Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 69

Amplify the Power of the Sermon in Your Life

During his earthly ministry, Jesus had a lot to say! He comforted some people, exhorted others, and preached far and wide about the kingdom of God. One of the brilliant aspects of Jesus’ preaching was the vibrant images he used.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24–27)

For disciples of Jesus, hearing him is only our first step. What happens after hearing makes all the difference. What produces an unshakable life that stands on a rock-solid foundation is hearing followed by obedience. Without obedience, we will be washed away in the storm.

I’ve often tried to apply this warning to my personal Bible study. But I’ve missed another obvious context for applying this passage.

The Sunday Sermon

I suspect that, as a people, we do not heed Jesus’ warning with regard to the preaching we hear at church. We pay little attention to the weekly sermon outside of Sunday. For some, the sermon only comes up over lunch as a way to praise or criticize the preacher.

Yet God, through his ministers, puts his Word in front of us every week. Pastors put in long, difficult hours during the week to study, pray, and prepare the sermon. They think carefully about what the Bible says and what their congregation needs to hear.

If we routinely forget the Sunday sermon by Monday morning, I fear we are building our houses on sand. The preacher must interpret God’s Word rightly, explain it clearly, and help the congregation understand it—but then we must build our house on the rock.

Are we doing after hearing the Word?

One Way to Build Your House on the Rock

I’ve been neglecting this area for too long. And with the help of a friend from church, I’ve been working toward change. Here’s one way I’m learning to build my house on the rock that I hope will inspire you to do the same.

My friend and I take one day each week to pray about the issues raised in the previous sermon. For me, this has produced rich prayer times, full of conviction and thanksgiving. Here is a description of our practice, which you might apply with your spouse, friend, or children.

1. Take notes during the sermon.

We capture the preacher’s outline of the passage along with the main interpretive points. We write down applications. I’ll also record any questions the passage raised for me.

2. Prepare the prayer guide.

On Sunday or Monday, while the sermon is still fresh in our minds, one of us will take their sermon notes and produce a prayer guide. We include the Bible text and then five to ten ways to respond in prayer.

Sometimes the passage calls for praise, thanksgiving, or petitions. But we’ve also seen the need to remember what God has promised and to lament the state of our world, our city, and our own hearts. We ask God to show us our doubts, sins, biases, and unwillingness to obey. This leads to confession and pleas for God to change us.

Hearing Jesus is only our first step. What happens after hearing makes all the difference.
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While we talk with God as individuals and ask him to work in us personally, we also think about our church, our community, and our neighbors:

Where is there corporate disobedience?
How should we thank God for his broader work?
Where can we work to apply the gospel to these groups and the institutions that affect them?
How can our church respond?

3. Pray.

We usually pray on Wednesdays. We pray with and for each other, using the prayer guide, throughout the day. (This practice also pairs well with a day of fasting, but that’s a topic for another time.)

4. Follow up.

My friend and I haven’t taken this step yet, but it would close the loop nicely. Sometime after the prayer day, either over the phone or in person, talk with your friend, spouse, or children about the sermon again.

What did God show you during your time of prayer and reflection?
What are some ways you were called to obey?
What implications do you see for your church?

Don’t Forget Jesus

Jesus is the key to all biblical interpretation. If you’re trying to understand a passage without the work of Christ in mind, you’ll probably miss the point (see Luke 24:25–27).

But Jesus is also the key to biblical application! We cannot claim that we have been saved by the grace of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus and then insist that our obedience or spiritual growth will come because of our own effort or discipline or zeal (see Galatians 3:3).

All of our application must find its purpose and power in the work of Jesus. So when my friend and I apply God’s Word to our lives with this exercise, we try to remember these four truths.

1. Obedience is not optional. In addition to what we have seen above, Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

2. Obedience is impossible on our own, apart from the Holy Spirit. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

3. Obedience will not make God love us more. (Neither will disobedience make him love us less.) We are perfectly loved by God our Father; thus we obey. 

4. Our obedience will be imperfect, because of our mixed motives and uneven desires. We will always need the finished, perfect obedience of Jesus to please God. And this is exactly what is credited to Christians by faith!

When we focus on application, it’s easy to think exclusively about discipline, methods, and details. But we must view all of our repentance and obedience in the light of Jesus’ work.

Let’s Get to Work

Not every sermon will be a five-star masterpiece, but God will use our every encounter with his Word for his good purposes (Isaiah 55:10–11).

In the sermon, God gives you a passage of Scripture each week upon which to meditate. Then he invites you to build. Brick by brick, board by board, come away from the sand and construct your house on the rock.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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What If My Church Doesn’t Preach the Bible?
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The post Amplify the Power of the Sermon in Your Life appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Enjoy the Freedom of Your Redemption

You’ll never defeat this.

My mind recites this line like a broken record when ugly, deceptive sin threatens to trap me in its patterns. Because God has rescued me from my former way of living, I know I need to stop engaging in behavior that defies his will, and live in the way that pleases him.

But persistent sins like worry and pride are so entrenched in my heart that they seem impossible to overcome. I feel as though the weight of shame and guilt will always hound me since my sins are too heavy to shake off by my own efforts.

As I carry these burdens, unable to unload them, I forget the deeper truth revealed in human weakness: What I can’t accomplish, Christ already did.

He Secured Your Redemption

The author of Hebrews emphasized confidence in his letter to early Christians converted from Judaism. Through logical arguments explaining how Jesus surpassed the Old Testament models of deliverance, he encouraged these young believers to resist temptation and endure trials by holding fast to hope.

This hope is grounded in the truth of how Christ fulfilled and annulled the law of atonement under the Old Covenant, which provided a way to cover but not remove sin. In his death and resurrection, Jesus accomplished what the sacrificial system couldn’t: “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrew 9:12).

Jesus eliminated the need to try to cover sin by paying the penalty for it on the cross. When he breathed his last words—“It is finished”—he completed the work of making us right before God (John 19:30).

Knowing our salvation is secure, we can rest from striving to rescue ourselves. Instead of working hard to live perfectly in order to earn our salvation, we are free in Christ’s salvation to enjoy him and live like him, set apart by God to walk in the good works he prepared for us.

Through our great High Priest, we can draw near to our Creator without guilt or fear of punishment. He ripped the temple veil that separated sinners from a holy God and exchanged our shame for boldness before the throne. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

That’s the hope we cling to when facing our sins.

He Transforms Your Desires

Jesus set us free from bondage to sin and seals us for heaven. Yet while we’re here on earth, we still wrestle with trials and temptations. Paul talks about this struggle using combative terminology: “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Romans 7:22-23).

Rather than remaining discouraged by and stuck in sin, we can have confidence in the ongoing work of our Savior in conforming us to his likeness. As Christ united us with himself, we now share the same Spirit dwelling within us, who is transforming us by changing our desires and renewing our minds (Romans 12:2).

What I can’t accomplish, Christ already did.
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With the Spirit helping us in our weakness, we consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:10). By following the Spirit’s lead instead of our earthly desires, we can eagerly wait for complete restoration and bear his fruit as we do (Galatians 5:22-23).

If we allow the Word to convict us and humbly seek a clean heart, we can, like the young Hebrew believers, endure temptations because we know God is with us and for us. Even though we stumble along the way, he promises to keep us persevering in faith until we see him face to face in heaven.

He Frees You to Live

I don’t have to conquer sin by trying to control my stubborn heart. As I trust in God’s faithfulness to complete the work he began in me, I can discern the ways I’m falling for sin’s deception and ask his help to desire his will more than my own.

It will take a while, this sanctification process. Wish as I might, I can’t manage its schedule or predict the number of times I’ll trip and fail.

But by faith in Christ’s power made perfect in my weakness, I can turn away from sin, pursue holiness, and confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)—or, in a personal application, “What can I do to ruin myself?”

The sins I still battle don’t separate me from God. Jesus erased them, washed me clean, and invites me into fellowship with the Father. By his Spirit, I can choose to turn away from sin toward a closer walk with God, enjoying the freedom of redemption.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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What Jesus Christ Has Accomplished
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The post Enjoy the Freedom of Your Redemption appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

When Words of Comfort Feel Like Salt in a Wound

We sat in the doctor’s office, exhausted by the constant struggles with our son, only to hear the doctor say, “I think you just need to give him more to do.”

I don’t know if he could see the steam coming from my ears and the tears in my eyes, but I couldn’t believe that he would look at eight years of insanity in our home and tell us it was due to our inability to give our child enough to do.

As hard as comments like that have been, the ones that hurt the deepest have been from other believers who have insinuated that our child’s problems were due to our lack of parenting, or that if we just prayed and trusted more, God would intervene.

The reality is, it’s hard to sit with another person in the mess of their suffering without trying to impose our own “wisdom” and rationalize it away. Another person’s pain can make us uncomfortable because it confronts us with the undeniable reality of how vulnerable we are.  

When Comfort Hurts

We see this clearly in the dialogue recorded between Job and his friends. In the end, we see that the greatest comfort Job’s friends offered was when they sat with him in silence. They faltered when they couldn’t bear watching their righteous friend suffer, convinced that only the unrighteous would suffer so deeply.

We’re tempted to believe that if we obey God, he will protect us from harm. When we see suffering come to a godly believer who is striving after Christ, it’s incredibly unsettling. Though we may desire to comfort them, we naturally want to find a reason for their suffering.

Deep down, we want to know how to keep such pain from entering our lives.

Out of that fear, we are tempted to either run from their pain and avoid them, or respond as Job’s friends—comforting them for a time, but then foolishly trying to make sense of their suffering with comments that are often unbiblical and unhelpful.

We have to be grounded in the the Word of God.
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For example, we may hear comments such as, “Well, God must have allowed this because…” or, “I’m sure things will get better soon…” or, “If you just trust Jesus and pray in his name, he will take this away from you.”

We see this in Job 5:8, in Eliphaz’s response to Job, “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause.” In other words, “If it were me, I would go to God and repent.”

These are foolish attempts to make sense of God’s ways (as if we are wise enough to understand them) and as a result, it often ends up hurting the very person we are trying to comfort.

How to Guard Your Wounds from Salty Words

You can probably share how good-intentioned friends have spoken words of “comfort” that felt more like salt in a wound than salve for the soul. This can quickly cause us to retreat from others, including the church. Although this is an understandable response, we have to guard ourselves from isolation and allowing those hurts to take root.

I encourage you to guard yourselves with these reminders.  

1. Ground yourself in truth.

The best way to guard yourself from hurtful and unbiblical comments is to continually fill yourself with the truth and promises of Scripture.

If you are meditating on the truth of the gospel daily—remembering that your sins have been paid for and you are no longer under God’s wrath—then you won’t be as flustered when someone insinuates that your suffering must be the result of some hidden sin. We must remember how God is always using our trials to grow us in him and purify us for righteousness, but it’s no longer from his wrath and punishment (Romans 5:8-9).

Likewise, if we are grounded in the truth that as followers of Christ we will suffer as we follow our suffering Savior (1 Peter 2:21), we won’t be as shaken and confused by the false promise, “If you just believe and have more faith, God will take away your suffering.”  

We have to be grounded in the the Word of God. It will keep us anchored in the truth and protect us from spiraling into spiritual confusion when the misguided words of others are spoken into our suffering.

2. Know your capacity.

There may be seasons when we are so burdened by grief or trials that our capacity for fellowship, explaining our trials, and expending energy is limited.

If we are staying connected to a local church and hearing the Word of God preached consistently, we can be discerning about who we choose to spend our time with and what relationships we put energy into.

During these seasons, it’s crucial to be intentional about surrounding ourselves with other Christians who are prayer warriors and encouragers—those who are firmly grounded in the truth of God’s Word. Along with that, we must pray for humility to hear hard truths from those who love us, care about us, and have walked closely with us. God uses trials for many purposes, one being to expose and set us free from sin. To that end, he often calls humble, loving friends to help us see sin that may be hindering us in our walk of faith.     

Personally, we have found it helpful to build into friendships with others who are going through, or have gone through, significant trials. There is a unique compassion and encouragement that fellow sufferers offer, those who have received the comfort of Christ. On the flip side, it’s also been important to realize that just because someone isn’t suffering doesn’t mean that they can’t walk with us and be used by God to serve, pray for, and encourage us in a way that their season of life allows them to (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

3. Give grace.

Lastly, remember that we are all flawed sinners in the process of being made more like Christ. Most people who speak a hurtful comment have good intentions, even when they are unknowingly speaking out of insecurity, fear, and lack of understanding. There is a good chance that we, too, have unintentionally hurt others at times, out of our own ignorance––we should all be quick to extend grace and forgiveness to one another.

When we are hurt by the words and judgments of others as Job was, we need to filter their words through the lens of the gospel, asking Christ to help us discern what is true, and trusting that God will ultimately be our defender.

By God’s grace, he can even use the judgmental and hurtful words of others to draw us to him, grow us in grace, truth, and compassion, and use us to bring comfort and hope to others who are hurting.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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Are Your Words Seasoned with Salt?
Don’t Waste Your Suffering
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The post When Words of Comfort Feel Like Salt in a Wound appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Key Connections (July 20, 2018)

The Most Dangerous Place to Live: The Subtle Perils of the Past (Greg Morse, Desiring God)

When former blessings decay present gratitude; when God gave that job, that boyfriend, that success — and life afterward is worse for it; when we have become tart creatures that begrudge the fall because we once enjoyed spring; when we sigh through our days and retreat into our memories; we have left the safe path.

Don’t Be Introspective. Examine Yourself. (Kristen Wetherell, The Gospel Coalition)

No corner of God’s human design—our bodies, minds, or hearts—exists outside his intimate knowledge. What a comfort that God knows us perfectly! God’s searching ministry is accomplished by his Spirit. We don’t examine ourselves by our own wisdom and knowledge but by his revealing work.

A Sober Warning from the Earliest Christians (Tim Challies, Challies.com)

Rome was surprisingly tolerant of other faiths. As they conquered the surrounding nations, they would rarely demand full loyalty to the traditional Roman religion or gods. They would allow people to continue to worship their own gods in pretty much their own way. But still the Christians were persecuted. Why?

How Not to Pray: Two Correctives from Christ (Albert Mohler, AlbertMohler.com)

Of course, historically, Jesus is referring to the ostentatious prayers of the Pharisees, but we need to see this as a temptation for ourselves as well. You and I can easily succumb to the temptation to engage in hypocritical prayer that is about God in its formal address, but far from him in terms of the posture of our heart.

How to Use the Qur’an to Get to the Gospel (Thabiti Anyabwile, International Mission Board)

The return of Christ could happen at any moment, which is why there’s no better time than now to be a grace-filled ambassador (2 Cor. 5:14–21) to Muslims. Pray for opportunities to build bridges with Muslim friends. Trust the Holy Spirit to change hearts as you dialogue with them about the ‘Isa of the Qur’an. May God, by his grace, use us to open the eyes of many to see and believe in the glorious ‘Isa of Scripture—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Single Greatest Challenge of Your Christian Life (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

But Job says, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21). You may be going through indescribable sorrow. The fact that you love Christ still in the midst of your loss may be your greatest confession of him.

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Bible Study Tips for the Book of Acts

Have you ever felt like having a little guidance in your Bible reading would help you learn and understand more than you currently do?

Or maybe you heard an idea presented in a sermon and thought to yourself, “How on earth could I have missed that?!”

Learning and observing themes in certain books of the Bible can have a tremendous effect on your understanding of the book and whole Bible story.

The book of Acts comes at a special time in the Bible story and there are some unique things to watch out for as you read.

Christ had just risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and given the apostles the Great Commission. How do the disciples combine their experience of the risen Christ, the Old Testament prophecies about Christ, and the call to make disciples of all nations?

Bible Study Tips for the Book of Acts
1. Highlight these three themes in different colors:

The Holy Spirit
Prayer
Witness

The purpose of highlighting these themes is to see how prevalent and powerful each of the themes are throughout the book. When you see the connection between these three themes and the events of Acts, you will see them in a new light and understand what God wants to teach you about them.

Highlighting the Holy Spirit will encourage you to seek more the Spirit’s power in your own life.

Highlighting prayer will drive you to your knees and pray bold prayers to our loving and living God.

Highlighting the bold witness of the apostles will encourage you to be a bold witness and remember the life changing power of the gospel to save sinners.

2. Make note of Old Testament passages quoted.

The book of Acts marks a monumental shift from the anticipation of the Messiah’s coming to the proclamation of the Messiah’s coming. Making note of the use of the Old Testament in the book of Acts will give you insights into the amazing prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ and what the Jewish world was expecting in their Messiah.

This will deepen your appreciation for Christ and your understanding of how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament, and how he can claim in John 5:39 that, “All Scriptures testify about Me!”

Example: In Acts 2:14-41, Peter addresses Jews in Jerusalem quoting Joel 2, Psalm 16, and Psalm 110 to prove that Jesus was the Messiah. The passage ends describing the powerful results: “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day” (Acts 2:41).

3. Make note of how conversions are worded.

Christians describe conversion to Christianity in a number of ways: Some people say that a person “came to Christ,” “went forward during the altar call,” or “prayed the prayer of salvation.” Some of these phrases can be theologically inaccurate. Over time the phrases you use will shape your understanding of true Christian conversion.

Because using a certain type of language over and over again can shape our theology, we should use the words of Scripture as a model to describe conversion so we are expressing conversion like God does.

For example, phrases like “The Lord opened her heart…” (Acts 16:14), “…for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39) and “and all who were appointed for eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48) emphasize God’s work and sovereignty in salvation.

Our salvation is not a personal choice, but rather it is a gracious act of our sovereign God.

4. Follow along with maps.

The book of Acts describes the true history of the early church and the spread of the gospel. The implications of this are that the people and places mentioned in the book are historically true and present a factual picture of the events that “turned the world upside down”, as Acts 17:6 says (see additional fact #2 below).

This can also help us realize the length the apostles went to proclaim the gospel to all people, Jews and Gentiles.

The ESV Study Bible includes maps on many of the pages in the book of Acts that help illustrate the various places mentioned in Acts and routes taken by the Apostles as they proclaim the gospel. This will help you place yourself in the shoes (or sandals) of the apostles and understand the kindness of God in the gospel being for all people.

Many other Bibles also contain maps at the back where you can see the great lengths traveled by the apostles to share the good news of Christ.

3 Bonus facts to enhance your study:
1. Consider Acts as a continuation of the Gospel of Luke.

Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Many commentators see it as one story in two parts, the Gospel of Luke being part 1 and Acts being the follow up volume. Luke is primarily about the work of Jesus Christ during his lifetime, while the book of Acts starts with the ascension of Christ highlights the work of the Holy Spirit in the early church.

2. Luke and Acts are both well respected by many historians.

A Nobel Prize winning historian named Sir William Ramsay was so impressed with the historical accuracy of Luke that he renounced atheism and became a believer. In his book The Bearing of Recent Discoveries on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, Ramsay writes, “Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect to its trustworthiness…Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements trustworthy…this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians” (page 222).

As a Christian, it should be no surprise that a book inspired by the Holy Spirit is historically accurate!

3. The book of Acts is unlike any other biblical book.

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) describe the life and ministry of Jesus Christ when he was in the flesh, while much of the rest of the New Testament is made up of letters written by the apostles to the early church after the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Acts describes the amazing transformation of the disciples from doubters who denied Christ, to world changers filled with the Holy Spirit.

The book of Acts does not finish the story of God’s amazing work through his church. It continues today.

You can do a lot more than just read the book of Acts. As you engage your faith, you’ll begin to see Christ and the Church that he gave his life for in a new light. God’s Word ignites our hearts for worship and for reaching out to our world with the Gospel. The same Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us power to be a light and impact in this dark world.

A suggested resource from Dr. Carson and David Morlan is  The Gospel of Luke: From the Outside In, a small-group DVD set based on the theme of the 2013 Gospel Coalition National Conference. 

The first four tips were shared by D.A. Carson, Research Professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in a class lecture. The ideas are his used with permission. The explanation/bonus tips are original. [Photo Credit: Lightstock]

RELATED POSTS:

Jesus in the Old Testament: Five Powerful Glimpses of Christ in Leviticus
What Acts Teaches Us About the Advancement of the Gospel
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The Single Greatest Challenge of Your Christian Life

“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32)

In this chapter, Jesus speaking to those who have already made a commitment to him (Matthew 10:1). He’s challenging Christians.

When you first hear this verse, it sounds like an easy thing to do. But look at the context:

“I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of  wolves” (v. 16).
“They will deliver you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake. When they deliver you over…” (vv. 17-19)
“Brother will deliver brother over to death…Children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next…” (vv. 21-23).
“Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…” (v. 28).

Seven Ways to Confess Jesus Christ

Clearly “confessing” Christ will be the most demanding challenge these men will face in their entire lives. Confessing Christ will also be the single greatest challenge in your life as a Christian believer.

Here are seven ways to practice this confession:

1. Confess the lordship of Christ in baptism.

Christian faith involves drawing a clear-cut line in the sand, in which you put your faith in Christ and pledge your allegiance to Christ. Is this something you’ve done?

This is not a private matter; it’s public. That is the significance of baptism. Peter says, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). Being baptized as a believer is one way in which you can confess the lordship of Christ over your life. Have you confessed Christ in baptism?

2. Confess the glory of Christ in costly obedience.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44).

When you find something of supreme value, you go after it—regardless of the cost. If you have grasped the glory of Jesus Christ, you will wade into deeper water, giving sacrificially like never before. Costly obedience shows how you value Jesus Christ.  

3. Confess the presence of Christ in loneliness.  

If you have felt let down by your friends at a time when you really needed them, you will know how tough it is to confess the presence of Christ in your loneliness.

Paul was familiar with the loneliness of friends who had let him down in a tight spot. He writes about it from prison (see 2 Timothy 4), giving us a catalogue of his disappointments:

“Demas has deserted me” (v. 10).
“Alexander the metalworker did me great harm” (v. 14).
“At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them” (v. 16).

Paul could have turned his disappointment to bitterness, but he doesn’t do that. He uses the failures of others as an opportunity for confessing Christ: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength…And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth” (v. 17).

What are you going to do when other people let you down? Confess the presence of Christ in your loneliness.

4. Confess contentment in Christ under financial pressure.

Paul knew wide-ranging financial circumstances. At one time he had plenty—Paul had a brilliant mind and a distinguished position under Gamaliel, an honored religious teacher. There were other times when he was in financial need and did not have enough to eat.

He uses this financial pressure to confess Christ:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12-13)

Imagine on Friday afternoon, someone walks into your office, and suddenly you’ve lost your job. Your whole financial position has changed. But you say, “I’m going to trust Christ in this.” That is how disciples put their faith in Christ into practice.

5. Confess the sufficiency of Christ in sickness and pain.

Paul had a particular affliction that he describes as “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). He uses his pain to confess Jesus: “[Christ] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in weakness.’ So I will boast about my weaknesses so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (v. 9).

Costly obedience shows how you value Jesus Christ.  
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Some of us know about this. God gives you good health, but then you discover a condition that changes your life. You experience pain. You are not able to do things you were able to do before. You ask God to take it away—and perhaps he does. But perhaps the sickness is still with you. Will you spend the rest of your life in resentment toward God?

6. Confess the comfort of Christ in crushing trials.

Paul speaks about a time of intense difficulty he experienced in Asia:

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. (2 Corinthians 1:8)

A series of things happened to Paul that left him feeling unbearably crushed. You may be right there now—under great pressure, beyond your ability to endure.

Paul seized this as an opportunity not to give up, but to confess Christ. He speaks about the comfort of God, and how as a result of God’s grace to him in these trials, he is now able to comfort others.

7. Confess the sovereignty of Christ in sorrow and loss.

Perhaps the most remarkable confession in all of Scripture comes from Job. Here’s a godly man who has everything going for him, then in a single day his whole world implodes. His wealth is plundered by enemies. His children die when a house collapses on them. Even his own wife says to him, “Why don’t you curse God and die?” (Job 2:9).

But Job says, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21).

You may be going through indescribable sorrow. The fact that you love Christ still in the midst of your loss may be your greatest confession of him.

A Challenge Worth Taking

Confessing Christ will be the single greatest challenge in your life as a Christian believer as you walk through difficulties. But Jesus tells us to take every opportunity in the trials to confess him.

For our acknowledgement of him before men will reverberate through heaven and hell forever.

[This article is adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Jesus Will Confess You Before the Father” from the series Rock Solid: Seven Promises Christ Makes to You.][Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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The post The Single Greatest Challenge of Your Christian Life appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Keep on Pedaling

The doctor said, “The child has severe hemophilia.” In the crib looking up at me with charming brown eyes lay a beautiful baby boy. A “severe” hemophiliac. My son. Emotions swirled. “Are you sure?” I asked, feeling pathetic in the doctor’s eyes. “Yes,” he responded.

Most things in life happen before you are ready. This seems to be especially true with the hard stuff. Our hearts race and minds search for meaning, but some circumstances resist explanation. Looking at the oozing of blood from my newborn son bore testimony to this fact. Powerless, I stood and watched.

Little did I know it at the time, but this was the start of a great adventure. In coming months and years, this journey would take us through dark moments of despair, and in a strange and ironic way, it would also lead to joy.

It would thrust us into the crucible of faith, where we would have to believe what we believe, and in the silence of prayer it would mediate peace that surpasses understanding. Bewildered and broken, we would glimpse into the Pauline paradox: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

We Never Arrive

We never arrive until we are home. Pardon the obvious, but think about it. Because we are sojourners and pilgrims in this world, struggle and strain will always attend our steps.

Here is how an old missionary from Africa once put it during a seminary chapel sermon. He had us on the edge of our seats with stories of angry tribal warriors coming into his compound with weapons drawn and violence in their eyes. Somehow, on account of the inexplicable appearance of fog, he and his family managed to escape. He then announced that through such experiences he had learned a valuable lesson about the Christian life. We were attentive, to say the least. He told us:

To understand the Christian life, imagine riding a bicycle in the middle of a two-way street heading up a steep hill. Your job is to keep the bicycle wheels on the yellow line and keep pedaling. If you veer to the left or to the right, with cars zipping past you on both sides, you’re road kill. And as you get further up the hill, the forces of gravity and fatigue make pedaling more difficult (so get it out of your head that elderly people go on spiritual cruise control). The challenge continues until the end, and there is no reprieve until we finally arrive home.

At first blush, the analogy struck me as overly man-centered, but then our speaker concluded:

Of course, we do veer off the yellow line. Every single day. And when we do, Jesus’ victory—the cross, resurrection and pouring out of the Spirit—provides forgiveness and healing. But we are nevertheless called to pedal. When our legs feel shot and we’re unable to proceed, we pray for divine strength, and somehow it comes. This is God’s promise: “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

The Adventure Continues

There are days when the struggle feels too difficult. Yes, I believe in the promise of Philippians 1:6, but sometimes the burden feels unbearably heavy. It’s the feeling I had, for instance, when my boy with hemophilia initially learned how to ride a bicycle.

If you’ve ever trained a child to ride a bike, you know one thing: the process is full of falling. But falling isn’t a viable option when your blood doesn’t clot. So I ran behind my son’s bike with arms outstretched for an hour, up and down the sidewalk, ready to throw my body onto the pavement as a cushion to break his fall.

Walking home that afternoon, I looked at my boy. Yes, he had fallen, and my lunges were too late, but thankfully the damage was minimal. As I looked down on my son holding my hand, my thoughts naturally went upward to the Father in heaven. I wondered, What is God’s posture? What are his thoughts toward us?

The old missionary from Africa came to mind. I imagined God saying: Keep pedaling, son, despite your fears. I know all the bumps in the road, and, although you falter and even wipe out, my grace surrounds you to the end.

How does this encourage you to keep pedaling?

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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The post Keep on Pedaling appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

God Is Not a Super-Human

According to psychologist Robin Rosenberg (Smithsonian.com), Americans love superheroes because the characters are relatable and their stories inspire. Heroes are often regular men and women who undergo some “life-altering experience” and discover their hidden power.

Unfortunately, the idea of an ordinary person with extraordinary power colors our understanding of God. We know the Bible says that God created man in his image (Genesis 3), but we imagine God in our image—a super-human, in a sense.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

   neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so are my ways higher than your ways

   and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God is not just a better version of us. He is altogether different in at least three important ways.

His Will Is Perfect

Years ago, struggling with a big decision, I prayed that God would show me his will. But as the days and weeks wore on, I realized I wasn’t really asking God for his will; I was asking God to show me what decision was going to make me happiest. In other words, I wasn’t seeking what God wanted in the situation; I was trying to learn what I wanted.

My natural human will is weak and unreliable. Tainted by sin, my will is myopic and self-serving.

But God’s will is perfect and holy:

“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

Where my will is short-sighted, his is eternal. Mine is focused on my good; his is for his glory and the good of others. My will is weak and unreliable, but his is strong and effective to raise Christ from the dead and save sinners from eternal destruction.

His Way Is Limitless

God does not face human boundaries.

I know many Christians who struggle with the Genesis creation account because it doesn’t fit our understanding of time. If modern scientific methods suggest that a fossil is billions of years old, then many believe it must have existed for billions of years. Unfortunately, that logic assumes God is subject to the same physical limitations as the rest of nature:

A human body requires 25 years to grow from baby to adult, and yet God created a fully-grown man out of dust.
A fruit tree might take 12 months to 15 years to produce fruit, and yet God created fruit-bearing trees in the garden in a day.

By his word alone, God spoke the universe into existence, raised the dead, and stilled storms. My limited human brain can’t comprehend our limitless God, and yet my lack of understanding does not stop him.

God is not just a better version of us. He is altogether different.
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Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

Salvation, just like creation, is impossible using natural methods and human power. But God’s power is eternal, and only he can do the impossible. When we assume he can only do what we can understand, then we miss his “eternal power and divine nature” (Romans 1:20) that is at work to save us from our sins.

His Love Is Sacrificial

In his book Love: A Beginner’s Guide, Pastor Colin Smith describes the love in 1 Corinthians 13 like this:

The love that is described here is so radically different from the prevailing attitudes and values of our world today, it will take a lifetime to learn it—though if we are Christians, we will then have eternity to put it into practice. (p. 3)

Human love is temporary, self-serving, and conditional. God’s love is long-suffering, sacrificial, and unconditional:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

My natural tendency is to lose patience and give up on someone who won’t return my friendship or affection. But the Lord “is patient toward you” (2 Peter 3:9), and his kindness extends forever. The human way would be to lay down your life for a worthy cause or person, yet Christ “died for the ungodly.” His love is greater than a natural human love because he is not human. He is God.

Why God’s Greatness Matters

To miss the greatness of our God is to miss the greatness of the gospel.

Throughout history, mankind has devised “gods” that are versions of what we know—man, animals, etc.—but are powerless to save. We have legends, heroes, superstars. We glorify human skill, intelligence, and talent and think that God must be a supersized version of what we can see and understand. But no one else has the will, way, or love to save us from the penalty, power, and ultimately (one day) from the very presence of sin.

God’s greatness matters because only he can accomplish the impossible. In Christ, he is “able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him” (Hebrews 7:25). And he not only saves us from the penalty of sin, he is able to change our will to be more like his (Philippians 2:13). He brings “the immeasurable greatness of his power” into our lives (Ephesians 1:19), and because of his love, we are able to love one another (1 John 4:7-12).

He is not a god created in our image. We are his people, created in his image, and because of his will, way, and love, we can experience eternal life.

[Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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The post God Is Not a Super-Human appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

Key Connections (July 13, 2018)

What Is the Mystery of Marriage? (David Mathis, Desiring God)

God joined our first parents in the garden, and men and women ever since, to point us — oh so imperfectly but truly — to the kind of love and care his Son would give his people. And Jesus doesn’t break his promises to us because we’re still sinful and inconsistent. He doesn’t disown those who are genuinely his because we fail him.

Our Cross (Gabriel Williams, The Christward Collective)

…To bear the cross means to submit and humble ourselves under the trials God has prepared for us. Just as our Lord learned obedience through what He suffered (cf. Hebrews 5:7-8), God uses the same means to train His children.

Four Ways Every Member Can Strengthen Their Local Church (Shar Walker, Gospel-Centered Discipleship)

This means every believer in the local church is necessary for her flourishing. A congregation cannot be made up of only teachers or only encouragers. We need men and women that are wise, exhorters, discerning, and helpers to shape healthy churches. God has given you certain gifts of his Spirit so you can help strengthen your local church.

Divine Sovereignty (Steven Lawson, Ligonier Ministries)

The sovereignty of God is the free exercise of his supreme authority in executing and administrating his eternal purposes. God must be sovereign if he is to be truly God. A god who is not sovereign is not God at all… A god who is less than fully sovereign is not worthy of our worship, much less our witness.

When It Comes to Knowing God, Are You a Traveler, or Just an Observer? (Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries)

On my bike rides I’ve been listening to the wonderful audio version of a book that deeply affected me when I was a young teenage Christian in the 1970s. It’s J. I. Packer’s classic, Knowing God… In an early chapter Packer says this:

What Jesus Christ Has Accomplished (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

If you want to free the world from human trafficking and sexual abuse and racism, you have to free the human heart from selfishness, lust, and pride—which are at its root. Therefore, redeeming the world from suffering must include redeeming the heart from sin. Suffering will end when sin is defeated. That is why Jesus came into the world—to redeem us from our suffering and sin.

The post Key Connections (July 13, 2018) appeared first on Unlocking the Bible.

What Jesus Christ Has Accomplished

Isaiah 53 is one of the clearest statements of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for his people in the entire Bible: Christ came to redeem you from suffering and sin forever by sacrificing himself as your substitute on the cross.

He was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:5-6, NIV)

Redeemed from Suffering

Christ came to redeem you from suffering.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows. (v. 4)

To redeem you means to “release you” or to “set you free.” To redeem is to do whatever it takes to get you out of the mess you’re in.

When Isaiah speaks about the redeeming work of Christ, he does not begin with our guilt and sin. That comes later. He starts with our infirmities. That has to include your migraines, your arthritis, your depression, and your cancer. Christ also carried our sorrows. That must include the division in your family, the loss of your job, the death of your husband, and the pain of your past.

Christ has not abandoned you to your infirmities and sorrows. He refused to remain in heaven at a distance from your tears and your pain—he came. He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.

In all the world of religion you will never find anyone else like Jesus Christ, who knows what it is to stand with you in pain and sorrow. He has come into the world so that pain and sorrow will not have the last word in your life.  

Redeemed from Sin

Christ also came to redeem you from sin.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities… (v. 5)

Sin and suffering are wrapped up together in the Bible. They came into the world together, they exist in the world together, and the Bible tells us that God will take them out of the world together.

Think about how closely they are linked. What kind of heaven would it be if there was no cancer, but human trafficking remained? What kind of hope would heaven hold for you if there was no death, but sexual abuse continued? And what joy would there be in a heaven where God’s people were all gathered, but were still divided by race?

Redeeming the world from suffering must include redeeming the heart from sin.
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Suffering continues as long as sin remains. If you want to free the world from human trafficking and sexual abuse and racism, you have to free the human heart from selfishness, lust, and pride—which are at its root.

Therefore, redeeming the world from suffering must include redeeming the heart from sin. Suffering will end when sin is defeated. That is why Jesus came into the world—to redeem us from our suffering and sin.

How Christ Redeems His People

Isaiah also tells us how Christ redeems us from our sins: Christ came to redeem you by sacrificing himself as your substitute.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (v. 5)

When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he was more than a friend suffering with us. Yes, he suffered with us, but Isaiah makes it very clear that he is also a substitute suffering for us. How?

1. Christ redeems his people through his suffering.

Look at how Isaiah puts it:

Jesus was pierced. Think about Jesus’ hands and feet being nailed—why did that happen? Isaiah says this happened to him because of your “transgressions” and mine.

Jesus was crushed. Think about his body crushed under the weight of the cross and by the agony of the scourging—what was that all about? Isaiah says that was about him bearing these things on account of your twistedness, your “iniquities,” your sinful nature and mine.

Jesus was punished. The outpouring of the wrath of Holy God upon the Lord himself—why did that have to happen? So that you may have “peace” with God.

Jesus was wounded. What is that all about? So you may fully, finally, completely, and forever, in the joyful presence of your Savior, be marvelously and eternally “healed.”

Christ came to redeem you forever. If you are in Christ, the suffering you know in this world is the only suffering you will ever experience in your life. Think about your eternity. What is 60 or 70 years of suffering in this world compared to all eternity? The scale of this redemption is staggering.

2. Christ redeems his people with great joy.

Christ gladly counts the joy of your redemption as greater than the pain of his suffering:

After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied. (v. 11)

The risen Lord Jesus Christ already knows how he will look out over a vast company of redeemed people that no one can number. He already knows all of us by name. Already he walks with us and rejoices over us, as he will for eternity.

Christ gladly counts the joy of your redemption as greater than the pain of his suffering.
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Already Christ sees us forgiven for our sins, healed from our wounds, and brought out of our sorrows and into his everlasting joy. Christ counts his own joy in us greater than all the pain of his suffering. And he lives to bring us into that joy!

Jesus Christ, Our Salvation

You are more loved than you ever dared to dream. It’s almost frightening to think of being loved that much. This love is so vast that it is difficult for us sinners to grasp—the love of the Savior who offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins, substituting himself under the piercing, crushing, punishing, and wounding that belonged to us on account of our sins.

He did all this so that we might have peace and healing as we are redeemed from our infirmities. This love, this sacrifice—this Jesus—is your salvation.

[This article is adapted from the sermon, “Restore Faith!” from the series, Restore My Soul][Photo Credit: Unsplash]

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