The book of Proverbs has a great deal to say about the kind of friends we should choose, as well as the kind we should avoid. One very important characteristic of a good friend is also one that might, in our pride, be difficult to take: frank honesty.
Solomon highly values the quality of honesty, of frank (but gracious) truthfulness. Let me single out two reasons such a friend is so important.
First, you and I want a truthful friend. Note Proverbs 14:5—
A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness breaths out lies.
A friend is not necessarily someone who will tell us what we want to hear. But a friend certainly is someone who will tell us what is true—and what we need to hear.
Second, you and I need a truthful friend (Prov. 27:5-6):
Better is open rebuke Than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; Profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
Actually, when you consider all the grief that one can catch for administering needed rebuke, we realize that someone who is willing to take the risk is likely to be a true friend. Remember: the only person who does not need a friend who willing to rebuke him is the man who has no sin or error to rebuke—which, at present, is a phonebook with no names in it.
As a postscript, we must not neglect our part in this. If we want friends who feel free to correct us or reprove us, we should make it easy for them. Remember, Solomon wrote “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning” (Prov. 9:9). Where did Solomon learn this attitude? Perhaps from his father, who sang “Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it” (Psa. 141:5).
Ask yourself: Do my friends find rebuking me to be a low-stress experience, or even a rewarding experience? Or would they rather wrestle a wild boar?
Quite a while ago, I received an email asking about my conversion from Lutheranism to Reformed theology. I’ve decided to post my answer here.
Why did I move from Lutheranism to Reformed theology?
That’s a long story. First, I should say that I am not Truly Reformed®. I subscribe to the “Five Solas” (salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone), and am soteriologically Calvinistic, but I am not necessarily Reformed-kosher on the covenants or eschatology, and I am credobaptist.
I didn’t move directly from Lutheranism to Reformed theology. That theological journey began with difficulties I had with a couple of areas of Lutheran doctrine. One of those was Lutheran sacramentalism—consubstantiation in the Lord’s Supper, and paedobaptism, especially baptismal regeneration. The other was soteriological—I became increasingly Arminian as (I think) a result of contradictory practices in my church. While Lutheran soteriology is essentially monergistic (though a bit muddled on that count), the evangelistic methods of my church were distinctly revivalist. I was pretty confused, and became a devout synergist.
Sometime in the mid-eighties, I began listening to John MacArthur on the radio. I didn’t know he was a Calvinist at first, or I probably wouldn’t have listened long. By the time I caught on to his Calvinism, I was already hooked on his expository preaching, something I had never heard before. Through his ministry, my mind was opened to at least consider the claims of Reformed theology. As my synergistic and legalistic prejudices fell away, and as I learned to study the Bible without those presuppositions, the doctrines of grace became clear and undeniable.
I wasn’t particularly happy about this. I suppose it was my pride that struggled against it. Accepting the fact that I had played no part in my conversion was difficult, but worse still was the embarrassment of having argued loudly and at great length against Calvinist heretics for several years—and now I was one.
But, by the grace of God, I got over it, and now rejoice in the assurance that can only come through knowing that salvation is all—really all—by the sovereign will of God, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and that nothing—truly nothing—can ever separate me from the love of God.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
—Romans 8:28–30
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.
We are all selfish by nature, and tend to hold high opinions of ourselves. Consequently, we tend to take offense easily and, once offended, want satisfaction. In those situations, Solomon counsels restraint.
Solomon analyzes in [Proverbs] 17:14 why strife in a relationship is such a disaster—
The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So quit before the quarrel breaks out.
Here he envisions a situation such as a breach in a dam. First, a little water gets out. But then this flow causes further erosion of the dam, and the flow increases. If nothing is done, the dam eventually breaks down entirely and a flood results.
Let us transfer the simile back to human relations. Let us say that we have been wronged in some minor way (i.e., a cross word in a marriage, as opposed to adultery). We know that it is best to “love it over.” However, we find ourselves obsessing on the offense, with all our feelings of injured pride clamoring at us. So what do we do? Do we keep bringing it up until a fight starts? Solomon counsels wisdom and self-control. He observes that a quarrel is easier to start than it is to resolve, and less difficult to prevent than to stop. “Opening such a sluice lets loose more than one can predict, control or retrieve.”
Accordingly, Solomon’s advice is to forsake, abandon, leave the quarrel before it even starts. Perhaps second thought will drive one back to the first solution: love it over.
He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
—Isaiah 53:3–6
Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed?
Alas! and did my Savior bleed? And did my Sov’reign die? Would he devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?
Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
Well might the sun in darkness hide, And shut his glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker, died For man the creature’s sin.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away— ’Tis all that I can do.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Mortification
O divine Lawgiver,
I take shame to myself for open violations to thy law, for my secret faults, my omissions of duty, my unprofitable attendance upon means of grace, my carnality in worshipping thee, and all the sins of my holy things.
My iniquities are increased over my head:
My trespasses are known in the heavens, and there Christ is gone also, my Advocate with the Father, my propitiation for sins, and I hear his word of peace.
At present it is a day of small things with me, I have light enough to see my darkness, sensibility enough to feel the hardness of my heart, spirituality enough to mourn my want of a heavenly mind; but I might have had more, I ought to have had more, I have never been straitened in thee, thou hast always placed before me an infinite fullness, and I have not taken it.
I confess and bewail my deficiencies and backslidings:
I mourn my numberless failures, my incorrigibility under rebukes, my want of profiting under ordinances of mercy, my neglect of opportunities for usefulness.
It is not with me as in months past;
O recall me to thyself, and enable me to feel my first love.
May my improvements correspond with my privileges,
May my will accept the decisions of my judgement, my choice be that which conscience approves, and may I never condemn myself in the things I allow!
22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.
—1 Corinthians 7
The Servant And The Freeman Of Christ.
A Christian is one who is “called,” not by self or man, but by God. The voice that calls him is almighty, irresistible. He must needs obey. He is born “of the will of God.”
He is called “in the Lord.” This refers not so much to his being called by the Lord, as to his being called to be “in the Lord.” Christ in him and he in Christ, this is his standing. As once he was “in the world,” and in himself, so now he is “in the Lord.”
He is not of any one nation. According to the flesh, he may be a Jew or a Gentile, a Greek or a Roman, a barbarian, a Scythian, an African, an Indian, or a Briton. According to the Spirit, his nationality is not of earth; his citizenship is in heaven.
He is not of any special condition or rank. He may be a servant or a master, a peasant or a monarch, a merchant or a ploughman, a man of learning or a half-witted beggar.
Yet these two things are common to each,—he is called, and he is in the Lord. The other things connected with him are unessential and unenduring. These two only are important and abiding.
Keeping this in mind, the apostle takes up the two great conditions of society in his day,—master and slave,—in order to bring out the true and high bearing of Christianity on these. If you be a servant, what then? If a master, what then? These are the two questions he answers.
The answers to these two questions are contained in these two statements. A Christian is the Lord’s freeman; a Christian is Christ’s servant.
I. A Christian is the Lord’s freeman. This expression means the following things:—
(1.) He was once a slave. He was not born free. He did not free himself. Like Israel in Egypt, he was “delivered.”
(2.) He was set free by the Lord. The name of his liberator is a glorious one; one betokening power and authority. His former masters were sin, the flesh, the devil. From these this mighty Lord hath set him free.
(3.) As a free man he still belongs to Christ. Nay, he belongs more to Him than ever; more to Him than to his former masters. A new tie has been formed between him and the Lord; the tie of liberty; the tie of love; the tie of gratitude.
(4.) His life is one of liberty. There is no return to bondage. All is the joy of freedom, Christ’s own freedom; true, heavenly liberty; liberty in every part; perfect throughout; yet not the liberty of self-will.
(5.) His is liberty which earthly service cannot affect. He may be a slave or a prisoner, he is still the Lord’s freeman. Hands, and feet, and body may be in chains, he is as free as ever. No earthly bondage can intermeddle with or neutralize this liberty.
But how and when does all this begin? In what way is it carried on?
(1.) Ye are bought with a price. A ransom has been paid for our liberation; and the spring of all our liberty comes from this ransom. Christ hath redeemed us. We are redeemed not with corruptible things, but ‘with the precious blood of Christ.
(2.) If the Son make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Our liberty is the direct work of the Son of God. He unbinds us and disimprisons us. He became a bondman for us. He took our chains and prison that we might have his liberty.
(3.) The truth shall make you free. The truth revealed in Christ contains in it all liberating elements and ingredients. It neutralizes and undoes all that made us slaves. And from the moment that we know it we are free! Our belief of this liberating truth sets us at full liberty.
II. A Christian is Christ’s servant. Freed from one service which is bondage, he enters another which is liberty. Though free, he is a servant! Free because a servant! A servant because free! Such is the wonderful yet happy contradiction. As Messiah is the Father’s servant, come to do His will, so are we Messiah’s servants, engaged to do His will.
Thus we are both freemen and servants, truly both. And we begin our liberty and our service at the same time and in the same way. That truth which sets us free, introduces us into service. The two, so far from being incompatible, are harmonious and helpful to each other. If we are Christ’s servants, then we wear His livery; we dwell in His house; we do His work; we fix our eye on Him; we merge our wills in His; we get His wages, His reward,—”Well done good and faithful servant.” Let us then realize and act out both our freemanship and our service faithfully and fully; at all times; all places; all conditions. Freemen, yet servants always! Servants, yet freemen always.
Let us close with the apostolic use of this truth. Are we masters? Let us remember we are Christ’s servants, and only masters under Him; let this keep us humble and kind. We have a good, kind Master; let us be good and kind. Are we servants? Let not this trouble us or make us fretful. We are the Lord’s freemen! That makes up for all. Though we were chained, imprisoned, exiled, like Paul at Rome, or John at Patmos, we are free! Nothing on earth can interfere with this privilege, or rob us of this honour; we are free indeed. Ours is glorious liberty.
I am much too hung over from the big Superbowl party yesterday to post anything original today. Perhaps this would be a good day to link all my previous sports-related posts. Grab some Cheetos, plop down on the couch, and enjoy—or don't.
Fast Food Foolishness, or Fans Fail Fabulously In which I really ticked off some Packers fans. Unfortunately, this post mysteriously disappeared. I found it via Google and reposted it, but could not restore the angry comments.
* Someone help me: what's a scholarly-sounding word for dislike of sports?
Here’s something that may have flown under your radar:
If you haven’t listened to the audio of the recent Every Thought Captive Conference featuring Tim Challies and Frank Turk, you really should. Sessions include:
Panel discussion with Tim Challies, Frank Turk, Pastor Larry McCall of Christ’s Covenant Church and Pastor Nate Harlan of Trinity Evangelical Church. Moderator: John Mergy of Trinity. Master of ceremonies: Tim Bushong of Trinity.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”
—Genesis 2:18
It was this lack of a “soul-mate” that God had in mind in saying the first “not good.” Adam needed a helper, and particularly a helper corresponding to him, for assistance and companionship. Adam would be in charge, as Scripture makes clear. But that would not mean that Adam’s wife was of inferior worth, since she would be “corresponding to him.” She alone, of all creation, would share humanity with Adam, would bear the image of God with him.
The stubborn refusal to recognize the possibility of an equality of worth coexisting with inequality of function is simply a perversion of our culture.
Never forget, then, God’s design: God created Adam—as He created all things—for His service. As such, God’s design would never have been to create someone to make it harder or more miserable for Adam to serve Him. Rather, God would create someone to better facilitate Adam’s service to Him.
Since this was the specific reason for which God created the first wife—to be a helper corresponding to him—this means that the woman would really find her greatest happiness in embracing what God created her to be. Unwise women might not think so (Prov. 14:1), but it remains true, nonetheless.
One popular opinion says that fighting within a marriage is healthy. Contrary to that, Dan Phillips believes “that this is a lie, and a harmful one at that. A married couple should never fight.” This is why:
A husband should never participate in a fight (I choose my words deliberately here) because:
A veritable pile of proverbs praise self-control and condemn giving in to temper, of which this is only a sample: 14:29; 16:32; 17:27; 20:3.
He is to care for his wife as Christ cares for the church—which excludes identifying her as a target or an opponent to be “taken down” (Eph. 5:23).
“She started it,” even if true, simply means that the husband should respond as Christ calls all Christians to respond to attack, as the following small selection may serve to remind:
“. . . if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matt. 5:39b) Remember that this slap is an insult, as one’s wife might become insulting during a fight. In Matthew 5:38–42 Jesus rules out responding in kind.
Cf. also 1 Peter 2:21–23; 3:8–9.
A wife should never participate in a fight because:
See “a” above.
The wife is called by God to subordinate herself to her husband (Eph, 5:22, 24, 33; Col. 3:18; 1 Peter 3:1–6), and there simply is no room for fighting, as defined above, from such a position.
See “c” above.
A woman who sees herself free to resist, denigrate and fight her husband is not emulating Proverbs 31:12, and cannot expect the blessing of Proverbs 31:11.
Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from Your ways, like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devises and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against Your holy laws. We have left undone those things that we ought t have done, and we have done those things that we ought not to have done, and there is no health in us. But You, O Lord, have mercy upon us miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults! Restore those who are penitent according to Your promises declared to mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake, that we may heareafter live godly, righteous, and sober lives to the glory of Your holy name. Amen.
In a way, this is a quintessential evangelical gospel song, with it’s emphasis on how I feel and what I’ll do. On the other hand, it does present a broad picture of what Christ accomplished on the cross: pardon, sanctification, and finally, glorification.
The Old rugged Cross
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suff’ring and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, Till my trophies at last I lay down; I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me; For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary. Refrain
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine, A wondrous beauty I see, For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me. Refrain
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach gladly bear; Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away, Where His glory forever I’ll share. Refrain
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Hymn 85.(s. m.) Salvation, righteousness, and strength in Christ. Isa. xlv. 21—25
The Lord on high proclaims His Godhead from his throne: “Mercy and justice are the names By which I will be known.
“Ye dying souls that sit In darkness and distress, Look from the borders of the pit To my recov’ring grace.”
Sinners shall hear the sound; Their thankful tongues shall own, “Our righteousness and strength is found In thee, the Lord, alone.”
In thee shall Isr’el trust, And see their guilt forgiv’n; God will pronounce the sinners just, And take the saints to heav’n.
—from The Psalms & Hymns of Isaac Watts. Hymns and Spiritual Songs. Book I: Collected from the Holy Scriptures (Soli Deo Gloria, 1997).
23 You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.
—1 Corinthians 7
True Service And True Freedom.
There is a liberty which no human bondage can affect or curtail,—“If the Son make you free, ye shall be free indeed”; and there is a bondage which no high sounding words about liberty can break or loosen,—“They promise them liberty, while they themselves are the servants of corruption.” Where the truth reigns in the soul there is liberty; where error prevails there is bondage; for truth liberates, error enslaves. The great words of our day, “liberty,” “liberal,” and “liberalism,” may come from hearts in bondage to sin, and may be perhaps the worst indications of that deep hatred of God, which cannot tolerate any holy restraints either upon their opinions or their lives. Liberalism is often the worst form of intolerance.
But let us look at the Apostle’s line of argument with these Corinthian saints. “Were you called to Christ when a slave?” he asks. “Don’t concern yourself about that,” he answers; only if you may be free, avail yourself of the opportunity. He who is called while a slave, is not the less Christ’s freeman; and he that is called while free, is not the less Christ’s servant. In whatever state you are, bond or free, remember to abide with God; His fellowship sanctifies and sweetens every condition of human life. Mark the fullness of His statement:
(1.) Ye are bought. The price has been paid down. Previous ownership is dissolved.
(2.) Ye are bought with a price. That means with a good large sum; not for a trifle.
(3.) Ye are bought by Christ. Jesus is the purchaser. He wanted you for His property, and so he paid the full and heavy price.
(4.) Ye are bought for Christ. Not for another. Not to be sold again. His forever.
(5.) Ye are bought for a kingdom. Not to be servants, but kings. Heirs of God.
If these things are so, how incongruous, how degrading, to be the servants of men! This exhortation is very needful; for Christians are too prone to forget their true liberty and dignity; nay, to sell these,—to despise their birthright for some earthly consideration, some poor mess of pottage.
Be not the servants of men! Ye who are Christ’s blood-bought freemen,—do not stoop to such bondage and degradation. Be not the servants of
(1.) Custom. Earth’s customs and manners too often come between us and our birthright. Be on your guard.
(2.) Pleasure. Slaves of pleasure,—of lust, of vanity, of gaiety, of folly,—how inconsistent with Christ’s freemen!
(3.) Business. Yes, even of lawful business, men are often slaves. Shall Christ’s freemen be so?
(4.) Opinion. We fall into what is called public opinion, and shrink from independent thought and action.
(5.) Routine. “The course of this world” is often our only reason for a certain line of action. We do as others do; we allow our time to be broken up by worldly calls, parties, dinners, meetings, when as Christ’s servants we ought to be doing His work. The routine of the world is carried into the church; and the routine of the “religious world” is weariness and slavery.
Do not be hangers on of the great, or rich, or influential, either in church or state. Do not be subservient to the leaders of party, or the representatives of public opinion, or the politicians of the day. Quit you like men. Be independent. Act on your own judgment, and follow out your own honest conclusions. Be not carried away with the excitement of controversy, or the enthusiasm of partisanship. Do not be obsequious, trimming, or facing both ways. Be upright before God and man. One is your Master, even Christ; follow Him. To follow others is to bring ourselves into bondage; to make ourselves servants of men. Be calm, be steadfast and unmovable, with your eye upon the great day of sifting, when the Judge shall reckon with you as to your fidelity to Himself Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ bath made us free. Be not carried away either with the fear of the many. Be not overawed by the fear of man, which bringeth a snare, or influenced by the love of his approbation, which is no less ensnaring. To your own Master you stand or fall.
Fundies should take this post for medicinal purposes only.*
Having managed to make February 13 without getting sick this winter, I’ve finally succumbed to a nasty cold. I don’t know where I got it; I suspect an Arminian/Democrat conspiracy to silence me. I’ve accomplished next to nothing today, unless you count sneezing, nose-blowing, and napping. All things considered, I’ve felt better. But I’m fighting back with my own remedy, held in strict secrecy until now. As a service to mankind, I now make it public.
David’s Hot Toddy Cold Remedy
Step 1: Combine
2oz water
2oz lemon juice
2oz honey
orange slice
cinnamon stick
dash of nutmeg
Step 2:
heat to boiling
add 2oz bourbon
be comforted
Substitutions:
reduce the water to 1oz water, omit the orange slice, and substitute 1oz orange juice
ground cinnamon
The Remedy works especially well when combined with a hot tub.
* As Paul said to Timothy, “Take some whiskey for your sinuses.” Or something like that.
A pastor I know told the story of a young man he encountered at a truck stop. This young man was standing by the magazine rack, perusing a pornographic magazine. Seeing this, the pastor stood alongside him and said, softly, “What would your mother think if she could see you now?” Embarrassed, possibly shamed, even, the young man put the magazine back and walked away. The pastor felt quite satisfied that he had done a good deed in turning the young man from his vice. He considered himself to have been a good witness for Christ.
Several people I have known have told of their experiences with coworkers and other acquaintances who habitually take the Lord’s name in vain. Their approach is to tell the offenders how bad it makes them feel to hear their Lord and Savior blasphemed. They often achieve positive results by this method, and therefore think they are good witnesses for their faith.
Less looking at porn, less cussing—good things, don’t you think? But you’ve probably guessed that I don’t think very highly of the “witnesses” in either case. Can you see what’s wrong with these pictures?
The first problem that most will recognize is that both examples are pure law, and as one commenter yesterday pointed out, it’s not even good law. At best, it only produces, and indeed, only aims to produce, changed behavior. Changed behavior might be nice for polite society, and might even put the offender on his way toward his “best life now,” but it is meaningless to God, who sees the inside of the cup and the dead bones beneath beautiful gravestones (Matthew 23:25–28).
But the fundamental fault of the finger-wagging evangelists is that they preach idolatry, and no yeah-buts about it. They both appeal to an authority other than God, and thereby replace Yahweh with another god.
In the first case, the pastor appeals first to Mom-god. Mom would be offended if she knew what Sonny was up to, so Sonny should stop. Second, he appeals to Sonny’s sentiments about Mom. Really, he isn’t laying aside his porn for Mom’s sake, since she’ll never know, anyway. He’s laying it aside because of the uncomfortable juxtaposition of porn plus Mom. So, depending upon Sonny’s disposition, the pastor’s Mom-god is auto-translated into a Mom/Sonny-god, or just a Sonny-god. And if that isn’t bad enough, there is a third possibility: Sonny only walked away because that busybody pastor annoyed him. He’ll be back, because really, he is his own god, and nothing has changed. Nothing, that is, except that he is now more hardened to preaching in general, including genuine gospel preaching. Way to go, Pastor!
The second case is much like the first. This time, the blasphemer is asked to desist in deference to the preacher’s feelings, making the preacher God. Again, as in the first case, there is a good chance that the offender is complying out of self-interest. He might simply be taking the path of least resistance for the sake of peace, or he might do it for the satisfying sense of self-righteousness his better behavior will produce. The reason for this is fundamental: we can preach a mom-god or a me-god, but all to whom Jesus is not Lord recognize only one god, that is, self. So they will respond in whatever way pleases their deity most.
Now, some might object and insist that I have a better idea before criticizing others. Some might shoot back with, “Oh, yeah? Well, I like the way I’m doing it better than the way you’re not doing it.” To the latter, I submit Matthew 23:15: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.” That’s right: the way I’m not doing it—assuming I’m not “doing it”—is better than the way you’re doing it. Therefore, to the former, I can say that, no, I don’t need a better idea before criticizing a really bad one, any more than I need a good meatloaf recipe before telling you not to eat raw pork.
Nevertheless, a person should be prepared to apply the gospel when opportunities arise (1 Peter 3:15). So, what would I do? In the first case, probably nothing. Unless I was given some other opening into his life that might lead to the gospel, I wouldn’t pounce on him for something that, frankly, does not matter. Porn is not his problem; his problem is that Jesus is not his Lord. The last thing I want to do is anything that might make him feel improved outside of Christ.
The same is largely true of the cursing coworker. Honestly, I can’t think of a single reason to confront an unbeliever over his language (and this is a situation most of us have probably faced). Now we’re talking about people we know. We have the opportunity to live out our faith in front of them. They notice how we behave. They know what’s important to us. Eventually, we are likely to have the chance to talk about it. Will we? Let’s not let them think that our tender ears are what matters to us.
Something happened with yesterday’s post. Apparently, in a fog of sinus pain and sneezing, I posted an unfinished draft. The final version, intended for publishing, has disappeared. Anyway, it included something like this:
Anytime we confront someone with his sin, we ought to be clear about whom the sin offends. If our objections demand apologies to us or other human parties alone, we have failed to preach the gospel. A genuine gospel witness, received properly (which we cannot guarantee by any method) will result in Psalm 51-style repentance:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
You have likely seen the YouTube video of the father shooting up his rebellious daughter’s laptop. If at least a part of you didn’t take pleasure in that display, I don’t think I care to know you. On the other hand, you might also have read Phil Johnson’s reaction to that video. If you can’t see the wisdom in his response, I hope you’ll reread and rethink it.
In short, I agree with Phil on this. However . . .
I really wish he hadn’t used the term “gun violence.” Now, before I start on that, let me be clear: I don’t know where Phil stands on 2nd Amendment issues, and I’m not assuming anything by implication. The act in question was violent, and the instrument was a gun. Fair enough. I don’t think he was making any kind of statement about gun control. (Here endeth the disclaimer.) But if the laptop had been beaten to pieces with a hammer or a baseball bat, I suspect Phil would simply have said, “. . . I cannot endorse violence as an appropriate teaching tool . . .” I doubt very much that he would have written “hammer violence” or “bat violence.”
What’s the big deal? Well, as the title says, this is a Freedom Friday post. Liberty is my concern today. Words have power to affect the way people think. I can hear you all saying, “Well, duh, that’s why we use them,” so I know you’ll understand when I say that using language like “gun violence” creates a certain association in people’s minds. When that language is heard often enough, all one has to hear is “gun,” and violence (i.e., negative, criminal violence) is assumed. That kind of thinking is erroneous, and it is a threat to liberty.
Like I said, I’m as sure as I can be that Phil Johnson had none of that in mind. I’m sure he would agree that being beaten to death with bare fists is no better than a bullet to the head. But there is a segment of the population who thinks otherwise; they are way over-represented in Washington, and I’d rather defeat them at the words stage. The “cold, dead fingers” stage is much less attractive.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
—Matthew 27:27–31
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown,
How art thou pale with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
How doth Thy visage languish which once was bright as morn!
What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! ’Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor, vouchsafe to me Thy grace.
What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever! and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to Thee!
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Hymn LXVI. Trust of the wicked, and the righteous compared. Jeremiah xvii. 5—8. John Newton (1725–1807)
As parched in the barren sands Beneath a burning sky, The worthless bramble with’ring stands, And only grows to die.
Such is the sinner’s aweful case, Who makes the world his trust; And dares his confidence to place In vanity and dust.
A secret curse destroys his root, And dries his moisture up; He lives awhile, but bears no fruit, Then dies without a hope.
But happy he whose hopes depend Upon the Lord alone; The soul that trusts in such a friend, Can ne’er be overthrown.
Tho’ gourds should wither, cisterns break, And creature–comforts die; No change his solid hope can shake, Or stop his sure supply.
So thrives and blooms the tree whose roots By constant streams are fed; Array’d in green, and rich in fruits, It rears its branching head.
It thrives, though rain should be deny’d, And drought around prevail; ’Tis planted by a river’s side Whose waters cannot fail.
—Olney Hymns. Book I: On Select Passages of Scripture.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
—1 Corinthians 7
A Vanishing World.
In the midst of counsels and exhortations about the relationships of life, the apostle stops abruptly, and interposes an emphatical announcement bearing upon all these relationships, “but this I say, brethren,” as if lifting up his voice more loudly, and interrupting the line of discourse, by the proclamation of these three parenthetical verses, a proclamation importing this, “but after all brethren, these are but the little things of earth, the transient and temporary arrangements of our brief life below; let them not be exalted or magnified beyond their due; they are but the arrangements of a day; not to have any stress laid on them or importance attached to them, seeing they shall so soon end, and the world of which they form a part shall so speedily vanish away.”
Mark (1) the two special truths which begin and end this emphatic announcement; (2) the conclusions to be drawn from these.
I. The two special truths. For we take the commencing and concluding declarations as linked together; forming either one great and solemn truth or two kindred truths, bearing both on certain duties and on our estimate of the importance of the things of our daily life. These must be measured by the shortness of time, and the length of eternity.
(1.) The time is short. It is cut short or contracted; it is the time referred to by our Lord (Romans 13:12) “the night is far spent,” or “foreshortened.” It is short for (1) So much is already spent and little remains; (2) Our individual life is brief, even at the longest; (3) The world’s history is drawing to a close; (4) The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Truly the time is short; and each ending year and setting sun says to us, “the time is short,” it is becoming shorter and shorter. “What is our life? It is but a vapor” (James 4:4). “Our days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle” (Job 7:6). “Man that is born of a woman is of few days; he cometh forth as a flower and is cut down, he fleeth as a shadow and continueth not” (Job 14:1-2). “The end of all things is at hand” (2 Peter 4:7).
(2.) The fashion of this world passeth away. The outward form, or scene, or figure of this world is passing, or is just about to pass away.
This “fashion” is what the Apostle John refers to in warning us against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life (or glorying in the good things of life); and of this he says “the world passeth away.” Yes; like a flower; like a mist; like a shadow; like a dream; like a rainbow; like a vision of the night it passeth away; that which we admire in it, and call beautiful, that which men have all along been fascinated by, its glory, its pomp, its glitter, its splendor, its gaiety, its beauty and excellency and grandeur, shall pass away; its songs, and jests, and mirth, and ringing laughter; its shows, its spectacles, its concerts, its balls, its theatres, its operas, with all its haunts of uncleanness and debauchery, its revellings, and banquetings, surfeitings and idolatries of the flesh, all shall pass away. These are not enduring things. Even at their best and purest they are the things of an hour. They fade as a leaf. They are crushed as a flower. They die away like the breeze. A short life is that of the world at its longest; shorter still that of the men of the world; and shortest of all is the frail and shifting fashion of the world. Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!
II. The lessons to be drawn from them. The substance of these lessons is that all earthly things are of minor moment, and ought not to be lifted out of their place, so as to engross us too much, or to be estimated at too high a rate. They are not eternal. They vanish with a vanishing world, and ought to be estimated accordingly. The seen and the corporeal never can be placed beside the unseen and the eternal.
(1.) Earthly relationships are of lesser moment. “It remaineth (or “henceforth” during the contracted space that is left) that both they who have wives, be as though they had none.” The nearest human relationship will soon be dissolved; the closest earthly tie will soon be snapped. Let us not then over estimate it, or give it undue prominence. Let us keep even it, in its proper place. It is, after all, among the things that are seen and temporal. Husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, child, will soon remove; and each soul, unrelationed, unlinked with others, pass from earth alone, into the presence of God.
(2.) Earthly sorrows are of lesser moment. Sorrow is in itself no trifle. Tears are real things. We do not weep for nothing; nor shall we find that a needless piece of kindness that God shall do for us, when He shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. Still tears are among the things seen and temporal. They are unknown in heaven. Our weeping time is so short, that we must not make too much of time’s sorrows. The vale of tears is not a long one. We shall soon be beyond it; and we shall wonder why we gave way to a sadness that was so soon to end, and to be exchanged for the perfect gladness and the everlasting song.
(3.) Earthly joys are of lesser moment. Joy is a real thing. Our hearts were made for gladness. We ought not to despise joy; nor indeed can we afford to do it. We are warranted in making much of joy; only let it not be too much. Let us keep our joys in their proper place; calmly taking them when they come, or as calmly foregoing them when they come not. For the time is short, and the joys we have here will soon be done. The fashion of this world passeth away; let us not then overvalue joy; but take it as if we had it not; sitting tranquilly loose to all that we can gain or lose.
(4.) Earthly business is of lesser moment. Our buying and selling will soon be done. Our merchandize will ere long disappear, for it is part of the fashion of that world which passeth away. Let us be diligent in business, but let us not overrate its importance, nor be engrossed by it. ‘We shall soon buy no more; and sell no more; and make gain no more; and possess no more. Why so eager in business, as if it were eternal? Why so anxious to lay up treasure on earth, where the moth will corrupt it, and the thief break through and steal? Is it worth our while to be so much in earnest about the things that perish with the using?
(5.) Earthly gratifications are of lesser moment. They that use this world as not abusing it (or rather “as not using it at all”). We must use this world while we are in it; we must use its meat, and drink, and raiment; its comforts, its money, its friendships, its necessary recreations, and gratifications. But we are to sit loose from all these; not setting our heart upon them; but holding them as if letting them go, using them as if not using them. They are not sinful, and need not, therefore, be rejected; but they must be kept in their proper place, not coveted nor idolized. For the time is short, and the fashion of this world passeth away. Let the world be no world to us, in comparison of the glory and beauty, the magnitude and the eternity, of the world to come.
Thus, then, is our whole earthly life, in all its parts, to be regulated by the magnitude of the eternal. Things present must be subordinated to those which are to come, the seen to the unseen, the earthly to the heavenly. It is by the light of the coming glory that we must walk while here. It is from the clock of eternity that our time is to be always taken. Arrange your business, your recreations, your duties with reference to the invisible and unending future. Live, speak, work, move, as those who believe that the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Q. 57. What benefits hath Christ procured by his mediation?
A. Christ, by his mediation, hath procured redemption, with all other benefits of the covenant of grace.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Recent conversations with an individual who put heavy emphasis on the “work” of Philippians 2:12 (“work out your salvation with fear and trembling”), and another who sees the work of the Holy Spirit through a mystical/charismatic lens has brought to mind this post, written back in 2009. I thought it worth reposting today.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
—Galatians 5
Tangent: The filling of the Spirit, which is an on-going process throughout every Christian’s life, should not be confused with baptism of the Spirit, which is a one-time event that happens to every believer at the moment of regeneration. (See John MacArthur, The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.)
Notice the word fruit in verse 22. It does not say that the fruits of the Spirit are, but that the fruit . . . is. The list that follows is not of fruits of the Spirit, but various manifestations of that singular fruit. These are the characteristics that flow from being filled with the Spirit. These manifestations are, it is vital to note, not works. This is not a list of things to do, as if we could produce spiritual fruit through fleshly effort.
The Geneva Bible notes state succinctly:
Therefore, they are not the fruits of free will, but so far forth as our will is made free by grace.1
Matthew Henry wrote:
And here we may observe that as sin is called the work of the flesh, because the flesh, or corrupt nature, is the principle that moves and excites men to it, so grace is said to be the fruit of the Spirit, because it wholly proceeds from the Spirit, as the fruit does from the root . . .2
And John Gill:
Not of nature or man's free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit, ver. 17. or rather of the Holy Spirit . . ; the graces of which are called fruit, and not works, as the actions of the flesh are; because they are owing to divine influence efficacy, and bounty, as the fruits of the earth are, to which the allusion is; and not to a man’s self, to the power and principles of nature; and because they arise from a seed, either the incorruptible seed of internal grace, which seminally contains all graces in it, or the blessed Spirit, who is the seed that remains in believers; and because they are in the exercise of them acceptable unto God through Christ, and are grateful and delightful to Christ himself, being his pleasant fruits; which as they come from him, as the author of them, they are exercised on him as the object of them, under the influence of the Spirit . . .3
Finally, John MacArthur:
Contrasted with the deeds of the flesh is the fruit of the Spirit. Deeds of the flesh are done by a person’s own efforts, whether he is saved or unsaved. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, is produced by God’s own Spirit and only in the lives of those who belong to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.4
The fruit of the Spirit is a list, then, of indications that one belongs to Christ and has therefore “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” It is a standard of measure to which we can refer when examining ourselves in the spirit of 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”
The question this passage asks us is, Are we filled with the Spirit? The filling of the Spirit is something we need continuously. D. L. Moody, when asked why this is, reportedly replied, “Because I leak.” Whether that exchange actually occurred, or is apocryphal, it certainly is true. What are we to do? We can’t fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit. Contrary to the beliefs of many, there is no one we can go to for an “anointing,” no one who can zap us with the Spirit.
Consider these two parallel passages:
5 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
—Ephesians 5
16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. 18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
—Colossians 3
Can you see the parallel?
Ephesians:
Colossians:
be filled with the Spirit
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you
speaking to one another in psalms . . .
teaching and admonishing one another with psalms . . .
giving thanks
with thankfulness . . . giving thanks
be subject to one another in the fear of Christ
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord
We can see that the results of being filled with the Spirit are precisely the same as those of letting “the word of Christ richly dwell within” us. The Holy Spirit fills us as we devote ourselves to “the word of Christ.” On this parallel, John MacArthur writes,
The result of being filled with the Holy Spirit is the same as the result of letting the Word dwell in one’s life richly. Therefore, the two are the same spiritual reality viewed from two sides. To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by His Word. To have the Word dwelling richly is to be controlled by His Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit is the author and power of the word, the expressions are interchangeable.5
This truth is seen also in Christ’s High Priestly Prayer (John 17), when he prayed that the Father would “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (verse 17).
So, coming back to Galatians 5, we can conclude that love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruit of letting the Word of Christ, which is the Holy Spirit’s voice, richly dwell within us.
Last September, I linked to the 2011 Truth Matters Conference. One of the speakers at that conference was astronaut Jeff Williams, whose presentation (The Work of His Hands) included several pictures taken from space. At that time, I complained that an mp3 download really was not adequate. Since then, I've found video, which I present here today.
For best effect, expand the video to full screen. The word “amazing” has been used for anything and everything, rendering it meaningless, but if you can get back to the real meaning of the word, I think you’ll agree that it can be used appropriately here.
Some modern theorists believe that the world was created by nothing. Note the difference between saying that the world was created from nothing and saying that the universe was created by nothing. In this modern view the rabbit comes out of the hat without a rabbit, a hat, or even a magician. The modern view is far more miraculous than the biblical view. It suggests that nothing created something. More than that, it holds that nothing created everything—quite a feat indeed!
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
—1 Corinthians 1:30–31
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
When I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God; All the vain things that charm me most— I sacrifice them to His blood.
See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down; Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Petitionary Hymns Poem XXXVIII.Phil. ii. 5. Let this mind he in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Augustus Toplady (1740–1778)
Lord I feel a carnal mind That hangs about me still, Vainly tho’ I strive to bind My own rebellious will; Is not haughtiness of heart The gulf between my God and me? Meek Redeemer now impart Thine own humility.
Fain would I my Lord pursue, Be all my Saviour taught, Do as Jesus bid me do, And think as Jesus thought: But ’tis thou must change my heart, The perfect gift must come from thee: Meek Redeemer now impart Thine own humility.
Lord, I cannot, must not rest, ’Till I thy mind obtain, Chase presumption from my breast, And all thy mildness gain; Give me, Lord, thy gentle heart, Thy lowly mind my portion be: Meek Redeemer now impart Thine own humility.
Let thy cross my will control: Conform me to my guide; In thine image mould my soul, And crucify my pride; Give me, Lord, a contrite heart, A heart that always looks to thee: Meek Redeemer, now impart Thine own humility.
Tear away my ev’ry boast, My stubborn mind abase; Saviour, fix my only trust In thy redeeming grace: Give me a submissive heart, From pride and self dependance free; Meek Redeemer, now impart Thine own humility.
—The Complete Works of Augustus Toplady (Sprinkle Publications, 1987).
4Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
—1 Corinthians 8
The Many Gods And The One God.
The meaning of this passage might be more fully expressed thus: “As concerning the things sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is a nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one; but even were there those beings that are called gods, either in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are gods many and lords many (gods and demigods as they are called), yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him (for His service and glory, έζ and ἐις contrasted); and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” It is like Joshua’s “as for me” (Joshua 24:15).
Here are (1) the world’s many gods; (2) the saint’s one God; (3) the saint’s one Christ.
I. The world’s many gods. To make gods for himself has been man’s great object all along. Every nation has had its gods, and every age. Assyria had its gods; Babylon, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome. Men multiplied gods without number. Everything or anything that could be a substitute for God, in any shape, animate or inanimate, men set up and worshipped. They were never tired of god-making. All of them vanity; things that profit nothing; vain helpers in the time of need. O world! what will become of thy many gods in the day when Jehovah arises to shake terribly the earth? And what profit will these gods afford the millions who have fled to them for refuge? Is there no god-making still, even in our day? Money, business, pleasure, lusts, luxuries! Are not these thy gods, O world? And are these better than the gods of Greece? Will they prove more helpful in the day of trouble than Baal, or Jupiter, or Buddha? Will they forgive, and save, and comfort?
II. The saint’s one God. Yes; one only, the living and the true God. Jehovah is His name. With undistracted eye the Christian looks but to One, not many; with undivided heart he fixes on One, not many; His heart was made for only One, and that one sufficient to fill his whole heart, and soul, and being. How the thought of that one God,—infinite, eternal, and unchangeable,—makes all that are called gods to vanish utterly away. One infinite Jehovah, King eternal, immortal and invisible, He is our portion. “Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul.” We need no other; we need no more. This God is our God. Whom have we in heaven but Him, and whom on earth do we desire besides Him? One God, Jehovah, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Creator of heaven and earth, who filleth all in all, “this is our God forever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death” (Psalm 48:14).
III. The saint’s one Christ. “To us there is but one Lord Jesus Christ.” As there are many beings who go under the name of God, so are there many who go under the name of Christ, yet there is but one Christ, not two, nor many. The tendency of the present day is to multiply Christ’s. A Christ as the impersonation or representative of humanity is quite in accordance with the spirit of the age. But every one wants to have his own Christ, just as each heathen wanted to have his own god; the Christ that suits his own fancy, or his own philosophy, or his own intellect, or his own circumstances. So that there are many Christ’s in the world even among those who profess to take the Bible as their instructor; still more among those who reject it; for even among those there is a groping after a Christ, and the cry goes up, Ecce Homo! Some want a Christ who is not God; others a Christ who is not a sacrifice; a Christ without a cross, and without blood; a Christ who will teach but not expiate sin; a Christ whose life and death are an example of self-surrender to the utmost, but not an atonement; a Christ who is not a judge, nor a law-giver, nor a priest, and only a prophet in the sense of teacher. Thus in the present day there are many Christ’s. It has been so all along; only the apostle John calls them not Christ’s but Antichrists—“many Antichrists.” To us there is but one Christ. He who was announced as the woman’s seed; He of whom Abel’s sacrifice spoke; He of whom Enoch prophesied as the avenger; He who was revealed to Abraham as his seed; He of whom Job spoke as the Redeemer; He of whom Moses spoke as the Prophet; of whose work the whole book of Leviticus is full; He of whom David sang, as the sufferer, yet the King; He of whom Isaiah and all the prophets sang; He who proclaimed Himself as come to seek the lost; to whom John the Baptist pointed as the Lamb of God; who hung on the cross, and died in anguish, yet rose again and ascended on high; He is the one Christ whom we recognize.
If thus, then, there is but one Christ, then there is but (1.) One cross. Only one; the cross in which Paul gloried, and on which our Surety hung. To acknowledge that one cross is life; to reject it is death.
(2.) One Priest. Jesus, our great High Priest, whose is the one unchangeable and everlasting Priesthood; Jesus, who suffered the just for the unjust, and now ever liveth to make intercession for us!
(3.) One altar. The altar of the great burnt-offering is the one altar for us. If there be many Christ’s, there may be many altars; if one Christ, then but one altar.
(4.) One sacrifice. Only one! No victim but the one Christ. No blood but that of the one Christ. All self appointed, self-made sacrifices are vain. They cannot take away sin. The one offering can.
(5.) One way to the kingdom. There is but a single gate, and a single way; yet these suffice. We need no more. “I am the way.” “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
If I were to ask a group of Christians what the top priority of the church is, I am sure I would get a wide variety of answers. Some would say evangelism, others social action, and still others spiritual nurture. But I have yet to hear anyone talk about what Jesus’ priorities were.
What is the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer? Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven . . .’” (Matt. 6:9). The first line of the prayer is not a petition. It is a form of personal address. The prayer continues: “hallowed be your name, your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:9–10). We often confuse the words “hallowed be your name” with part of the address, as if the words were “hallowed is your name.” In that case the words would merely be an ascription of praise to God. But that is not how Jesus said it. He uttered it as a petition, as the first petition. We should be praying that God’s name be hallowed, that God be regarded as holy.
In a chapter of The Holiness of God titled Holy Justice, R. C. Sproul reviews a few instances from the Old Testament of God meeting out his justice in dramatic ways. Among them is the story of Uzzah (2 Samuel 6). As you likely remember, the ark of God was being transported on an ox-cart—already in violation of God’s specific instructions—when the ride got rough.
6 But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.
Sproul writes:
Uzzah was a Kohathite. He knew exactly what his duties were. He had been trained thoroughly in the discipline of his calling. He understood that God had declared that the touching of the ark of the covenant was a capital offence. No Kohathite, under any circumstances, was ever permitted to touch the ark. No emergency was grounds for breaking that inviolate command. The elaborate construction of the ark, complete with golden rings through which long poles were inserted, was so fashioned as to make it clear that the ark itself was not to be touched. Only the poles could be touched by man and inserted into the rings for purposes of transport. Then it was the task of the Kohathites to carry the ark by these long poles. No provision was made for hurrying the procedure by transporting the ark via an oxcart.
We must ask the question, what was the ark doing on an oxcart in the first place? God was so strict about the holy things of the temple that the Kohathites were not even allowed to gaze upon the ark. This, too, was a capital crime. God had decreed that if a Kohathite merely glanced at the ark in the Holy of Holies for an instant that he would die. Not only was Uzzah forbidden to touch the ark, he was forbidden even to look at it.
He touched it anyway. He stretched out his hand and put it squarely on the ark, steadying it in place lest it fall to the ground. An act of holy heroism? No! It was an act of arrogance, a sin of presumption. Uzzah assumed that his hand was less polluted than the earth. But it wasn’t the ground or the mud that would desecrate the ark; it was the touch of man. The earth is an obedient creature. It does what God tells it to do. It brings forth its yield in its season. It obeys the laws of nature which God has established. When the temperature falls to a certain point, the ground freezes. When water is added to dust, it becomes mud, just as God decided. The ground doesn’t commit cosmic treason. There is nothing polluted about the ground.
God did not want his holy throne to be touched by that which was contaminated by evil, that which was in rebellion to him, that which by its ungodly revolt had brought the whole of creation to ruin and caused the ground and the sky and the waters of the sea to groan together in travail waiting for the day of redemption. Man. It was man’s touch that was forbidden.
God does not always act with justice. Sometimes He acts with mercy. Mercy is not justice, but it also is not injustice. Injustice violates righteousness. Mercy manifests kindness and grace and does no violence to righteousness. We may see nonjustice in God, which is mercy, but we never see injustice in God.
If you haven’t listened to the audio of the recent 
Seeing this, the pastor stood alongside him and said, softly, “What would your mother think if she could see you now?” Embarrassed, possibly shamed, even, the young man put the magazine back and walked away. The pastor felt quite satisfied that he had done a good deed in turning the young man from his vice. He considered himself to have been a good witness for Christ. 
John Newton (1725–1807)
And here we may observe that as sin is called 
Not of nature or man's free will, as corrupted by sin, for no good fruit springs from thence; but either of the internal principle of grace, called the Spirit, ver. 17. or rather of the Holy Spirit . . ; the graces of which are called 
Contrasted with the deeds of the flesh is 
