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If God is sovereign, and every good gift is from above, then not praising the good in others is a kind of sacrilege and soul-sickness.
When our mouths are empty of praise for others, it is probably because our hearts are full of love for self. This is what I mean by soul-sickness.
“A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Prov. 31:30).
says,“Well done,good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21,
all the works of God are worthy of praise.
God is glorified in us when we affirm the work he has done and is doing in others.
it is the Lord who made Solomon so great
“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers;
‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!’ And God granted what he asked” (1 Chron. 4:9–10).
“a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”
those who know they should do something—like commend commendable people—but don’t do it, are sinning: “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).
we can sin in two ways: by idolatrous commendation, or by failing to commend the commendable. The challenge for us is to not sin in either direction.
martyrs.“For by it the people of old received their
commendation” (Heb. 11:2). All of these were “commended through their faith . . .” (v. 39). They are commended, yet their commendation steals nothing from the glory of God, because they are commended for faith that is from him and in him.
The Lord affirms Noah
Pharaoh affirms Joseph
Boaz commen...
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Saul commend...
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Achish affirms ...
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The centurion highly values his servant
Paul commends Phoebe
Paul commends the Corinthians
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor. 1:1–9)
them,“I give thanks to my God always for you.” Why? “Because of the grace of God that was given you in Jesus Christ.” Do you see the God-centered affirmation?
Jesus himself, the one to whom belongs all glory, affirms others:2
Obedience is a way of praising. Obedience honors the one being obeyed.
However, we are to disobey man when he is commanding us to do something that turns us away from God. Obedience to God supersedes obedience to man, but does not forbid all obedience to man.
Good affirmations are God-centered, pointing to the image of God in a person.
“‘Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:35–36).
just as salvation is from Christ, through Christ, in Christ, and to Christ, so character is Christ’s work emanating from within the believer and stemming from the vigorous life of the Spirit dwelling there.
God-centered affirmations
are gifts, coming from outside people and being worked in them.
“God is helping you
Before being able to affirm people well, we need to learn to affirm God, the source of everything to be affirmed in people.
“Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!” (Ps. 150:2).
it is fitting to commend people for “mighty deeds,”
Making progress in conquering such diabolical debilitations is commendable, a testimony to the grace and power of God in a person.
excellent greatness
be—serving in the strength God supplies and for which ...
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We are stewards of grace. Those who steward well should be commended for it, and God should be praised for giving them the grace to steward the grace given. God is not given the praise he deserves when we ignore or deny the work he is doing in people.
Affirming people gains a hearing so that we can tell them the most offensive news in the universe—God is angry at them (see Rom. 1:18). Our listeners will be more inclined to hear us is they believe we’re not angry at them, but grateful for them. If we’re not angry at them, they
might be more inclined to listen to us when we tell them that God is.
become the kind of person who affirms not as a chore, but as a delight.
affirming others is not a chore but a joy in the transformed affirmer.God
as,“God has been very gracious to me,”or,“Any skill you see in me I received from God and through those he placed around me to train me,” or, “You are very alert to notice what God is doing.”
God gets glory by working in and through people: “All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them” (John 17:10); “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:11–12). How is he glorified? By fulfilling every resolve for good and every work of faith. And how do we do it? By his power. Ultimately God gets glory
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According to Matthew 25, we should desire to be commended (1) by God and (2) for doing good and being faithful.
for being like Christ, for doing good, for exemplifying a transformed life, and for making progress in holiness.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
exaltation:“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10).
