Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 15

Screwtape’s Advanced Strategies against Gospel Growth

This article was inspired by C.S. Lewis’ classic work The Screwtape Letters, and is written from a senior demon to his junior nephew.

My dearest nephew Wormwood,

I write you with greater urgency than mere words can convey. Two years ago, your subject crossed the point of no return when leaving the dark kingdom of our Lord and embracing the Enemy’s Son. Luckily for us, he embraced as “gospel truth” some of the splendidly simple, yet profoundly effective lies that you whispered in his ear:

“You really are too busy to pray today.”“Be proud of yourself, you are a good Christian!”“Sacrificing your Christian convictions is just part of witnessing to your unsaved friends.”“My sin isn’t that bad compared to others I know.”

You even have him believing that a diligent effort in pursuing holiness amounts to legalism. Bravo! These lies have tremendous power for a newer follower of the Enemy. But the ineffectiveness of your weaselly plans proves that his faith is only getting stronger.

This is the reason I write with urgency and trepidation. His deepened understanding of the Enemy’s transforming grace—which comes with his deeper appreciation for the cross— has simply served to destroy much of your great work and further ignite his faith.

There are a few telltale signs of this turn for the worse:

Sign #1: Your subject seems to be more joyful in the Enemy than ever before. This joy is fueled by his deep study and heartfelt conversations with the Enemy, and only seems to increase as he suffers. This is troubling because, once his affections are set, tempting him away from the Enemy becomes like trying to stop a runaway train. However, do not let this discourage you; I will outline a suggested strategy.

Sign #2: His love for others flows more naturally than ever. This goes for his coworkers, his neighbors, and even those pesky relatives that always used to get on his nerves. He has now begun talking about the Enemy with people at work and in public— you must continue to tell him how awkward it really is and remind him of how little time he has for such conversations!

Sign #3: He hates his sin more by the day. Sins that used to allure him now disgust him. And when he does sin, the Enemy has taught him to confess and repent immediately, which only deepens his love and thankfulness, making him even closer to the Enemy than before! That’s one step forward, two steps back for us, young Wormwood. Truly something troublesome.

Sign #4: Your subject now longs for the return of the Enemy’s Son. He doesn’t numb his mind to the world’s pain and tragedies like he used to. Instead, pain and tragedy now stir his desire for the Enemy’s Son to come back. When dealing with life’s hard issues, he now prays more—and you know what effect that has had for the Enemy and how it renders us powerless!

Since you can no longer divert him with the deliciously simple lies like before, you must go for the jugular, attacking the sources of this growth. You can’t stop a runaway train at full speed, but we can slow him down by attacking what fuels him. We can try to derail him with a “big” sin or a host of secretive sins that metastasize so beautifully throughout his entire being. You must not disregard or underestimate the power of secret sins—they lay the bedrock for the truly catastrophic ones!

Your approach must be subtle and increasingly nuanced as he seems to be waking up to many of the older approaches in this new season of spiritual passion and awakened understanding. It truly makes an old demon like me sick.

Here are areas that you must always target:

Do whatever you can to keep him from the Enemy’s Word. Discourage him with reminders that he still has trouble understanding certain parts of it and that he’ll never be as smart as that brainy friend of his. Distract him with anything possible: thoughts from the workplace, his lady friend, that smartphone of his—yes, that phone is a splendid way to take his attention captive! Anything that will keep him from deep, soul-searching thought and reflection of the Enemy is a win for us.

Related to this is the powerful tool of doubt – a tool still at your disposal, but one you must wield more craftily. While it would be hard to entice him to doubt the inspiration of the Book, you can subtly sneak in the thought that it doesn’t impact his daily life—thus causing him to doubt the book’s practicality and importance! This nuanced approach won’t cause much backward movement in his faith but will surely serve to stall his movement forward.

The next area we will attack is those conversations with the Enemy, what they affectionately refer to as “prayer”. A few strategies include telling him that he’s doing a good job in prayer, so as to turn his focus—and his pride—to how faithful he is. Or, simply remind him of his ever-growing to-do list and suggest that he finishes up this prayer thing quickly to do what really matters in life. Make him self-conscious because he doesn’t pray as eloquently as that more-spiritual friend of his or slip a little poison in the joyful waters of prayer by telling him that, to earn God’s favor, he needs to perform better.

Bottom line: Do whatever you can to keep his prayer life stagnant, forced, and fickle.

Wormwood, you also cannot be too diligent in attacking his time at church or with church people. Make every effort to keep his relationships with other Christians superficial, not a channel of blessing the Enemy uses to grow him and others. Sports, politics, books, news, friendly gossip about mutual friends—these are all encouraged topics of conversation. If the conversation turns to spiritual issues, especially his personal faith—watch out! Confession of sins, praying for each other, or sharing stories of the Enemy’s work will only strengthen the whole group. Indeed, this is part of the reason for his growth in the first place! That is why you must labor to sow seeds of dissension, distrust, hate, or simply indifference toward others at this church of his.

Even if his relationships remain strong and chummy, you can play this to your advantage by diverting their attention from the truth and grace of the Enemy to other things deemed as “good.” Things like: their own friendships, political causes fueled by religious fervor, a focus on knowing spiritual information without applying it, or any number of culturally acceptable idols—anything that would take his focus off of the Enemy Himself.

Wormwood, I’m sad to see that you’re in a bind like this. I wish I could say there was more hope for a despicable demon like you, but you know as well as I that our dark master has been defeated. Still, we can gnaw and scratch at the Enemy and his chosen ones to see if we can dampen their joy before we meet our doom.

Your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape

5 Ways Exodus Confronts Our Secular Age

Exodus is epic. An underdog leader of a slave nation stands up to the world’s most powerful man. Hail, frogs, flies, and rivers of blood plague the most prosperous nation on the planet. God miraculously divides a major body of water so his people can escape their captors.

That’s just the first half.

No wonder Exodus has held Hollywood’s attention for a long time. Consider full-length feature films including The Ten Commandments (1956), The Prince of Egypt (1998), and more recently, Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014). While these movies get some things right, the true message of Exodus is often lost to make it more palatable for modern taste or for more sensational storytelling.

That’s a shame, because I’m convinced that the true story of Exodus speaks powerfully to our secular world in several ways.

1. God’s focus is his own glory—a good thing.

Throughout Exodus, God unabashedly seeks his glory and wields his sovereign power over creation to achieve it. At the burning bush, he called a self-doubting octogenarian with murder in his past to deliver his people from bondage and lead them to worship in the desert (Ex. 3:1–4:11).

In the plagues, God showed his supremacy over the gods of Egypt by using elements of his creation to prove his power over them (Ex. 7–12). In hardening Pharaoh’s heart (4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17), he demonstrated his sovereign power over world rulers and nations.

God alone is worthy of all praise—a truth that drives many in our secular culture crazy. While the secular mindset may tolerate some “religious plurality” or say “you can believe your truth while I’ll believe mine,” Exodus makes clear that every false god will one day be crushed, and every knee will bow before our Creator and judge (Phil. 2:10–11).

God isn’t a megalomaniac who desperately wants attention; he’s a loving Creator accomplishing his good purposes by redeeming a people for himself. No raging nation or hardhearted leader will steal his glory or thwart his good purposes for this world or his people.

2. God’s holiness requires judgment of the wicked.

God’s holy wrath burned hot against Egypt’s pharaoh. Egypt’s leader mandated the Hebrew people abort their male offspring (Ex. 1:15–16), enslaved God’s chosen people, and forced them to serve Egypt instead of God (Ex. 5:1, 7:16, etc.). God’s holy wrath led to the final plague that took the lives of all the firstborn in Egypt, from pharaoh’s house to Egyptian slaves to cattle (see Ex. 12:29–30). God even graciously warned them (Ex. 11:4–7).

The righteous judgment of God isn’t the most popular of topics in our supposedly tolerant secular world. Even so, our culture cries out for justice that can be found only in a sovereign God who sets the standards and executes judgment on the guilty.

Without a sovereign God of justice, we have no hope that ultimate justice will come against this world’s oppressors, abusers, traffickers, and murderers. A God of perfect justice will judge every evil deed, and he alone can help us endure this unjust world.

3. Redemption comes by the blood of the Lamb.

The exodus from Egypt is the greatest picture of redemption in the Old Testament, pointing forward to the rescue from the bondage to sin led forth by Jesus Christ, the new and better Moses (Heb. 3:1–6).

A secular worldview doesn’t leave room for redemption, because it would require acknowledging sin as the Bible defines it. According to Kevin DeYoung, the secular confession is not, “‘Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips,’ but ‘Woe to me if I think myself unclean.’”

With personal autonomy and finding the authentic self as key aims of the secular worldview, Christian redemption is as offensive as it is esoteric. The secular world must grasp that sin exists and has consequences. Not even Israel could escape God’s judgment without a blood sacrifice of a lamb (Ex. 12:1–3). No sin disqualifies us from redemption that the true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) offers by the blood of his cross.

4. God’s grace precedes God’s law.

God gives Israel his law in Exodus 20–24, and as always, context is key. God reminds Israel of how he saved them from Egypt (Ex. 19:4; 20:2) before he explains how the law will help them live out their holy calling among the nations (Ex. 19:5–6; 20:3–17; cf. Eph. 2:1–10; Titus 2:11–14). Stripping the law from this loving, relational context twists its purpose and warps our understanding of God. We should obey because he has saved us, not because a divine taskmaster requires obedience for salvation.

I fear many in our secular age have a bad taste of Christianity due to leaders and churches missing this crucial point. Instead of gospel-motivated obedience that produces life and joy, legalistic understandings of the law lead to fear, misery, and at worst, apostasy.

5. God’s presence brings the transcendent close.

Exodus 1–20 may be the most vivid story of the Old Testament, but that’s only half of the book. The second half focuses on the plans and construction of the tabernacle, the earthly place where God would dwell. Exodus 29:46 is the driving force for the whole book: “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them” (emphasis mine).

Our secular world champions the notion that every person is equally good and right, yet the tabernacle flies in the face of this notion. The tabernacle shows that nobody is naturally good, and nobody naturally has access to God’s presence without a mediator and a sacrifice for sin. In Jesus, simultaneously our mediator and sacrifice for sin, the transcendent God draws us close.

If our world understood what the tabernacle represents, it wouldn’t search for the transcendent in celebrities, athletes, technology, or astrology. It would rejoice that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory” (John 1:14).

Greatest Miracle

There’s a lot in Exodus the secularist would reject. First to go would likely be the miraculous events like the burning bush, the plagues, the provision of manna, or the parting of the Red Sea. But the greatest miracle of Exodus—and of the entire Bible—is how a holy God would make a way for sinful people to dwell with him.

That’s a miracle you won’t see in the movies.

 

This article first appeared at The Gospel Coalition.

Finding Joy in the Pearl of Great Price

In his joy he goes and sells all that he has…Finding one pearl of great value, [he] went and sold all that he had (Matt. 13:44, 46).

When you see the value of all that Christ is, of all that He has done, and of all that He offers, and when you see that He is the only treasure that you can have always, you will say, “What do I need to do to get this treasure? How can I get this pearl?” When you see the glory of Jesus, you know you have to make it yours and you’ll be ready to do whatever it takes. The words of Paul from Philippians 3 give us a real-life example this energized response.

Listen to Paul laying out the assets that went into his fire sale: “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Phil. 3:4-7).

Counting Your Losses

An identity that can no longer define you

Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews… (Phil. 3:5)

Saul of Tarsus was very proud of his race, “a Hebrew of the Hebrews.” But, when he found Christ, race could no longer define him. When you are a new creation in Christ, you don’t define yourself by your race, by your work, or by anything else that you find in yourself. You are a man or a woman in Christ. You may be a father or a mother, but only for a while. You may be a banker, an athlete, a teacher, or a missionary, but only for a while. These are only temporary assignments. But if you are in Christ, you are a new creation. That is the identity that defines you.

A community that no longer welcomes you

As to the law, a Pharisee. (Phil. 3:5)

Paul loved being a Pharisee.  It was an elite club, an intellectual atmosphere. Being on the inside of the cultural influencers was a big “pearl” in Paul’s life.  But from the moment he believed in Jesus Christ, he knew he would never be welcome in the circle again. You may have the same experience. Committing yourself to Jesus Christ may well mean that there are social circles in which you are no longer welcome, and communities in which you are no longer at home.

A passion you no longer pursue (because it is outside the will of God)

As to zeal, a persecutor of the church (Phil. 3:6).

The word “zeal” means passion.  Paul had a passion for persecuting the church. That’s what got him up in the morning and gave him energy. It was the driving cause that motivated his life. Here was a man with a passion outside the will of God, and in order to have Christ that passion had to go.

What passion in your life is outside of the will of God? You have found pleasure in this passion, and it has become a motivating drive in your life. But now that you see the supreme value of Jesus Christ, you know that if you are going to have Him, it has to go.

Treasuring Your Gains

We know that salvation is a gift that we do not earn. It is a gift that must be received. And it can only be received with empty hands, not hands filled with other pearls. When you receive the gift of salvation, you know you are rich. When Christ is yours, you are blessed with every spiritual blessing in him. Don’t ever feel sorry for yourself, for “all things are yours… life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21-23). Not only are you rich, but you are no longer searching. When the trader buys this pearl, he is done trading. He has sold his collection, and so the only way he could do any more trading would be to give up the pearl of great value.

Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price. When you have Him, you will no longer be on a long search. You will find yourself saying, with Paul, that you want to know more of Him and of the power of his resurrection, even if that means sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings. That’s how a Christian speaks.

The good news for you is that the owner of the pearl is ready to sell. If you will have Christ, Christ will be yours. You must go to God to seal the deal. The treasure is His because Christ is His Son. Go to the Father and tell Him that you see supreme value in His Son.  Tell him you have been living for the wrong things and that nothing in your life can compare in value with who Christ is, and what He has done, and what He offers to you. Tell Him that you are ready to count your losses and to treasure Jesus Christ–the greatest gain!

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Photo: UnsplashThis article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Joy”, from his series, Ministry Matters: Sustaining a Lifetime of Service .

When Your Endurance Is Perishing

Recently I was reading through Lamentations. I confess it has never been my “go to” book of the Bible for devotions. I tend to only turn to it as part of a sermon series or when I read chronologically through the Bible. Yet by God’s grace I opened my Bible to chapter 3 just before a time of unusual personal weariness. There were unexpected cumulative trials in my life and the Lord used this passage to give me a better understanding of the nature of pain and sin, as well as real hope for restoration.

My soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the Lord.”

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
Lamentations 3:17-20

Cry Out to the Lord

I don’t know what your prayer life looks like in seasons of affliction, but I am not hesitant to acknowledge my pain to the Lord. I have always found it comforting to see how King David cried out to the Lord in many of the Psalms and here I see the same pattern – a plea for the Lord to remember me and see the bitterness of my soul. In my life and ministry, I know many people who are struggling, particularly this past year, but I was surprised how much I identified with their discouragement in recent months. I suddenly felt overwhelmed by things that had never felt crushing before. I began to think negatively about multiple situations, and worse, multiple people when previously it had been easy to give the benefit of the doubt. My normally joyful persona was devolving into a gloominess. I was not quite at the level of despair, but my heart ached and my trust in the Lord faltered.

But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:21-23

Remember His Character

The Lord used these familiar words to give me a fresh understanding. I was good at acknowledging my pain to the Lord, but I had stopped calling to mind the truth of this promise. The Lord’s steadfast love never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. The presence of my pain did not equate to the absence of his love and mercy. It may have felt like that, but it wasn’t true. Every morning the sun rose in the sky and every morning the Lord had new mercy for me. There were no days without his mercy. There was not a single moment he was not faithful.

God’s character does not change. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). My life may feel like a roller coaster of climbs and dips, some far too fast and way too steep, but our Lord remains steadfast. He is an unlimited supply of grace, love, and mercy. His tank never runs dry.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:24

It is so tempting to look to dozens of other things or people to satisfy. But I know the Lord himself is my portion. He is my only inheritance, but what an inheritance! Does anyone own more than He does? No! “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1). “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10). God has abundant resources, and he is generous to his core. He does not begrudgingly offer us leftovers. He delights to give his weak, anxious sheep good gifts, “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).

When finances are stretched, and health wanes and relationships become strained, and everything feels hopeless, there is a trustworthy, sovereign God we can turn to in faith.

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:25-26

Wait with Confident Expectation

It is easy to doubt God’s goodness. When the culture around us is crying “foul” all the time we can be tempted to believe the world’s distorted definition of good. But God defines what is good, so we must look to his word for instruction. God tells us it is good to wait quietly for him and his salvation.

I don’t like waiting and those who know me would never describe me as quiet. But this is not a passive waiting. In our waiting we seek him. We actively rely on his faithful character. We resolve to keep trusting and serving him with what he has given us to do until he acts. We keep looking to his word to know Him better. We keep inquiring of him in prayer. We wait with an expectation that “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). We believe that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

What a comfort to know “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus can comfort in a way no one else can because he knows our pain intimately. “Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised-who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (Romans 8:34), “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25). In Jesus we have salvation and forgiveness of sins. Let us remind our souls today to hope in him.

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Photo: Unsplash

Jesus Promises Gospel Progress

Jesus gives us two parables, The Mustard Seed and the Leaven, that tell us what God’s kingdom is like. These contain two wonderful promises about the progress the gospel will make. This progress comes in two ways.

Mustard Seed: The Progress of the Gospel in the World

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches” (Matt. 13:31-32).

Here is what the rule of Christ looks like in the world. It is like a tiny seed.  Jesus says it is the smallest of seeds. Christ’s kingdom has a small beginning but it will lead to a great and glorious outcome.

Think about the small beginning of the gospel in the world. Our Savior was poor in this world, and he was put to death beside two criminals on a cross. After that, about 120 fearful followers remained, and they met for prayer in an upper room. His first preachers were a few fishermen and publicans who for the most part were unskilled and uneducated men. The first truth that they preached was the cross, which was bound to raise antagonism, since it was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. The first movements of the faith brought persecution, first on the leaders, and then for the followers. [1]

Despite its humble beginnings, the gospel spread through the Roman Empire, and then to Europe, India, Africa, Asia, and around the world. What is Jesus Christ doing in the world? He is drawing people to himself.

The Bible gives us a glimpse of what Christ’s kingdom will look like in the future—a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Rev. 7:9-10).

How is this going to happen? Never be discouraged that a work is small if Jesus Christ is at its center! The kingdom of God is like a tiny mustard seed.  It may be small now, but it is part of something glorious that will last forever.

Leaven: The Progress of the Gospel in a Believer

He told them another parable.  “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened” (Matt. 13:33).

Here is what the kingdom of heaven looks like in the life of an individual believer. If you’ve made your own bread, you know all about this: Leaven, like yeast, produces fermentation in the dough, causing it to rise when it is baked. Every time bread was made, a piece of leavened dough was put into storage. When the next batch of dough was made, the leavened dough was mixed into it, causing the new dough to rise before it was baked.

John Macarthur says, “When a Jewish girl was married, her mother would give her a small piece of leavened dough from a batch baked just before the wedding.  From that gift of leaven, the bride would bake bread for her own household throughout her married life.” [2] Why? Because it’s a living organism. It keeps right on living and spreading.

Jesus is saying that a small amount of the leaven mixed into a batch of dough will permeate the whole lump and change its entire nature. Bake it without leaven and it is hard, crispy, and flat. Bake it with leaven and it rises light and fluffy, and delicious to eat.  Think about this in relation to your experience as a Christian.  When God’s grace comes into your heart, it is like a little leaven being mixed into the dough of your life.

God began a work of grace in your heart, and gradually what He began in you permeates the whole of your life. God’s grace begins to influence your conscience, your affections, your mind. It is changing your nature from the inside out. Here is what the rule of Christ looks like in the life of a believer: It goes everywhere. No part of the dough is unaffected.

The rule of Christ in the life of a believer may have a small beginning, but it will end in a complete transformation: “He who began a good work in your will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Jesus Promises Completion

When he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (1 Jn. 3:2).

When you become a Christian, you begin to see how far you are from what God is calling you to be. There is a new longing for holiness in your life. Sometimes all you can see is how far short of it you are. Satan keeps saying to you, “Look at what you were.” But Jesus says to you, “Look at what you will be!”

None of us is there yet. Right now we are a mass of contradictions. We love Christ, yet at the same time we feel the pull of the world, and sometimes we behave in ways that grieve Him. We trust Christ, yet at the same time we are subject to all kinds of doubts and fears. We have resurrection life, yet at the same time our bodies are subject to weakness, decay, and death.

But the day is coming when you will love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You will love your neighbor as yourself.  Temptation, pain, and disappointment will be distant memories. Your gifts will be fully deployed in the service of God. God will wipe every tear from your eyes.

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Photo: Unsplash1. Adapted from J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, (Crossway, 1993), 20ff.2. John MacArthur, Commentary on Matthew 8-15, (Moody, 1987), 373.This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Progress”, from his series, Ministry Matters: Sustaining a Lifetime of Service .

 

Three Signposts to Help You Stay on the Narrow Way

While rereading Pilgrim’s Progress, it struck me how simple were the instructions given to the main character, Christian. Just stay on the narrow way. Go straight. Yet time and again, Christian strays or is tempted to veer. The arguments for taking another path are often compelling and plausible.

The same is true for us. No matter how long we’ve been a Christian or how thoroughly we know God’s Word, the simple call to stay on the narrow way is difficult for us to obey. As one hymn says, we are “prone to wander.” For as simple as “straight ahead” seems, we’re easily sidetracked.

Writing to Christians in Colossae long ago, Paul offered counsel on recognizing the temptation to follow other ideologies or envision a better direction for our faith. His counsel is just as helpful today when we are not sure which way to go in our thinking.

Go the Way of Dependence

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Col. 2:8).

One way to know we’re being tempted to think differently than Scripture directs is if we’re drawn to something that isn’t “according to Christ.” Other translations say “based on”, “coming from”, and “depend”. If a philosophy doesn’t point us to Jesus, we simply shouldn’t pursue it! Christ is the source of wisdom, the one who supplies us with everything we need, and the one we live for.

We may think we’re just exploring new ideas when someone proposes a new social theory, or our favorite person on social media encourages us to follow a wise set of principles they developed. But Paul’s warning is clear: we might actually be taken captive. It’s important to stop and ask ourselves if these other ideologies serve to increase our dependence on Christ, the only one who can deliver true wisdom.

Go the Direction You First Began

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving (Col. 2:6-7).

Just before issuing this warning, Paul reminded his readers that they didn’t need a new way. They needed to continue in the direction they began in when they received Jesus in the first place. Part of living according to Christ, depending on Christ, is sticking with him.

It’s tempting to supplement our faith in Christ with faith in some modern, tangible ideas. We find some philosophies promise to help us make sense of the things in Scripture that we don’t like or agree with. But here Paul points out that it should be Jesus and his Word that help us make sense of new ideas, not vice versa.

Jesus is our starting place for finding wisdom and everything else we need for a godly life. We are rooted in him, built up in him, and established in him. In other words, we are utterly dependent on him. He isn’t just the only way to be saved; he’s the only one who can lead us in the way that is right.

Go Toward the Treasure

…that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments (Col. 2:2-4).

In these verses, Paul describes his concern for his readers. His earnest desire for them is God’s intention for us who read the words today. The reason for staying on the narrow path is simple: along it we discover treasure.

Why does this counsel tell us to depend on Christ and not on human tradition or the elemental spirits of the world? It’s not that God wants us needy and obligated. Nor does he tell us to continue in the way we were taught because he wants us stunted or stupid, instead of growing and learning.

Rather, we learn about the marvelous mystery of Christ when we stick to the narrow path. We grow in courage, we grow in love, and we gain riches of assurance of understanding. Every gem of wisdom and knowledge is hidden in Christ. We aren’t going to find any of these eternally valuable things by pursuing temporary, supplemental philosophies. Praise the Lord! When we’re not sure which way to go in our thinking, the answer is simply and entirely to depend on Jesus. He’s the one we’re seeking anyway!

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Photo: Unsplash

Logic on Fire

This article is a review of the book Spiritual Depression by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Unlocking the Bible is offering this book for your gift of any amount during April 2021.

Spiritual Depression is an outstanding book with an unfortunate title. I say this because the book is not about clinical depression at all, but unhappiness in the Christian life.

If you are not familiar with Martyn Lloyd-Jones, he was a Welsh minister who was born at the turn of the century (1899) and died in 1981. Lloyd-Jones is known for being minister at the famed Westminster Chapel in London for nearly 30 years.

This book is really, really good. It is based on a series of 21 sermons that you can listen to online at www.mljtrust.org.  Unfortunately, the audio quality is not great, but if you are in a quiet place or you have noise-canceling headphones you’ll be able to get a sense of the man behind the book. I listened to a couple of chapters from the book in order to help me digest the material better.

What makes this book so practical, theologically rich, and helpful is the way Lloyd-Jones approaches the subject. Before he became a minister, Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a physician. So, he attacks the problem of unhappy Christians like a doctor, laying out its causes chapter-by-chapter. He then makes a diagnosis, and recommends a particular remedy suited to each problem.

I found his analysis penetrating and insightful, and helpful to me at a number of points. I also found him to be a wealth of wisdom for many common problems in the Christian life. If you don’t find every chapter helpful to you, that’s ok. Keep reading. By the end, you’ll have a treasure chest of things you can offer to fellow travelers in the Christian life.

Here are just a handful of quotes from Spiritual Depression.

10. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? (p. 20)

9. From the moment we become Christian, we become the special object of Satan’s attention. (p. 52)

8. The fact that you are unhappy or troubled is no indication that you are not a Christian; indeed, I would go further and say that if you have never had any trouble in your Christian life I should very much doubt where you are a Christian at all. (p. 66)

7. We must never, for a second, worry about anything that cannot be affected or changed by us. It is a waste of energy. If you can do nothing about a situation stop thinking about it. (p. 82)

6. Seek for happiness and you will never find it, seek righteousness and you will discover you are happy – it will be there without your knowing it, without your seeking it. (p. 117)

5. Be prepared for surprises in the kingdom of God. You never know what is going to happen. The last shall be first. What a complete reversal of our materialistic outlook, the last first, the first last, everything upside down. The whole world is turned upside down by grace. (p. 131)

4. What is faith? Let us look at it positively. The principle taught here is that faith is an activity, it is something that has to be exercised. It does not come into operation itself, you and I have to put it into operation. (p. 143)

3. Every teaching is to be tested by the teaching of the New Testament, not by feelings, not by experience, not by results, not by what other people are saying and doing. (p. 184)

2. If you and I come to regard any aspect of this Christian life merely as a task and a duty, and if we have to goad ourselves and to set our teeth in order to get through with it, I say we are insulting God and we have forgotten the very essence of Christianity. The Christian life is not a task. The Christian life alone is worthy of the name ‘life.’ (p. 200)

1. The condition of the Christian as described in the New Testament seems always to include these two elements and at one and the same time we find that these Christian people of whom the apostle writes are ‘greatly rejoicing’ and are also ‘in heaviness.’ (p. 219)

I would be doing you a disservice to suggest that after reading these you will have a good sense of the book. These quotes are merely a glimpse of what Lloyd Jones offers. What stood out most to me was his relentless biblical logic, but not an ungracious, stale, barren kind of logic. It is, as Lloyd-Jones once said about preaching, Logic on Fire. Enjoy!

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Photo: Unsplash

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Is the World Getting Better or Worse? Yes.

Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds? (Matt. 13:27).

This is the central question in the Parable of the Weeds (Mt. 13:24-30). If God is so good and Christ is so mighty, then why is there so much evil in the world? This is a profound question, and it arises in every generation: Where does evil come from? Why does it persist, and even flourish?

You look at the weeds of evil in the world and you wonder: How can there be a God who is good when his world is in a mess like this? Is God really in control? Can I actually believe in a sovereign God in a world like this?

Isaiah says the coming Messiah will “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance” (Is. 61:2).  Early on in Jesus’ ministry, He got up and read this, but stopped halfway through the verse! What about the day of vengeance? Grace comes with Jesus now; judgment comes with Jesus later. What’s going to happen between now and then?

Both Good and Evil are Growing

Let both grow together until the harvest (Matt. 13:30).

According to Jesus, evil will grow alongside the good until the return of Christ. We need this wisdom to understand the nature of this world and to sustain a lifetime of ministry.

The 20th century started with an extraordinary humanistic optimism. Charles Darwin captured the imagination of millions with the publication of his Origin of the Species, and the idea that the human race is evolving, we are getting better and better, moving towards a golden age (the 20th century. But within 14 years of the turn of the century there was the First World War and the appalling loss of life in the trenches. People said, this will be “the war to end all wars.”  But within 20 years, it started again. We were not halfway through the great new century and we had two world wars, the likes of which had never been seen before.

The establishment of the United Nations meant that everything was going to be ok. But with the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the whole world was on the brink of annihilation. Then, as we got near the end of the bloodiest century in human history, there seemed to be a shining hope: The Berlin Wall came down. There was going to be a “new world order.” There was going to be peace and the kind of world we could all enjoy.

Within a few years of moving into the new century, the headlines were full of a new kind of war, the “war on terror.” Look at world history and you will see that every time evil gets pushed down, it rises up again in another, more sinister form. The only people who should not be surprised is Christians! The world never changes. It is always a field in which the wheat grows alongside the weeds. But there will be a harvest! It is worth planting the good seed because God will make it grow even in this troubled world.

Is this world getting better or is it getting worse? Both! This world is getting better and it is getting worse at the same time! The good seed is growing and producing an abundant harvest. The grain on one stalk is much more than the little seed that was cast into the ground. And the weeds are growing too. With every week that passes they are larger and more deeply rooted than before.

Ronald Wallace says, “Jesus Christ never taught that the movement of earth’s history would take the form of a slow but steady development of the good upon this earth accompanied by the gradual elimination of evil. He taught rather that the more the good developed, the more evil might also develop to ripen with the good. [1]

God Will Gather the Harvest

At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn (Matt. 13:30).

We are living in the day of God’s grace. The Day of Judgment has not yet come, and until that day, this is what the kingdom will look like: Good wheat in a field laced with weeds.

It has become popular, especially among younger Christians, to talk about “bringing in the kingdom,” or to set things right in the world. It’s important to remember that “bringing in the kingdom” means pulling up the weeds, and breaking up the great power structures of evil in this world. That work of judgment belongs to Christ. He has not given it to us to do. Instead, He calls us to live and grow in this world until He comes and brings about a righteous judgment in which all will be brought to account before Him. That day will come, and when it does, the weeds will be gathered and bound together in bundles.

Matthew Henry says, “Sinners of the same sort will be bundled together in the great day.” There will be a bundle of cynics, a bundle of blasphemers, a bundle of cowards, a bundle of liars, and a bundle of hypocrites. But the wheat God will gather into His barn.

What to Do While You’re Waiting

What are believers to do as we anticipate Christ’s return? How can we live faithfully and grow in this world?

Stay Engaged

Christ anticipates that your roots as a believer will be intertwined with the roots of people whose nature is very different from yours. That will be true at school and in business. You will find, even in your own family, that there are relationships that are very difficult, but your roots are intertwined. Jesus says, “Don’t pull up the roots.  Let both grow together until harvest.”

So, don’t be on an agenda of withdrawal from the world. There are no ideal spots in this world. Wherever Christ sows His people, Satan sows his weeds. Where have you been sown? Bloom where you are planted! Augustine said, “Those who are weeds today may be wheat tomorrow.” [2]

Practice Tolerance

The word “tolerance” has been hijacked in our culture. It used to mean showing patience and forbearance towards people with whom you radically disagree. Now it is used to mean affirming what others affirm. But there is no need for tolerance between people who affirm the same convictions. If you agree, what is there to tolerate?

Tolerance is a wonderful Christian virtue that is needed where there are deep seated disagreements. It means showing patience and forbearance toward people you find really difficult and with whom you radically disagree. But, it does not mean passivity or that you give up concern for another person’s spiritual condition. Jesus makes it clear that, in this world, the wheat needs to grow alongside the weeds until the Son of Man comes.

Remember Our Mission

Always remember, the mission of the church is sowing seeds not pulling weeds. We have a big enough challenge on our hands trying to deal with sin in our own hearts, our own families, and our own churches. It is not in our power or in our calling to root it out in the world. That is the work of Christ, and He will do it when he comes.

God will harvest the wheat. He will bring His people home, and the righteous will shine like the sun. With whom will you be bundled on that day? May you be found in the bundle of life with the people of God who submit their lives to King Jesus and stand before the Father in the grace that they find in him.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43).

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Photo: Unsplash1. Ronald Wallace, Many Things in Parables (Wipf & Stock, 1997), 35.2. Cited in J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (Crossway, 1993), 147.This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Limitations”, from his series, Ministry Matters: Sustaining a Lifetime of Service .

 

How Prayer Motivated Two Missionaries

During my recent internship with Unlocking the Bible, I discovered the various ways that this ministry equips people to open the Bible and to be transformed through the ministry of the Word and prayer. Through an interview with a dynamic missionary couple, I learned the importance of praying with a willingness to be used by God—wherever he takes us.

Meet Doug and Kristie Andre! They are a couple from the Chicagoland area who are following God’s leading in their lives. Trusting the Lord, they have moved across the world to share the Gospel in Budapest, Hungary.

“Pray Big Prayers!” – An Interview with Doug and Kristie Andre

Just weeks before Doug and Kristie packed their bags and left the United States, we sat down together to discuss the process they followed to make this monumental, mission-minded decision.

How did you decide to go to Hungary?

Kristie: After Doug and I got married, we went on many mission trips together. We went to the Philippines for two weeks and then to Albania. When we came back from all of these trips, we always felt like we hadn’t done enough. And could we see ourselves doing something more long-term.

We began to feel that the Lord was putting a call to global missions on our hearts. So, we started investigating which mission agency might be a good fit for us. And several people at our church kept saying, “Oh, you have to go to Budapest, Hungary!” At first, we didn’t quite understand why so many people were telling us this. But God knew.

What advice would you give to people who are trying to discern God’s will for their lives?

Doug: We like to encourage people to pray a bit bigger, looking for new opportunities that will stretch you to serve the Lord and get you out of your comfort zone a little bit. You know, we’re totally out of our comfort zone now! We’ve shed just about every material thing that we could in order to follow the Lord. We’ve sold our house and cars, quit our jobs, and gotten rid of most of our possessions. We are debt-free and ready to go!

We’re living in an extended-stay hotel right now [at the time of this interview], until we leave for Budapest. We’ve been here for several months, waiting for our departure day. We’re excited to serve the Lord! We’re really excited about the ways that we’re going to see God working and to get to play a small part in that.

Your reliance on God is so encouraging! I like your bold suggestion to “pray a bit bigger.” What do you mean by that?

Doug: When we give our lives to Jesus Christ (which I did 18 years ago and which I am doing now), we receive his Holy Spirit. So, there shouldn’t be anything that we are afraid to try to accomplish for the kingdom of God—to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, I’m always asking for “bigger” opportunities to serve him. I’m often praying, “God let me do more for you before you take me home”, and now he’s got me going to Budapest, Hungary as a missionary of the Gospel!

Sometimes I think we kind of shortchange what God wants to do through us and in us. But we can pray big! And then just stand back and watch what the Lord does. Praying big feels scary. And sometimes God leads us to things that stretch us like a rubber band, and it’s uncomfortable. But in the end, our sole purpose is just to glorify God wherever he takes us.

I agree, to sacrifice our comfort is hard to do-but worth it to glorify God. How do you see your role as you work for the Lord?

Doug: I like the lawn mower illustration. Picture a dad in the front yard, cutting the grass with his lawnmower. There’s a little kid, walking behind his dad with his toy lawnmower. It’s not cutting the grass, but the kid doesn’t know it. And he’s blissfully unaware that he’s not really doing much except following the path of his father, who is actually cutting the grass. When the work is done, and they’re sitting down together at the end, the little boy or girl says, “Hey, Papa! We cut the grass today, didn’t we?” And the father says, “Yes we did!”

For me, that’s what walking with the Lord is like. I know he’ll bring Kristie and me to the work he wants us to do, but he’s the one actually doing the work. We’re just tagging along behind him.

What a beautiful picture of the work anyone does for the Lord! The work is done by his power, but we get to be a part of it. As you begin this season of missionary work, what is the role of Scripture in your life?

Kristie: I grew up in the Lutheran church, but I just didn’t really know the Bible. I came to know the Lord when I was 26 years old, and I just had this insatiable desire to read God’s Word. And so, I began read the Bible every day.

The way we talk to someone and how we interact affect how well we know the person. God has given us his Word so that we can know him. He doesn’t tell us everything, and there’s a lot of unknowns. Many parts of the Bible can be challenging to understand. But God speaks to us through his word and is available for us to talk to him. We can ask him anything. We can cry out to him. I need that fellowship with my Lord and Savior.

Bringing God’s Word to the Hungarian people is the key to their relationship with Jesus Christ, too. I want to be able to share with them the joy I have found in Christ through God’s written Word.

The entire Bible points to Jesus Christ. And the entire world needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What I say to others is not so important as what God has to say. Doug and I are just thrilled to be able to go to Hungary with an open Bible.

I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other (Isa. 45:5-6).

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You can read more Stories of Impact like this one at Unlocking the Bible.Photo: Unsplash

 

When Ministry Doesn’t Meet Your Expectations

If you are a sower, this is for you.

This is for everyone who wants to plant the Word of God in the lives of young people, friends, family, children, grandchildren, the unchurched, the unreached, the urban poor, the suburban rich, and any other category you may add to the list.

Jesus said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (Jn. 15:8).  How is it possible to bear fruit that proves you are a disciple? How can you sustain a lifetime of service?

Four Responses to the Word of God

A sower went out to sow (Matt. 13:3).

The Parable of the Sower is about what happens when the Word of God is sown. Christ is telling us what to expect when we engage in the ministry of the Word. He is telling us that we must not be surprised or discouraged when people respond in different ways to the Word of God. This issue of expectations is crucial to sustaining a lifetime of service. Regardless of where you sow the Word of God, you will discover that not everyone is equally responsive. It will have different effects in the lives of different people.

Unresponsive

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (Matt. 13:19).

Some people who hear the Word will be unresponsive. If you are a sower, you know how hard and discouraging this can be. You are trying to teach the Word of God. You break it down to make it as simple as you possibly can, but your son or daughter, or a member of your small group just doesn’t get it. Nothing about the Word really interests them.  He hears it with a yawn. She does not see how what you are saying connects with her life.

When this happens, you need to remember that this happened for Jesus, too. This is the whole point of the parable.  Jesus is telling us not to be surprised or unduly discouraged when people we love and pray for hear the Word but really have no interest in it or understanding of it.

You can’t be a better teacher than Jesus. No one has ever taught more simply, more clearly, or in a way that is more compelling.  Look at His masterful teaching in John 10, where He paints the picture of the shepherd and the sheep: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John tells us, “They did not understand what he was saying” (Jn. 10:6).

Enthusiastic

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away (Matt. 13:20-21).

Here is a person who hears the Word and receives it.  More than that, this person receives the Word with joy!  And notice that this person makes an early response. He “immediately” receives it with joy. But this joyful receiving of the Word does not last. Trouble comes, and the person who once professed faith so brightly falls away. This second response is perhaps the most discouraging of all for the sower of the Word.

Dwight L. Moody was a wonderfully wise evangelist. He realized that invitations to respond at his meetings would often draw people who “immediately receive the word with joy” but who have no root in them. This is what he said to his counsellors who met with people when they came forward: “Urge immediate decisions, but never tell a man he is converted.  Never tell him he is saved.  Let the Holy Spirit reveal that to him.  You cannot see when a man receives eternal life.  You can’t afford to deceive anyone about this great question.” [1]

Jesus did not affirm every profession of faith, either. When He performed his first miracle in Cana by turning water into wine, many “believed in his name,” but “Jesus… did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people… He himself knew what was in man” (John 2:23-25). We cannot see the heart like Jesus did. We cannot finally tell who is genuinely converted from the one and who is merely manifesting a passing enthusiasm.

Distracted

As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Matt. 13:22).

Here is a person who hears and receives the Word. The seed gets into the soil, and it begins to grow. We know this because our Lord says, “the thorns grew up” (13:7). The thorns were not visible at the time when the seed was sown. Under the soil there were large root systems from old thorn bushes that had never been dug from the ground. They are just covered over. So, when the seed began to grow, the thorns outgrew it and choked it.

Jesus does not say that this person “falls away.” Rather, the distracted person remains in the church and would say that he is a Christian. But he is unfruitful. The ground of his life is so crowded that his profession of faith is barren. [2] It doesn’t produce fruit.

The rich young ruler is a perfect example of this in the ministry of Jesus. He says, “I want everything in this life, and I want heaven as well.” And when he goes away, he is sorrowful because the root system of his life is made up of thorns.

Receptive

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty (Matt. 13:23).

Here are people who hear the Word and understand it. And it bears fruit in them! The harvest that the Word brings in these people’s lives is abundant—”In one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” The Word of God will be more fruitful in some true believers than in other true believers.

The degree of fruitfulness will vary among believers, but the distinguishing mark of every true believer is that the Word of God bears fruit in your life. The Word bears the fruit of repentance, faith, hope, love, service, perseverance, obedience, humility, and a long, long list of things in the New Testament.

Encouragement for Sowers

The living seed of the Word of God will produce an abundant harvest. Give yourself to a ministry of the Word, and you will see fruit—though not to an equal degree in each person’s life. You will not see it immediately. The seed grows over time, and the first results often turn out to be disappointing. There will be frustrations. There will be setbacks. But God’s Word, faithfully sown, will raise a harvest of lives lived under the blessing of the rule of God.

Stick with the proper seed.

The only seed that will bear the fruit of gospel change in people’s lives is the Word of God (Lk. 8:11). Different seed will produce a different harvest. Different seed may keep people together, it may create a helpful group experience, but it will not bring people under the rule of God. Only the seed of the Word of God can do that.

Exercise patience.

God works by sowing seeds not by dropping bombs. Christ is telling us that God’s work gets done, not by earth-shattering explosions, but by the faithful and quiet teaching of the Word of God.

Watch yourself.

As you give yourself to ministry, you will get trodden on. Some difficult experience will happen in the course of ministry, and when it does, watch your heart. Do not become a sower whose heart is getting harder.

As you give yourself to ministry, it will become more costly. Circumstances in your life will arise that will make your ministry more difficult. When that happens, watch your heart! Do not become a sower who loses your joy.

As you give yourself to ministry, your life will become more crowded. As God gives you greater responsibility, it will be harder for you to manage your life. When that happens, watch your heart!  It is so easy to become like Martha, who was concerned about many things. Do not become a sower whose life is so crowded that there no longer room for Jesus himself!

The Plough is Powerful

As you give yourself to ministry, trust the outcomes into the hands of God. He can change the hardest heart. There will be many times when you wonder what has come of all your work in sowing the seed in other people’s lives. You’ve prayed for them. You’ve loved them. But it feels like good seed has fallen on hard ground.

William Lane points out that in the time of Jesus, farmers plowed after they had sown, not before. [3] When the plough comes, the hard path gets broken up, the seed gets tipped into the opened ground, and everything is changed!  We serve a God whose plough can break up the biggest rocks and root out the most stubborn thorn bushes. When God’s plough comes won’t you be so glad that you planted the seed?

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Photo: Unsplash1. R. Moody, The Life of Dwight L. Moody (Forgotten Books, 2012), 421.2. Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (BiblioBazaar, 2009), 76.3. William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Eerdmans, 1974), 153.This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Expectations”, from his series, Ministry Matters: Sustaining a Lifetime of Service .