Gift and Duty

It is only the fervency of the Spirit that can correct our slothfulness. Hence diligence in doing good requires that zeal which the Spirit of God kindles in our hearts. Why then, someone may say, does Paul exhort us to cultivate this fervency? To this I answer - that though it be the gift of God, it is yet a duty enjoined the faithful to shake off sloth and to cherish the flame kindled by heaven, as it for the most part happens, that the Spirit is suppressed and extinguished through our fault. (John Calvin on Romans 12:11, Commentary on Romans)

Gratitude for Being Exposed

Are You Thankful for What the 10 O’Clock Curfew Brought Out in You?
Romans 7:7-9; November 21, 2010

1. The Bible reveals to us the Source of true LIFE and the way to enjoy it.

We all want LIFE. LIFE is full and lasting happiness. The Bible proclaims to us where LIFE is found and where it isn’t! The Bible also proclaims to us the path of access to LIFE. It is one thing to know where LIFE is found and another thing to know how to get there. The Bible proclaims both. (John 20:31)

Three-legged World View

Our lives are built on a “three-legged stool” that constitutes our world view.

• The first leg is the answer we give to the question, “Where is LIFE to be found?”
• The second leg is the answer we give to the question, “How can I get access to that source of LIFE?”
• The third leg is the answer we give to the question, “Where is wisdom to be found that will enable me to answer the first two questions and enjoy LIFE?”

The book of Romans answers all three of these questions for us in the most systematic explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to be found in the Bible.

2. The book of Romans proclaims the good news of a gift of righteousness that leads to LIFE.

The message of this book is the key to the rest of Scripture. In Romans, Paul proclaims that LIFE is found in God and that access to God is through a gift of righteousness (forgiveness and a record of perfect obedience to God) by faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

Two men are walking down a road. The road comes to a fork. At that fork is the Law Man. He looks at one of the men who is dressed in clothes that are dirty and bloody. He points him down the road that has a sign that reads, “Everlasting DEATH.” The Law Man then looks at the other man who is dressed in clothes without a spot or wrinkle. He points him down the other road that has a sign that reads, “Everlasting LIFE.” They begin to go their separate ways, when suddenly the man in the clean white robe runs over to the man with the dirty and bloody robe. He takes off his clean robe and gives it to the other man and takes his dirty robe from him. They exchange robes and suddenly the road they are on changes. The Law Man points to the man who received the clean robe of the other and directs him to “Everlasting LIFE.”

3. This passage is about God’s Law bringing conviction to the unregenerate man.

Before we will ever receive the gift of Christ’s righteousness, we must see our own need for it. How we are brought to see our need for a gift of righteousness is what is in view in Romans 7:7-13.

Some people see this passage as referring to Adam and the law against eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, others see it as referring to the giving of the Law of Moses to Israel, and others see it as speaking of any person who is confronted with the Law of God. It seems best to understand it as Paul speaking both personally and representatively in describing the experience of coming to see one’s sinfulness, while yet unregenerate, through the Law (specifically, the law of Moses but also the moral code in general).

Law as the moral law, however it is revealed. (Hodge)

Paul’s own experience is paradigmatic of the story of the human race. Paul’s own history mirrors the history of Adam and Israel. (Schreiner)

This view is supported by the “I” who dies and the sin that “becomes alive” in the process. (Romans 7:9)

The title of this message is “Gratitude for Being Exposed.”

The Grateful Cockroach?

Have you ever walked into a dark kitchen in the middle of the night and turned on the light and seen cockroaches run for cover? Can you imagine that happening to two cockroaches and one of them, leaning against the back of the refrigerator and breathing hard, says to the other, “Whew … that was close! We could’ve died!” The other looks at his friend and says, “I did die! When that guy flipped the light on, I saw my reflection on the oven door … it was hideous! Have you ever seen what we look like!” The other cockroach replies, “Dude, now you know why I hate the light … it distorts everything! Let’s go find something moldy.”

4. God’s Law is not evil even though it is weak and associated with sin. (7)

Paul has said some things about the Law of Moses that would be hard for many of his Jewish people to take. Paul said about the law:

1. Brings a curse (Gal 3:10, 13);
2. Secondary to the promise to Abraham (Gal 3:15-18);
3. Produces transgressions (Gal 3:19);
4. Given by angels, not directly from God (Gal 3:19);
5. No power to grant life (Gal 3:21);
6. No one will be justified by it (Romans 3:20);
7. No power to overcome sin but actually increases and arouses it (Romans 5:20; 7:1-6).

Some thought this meant that the law of God must be evil in itself. Paul abhors this conclusion. (Romans 7:7) The law is not sin. But he does explain how the law plays a role in our sin, while remaining a good thing in itself.

Here are two examples of the something not being bad in itself and yet it playing a role in something bad:

A $100 bill lying on the table. Someone walks by and picks it up. They are later arrested for theft. They argue, “Well, they shouldn’t have left it laying out on the table!” Is the real problem a $100 bill laying out in the open?

A parent gives their teenager a 10 o’clock curfew, they don’t get home until midnight and there is a big argument. The teenager argues that everything would have been fine if they, the parents, hadn’t been so unreasonable. Is the real problem the 10 o’clock curfew?

In both cases, the real problem is not the occasion or circumstance, but the heart.

5. God’s Law exposes by defining sin and convicting us that we are sinners. (7)

The law of God is good because it opens our eyes to what is sin against God (not just a mistake or a wrong in the eyes of men) and it also, through the work of the Spirit, actually convicts us of being sinners. The law is not sin, but the law exposes sin. (Romans 7:7)

I would not have known sin apart from the law does not mean that no distinction can be made between right and wrong but that we are not convinced of our own sinfulness without the law.
(Calvin, Hodge [conviction of sin in view not intellectual knowledge alone], Murray - Rom 3:20)

To know sin is not just to see one’s transgression but to see oneself as a sinner. (Hodge, Murray)

Checker Rules

If I’m playing checkers and I don’t know that I can’t move backwards unless I have been “kinged,” then it should not surprise anyone if I do that without feeling bad. But it would be even worse if the rule was, “Don’t even want to move backwards!”

6. God’s Law exposes by showing us that our problem is not only what we do, but what we desire. (7)

Paul brings up the tenth of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:17; Deut 5:21). Many Jewish rabbis saw this as a commandment which summarized all the commandments: don’t even desire what God forbids. The law can be summed up as anti-idolatrous desire. (Romans 7:7)

The word means simply “earnest desire” and the verb is “to desire earnestly.” (Hodge)

The citation of coveting in general has Jewish antecedents, where it stands as a representative summation of the Mosaic law. … Jewish writers could do this because they tended to view ‘coveting’ as the root of all sins. (Moo)

What is required in the tenth commandment? That even the least inclination or thought against any of God’s commandments should never enter our heart; but that with our whole heart we are continually to hate all sin and to take pleasure in all righteousness. (Question 113, Heidelberg Catechism)

It is possible that this is the way in which Paul’s sinfulness was brought home to him as a “blameless” Pharisee. (Philippians 3:4-6) Sin is not limited to what we do, but also what we desire, whether we ever act on it or not. This puts sin at the heart level and not simply at the level of what is outward and able to be seen.

We can see idolatrous, covetous desire illustrated in Scripture in many ways: Forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6); position of the father’s favorite (Genesis 37:4); material things (Joshua 7:21); vineyard (1 Kings 21:1ff); woman (2 Samuel 13:1); crown (2 Samuel 15:1ff); praise of men (Acts 5:1ff); healing power (Acts 8:18ff); the world (2 Timothy 4:10); authority in the church (3 John 9).

Sermon on the Mount

In the Sermon on the Mount, we see the Lord Jesus expounding the Law in such a way that He reveals the need to keep the Law perfectly at the heart or desire level not simply the action level of life. (Matthew 5:20-28)

7. God’s Law exposes by increasing my sinfulness so that it is more evident to me. (8)

The law of God defines sin for us, shows us that it is a heart issue, and also increases our sinfulness! Sin, the evil principle within us, uses the com-mandment of God as a “springboard” or “base of operations” to increase our sin through direct rebellion against what God says. Sin plus the Law produces sinful desire. (Romans 7:8)

[Opportunity in vv. 8 and 11] refers often to the ‘base of operations’ or ‘bridgehead’ required for successful military operations … the idea, generally, of ‘occasion’ or ‘starting point’ (Moo)

In the Genesis narrative the serpent was only able to attack man because the commandment of Genesis 2:17 had been given. … The contrast between [dead] here and [sprung to life] in the next verse well suits the serpent lying motionless and hidden and then stirring itself to take advantage of its opportunity. ‘Nothing resembles a dead serpent more than a living serpent so long as it does not move!’ (Cranfield)

The standard illustration is the passage in Augustine’s Confessions in which he speaks of the time as a boy when he joined his companions in stealing pears not because they wanted them (they fed them to pigs) but because they wanted the pleasure of disobeying the law. …

Mark Twain said that if a mule thinks he knows what you want him to do he will do just the opposite and Twain admitted he was like that himself – often mean for the sake of meanness. (Morris)

Pilgrim’s Progress – Interpreter’s house – man sweeping with a broom

Then he took him by the hand, and led him into a very large parlour that was full of dust, because never swept; the which after he had reviewed it a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep. Now, when he began to sweep, the dust began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been choked. Then said the Interpreter to a damsel that stood by, Bring hither water, and sprinkle the room; the which, when she had done, it was swept and cleansed with pleasure.

CHRISTIAN. Then said Christian, What means this?

INTERPRETER. The Interpreter answered, This parlour is the heart of a man that was never sanctified by the sweet grace of the Gospel. The dust is his original sin, and inward corruptions, that have defiled the whole man. He that began to sweep at first is the law; but she that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel. Now whereas thou sawest that so soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about that the room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choked therewith: this is to show thee, that the law, instead of cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it; for it doth not give power to subdue. (Rom. v. 20; vii. 7-11; 1 Cor. xv. 56.)
Again, as thou sawest the damsel sprinkle the room with water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure: this is to show thee, that when the Gospel comes in the sweet and gracious influences thereof to the heart, then, I say, even as thou sawest the damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the floor with water, so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean through the faith of it, and consequently fit for the King of glory to inhabit. (John xiv. 21-23; xv. 3; Acts xv. 9; Rom. xvi. 25, 26. Eph. v. 26.)

When a person is confronted with God’s law, the forbidden thing becomes all the more attractive not so much for its own sake as for its furnishing a channel for the assertion of self-will. (MacArthur)

8. God’s Law exposes the empty claim to goodness. (9)

Paul was raised in a Jewish home and always had access to the law of Moses. But here he is referring to being alive in the sense of thinking that he was good enough to be accepted by God. But when he came to really see what the law of God required, the proud, self-sufficient Pharisee “died.” He knew that he stood condemned and worthy of death before God. Without the Law, I feel righteous. With the Law, I know that I deserve death. (Romans 7:9)

The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19:16-22)

The Emperor’s New Clothes
An Emperor who cares for nothing but his wardrobe hires two weavers who promise him the finest suit of clothes from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or "just hopelessly stupid". The Emperor cannot see the cloth himself, but pretends that he can for fear of appearing unfit for his position or stupid; his ministers do the same. When the swindlers report that the suit is finished, they dress him in mime and the Emperor then marches in procession before his subjects. A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all (“But he isn’t wearing anything at all!) and the cry is taken up by others. The Emperor cringes, suspecting the assertion is true, but holds himself up proudly and continues the procession. (Wikipedia)

9. I can be thankful for the exposure and death of the proud Pharisee in me. (9)

Can you say this? Has your proud, self-righteous self ever been put to death? If it hasn’t, it needs to be! If it has, you can be eternally thankful that it has. (Romans 7:9) Because if it hadn’t, you would never have received the gift of Christ’s righteousness which leads to eternal life.

The Prayer Meeting (Luke 18:9-14)

None are so blind as to think they have never sinned; but the generality suppose that they have never sinned in any great degree. (Simeon) Not appreciating the seriousness of their sin, they are at ease. … He is alive in the sense that he has never been put to death as a result of a confrontation with the law of God.

When the commandment came it killed forever the proud Pharisee thanking God that he was not like other men and sure of his merits before God. It killed off the happy sinner, for it showed him the seriousness, not so much of sin in general as of his own sin. The coming of the law in that sense always kills off our cheerful assumption of innocence. … Here the thought is rather that to realize that we are not good and decent people in God’s sight is a death. It marks the end of self-confidence, self-satisfaction, self-reliance. It is death. (Morris)

10. The power to be saved is in the gospel that emancipates, not in the Law that only exposes.

The Law cannot save because it is used by sin to enslave us. It can expose our sin but it cannot emancipate (free) us from our sin - either the penalty or the power of it. Only trust in the promises of God in Christ for mercy can save. (Romans 7:8)

The Gospel is an Ocean of Grace

What is the "gospel"? (Romans 1:16) If it is the "power of God" then I desperately need to know what it is, to believe it and to apply it in my life. (Galatians 2:20)

But the answer to this question, "What is the gospel?," can be presented in various ways, all of them correct. It is like answering the question, "What is the ocean?" You can answer that question by saying, "The ocean is the water you find lapping up on the beach at hide tide." Or you can answer the question by saying, "The ocean is the water you find one mile deep on the bottom of the ocean floor." Both would be true. The first is a "shallow or surface or simple or 'shore'" answer and the second is a "deep or complicated or 'floor'" answer. The first answer is simple enough for a child to understand (John 3:14-16; Acts 16:31; Luke 18:9-14) and the second answer is difficult enough to keep the greatest minds wrestling for their entire lives (Romans 11:33-36; 2 Peter 3:16).

On the 'shore' the gospel is simply what God has done in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) and what God has promised us because of what He has done in Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44-49). It is not what we must do or what our commit to Him must be. It is what He has done and what His commitment to us is (Hebrews 6:13-20; Genesis 15:17)!

The gospel is an ocean of grace. It is the good news of salvation (rescue from all that is bad and enjoyment of all that is good in God)by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone.

But there is so much more to be said and believed and lived out! It will take the rest of our lives to plumb the depths of the riches in Christ (Colossians 2:2-3). To God be the glory!

Promises, Promises

Those Tricky Trials

Have you ever thought about what makes trials so difficult for us and what makes difficult trials ‘easier’ for some believers, to the point that they can even sing after a beating while in prison?

Our experiences are difficult on two levels:

(1) what they actually involve

(2) what they “say” to us or about us

The second difficulty is really the greater of the two.

This is a very important truth about living by faith in what God has promised us in Jesus:

“Judge not Christ's love by providences, but by promises.” (Puritan Thomas Wilcox, Honey Out of the Rock)

This kind of thinking enables believers to respond to trials in amazing ways:

• The “Beating” of the Apostles (Acts 5:40-41; 16:23-25; Matthew 5:10-12)
• The “Seizure” of the Believer’s Property (Hebrews 10:34; 2 Corinthians 4:17)

We can either look at the “Providence Pile” or the “Promises Pile” in order to evaluate God’s love for us. Which pile we meditate on will determine how we respond to “beatings” and “seizures.”

“Faith in Jesus” means looking to Jesus for access to God and for all that God has promised to be for us, because of Jesus and His cross.

Ten Categories of Promises to Hold On To

It’s helpful to think of all that God has promised us as “categories” of promises.

Let me give you ten “categories” of promises of God to those trusting in Jesus that we find scattered throughout His Word, either explicitly or implicitly.

I will divide these 10 categories of promises into two categories that correspond to Romans 5:17 (“a righteousness that leads to life”) and the image of a house (“house” = the enjoyment of the dwelling place of God’s manifest glory [Psalm 36:7-9]; “door” = access into the house [John 10:7-10])

Righteousness Promises (Promises of the “Door” of Access to God’s “House”)

1. Pardon Promises

Like In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:14)

2. Perfection Promises

Like For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)

3. Peace Promises

Like Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1)

LIFE Promises (Promises of the “House” of Help and Happiness in God)

4. Presence Promises

Like ... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)

5. Provision Promises

Like And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

6. Power Promises

Like I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

7. Protection Promises

Like The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul. (Psalm 121:7)

8. Purification (Pruning) Promises

Like "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. (John 15:2)

9. Pleasure (or Profit) Promises

Like You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11)

10. Permanence Promises

Like Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Holding On to Jesus in the Hurricane Force Winds of Life

When do you need to look to Jesus? All the time!

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2, ESV)

How do you fix your eyes on Jesus?

You look at the cross of Jesus and see flowing from it all that God has promised in His Word and hold on to that good news with all that is in you!

On a commuter flight from Portland, Maine, to Boston, Henry Dempsey, the pilot, heard an unusual noise near the rear of the small aircraft. He turned the controls over to his co-pilot and went back to check it out. As he reached the tail section, the plane hit an air pocket, and Dempsey was tossed against the rear door. He quickly discovered the source of the mysterious noise. The rear door had not been properly latched prior to takeoff, and it flew open. He was instantly sucked out of the jet. The co-pilot, seeing the red light that indicated an open door, radioed the nearest airport, requesting permission to make an emergency landing. He reported that the pilot had fallen out of the plane and he requested a helicopter search of that area of the ocean. After the plane landed, they found Henry Dempsey – holding onto the outdoor ladder of the aircraft. Somehow he had caught the ladder, held on for ten minutes as the plane flew 200 mph at an altitude of 4,000 feet and then, at landing, kept his head from hitting the runway, which was a mere twelve inches away. It took airport personnel several minutes to pry Dempsey’s fingers from the ladder. (Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching)

Holding on to Jesus (with all 10 fingers or categories of Scriptural promises to us in Jesus) should be like the man who fell out of the plane and held on for dear life until he landed safely – we must do the same until we land safely in the immediate presence of God.

From the sermon preached on March 14, 2010: What Are You Trusting Jesus For? (Part 2) (Romans 3:26)

Say "When!"

For the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)

What am I trusting Jesus for When …

When I get married and have kids and a house with a white picket fence and achieve the American dream? When I get the job I’ve always wanted? When I score the winning basket in the NCAA national championship? When I become CEO of a Fortune 500 business? When I become rich and famous?

Or

When my car breaks down? When I lose my job? When I sin again in the way I’ve sinned for years? When my health fails? When my child rebels? When my parents are unreasonable? When my friends reject me? When school is boring? When my spouse leaves me? When I can’t find a spouse? When I can’t have children? When I can’t seem to handle the children I have? When I can’t buy a house? When I can’t hang on to the house I bought? When life isn’t what I expected? When my latter years aren’t what I’ve dreamed of? When I’m not rich and beautiful and famous and accomplished? When life is hard? When relationships are difficult? When my sin is ever before me? when I die? When I stand before God and give an account for my life?

So often in everyday life we forget what we came to Christ for … what we are trusting Jesus for! And we fail to apply that to our life situations.

• For some of us, our problem is condemnation. You need to trust in Jesus and submit to God’s gift of righteousness. (Romans 10:3)
• For some of us, our problem is complaining. You need to trust in Jesus and submit to God’s sovereign will. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• For some of us, our problem is conformity. You need to stop conforming to the world and start conforming to Christ by submitting to God’s Word. (Romans 12:1-2)
• For some of us, our problem is conversion. You need to turn from idolatry and self-righteousness and trust in Jesus for LIFE and righteousness. (Romans 5:21)

Are you trusting Jesus? Have you ever come to Jesus for LIFE?

All You Need is Willingness

If the reason why a sinner is to come is because all things are ready, then it is idle for him to say, ‘But I am not ready.’ It is clear that all the readiness required on man’s part is a willingness to come and receive the blessing which God has provided. There is nothing else necessary; if men are willing to come, they may come, they will come. Where the Lord has been pleased to touch the will so that man has a desire towards Christ, where the heart really hungers and thirsts after righteousness, that is all the readiness which is wanted. All the fitness he requires is that first you feel your need of him (and that he gives you), and that secondly, in feeling your need of Him you are willing to come to Him. Willingness to come is everything. (Charles Spurgeon, p 29, Advice for Seekers based on Luke 14:17)

Come to Jesus for righteousness and LIFE and keep coming every day of your life! (Colossians 2:6-7)

This is a portion of the written sermon, What Are You Trusting Jesus For? (Part 1) (March 7, 2010)

Being Loved by Being Ruled Well

Then Huram, king of Tyre, answered in a letter sent to Solomon: "Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them." (2 Chronicles 2:11)


Do I connect ruling and loving?
Do I see myself as needing to be ruled?
Do I see that as a creature I must and will be ruled by something or someone?
Do I see that being loved by God is a matter of who or what He allows or causes to rule over me?
Do I see that because God loves me He has made the Lord Jesus Christ king over me?

"O Father, help me to embrace the truth that I am a creature (not the Creator). The Creator rules but the creatures must be ruled. Forgive me for fighting to rule rather than fighting to be ruled by You. Thank You for loving me by placing me under the rule of the Lord Jesus and making Him my King. Help me to gladly submit to Your rule over my life. Help to submit to Your sovereign will in praise and thanksgiving in all things and for all things. Help me to submit to Your written Word in trust and obedience more and more. Help me to submit to Your gift of righteousness in Your Son, Jesus Christ, day by day and moment by moment and sin by sin and need by need. Help me to be glad to be a creature who is ruled by the most loving King of all. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

"What Does That Look Like?": Sunday Worship, Serious Suggestions, and the Spirit of Freedom

Making Sunday Special

This past Sunday I preached on "making Sunday worship special" and I did something that I don't often do. I gave a long list of things to do or not to do as a way to apply the truths we were talking about. So, now I want to help us think through how we should respond to exhortations to do or not do specific things in response to truth that we see in Scripture.

Responding to List-O-Mania

So I want to try to answer the question, "What should we do with the lists that preachers and teachers and authors come up with as specific applications of truth?" For instance, how would you respond to this exhortation from John Piper?:

It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch - and then wonder why their spiritual lives are weak and their worship experience is shallow with no intensity. If you really want to hear the Word of God the way He means it to be heard in truth and joy and power, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (see Philippians 4:8). Then watch your heart un-shrivel and begin to hunger for the Word of God.

A False Dilemma

There are two extreme ways you might respond to this: (1) You might reject it as simply an expression of legalism: "That's pure legalism! The Bible doesn't explicitly say that!" or (2) You might receive it as "the will of God": "Wow! I didn't realize that that was God's clear will for all Christians." Some see these two responses as the only possible ways to handle such a comment by Piper. But there is a third, and I believe, a more Scriptural response to these kinds of specific applications of truth, or exhortations, or "do or not do lists." The third option is to see these kinds of specific applications and "lists" as "serious suggestions." (This is similar to Paul's counsel in 1 Corinthians 7:25-28, 35-38)

"Serious Suggestions," Can You Be Serious?

What do I mean by a "serious suggestion"? First, of all, I don't mean to downplay the importance of what is said. But the two words are carefully chosen. A "suggestion" is not the same as a "command." A command, in this case - a divine command, obviously carries much more weight and authority than a human suggestion. But that does not mean the human suggestion (ie, a suggested way to live out divine truth in line with divine commands) is not important.

That's where the word "serious" comes in. A serious suggestion means that we should seriously consider doing or not doing something in our Christian lives. We are to take these suggestions seriously because we are exhorted to be continually asking ourselves (in response to the truth of Scripture), "What does that look like?" It is one thing to say that we believe that God is present in a special way when we assemble together as believers in Jesus for corporate worship, and study, and fellowship, and to base this belief on Scriptural convictions. But it's another thing to apply that truth to our lives in conscious, concrete, observable and even, imitable ways.


Passionate Suggestions

John Piper is a passionate guy. He speaks and writes passionately. Sometimes preachers and teachers and authors can present "serious suggestions" in a very passionate way that may give the wrong impression that they see them as more than "serious suggestions," and really see them as essential and necessary to Biblical Christianity and pleasing God for all believers. As I just said, this may be a confusion created by the passionate way in which these "serious suggestions" are given. Does this mean the passion is out of place? I don't think so. I think it is the reality that the passion is misplaced by the hearers (hopefully not by the speaker or writer). We can be passionate in our giving "serious suggestions" without being dogmatic about them because what we are trying to convey is a passion for the spirit of the suggestion, not the suggestion itself. So to express passionately the idea of reading something inspiring on Saturday night instead of watching TV in order to prepare for worship need not be meant to communicate a passion for the act itself, but rather a passion for the heart that should or could fuel such an act: a heart to hear the Word of God.

Concrete Response to Truth

So when preachers and teachers (like me) give a list of "do's and don'ts" (specific ways we could flesh out or act on the truth seen in Scripture) or when we read books that give these kind of specific ways to apply truth, we need to see them not as "pure legalism" or "divine will" but "serious suggestions." We need to see these "lists" or individual suggestions as things we need to seriously consider as we seek to concretely act on our belief in specific truth. To say we believe something and not act in concrete ways to express that faith is to be a "hearer and not a doer of the Word." (James 1:21-25)

Free to Do Whatever?

We also have to be careful of how we define "freedom in Christ." It is true that if the Scripture does not clearly prohibit something or command something then we can put that issue in the category of "freedom." But a "freedom issue" is not an area where we can do whatever we want. A "freedom issue" is an area where God has not given us a clear command and has, in that sense, left us "free." But what He does command is that we exercise our freedom responsibly (Galatians 5:13) and with wisdom in light of all that Scripture teaches about God and man and life (Ephesians 5:15-16). So we still have to wrestle with the questions, "Does this glorify God? Is this profitable? Is this edifying? Does this master me? Is this really wise in light of my spiritual goals to become like Christ and be a blessing to others?" (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23, 31; Romans 14:1-12)

When a "List" Isn't Legalism

I am very much against legalism. I realize that practical applications that people try to make and "lists" of things to do or not to do can appear as legalism to many. And, depending on how we look at them, it certainly could be a form of legalism. But that is not necessarily the case. R.C. Sproul in his book, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, identifies four different kinds of legalism: (1) The belief that one can earn one's way into the kingdom of heaven, (2) The adherence to the letter of the law to the exclusion of the spirit of the law, (3) The addition of our own laws to the law of God, and (4) The practice of majoring on the minors.

If we see or hear someone give us "concrete" ways to live out a belief in a particular truth of Scripture, or ways to apply a particular principle in Scripture, we certainly must be careful of a legalistic response to what they say, knowing that only Scripture carries the authority of God for our lives. I should not take anyone's list of practical applications of a particular truth and (1) make them a standard to achieve in order to gain heaven, or (2) follow the letter of the list without concern for the spirit (or heart) that it should express, or (3) add the list to the commands of God in Scripture for all people to follow at all times in every situation, or (4) make the list more important than love for God and love for others. If we avoid these things, lists of practical suggestions about how to flesh out our faith in the truth can be liberating rather than legalistic.

That's the Spirit!

So, as important as "being doers of the Word and not hearers only" is in doing concrete things to express our faith, we must not forget that it is the "spirit/heart" (not the "letter") that is most important in regard to these practical and serious suggestions about walking out our faith. We are to maintain our commitment to the spirit (heart expression and attitude) of what the Scripture calls us to believe and to do. But we are to do this without becoming enslaved to something that is a "concrete" expression of the spirit of the Scripture but not a "commanded" expression of that spirit.

So, what I'm saying is, you can still be committed to loving the church and ministering to others and still choose to leave after church and not stay for the picnic on any given Sunday. The issue is the "spirit" of being committed to valuing the special presence of God among His people and loving the body of Christ in a local church setting, not the "letter" of staying every Sunday and picnicking on the school grounds. Or you can get up during the service and go to the bathroom if you really need to. The issue is the "spirit" (heart) to hear the Word of God and to participate in all that is happening during the worship service, and doing all you can to enable yourself to not need to do that for the honor of God and for your sake and for the sake of not distracting others. The issue is not the "letter" of never getting up to go to the bathroom during a service.

Hindered by Provi Who?

One final question. What is a "providential hindrance" in relation to being at church on Sunday? A providential hindrance can be something that makes it impossible to get to church (car trouble, hurricane, etc) or a combination of circumstances that, when considered together, make another choice the wise thing to do under those circumstances. This is where you will be responsible before God in determining what set of circumstances would lead you to choose to do something other than go to worship with the people of God. For instance, Should you travel on Sunday when on vacation rather than take time to attend worship somewhere? It is not my job (or any Christian's job) to tell you what to do in this situation or to "pass judgment" on your decision, but it is our place as Christians to raise the question in each other's minds, Where is my heart in this decision and is it really necessary? Do I have other options? What would please the Lord, all things considered?

Helping Us with "What Does This Look Like?"

The truth that God views the corporate identity of the local church as His special dwelling place, like the "holy of holies" in the Old Testament, and promises to work in special ways in us and among us as we worship Him together in "spirit and truth," must be believed and it must be acted on in concrete ways. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:19-22) How are you applying this truth in your own life? How is this truth making a difference in what you think and do in regard to the local church and Sunday worship? If your answer is, "I don't know," then that is why "serious suggestions" can be helpful in forming truth-based, promise-driven practical principles and plans for putting our theology into practice in everyday life.

That List I Was Talking About

So in light of these considerations, I am comfortable in encouraging you to consider these "serious suggestions" regarding "making Sunday worship special":

1. Fathers, communicate the importance of worship with the Church to your family.
2. Speak well of the church around the dinner table.
3. Pray for God to meet us on Sunday.
4. Pray for those leading and for a humble, open, teachable heart.
5. Prepare on Saturday night and Sunday morning by ...

Getting to bed at a good time to get sufficient rest.
Turning off worldly TV and stay away from worldly movies (use something to stir your hunger for God and His Word).
Getting up in time to read the Word and pray before you leave.
Avoiding the paper and TV and radio news, sports, work around the house, etc. and other distractions.
Getting to church on time (give yourself plenty of time).

6. Come to receive (take advantage of both Bible study and worship; bring your Bible; take notes if it’s helpful; listen carefully).
7. Come to give (to participate, respond, communicate, share, interact).
8. Work to minimize distractions for yourself and others (go to the bathroom before the service; watch your liquid intake; sit closer to the front).
9. Trust God for good no matter what happens (even if the message seems boring or you don't care for the music style or selection).
10. Make it non-negotiable (unless providentially hindered).
11. Talk about the message afterward.
12. Take time to fellowship afterward (stay for the picnic).
13. Get outside your comfort zone and cliques and look for opportunities to minister and encourage.
14. Review the study and sermon notes during the week.
15. Remember that there is more to the gathering of the church than what the eye can see.

God bless you as you consider these "serious suggestions"!

Pastor Earl