“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2-3)
There is something profound about the way James views hard times. Difficulties in life, of all shapes and colors (“various kinds”), are not view as an irritation, a nuisance, or a tragedy. They are viewed as a testing of one’s faith. How profound is this!
I am convinced that if we understand this as believers, this will radically change the way we face these difficulties.
If we believe that what comes out of us flows from what is inside of us, then we should view trials as tests of our faith rather than as inconveniences. They reveal who we are; they do not cause us to be something we aren’t.
Paul Tripp gives a helpful illustration of this truth. Taking a bottle of water, Tripp will shake it, splashing the water onto the ground. He then asks the question, “Why did water come out of the bottle?” The immediate answer usually is, “Because you shook it.” While that is the cause as to why water came out, that that is not the ultimate answer. The correct answer is, “Because water was inside the bottle.” The shaking did not produce the water; it simply revealed it.
So it is with us. Hard times reveal who we really are. They are, as James says, a testing of our faith. In this loss of a job, will we be dependent upon the Lord? We may say we are, but are we really? As our bodies age, is our confidence in our intelligence or our athleticism or in our beauty, or is it in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
A lack of hardships is not good, for we will never realize who we really are. Trials do not change us; they reveal who we are.
So, count it all joy when hard times come in your life. They are a gracious gift from a sovereign God who is bringing them to reveal to you what your heart is really like. And even if there is some nasty filth that comes out of your heart, isn’t God good that he would reveal this to us? What a gift these trials are!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Christianity: Glorious News, Not Burdensome Advice
For many, Christianity is not good news. It is perceived as a burden, a weight, a guilt trip. Many think it is an endless ladder of self-improvement that must be climbed, never knowing when one has grasped the favor of God.
But this is not what the Bible teaches. The core message of the Bible is the gospel, which means “good news.” So when you boil down all of the sermons, the hymns, the baptisms, and the celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, what is it about the message of the Christian faith that actually makes it good news?
The Apostle Paul sums up the things of ‘first importance’: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV).
Notice who does the acting. It is Christ who died, who was buried, who was raised. It was not us. The good news is not a cooperative effort. We are not partners with Christ in the work of redemption. He does all the work for us. That is why Jesus’ last words before he died were “It is finished,” not “It has begun” (John 19:30).
But here is the problem: we have a very hard time believing that everything has truly been accomplished. Rather than realizing that Christ’s blood will cover our sin, we talk about how we must get our lives “cleaned up” before we come to Christ. Rather than testifying to Christ’s perfect substitution, we twist Christianity to be only about our personal transformation. Rather than understanding that our righteousness is from Christ and in him, we talk about being a “good Christian.” In short, Christianity becomes a burdensome religion about what we must do, rather than a declaration of what has been done.
Consider how glorious news it is if everything has indeed been done by Christ.
Because Christ bore the wrath of God on the cross, we have the approval of God and can stop living for the acceptance of others. Because Christ’s resume of perfection is ours by faith, we can finally admit our weaknesses and sins. Because of what Christ has done, my improvement will come from God’s approval; God’s approval will not come from my improvement.
What good news the gospel is!
But this is not what the Bible teaches. The core message of the Bible is the gospel, which means “good news.” So when you boil down all of the sermons, the hymns, the baptisms, and the celebrations of the Lord’s Supper, what is it about the message of the Christian faith that actually makes it good news?
The Apostle Paul sums up the things of ‘first importance’: “That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV).
Notice who does the acting. It is Christ who died, who was buried, who was raised. It was not us. The good news is not a cooperative effort. We are not partners with Christ in the work of redemption. He does all the work for us. That is why Jesus’ last words before he died were “It is finished,” not “It has begun” (John 19:30).
But here is the problem: we have a very hard time believing that everything has truly been accomplished. Rather than realizing that Christ’s blood will cover our sin, we talk about how we must get our lives “cleaned up” before we come to Christ. Rather than testifying to Christ’s perfect substitution, we twist Christianity to be only about our personal transformation. Rather than understanding that our righteousness is from Christ and in him, we talk about being a “good Christian.” In short, Christianity becomes a burdensome religion about what we must do, rather than a declaration of what has been done.
Consider how glorious news it is if everything has indeed been done by Christ.
Because Christ bore the wrath of God on the cross, we have the approval of God and can stop living for the acceptance of others. Because Christ’s resume of perfection is ours by faith, we can finally admit our weaknesses and sins. Because of what Christ has done, my improvement will come from God’s approval; God’s approval will not come from my improvement.
What good news the gospel is!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Lack of Faith and Acting Like an Animal
What wonderful news this was! The angel Gabriel just promised the old man Zechariah that he would be the father of a baby boy named John who will be great before the Lord. He would be the only human to be filled with the Holy Spirit for one’s whole life (including before birth!). With the spirit and power of Elijah resting upon him, he would turn the hearts of many toward God. What a forerunner this little boy would be!
But how did Zechariah respond? He responded to God’s word spoken through Gabriel with doubt. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Gabriel rebukes him for his lack of faith, and closes his mouth and shuts his ears until the baby would be born (for evidence of him being deaf, look at Luke 1:62).
Is there any significance in Zechariah going mute and deaf? I think so. God has graciously endowed all humans with certain body parts so that they would be used properly, namely, to glorify him. God had given Zechariah ears to hear his word and a mouth to speak words of faith. Ironically, Zechariah used his ears to doubt God’s word and his mouth to speaks words of distrust and fear. In doing so, Zechariah was acting more like an animal than a human. Therefore, to be a permanent reminder to us all, God took away his senses to show how un-human he was acting. In fact, whenever we lack faith, we are not acting as a true human. To be fully human is to use the members of our body exactly as God designed them, that is, in faith.
So, act as a human today.
Use your mouth to proclaim the wonderful glories of Jesus.
Use your ears to hear words of truth and respond in faith.
Use your eyes as channels that take in God’s wonderful creation, and let what you behold be fuel on the fire of your faith.
Use your mind to humbly ponder the acts and promises of God, and may that propel you on a deeper dependence of God.
Learn from Zechariah, and act like you were meant to be and not like an animal.
But how did Zechariah respond? He responded to God’s word spoken through Gabriel with doubt. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Gabriel rebukes him for his lack of faith, and closes his mouth and shuts his ears until the baby would be born (for evidence of him being deaf, look at Luke 1:62).
Is there any significance in Zechariah going mute and deaf? I think so. God has graciously endowed all humans with certain body parts so that they would be used properly, namely, to glorify him. God had given Zechariah ears to hear his word and a mouth to speak words of faith. Ironically, Zechariah used his ears to doubt God’s word and his mouth to speaks words of distrust and fear. In doing so, Zechariah was acting more like an animal than a human. Therefore, to be a permanent reminder to us all, God took away his senses to show how un-human he was acting. In fact, whenever we lack faith, we are not acting as a true human. To be fully human is to use the members of our body exactly as God designed them, that is, in faith.
So, act as a human today.
Use your mouth to proclaim the wonderful glories of Jesus.
Use your ears to hear words of truth and respond in faith.
Use your eyes as channels that take in God’s wonderful creation, and let what you behold be fuel on the fire of your faith.
Use your mind to humbly ponder the acts and promises of God, and may that propel you on a deeper dependence of God.
Learn from Zechariah, and act like you were meant to be and not like an animal.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Imagining Christmas Without Jesus
With the Christmas season now upon us, we often hear people say, “Remember the reason for the season.” This reason, they say, is not the presents or the family get-togethers, but it is the wonder of Jesus Christ coming to earth as a baby.
But how is it that this reason makes the season? To put it differently, how empty would this season be without the reason, Jesus Christ? Let’s imagine…
First off, without the birth of Jesus there is no death of Jesus. This is important because our greatest enemy is not the folks down in Washington but our own rebellion against God. Without Jesus’ death, there is no adequate sacrifice to reconcile us to God.
Secondly, there would be no hope for true transformation to happen within individuals. Yes, people still would do some good things, but it would only be in reference to their own interest. We would not be able to love as God requires because we would not have been shown true, transformational love. We would be the continual Scrooge, inward-bent and self-pleasing.
We also would have no hope of mercy triumphing, for all around us sin and death would reign with an iron fist. Selfishly and at all costs, we would lust after feats of athleticism, career accomplishments, or outward beauty because we would know that this life is all there is. All funerals would be bleak without any hope, darker than the darkest night.
Like a felon awaiting his court date, we would simply be biding our time here on earth until we stood naked, exposed, and guilty before our Holy Judge.
As the Apostle Paul puts it, we would have no hope and be without God in this world (Ephesians 2:12).
What marvelous news it is that this is not the case! The invisible God has graciously come down and made himself visible. Wondrous hope has broken in! No wonder the angel proclaimed to the shepherds 2,000 years ago: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” May we remember the Reason this season.
But how is it that this reason makes the season? To put it differently, how empty would this season be without the reason, Jesus Christ? Let’s imagine…
First off, without the birth of Jesus there is no death of Jesus. This is important because our greatest enemy is not the folks down in Washington but our own rebellion against God. Without Jesus’ death, there is no adequate sacrifice to reconcile us to God.
Secondly, there would be no hope for true transformation to happen within individuals. Yes, people still would do some good things, but it would only be in reference to their own interest. We would not be able to love as God requires because we would not have been shown true, transformational love. We would be the continual Scrooge, inward-bent and self-pleasing.
We also would have no hope of mercy triumphing, for all around us sin and death would reign with an iron fist. Selfishly and at all costs, we would lust after feats of athleticism, career accomplishments, or outward beauty because we would know that this life is all there is. All funerals would be bleak without any hope, darker than the darkest night.
Like a felon awaiting his court date, we would simply be biding our time here on earth until we stood naked, exposed, and guilty before our Holy Judge.
As the Apostle Paul puts it, we would have no hope and be without God in this world (Ephesians 2:12).
What marvelous news it is that this is not the case! The invisible God has graciously come down and made himself visible. Wondrous hope has broken in! No wonder the angel proclaimed to the shepherds 2,000 years ago: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” May we remember the Reason this season.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Back-Scratching God?
I always fell to her fake generosity.
When I was growing up, my older sister would often approach us younger brothers and innocently say, “Would you like your back scratched?” Seeming like a loving gesture, I would agree. Just as she was finishing up scratching my back, she would invariably turn to me and demand, “All right, now it is your turn. I scratched your back; you scratch mine!”
Though this is the way that my sister and I related to each other, this is not the case with us and God. We cannot scratch his back—offering up prayers, faithful church attendance, giving to charities—with the expectation that he must scratch ours (give us a pay raise or a quiet house with perfect kids). Try as we might, we can never put God in our debt by our strict religious performance.
The reason for this is simple: God has no needs. It is not as though God is up in heaven on Thursdays thinking, “I am feeling a bit lonely. I cannot wait until Sunday to get some praises sung to me or to hear some really great preaching.” As the Apostle Paul said, “Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25).
How then shall we relate to this awesome God? We serve and worship him not because we are earning any favor from him, but we do it because we have received his favor in his Son, Jesus Christ. His death pays for our sins and unites us to God. The payment is complete. All we can do is receive.
When I was growing up, my older sister would often approach us younger brothers and innocently say, “Would you like your back scratched?” Seeming like a loving gesture, I would agree. Just as she was finishing up scratching my back, she would invariably turn to me and demand, “All right, now it is your turn. I scratched your back; you scratch mine!”
Though this is the way that my sister and I related to each other, this is not the case with us and God. We cannot scratch his back—offering up prayers, faithful church attendance, giving to charities—with the expectation that he must scratch ours (give us a pay raise or a quiet house with perfect kids). Try as we might, we can never put God in our debt by our strict religious performance.
The reason for this is simple: God has no needs. It is not as though God is up in heaven on Thursdays thinking, “I am feeling a bit lonely. I cannot wait until Sunday to get some praises sung to me or to hear some really great preaching.” As the Apostle Paul said, “Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25).
How then shall we relate to this awesome God? We serve and worship him not because we are earning any favor from him, but we do it because we have received his favor in his Son, Jesus Christ. His death pays for our sins and unites us to God. The payment is complete. All we can do is receive.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The God of Pleasure
A stunning sunset. Majestic snow-capped mountains. The smell of rain freshly fallen. The embrace of a lover. It is not hard to notice we as humans revel in moments of pleasure. As soon as one pursuit dies down, we eagerly look forward to the next moment of pleasure. We are by nature pleasure seekers.
It may surprise you, but the Bible does not denounce pleasure. In fact, it celebrates it. Everything that we see around us was created by God and was blessed as being “good.” Sadly, we as humans have taken these good things (such as beauty, music, education, and sex) and twisted and distorted them. They easily become what we ultimately live for and are ten fingers and ten toes committed.
By not realizing that a great creation points to a greater Creator, we have ironically become discontent in creation itself. Like trying to squeeze water from a rock, we try to be ultimately satisfied in athletics, parenting, academics, job success, or sex.
The problem in all of this is not that we are seeking pleasure, but that we are, as C.S. Lewis once said, “far too easily pleased.” God has graciously placed wonderful pleasures all around us as cosmic Post-it notes to remind us that the ultimate pleasure is himself. Everything around us is meant to tell us of the greatness of God. Pleasure is meant to bring us to God.
So, eat a juicy steak today. Enjoy the sounds of chirping birds. Laugh and play with your children. And in the midst of it all, remember that those enjoyments are but dim echoes of how satisfying is Jesus Christ (Ps. 16:11).
It may surprise you, but the Bible does not denounce pleasure. In fact, it celebrates it. Everything that we see around us was created by God and was blessed as being “good.” Sadly, we as humans have taken these good things (such as beauty, music, education, and sex) and twisted and distorted them. They easily become what we ultimately live for and are ten fingers and ten toes committed.
By not realizing that a great creation points to a greater Creator, we have ironically become discontent in creation itself. Like trying to squeeze water from a rock, we try to be ultimately satisfied in athletics, parenting, academics, job success, or sex.
The problem in all of this is not that we are seeking pleasure, but that we are, as C.S. Lewis once said, “far too easily pleased.” God has graciously placed wonderful pleasures all around us as cosmic Post-it notes to remind us that the ultimate pleasure is himself. Everything around us is meant to tell us of the greatness of God. Pleasure is meant to bring us to God.
So, eat a juicy steak today. Enjoy the sounds of chirping birds. Laugh and play with your children. And in the midst of it all, remember that those enjoyments are but dim echoes of how satisfying is Jesus Christ (Ps. 16:11).
Sunday, March 21, 2010
God Does Not Accept You As You Are, But As You Are In Christ
The Bible says that do not just commit sins, but we are by nature sinners (Romans 5:8), helpless (Romans 5:6), and enemies of the God (Romans 5:10). Isaiah says that mankind is estranged from God (Isaiah 1:4). Because he is a holy God, he is not able to meet with us on our terms.
And that is why God took on human flesh to be the go-between for man and God. Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). But that does not only mean that he pleads for us, that means that God accepts us through Christ. The Bible is very clear that we are accepted as we are in Christ. For instance, Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ.” Other examples are in these verses: Romans 6:1-11, Ephesians 1:3-14, Philippians 3:7-11, Colossians 3:1-4, to name a few.
So, what that means is that God could not just accept me as I am. If he did that, he would not be dealing with my sin seriously, which is an infinite offense to his glory (Romans 3:23). This does not mean that we have to clean our lives up before we come to Christ. It is precisely the opposite: we are to come to Christ as we are because it is only in Christ that we can have a right standing before God. His righteousness is our righteousness. His holiness is our holiness. His death over sin is our death over sin.
To put it differently, Jesus does not just provide our right standing before God, he is it. Our hope is found in him alone.
And that is why God took on human flesh to be the go-between for man and God. Jesus is our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). But that does not only mean that he pleads for us, that means that God accepts us through Christ. The Bible is very clear that we are accepted as we are in Christ. For instance, Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ.” Other examples are in these verses: Romans 6:1-11, Ephesians 1:3-14, Philippians 3:7-11, Colossians 3:1-4, to name a few.
So, what that means is that God could not just accept me as I am. If he did that, he would not be dealing with my sin seriously, which is an infinite offense to his glory (Romans 3:23). This does not mean that we have to clean our lives up before we come to Christ. It is precisely the opposite: we are to come to Christ as we are because it is only in Christ that we can have a right standing before God. His righteousness is our righteousness. His holiness is our holiness. His death over sin is our death over sin.
To put it differently, Jesus does not just provide our right standing before God, he is it. Our hope is found in him alone.
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