Read some excellent, well-written thoughts this week, by Dane Ortlund. Here’s a piece:
I am a sinner. I sin. Not just in the past but in the present. But in Christ I’m not a sinner but cleansed, whole. And as I step out into my day in soul-calm because of that free gift of cleansing, I find that actually, strangely, startlingly—I begin to live out practically what I already am positionally. I delight to love others. It takes effort and requires the sobering of suffering. But love cannot help but be kindled by gospel rest.
We got specific about the gospel yesterday, as we continue to work through 1 Peter.
It is the good news, the announcement of what has been done for us in Jesus Christ. It is what the Bible proclaims, from start to finish.
The gospel is not the only truth in the Bible… but in a very real sense the Bible sets the context, the need, the anticipation, the effects, the results, and the outcome of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As well as how we are to respond to the good news.
Can you clearly state the content of the gospel?
Here’s another excellent treatment of the topic, Matt Chandler addressing Seminary students in 2010, opening up Colossians 1.
Fun to see that one of the very best parenting books available right now is getting recognition. Elyse Fitzpatrick and her daughter have authored Give Them Grace, and it is wonderfully focused on the good news of Jesus Christ and how that good news impacts our parenting.
Andy Naselli writes a clear, helpful review with his wife in the recent Journal of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Pastorally, my greatest desire is that our church stands on the truth, reality as laid out in Scripture. A great fear is that many seem to miss the true foundation, and rather stand on other things. Though many proclaim that they hold to the Bible, they don’t seem to hear the foundational core: the wondrous Gospel.
John Lynch, of TrueFaced ministries, does a fantastic job of pulling us back to the functional centrality of the Good News of Jesus.
If you haven’t heard of him, or read The Cure, then set aside 40 minutes or so and think about the implications of the Gospel, here.
I know some good news. Good news of the Savior, the Son of God, who came to earth as a man and lived perfectly, dying for our sins. Our sins, the sins of those who believe in Him, wiped out! Wrath averted! Debt paid!
This is indeed good news. But it surely skips over a huge part of the Gospel.
If what we have is Jesus, perfect sacrifice, dying on a cross for sin, then we don’t have enough.
Payment for sin gets you and I back to zero. Paying for bad wipes out bad. Where’s the good?
What about the radical, lifechanging, wondrous news of a resurrected Savior? Offhand, I think that means overwhelming good:
• Jesus Christ living in me (Galatians 2:20)
• The Holy Spirit poured out and dwelling in me (Romans 8:9)
• My Savior interceding for me right now (Hebrews 4:15)
• Me, born again (John 3), a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• Resurrection promised of the same power that raised Jesus (Ephesians 1:19, 20)
Regeneration and union and a new heart and life itself… we have such a depth of riches. May our lives not look to our own power, with a dead Savior, but to the Savior who lives, and who is at work in us.
I’ve been marveling this week over the presentation of truth in Scripture. Over the different ways that the Bible teaches and instructs and pushes us toward reality – toward the truth of the Gospel.
An example is Peter’s walking on water, laid out for us in Matthew 14. Here’s the text:
Matthew 14:28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
Look at this with Gospel eyes.
First, Peter wants to walk on water; he asks Jesus to command him to. And Jesus does.
Isn’t that amazing, just on its own? I’d apply that to us in our desire to do the supernatural. Not walk on water, exactly… but to bear fruit. Fruit is supernatural, isn’t it? Love, joy, peace, patience… they can’t really be produced by our flesh, they take the supernatural Spirit… that’s why it is called the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22ff).
So we have this new heart that desires supernatural fruit and Jesus says… yes.
So, Peter walks on water.
Wow! Wow! He actually does the supernatural. Not him, obviously, he has no power to do this on his own. But, obeying Jesus… it happens. Wow!
I know… too many exclamations, right? But that’s really fantastic, that Jesus really does enable the supernatural. He really does produce things in us that we cannot do on our own. You really can display the supernatural fruit of the Spirit… because Jesus produces it in you. Like Peter, the production of the supernatural isn’t an innate ability we’re given (he doesn’t go around walking on water without Jesus)… it is a connection to a Savior.
Then, Peter sees his circumstances… the wind… and fearing… starts to sink.
Supernatural to Sinking... why?
We too. We take our eyes of Jesus, and put them on our circumstances. We’re victims, responders, self-promoters, reactors, those who stand for ourselves and not for Christ. If it were really up to us… even with the command of Christ… we’d sink. We fear man. We fear for ourselves, that we’ll be taken care of. And we sin. Because sin is not perfectly following all that Jesus commands… and we don’t.
Circumstances do start to sink us. And our circumstances include our continued personal pride and failings… taking us away from the supernatural (fruit-bearing) and into the mundane (sin-sinking).
Then, Peter cries out for help… and Jesus immediately takes hold of him.
Wondrous, isn’t it? Peter’s 3 words – “Lord, save me!” Not pretty or eloquent but true. Peter already following Jesus… now crying out for rescue just to do what the Lord has commanded him. He’d fail without Jesus. He has already started to… and his response is to turn to Jesus! O that this might be us when we fail!
And Jesus immediately grabbing him. He’s right there. The Son of God wouldn’t let Peter drown. Sink a bit? As a lesson? Sure. But go under? No way.
Finally, driving it home, Jesus says “O one of little faith, why did you doubt?” And they worship Jesus.
See, the whole lesson has been about faith. Faith, trust in Jesus, is the heart of the gospel for us. Faith leads us to want to bear fruit, to make effort for Jesus. But faith is the very ground we stand on… even when we’re walking on water. And faith is the means by which the supernatural – including bearing the fruit of the Spirit – happens. Faith in Jesus Christ. In His sure rescue. In His secure favor. In His ability, not ours.
Hope that as you live your life today, that you are doing the supernatural – bearing fruit. That you realize this is Christ’s power alone working through you, even as you follow his commands… and that when you start to sink… when failure comes… that you cry out to him… and that you continue to grow in your trust, moment by moment, that he’s absolutely everything.
How eye-opening to be a parent! Not the least because of the fun books one gets to read. One of the very best bears the subtitle “Every story whispers his name.” It’s the Jesus Storybook Bible, and it is so good that I wish every adult as well as every child had read its wonderful presentation of the good news of Jesus Christ.Here’s an excerpt, from Acts 6-9, of Saul’s conversion:
“Of all the people who kept the rules, Saul was the best. ‘I’m good at being good!” he’d tell you. He was very proud. And very good. But he wasn’t very nice. Saul hated anyone who loved Jesus… he wanted everyone to forget all about Jesus. He didn’t believe Jesus was the Rescuer.
You see, Saul had never met Jesus. So one day, Jesus met Saul.”
The book then relates Saul’s Damascus Road experience… his name change to Paul, and has fun insights on Ananias. And then look at how they convey the message:
“‘It’s not about keeping rules!” Paul told people. ‘You don’t have to be good at being good for God to love you. You just have to believe what Jesus has done and follow him. Because it’s not about trying, it’s about trusting. It’s not about rules, it’s about Grace: God’s free gift-that cost him everything.’
We’ve been in 1 Samuel as a church. This week we saw that perfection was indeed required.
The mission was given, and Saul didn’t do it all. He didn’t kill the king, Agag. And so ch. 15 ended with old, feeble Samuel hacking away and completing the mission, doing what Saul didn’t. And Saul was rejected as king.
“Put yourself in Saul’s shoes.” Easy for me to take that thought and go completely sideways with it.
Something along these lines: “Doesn’t God require more of you than you are doing? Shouldn’t you be better than you are? God doesn’t want your fellowship, he wants your obedient action. Put yourself in Saul’s shoes – are you really, really, really paying attention to Yahweh your God? How are you doing with the 10 commandments? How are you doing with the Sermon on the Mount? Don’t you know that God doesn’t just desire perfection – he demands it! Take a good look at Agag, hacked to pieces, blood spattered on the ground.”
And I’m tempted to take another sideways step as I look at my life. Because I don’t see perfection in my behavior. Not even close. So here’s guilt. Or here’s blameshifting. And certainly renewed effort. Ending in continued failure, if I’m honest. But I need to be better. So honesty goes out the window. And I act as perfect as possible. Because if true holiness isn’t visible in my behavior, then putting on a show will have to do.
Dangerous misinterpretation, to put ourselves in Saul’s shoes. Why?
Because Saul was the first king of Israel. The first king of God’s people. Who he points to is the King. What he was to live up to was the office of the King. That’s the King of Israel. The King of Kings. We know him as Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ, you see, was utterly perfect.
Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient.
Jesus Christ so perfectly followed the Father’s will that he said that every single thing he did was from the Father. That God spoke perfectly through him, by who he was, what he did. That level of perfection to the mission.
There’s one and only one way for me to get that kind of perfection.
It is not through some sort of Holy Spirit anointing toward enabled behavior. Saul had an anointing. It is not by making myself the center, the hero, even with powerful help.
Perfection’s required… how can we get it?
It is through identification with the one who did perfection.
It is through union with the one who obeyed to the final dot, the final iota.
This union, which is the work of the Holy Spirit, is embodied in the new birth, is spoken of in the new covenant. The blood and body of the King, for us. His righteousness, ours. God looks at us… and sees the perfect obedience of this King… forever.
Instead of us being the hero… we have to be taken out… that we might live only through and in Jesus.
Thus Colossians 3:3: “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Incredible.
And this brings us back to Saul.
Because what God desired was a humble heart, a broken heart, a heart that followed God’s ways. Following God’s ways means realizing that perfection would be God’s, that perfection would come from God. That’s the sin that God rejects Saul for… not his imperfection, but his arrogance, his presumption, his lack of humble dependence (see 15:23).
Humility of heart, the kind that forsakes self and trusts in Christ, will lead to great usefulness, fruit that truly exalts the one who is doing the work (our God), and a life of wondrous joy.
So perfection really is required. The perfection of Jesus Christ, our King. Thankfully, He’s entirely perfect. And our work is to keep our eyes on him and our faith in him… and not on ourselves.
He’s the hero. Now and forever. May we humbly trust our Lord and Savior… our perfect King.
Windy, cold, and rainy today. Great day to sip hot tea or cocoa… and think about the incredible truth of our righteousness in Christ captured so well by Horatius Bonar, a prominent minister in 1800’s Scotland (quoted from The Everlasting Righteousness):
At the cross this “righteousness” was found; human, yet divine: provided for man and presented to him by God for relief of conscience and justification of life. On the one word, “It is finished,” as on a heavenly resting place, weary souls sat down and were refreshed.
The voice from the tree did not summon them to do, but to be satisfied with what was done. Millions of bruised consciences there found healing and peace.
Belief in that finished work brought the sinner into favor with God, and it did not leave him in uncertainty as to this. The justifying work of Calvary was God’s way, not only of bringing pardon, but of securing certainty.
It was the only perfect thing which had ever been presented to God in man’s behalf; and so extraordinary was this perfection that it might be used by man in his transactions with God as if it were his own.
May we praise our Savior forever for what He has done!
A sun rising on those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.
His name is Jesus.
He comes because of the tender mercy of our God.
He gives knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sin.
And he does not only bring forgiveness of sins past, thereby giving you a chance to be better. He makes something true that wasn’t true before – he makes us holy and righteous.
Here’s what Zechariah says:
“that we… might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” (Luke 1:74-75).
That’s the truth of Jesus Christ.
When the fullness of time came (oh, all the years spent in darkness!), God sent forth his son (oh, blessed sunrise!), born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5).
Praise God for the righteousness and holiness given us in Christ, that we are redeemed, adopted, and serve our God without fear all our days.
