No Other Boast

Genesis 15 & Fear Not

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nEIpGwUQxI]

I probably should have preached this chapter in three segments, one on justification, one on covenant, and one on how both of these relate to Abram not being afraid. I went straight to the third one because I wanted you to see how fear dispelling and courage generating these truths are. Theology is for life. We do not dive into doctrines like justification by faith and covenant to gain intellectual superiority. We dive into it to know our God, to understand His mighty salvation, and then to live properly in light of it. If the gospel is true then fears are stupid. Why should Christians not fear? God. The more we know God, the less room there is for fear, of anything else. As Richard Baxter said, “If He be thine enemy, it is no matter who is thy friend; for all the world cannot save thee, if He do but condemn thee.”

I say your fears are stupid, my fears are stupid, not to insult you, but to free you. If you are in Christ here these words from your sovereign heavenly Father, “Fear not.” It is a command, but it comes so gently you don’t recognize it as one. We will have fears, but our God speaks to us in His Word, He whispers to us of His might, faithfulness, love, sovereignty, and wisdom. God deals gently with Abram’s fears as He tries to live in obedience. As a father hugging his son in the scariest of moments know that the father hugs you. The hug is soft on the inside but hard as iron from without. You need not fear, He is your shield (Genesis 15:1).

One saint who was plagued with fears, loneliness, and depression all His life was William Cowper, a contemporary of John Newton, and William Wilberforce. What gave Cowper hope and life was the gospel. God spoke gently to Him, and now God speaks gently through him still through his hymns. When full of fears and doubts, like Cowper, reflect on the cross and the blood of the new covenant.

There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood
By William Cowper

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Lord, I believe Thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be,
For me a blood bought free reward, a golden harp for me!
’Tis strung and tuned for endless years, and formed by power divine,
To sound in God the Father’s ears no other name but Thine.

God Moves in a Mysterious Way
By William Cowper

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

Tolle Lege: Adopted for Life

Readability: 1

Length: 217 pgs

Author: Russell D. Moore

Bethany and I have known for some time that we wanted to adopt children at some point. When Mark (Bethany’s brother) and Marla adopted Kylee I think we were graciously infected. The gospel is contagious when lived out. Still I never thought through the deep gospel implications until watching the video posted below by John Piper. After reading Russell Moore’s Adopted for Life I no longer simply want to adopt, I am compelled to adopt. This is among my favorite books of the year. I pray you will read it, whether or not you are contemplating adoption. As Christians we all should be ardent advocates of adoption.

Whenever I told people I was working on a book on adoption, they’s often say something along the lines of, “Great. So is the book about the doctrine of adoption or, you know, real adoption?”…

As soon as you peer into the truth of one aspect, you fall headlong into the truth of the other and vice versa. That’s because it’s the way the gospel is. Jesus reconciles us to God and to each other. As we love God, we love our neighbor: as we love our neighbor, we love our God. We believe Jesus in heavenly things – our adoption in Christ; so we follow him in earthly things – the adoption of children. Without the theological aspect, the emphasis on adoption too easily is seen as mere charity. Without the missional aspect, the doctrine of adoption too easily is seen as mere metaphor.

The gospel of Jesus Christ means that our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphan close to home and around the world. As we become more attuned to the gospel, we’ll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption friendly, we’ll better understand the gospel.

Whether our background is Norwegian or Haitian or Indonesian, if we are united to Christ, our family genealogy is found not primarily in the front pages of our dusty old family Bible but inside its pages, in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Our son Jonah was born three and a half weeks premature, but we don’t think of him as our “premature baby.” We don’t introduce our children Benjamin, Timothy, and Samuel and then say, “Here’s our premature son Jonah.” Jonah is just Jonah. He was premature, yes, and that’s part of his story. But it doesn’t define who he is. The same is true of those who came into our family by adoption. Adopted is a past tense verb, not an adjective.

Little Fish in the Big Ocean

I was riding home, very weary with a long week’s work, when there came to my mind this text – “My grace is sufficient for thee:” but it came with the emphasis laid upon two words: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” My soul said, “Doubtless it is. Surely the grace of the infinite God is more than sufficient for such a mere insect as I am,” and I laughed, and laughed again, to think how far the supply exceeded all my needs. It seemed to me as though I were a little fish in the sea, and in my thirst I said, “Alas, I shall drink up the ocean.” Then the Father of the waters lifted up his head sublime, and smilingly replied, “Little fish, the boundless main is sufficient for thee.” The thought made unbelief appear supremely ridiculous, as indeed it is. – C.H. Spurgeon in Lectures to My Students

The Doctor: Holding On or Being Held?

Is our religious life a mechanical effort, or is it there within us and mastering us? That is how we should think about the matter. The man who is trying to be a Christian is trying to hold on to something. The man who is a Christian feels that he is being held by something. It has been put into him, it is there; it may even seem to be in spite of him, but it is there. It is not what he is doing that matters to him; it is what has been done to him, it is what he has become, it is the awareness of this power within him – ‘life’. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 7, p. 40

Genesis 14 & Blessed?

Think of someone you regard as very blessed. Who are they? Why do you think them blessed? Is it because they have good health, a nice job, wonderful kids, and a white picket fence? Is it because they are talented, have a lot of friends, and seem to succeed at whatever they put their hands to? There is a sense in which this person is blessed, but such a person can be blessed in a lesser sense and cursed in a greater one.

“Blessed” has a strong usage and a weak one. It seems with few exceptions “blessed” is used in the reduced, weaker manner. When was the last time you referred to a persecuted missionary as blessed? Jesus did (Matthew 5:10). This may be a horrifying indicator of Western Christianity adulterous heart. The American dream is apparently more blessed than the Great Commission.

Biblically, and most truly someone is blessed if the favor of God is upon them, if they enjoy God Himself, if they are reconciled to God. So why I wouldn’t argue against someone referring to a person who has been gifted and is enjoying God’s providence and common grace as “blessed”, I am disturbed that we may not realize that they may be cursed in the greatest of ways. “What does it profit a man to gain the world and forfeit his soul?” Our eyes are hazed over such that we cannot see what it means to be truly blessed? Thus we long for flat screens more than the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

Abram here passes on being “blessed” by a worldly king. He is able to do so because of faith in the promises of God. Because the King, the Possessor of Heaven and Earth had blessed him, Abram was able to pass on the trivial Cracker-Jack prizes of this world.

I know of no other way to triumph over sin long-term than to gain a distaste for it because of a superior satisfaction in God. – John Piper

Another Crack at The Shack

I have hesitated despite requests to write a review of The Shack. Most of what I would wish to say has already been said by others. So I will simply continue to point you to such reviews. Trevin Wax writes perhaps the best review of the Shack I have read so far. Especially insightful are his statements concerning the immunity to critique on the grounds of The Shack being fiction.

When you deal with non-fictional characters, you inevitably open yourself up to criticism.

Let’s say you meet an author who wants to use your grandparents as the main characters in a novel. The author tells you that the narrative will be fictional, but that your grandparents will have the starring roles. Sounds great! you think.

But when the manuscript arrives in your hands, you discover that the story does not accurately represent the personalities of your grandparents. The relationship between them is all wrong too. Grandma berates Grandpa. Early on, they run off and elope (which is totally out of character). At one point, they contemplate divorce.

When you complain, the author responds, “Remember? I told you it would be fictional.”

“Yes,” you say, somewhat exasperated, “I knew the story would be fictional, but I thought you would get my grandparents right. The grandparents in your story aren’t anything like my grandparents.”

“Who cares?” the author responds. “It’s a work of fiction.”

“Well, I care,” you say, “because people will put down this book thinking that my grandparents were like the way you portrayed them.”

My biggest problem with The Shack is its portrayal of God. I understand that the book is a work of fiction, not a theological treatise, and therefore should be treated as fiction. But the main characters are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are actual Persons. To portray God in a manner inconsistent with his revelation to us in Scripture (and primarily in Jesus) is to misrepresent living Persons.

When people put down The Shack, they will not have a better understanding of the Trinity (despite the glowing blurbs on the back cover). They will probably have a more distorted view of God in three Persons.

HT: Between Two Worlds

The Doctor: More Than Negations

What then are the characteristics of the Christian? May God the Holy Spirit grant us understanding here, not only that we may derive assurance, but that we may see something of the glory of being a Christian, the wonder of it all, the amazing thing that God has done for us in Christ Jesus. What is a Christian? It is obvious that he is the exact opposite of the non-Christian, the man we have already considered. But that is not a good way of describing a Christian, although it is done far too often. The Christian’s position is essentially positive; and we must follow the Apostle as he puts it in positive terms. The Christian is not merely a man who no longer does what he used to do. Of course that is true of him, but that is the very least you say about him; that is introduction, that is preamble. What we have to say about the Christian is essentially positive, gloriously positive. God forbid that we should be giving the world the impression that we are mere negations, that we are simply people who do not drink, who do not go to cinemas, who do not smoke, and do not do this and that. What a travesty of Christianity that is, and especially in the light of all the glorious positives that the New Testament puts before us. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 7, p. 17

Tolle Lege: The Prayer of the Lord

Readability: 1

Length: 124 pgs

Author: R.C. Sproul

By God’s grace I am stumbling along learning the sweet grace that is called prayer. The Prayer of the Lord was a great refresher in prayer. Sproul goes line by line through the Lord’s prayer reminding us that we are learning from the Master teacher. Jesus is not simply our Master, our Lord, He is the Master teacher of prayer. There disciples clearly saw a connection between Jesus’ ministry and His prayer life, thus of all the questions they might have asked, one that they must know from our Lord is how to pray. If you have grown familiar with the Lord’s prayer, or your prayer life is in poor estate I counsel you to buy this little and gently readable book for your soul’s deep and abiding joy in communion with God.

The Doctor: Trinitarian Wrought Salvation

On Romans 8:3-4:

Notice that here, as everywhere, the Apostle mentions the names of the Three Persons of the blessed Holy Trinity. “God sending his own Son’, and the end of the statement is, ‘We walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit’ – Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The real explanation of the trouble in most Christian lives is the fact that believers start thinking about salvation in terms of themselves, and not in terms of God, the Holy Trinity, and what God has planned and prepared before time. They start by looking into themselves, and they spend their lives doing so. If they but looked at Him, looked out and saw it all there, then they would humble themselves and be filled with praise to God for ever having brought them into relationship with his great and glorious plan. This is the way to look at salvation: ‘God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that…’. Work that out, I say! Let us spend our whole lives in looking at that and working that out. – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans Vol. 6, p. 312

Genesis 13 & I Wish I Were More Farsighted

“For we walk by faith not by sight” – 1 Corinthians 5:7

Abram walked by faith, Lot by sight:

I am nearsighted, doubly so. One is an effect of sin, the other is sin. First let’s talk about the one that is an effect. I think I first got the hint when driving at night; the lights were blurry, not clear like they used to be. Then I discovered that it was hard to read signs. One night I put a hand over my left eye… my 20/20 vision was gone. I can read a book just fine. As I type I can see this computer screen easily, it is the Lord’s Prayer that hangs across the room that gives me fits. This is an effect of my greater blindness – I can see my computer so easily, it is the Lord’s prayer that gives me fits, doubly so.

Man is born in darkness, spiritually blind. In addition Satan works with this blindness (1 Corinthians 4:4). The saints are called out of this darkness into light (Colossians 1:13, 1 Peter 2:9). We are called to be farsighted. Prior to regeneration we were driving down the road of life, we may even have like to thought it was a ‘spiritual’ road, but the signs were a blur. We might have convinced ourselves they said “heaven” or “happiness” but it was a lie. We were nearsighted, concerned only with the passing things of this world (I John 2:15-17). We were consumed with the worries of traffic or entertained by the red 53 Chevy truck next to us, or infatuated and lusting after the cute blonde next to us. We could only see the immediate, the passing, the wasting, the empty, the vain, the hopeless, the ending, the dying… darkness and lies.

Oh, but our glorious heavenly Father, by the working of His Holy Spirit and the promises of the gospel called us out of darkness into light, he gave us new eyes so that we could see the light of the knowledge of glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He is transcendent, eternal, true, everlasting, never ending, unfading, glorious, immutable, and faithful.

Sin is a haze I must always fight. Sin robs me of this glorious vision. This is the opposite of how I should live. This present world is meant to be a blur, the next crystal clear. Right now we see it, like a preview, in breaking and redeeming men as the gospel advances and robs the hearts of men. We see it in His Holy Word as the Spirit gives us sight. We see it by faith. But the greatest effects of God’s redemption are yet to come. This present body shall be destroyed and a new one be given. Both of my eye problems will be remedied. I will with my very eyes look on the Lord of glory (Job 19:25-26, 1 John 3:2).

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. – 1 Corinthians 5:1-10