifications spoken of in Scripture.

One is the sanctification whereby God’s people are washed from their sins in the regeneration (that is to be washed by the blood of Christ).

Because of the nature of verse 2, I am inclined to think that this is what Peter meant primarily but not exclusively.

“You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11

Christians are washed from their sins with the blood of Christ, by the Spirit of God.

In that moment, their sins are washed away, and they are set apart as belonging completely and totally to God.

This is the first sanctification spoken of in Scripture. It is positional. It is where the Christian stands. He stands as belonging to and set apart for God.

But as before, I am also convinced that the other type of sanctification spoken of in Scripture is true too for Peter, and it holds as an additional foundation for the obedience of which Peter speaks and of which I am trying to prove is the reason for the suffering of the saints.

In this sanctification, the Spirit works in the Christian to put the disobedient flesh to death and to bring about obedience.

This is called progressive because this sanctification takes time. It spans the life of the believer.

“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brother beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

I think that in these verses, Paul is thanking God for the believers at Thessalonica because God chose them to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit to obtain the glory of Christ. This obtaining is something that happens in the future. It is the glorification spoken of in Romans 8:30. The sanctification is the means by which this obtaining will happen. It is like a tunnel through which the believer must go before he will be saved at the end.

“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Again, Paul speaks of the time in the future when God’s people will be saved. He prays that God will sanctify them completely. Now does he mean that he hopes that all their sins will be washed away before Jesus comes back, that hopefully God will not accidentally forget to wash a sin or two with the blood of Christ?

I really don’t think so. That is not the nature or context of Paul’s prayer. He prays that they will be blameless on that last day. Though be knows God will do it, he prays (to encourage the believers at Thessalonica) that God will continue what he started and completely sanctify His people.

Paul wants God to continue to work in them in order to bring about those fruits he mentioned in the previous verses (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22), so they may be “…blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul clearly wants God to make them ready for a time in the future when Christ comes back.

It is also noteworthy that one of the reasons Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica is that some were trying to confuse them about the second coming of Christ. Paul clearly is keeping the future in mind.

I also think Peter is keeping the future in mind in this passage. Look at verse 5:

“[Believers] by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Thusly, both positional and progressive sanctification are in Peter’s mind here, but by virtue of the blood of Christ mentioned in verse 2 (which provides the third point), I think he wanted to emphasize the saint’s positional sanctification.

As I have proved, I hope, the elect, exiled in the dispersion around the world, will bring about “obedience to Jesus Christ” because of three main foundations:

1.) God the Father’s foreknowledge

2.) God the Spirit’s sanctification

3.) God the Son’s obedience (the blood shed on the cross used to sanctify the believer).

Then, note the very end of verse 2.

“May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

Peter wants to bless the suffering saints by showing them the grace of God and the peace that surpasses all understanding. Here is how he shows it, and in this way we see how this relates to Easter Sunday:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

He declares a state of blessing in which God resides. God is “makarios.” He is “divinely happy.” That is what ”blessed” means in the Greek.  Peter declares God’s perfectly happy fellowship with himself for his own great work. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!” “He is perfectly happy with himself,” and here is why he says that about God.

“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”

Do you see the demonstration of God’s perfect happiness with himself?

There can be no resurrection like the one spoken of at the end of this verse if Jesus Christ did not die.

So we see that the death of Christ on the cross threads this passage like a precious string keeping it all together.

Peter is saying this: “Blessed be God the Father! He sent his Son to die! His Son shed the very blood that washes the sins of his people! He also raised his Son from the dead!”

And here is where the grace is:

Those two mighty acts of God, the sending of his Son to die and the resurrection of the Son sandwich something that should encourage the suffering saints and give them peace.

“…he has caused us to be born again to a living hope…”

Do you see the finely cut and succulent meat that resides between those two perfectly placed pieces of bread?

The Son dies and is resurrected from the dead.

Because of this, sinners are born again or born from above by the Spirit (John 3:1-8), and therefore, they have hope. And it is not just any hope: It is a living hope. It survives. It endures. It lasts.

The death and resurrection of Christ is the only hope of saints who will suffer for being obedient to their Lord.

So do you see my point?

After all of this, we see lastly and resolutely that obedience for the glory of God is the lasting fruit of a life reborn by the work of Christ because they have a hope to endure the suffering of obedience.

This opens so many doors for you, Christian.

It means that you have been set free from sin and death to a living hope which enables you to do radical things for Christ, things that will turn the world upside down.

To be obedient to another will means to die to your own. And if we die to ourselves like he did, even to the point of a literal death, then what a promise thereafter! We shall also share in his resurrection.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:6

So be obedient and live a sanctified (set apart) life for God.

“[Now] that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:22-23

You are not your own. You are sanctified, you are washed, you are bought, and you are His.

I promise you this: God takes better care of his things than you do.

So in light of that, even death itself acts as a grace opening the door to paradise. In light of that, what have you to worry about? Death is the worst they can do.

“Let goods and kindred go/this mortal life also/the body they may kill/God’s truth abideth still/His kingdom is forever.” –Martin Luther, A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Easter Sunday is a yearly reminder to go do something for the kingdom, lest the death and resurrection of Christ be a vanity in your life signifying nothing.

Like the saints of old (the ones in Hebrews 11 and the ones to whom Peter wrote), you are called to bear your cross just like Christ did on that Good Friday. His cross was obedience to His Father. So is yours.

Just be obedient and God will do the rest.

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Luke 12:29-32

Working with you to do bold things for God’s kingdom because of our living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

Vince R.

Happy Easter!

All texts taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version 2005.