Archive for September, 2009
How Do You Know Christ Is Real? 5 Reasons
In a recent small group discussion this question was asked point blank:
How do you know Christ is real to you?
One thing I wanted to do when answering that question was NOT rely strictly on personal experience or feelings.
But that’s somewhat difficult.
We are beings with a heart, a spirit, a mind and a body.
We encounter this world with our emotions, with our spirits, with our minds and with our bodies.
Yes, our feelings inform us. And fail us. Our minds inform us. And fail us. And our sense of observation. Or smell. Or sight…
They inform us. And fail us, too.
That’s why I insisted on rounding out my list of reasons why I know Christ is real to me with an undeniable, objective anchor. You’ll see what that is in a second.
After you scan this list, leave your own reasons why you know Christ is real to you. And make sure you answer the questions that follow this list.
1. Internal Testimony of the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.” The holy spirit plays a valuable role in a believer’s life, especially when it comes to doubt and persecution. And while this is a subjective assurance of Christian truth, it provides a concrete assurance for the believer.
2. Spiritual Growth
I’m not where I want to be, but I’m not where I was two years ago. What kind of spiritual growth am I talking about? A growing love for the lost. A sharper eye for spiritual truth and error. A deep appreciation for Christian fellowship. A fierce will to obey God.
3. Appetite for God
Christ’s reality–birthed in me at the time of my salvation–planted an unapologetic, incessant hunger for God and for the things of God. Things like prayer, the Bible, mission work, intense study of his saints and their material.
4. Repugnance Towards the Things of This World
On the other hand, Christ’s reality created a revulsion in me for immorality. Though this world offers and tempts in multiple ways–and I feel myself getting drawn at times–I’ve found the desire AND the ability to stiff-arm those temptations that cause me to lose spiritual traction.
5. The Word of God
Of course, the historical record of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ stakes all the prior reasons into objective ground. What I know about the above reasons for Christ’s reality in me I learned from the Bible. And what I know about nurturing spiritual growth I know from what the Bible teaches. Our faith is not a groundless faith. A blind faith. It’s a historical faith. Rooted in a flesh and bones being.
Now, it’s all well and good when we can account for the reasons that God is real to you. But I’ve got two follow up questions for you: Is his reality changing you? And can he be more real in your life?
We should never get satisfied with the reality of Christ in our life. In fact, our thirst for Christ should always increase.
Thus, I’ll commit to pray for you if you commit to pray for me that our appetite for Christ’s spirit-growing reality would flourish in us to the praise of God’s glory. Cool? Cool.
Our Wretched State [Exhibit A]
I’m profoundly intrigued by human nature. Our wicked human nature in particular.
This is probably why I’m drawn to tragic literature. Psychological disorders. Aberrant sociology.
Unfortunately, this taste bleeds into my Bible reading.
Seduced by a Biblical Story
For instance, late last week I was reading the story of Jacob in the book of Genesis.
You know the story.
Jacob robs his brother of his birthright. Dupes his father into blessing him instead of Esau. And manipulates Laban’s cattle to breed so that Jacob’s flock gets larger.
Funny thing is, Jacob is an instrument of God. A man who is a critical part of His redemptive plan for mankind.
A man who was constantly on the run because of his crooked, mischievous nature.
No wonder I read Jacob’s story with wide-eyed fascination. And a growing temptation to deceive.
That’s right.
Brewing within my own soul while I read Jacob’s biography was this sense, “If he got away with all this…so can I.”
And this coming from a sanctified saint. [As much as one can be, of course.]
The Way Wicked Hearts Go
Trouble is, I’ve got a genetic, spiritual aptitude for rebellion. [A phrase, by the way, I shamelessly borrowed from Matt Chandler in his The Authoritative Word sermon.]
Some call it an issue with authority. An incorrigible bent to do things my way.
That means I don’t learn–very often–from the mistakes of others. And the temptation to do what I’m NOT supposed to do? Utterly inviting.
Unfortunately, that’s my wretched state…and yours…the constant bent towards disobedience. Mischief. Sin.
It can be frustrating.
See, salvation breaks the penalty of sin through justification by faith. It’s the story of the grace of God reconciling a rebellious people.
But until I die–until WE die–we remain in corrupt bodies. Bodies bred in a fallen world.
Bodies susceptible and drawn to sin.
Here’s My Point
Everywhere and at all times we must be alert, sober and on our guard against temptation and disobedience. Temptation can–and will–come from everywhere.
Thus, we must never give up on the gospel. For others–and ourselves.
Furthermore, Jacob’s sin doesn’t excuse us from our own sin. We can’t claim amnesty from guilt because a hero of our faith is a model of despicable behavior.
That model of despicable behavior on display is intended to point us away from ourselves and towards at least two entirely different things:
1. It points to the fact that we are broken beings with a thirst for lawlessness in desperate need of a savior.
2. And it points to a sovereign, merciful God who uses wreckage like us to accomplish His will.
That is the intention of documenting Jacob’s misdeeds. Agree? Disagree? Has Satan ever used a biblical text to tempt you? Share your thoughts. Brutal and all.
John Piper on John Calvin: The Supremacy of Christ in All Things | DG 2009
Text: Ephesians 1:4-6
Calvin believed that what the theater of God was for was for the shining for of the glory of God and the display of the greatness of Christ. John Piper moved beyond Calvin in the closing section, and turned directly to Christ. There is no better way to honor Calvin.
What is the theater of God? Is the universe the theater of God?
At first glance, it seems the theater of God is the universe. From the angels to the demons, from humanity to nature.
But it is not that simple.
The scope of the theater is bigger than you think it is.
God chose us in Him before the foundation of the World. Christ is the ground of our election before anything was created. Therefore, the glory of Christ is on display before there is anyone but God to watch it.
God directs our attention out of the theater to show us the full extent of the theater.
It won’t due to say that the theater of God is the created universe. It is too small. Too short. The theater must be enlarged beyond creation. The script is constantly pointing us out of the created universe to the scope of the Godhead.
Now we have the theater in its appropriate infinite proportions.
What is the ultimate goal of God in the theater of God?
Ephesians 1:4: To the praise of the glory of His grace.
The aim of election through Jesus Christ is the everlasting white-hot praise of the glory of the grace of God. That’s why everything exists.
Piper: “God has done everything with the view to that one great end. Namely, that the glory of His grace would be praised by innumerable human beings.”
“Not just are we to praise His glory, but specifically the glory of His grace. The highest point of the glory of God is the grace of God. Everything else – justice, wrath, power, wisdom, truthfulness – serve to make the glory of his grace more plain, more beautiful, and more precious.”
God has done all of it to solidify and intensify your praise for the glory of His grace.
God shows love by doing everything forever in order that we might see God. It will take an eternity for Him to show the riches of His grace.
This is not the way the world defines love.
The world defines love as God making me central, attending to me.
We must understand the God-centeredness of the love and grace of God.
Love is God doing whatever He has to do, even if it costs Him His Son, in oder that we might see and savor God.
How do the historical work and the eternal person of Christ relate to that ultimate goal of glorifying God’s grace?
The historical work of Christ is the action of God’s grace, and the eternal person of Christ is the gift of God’s grace.
Christ is the price and He is the pearl.
The work on the cross makes it possible for us to enjoy His person forever. Jesus is the embodiment of grace and the means of attaining it. His blood purchases the ultimately satisfying gift, and He is the ultimately satisfying gift. He is what God gives, and the way God gives. He is the price and he is the pearl.
The theater exists to glorify God’s grace. Christ is the embodiment and enablement of that grace. Therefore, the theater exists to glorify Christ.
What difference does it make?
1. The highest pleasure of the human being is the pleasure of admiration.
Salvation is ultimately the revelation of God in such a way so that we can enjoy the glory of God. Therefore, make it your life long, eternity long vocation to know Him, to savor Him.
2. Seek Christ, not just God’s gifts.
“Don’t get excited about eternal golf…I fear that our churches have many people who will be shocked to hear the Lord say, “I never knew you, because all you wanted were my gifts, and not Me,” said Piper.
3. Now we understand what it means to be loved.
To be loved is not to be made much of, but to be rescued from the craving to be made much of. This is God’s love: God bringing us to God. God awakening our affections for God. Christ is our rescue and our reward.
4. We ourselves will be glorified.
You, Christian, will shine like the Son in the kingdom of God. You will shine with the glory of Christ, not your own (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
Even further, according to John 17:26, we will love Christ with the same love the Father loves Christ with.
Piper:
“That is precious beyond words because in this life my greatest frustration is that I do not love Him as I ought, and I feel there is nothing resident in me to love Him as He deserves. Eternity will be a bummer if I am not given that love for Christ.
5. Now we are gradually being changed into the likeness of Christ.
Beholding is becoming (2 Corinthians 3:18). Seeing the glory of the Lord with the eyes of our heart opened by the Holy Spirit, changes us. And any other way to change results in legalism. All pastors: Your vocation is to open the eyes of the blind to see the glory of Christ.
Guest writer Daniel C. Wilson is covering the Desiring God National Conference.
Sam Storms on Calvin and the Joy of the Last Resurrection | DG 2009
I urge you, do not miss this message from Sam Storms.
Download it, listen to it twice, and mediate deeply.
The Final Act in the Theater of God: Calvin on the Joy of the Last Resurrection
Text: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The list of Calvin’s afflictions read like a medical journal. Headaches. Fevers. Gout. Colic. Hemorrhoids. Arthritis. Acute chronic inflammation of the kidneys. Gall stones. Violent fits of coughing that ruptured blood vessels in his lungs.
If you find such medical details as unappetizing as I do, rejoice with me in that I could not type but half the list as Sam spoke.
Living with one foot raised
Calvin: “Afflictions should serve as medicine to purge us, to remove what is superfluous…We ought to learn from our physical afflictions, in whatever form they may come, to live every day with one foot raised, ready for our departure into the presence of God.”
4 Ways Calvin Lived with One Foot Raised
1. Living as sojourner on earth (Hebrews 11:13)
We must embrace our identity as sojourners in this world, and thus not bound to it. We should live as if we have no fixed residence except in heaven. When we are driven from place to place…remember, we have no certain abode here on earth.
Prepare ourselves for our last end.
Calvin was not negligent of basic responsibilities on earth, but Calvin lived as a sojourner because he was driven by a desire to see God. He considered being banished from his home country as training to live as a stranger on earth.
2. See profitability of hardship
Calvin, on the profitability of hardship, wrote, “It is profitable for us who are prone to sloth and have become too comfortable in this world to be tossed here and there so that we may turn our eyes to heaven.”
3. Vision of Jesus Christ, He who makes heaven heavenly
Jesus Christ is the aim and goal. Only our Savior makes heaven worthwhile.
We see Jesus now only as a man shut up in the dark sees glorious light through small chinks. We long for the full vision of Christ’s glory.
Calvin (a key quote): “If God contains the fullness of all good things in Himself like an inexhaustible fountain, nothing beyond him is to be sought by those who strike after the highest good and all the elements of happiness.”
4. Meditation on Heaven
Life-changing meditation. A yearning for the day of redemption for our bodies. We ought to aspire to heaven with undivided affection. The excellencies of heaven consist of an imperishable inheritance, undefiled and unfading.
Everything earthly we live for is decaying and dying. But the inheritance in heaven will ever remain vibrant and refreshed.
Calvin: “Everything now is subject to the ravages of heaven. All creation is breaking down, losing its luster.” Not even Botox can slow down the process. Glorious paintings losing brilliance, sculptures wear down.
In heaven, nothing fades. What a hope found in the presence of Christ! Heaven effects and empowers us now. The certainty of the future impinges upon our circumstances at present.
4 Ways Meditating on the Glories of Heaven Effects Us Now:
1. Empowers the believer to endure unjust suffering
A remedy is at hand, writes Calvin, “For as soon as we raise our eyes to heaven, then we behold vast grounds of joy that dispel sadness.”
We are to be groaning and patient waiting, burdened with a sense of our present misery. “Notwithstanding, they are to wait patiently for their future deliverance. By an elevation of their minds to overcome all their present miseries, not considering what they are now but what they will be.
“Accordingly, he alone has fully profited in the gospel who has accustomed himself to continual meditation upon the blessed resurrection.”
2. Strengthens the soul to overcome worldliness and the snares of this world
“How do we avoid entangling ourselves in the business of the world? We make it our business to mediate on the glories of heaven.”
If meditation on heaven were the prevailing influence of our hearts, the world would have no success in detaining us.
“When is it that flesh indulges itself, except when no thought is given in the near coming of Christ?”
3. Enables us to respond properly to the death of others and coming of our own
I didn’t get the quotes that go with this section, so I’ll use this as a teaser to hurry you to download the message and listen. These quotes were the best of the night.
Sorry I could only type fast enough to get the first half of each quote.
“It is monstrous for Christians to be gripped by the fear of death.”
“No one has made progress in the school of Christ who does not joyfully await death.”
4. Setting our hearts on heaven enables us to respond well to the loss of possessions and property.
There is a better, abiding possession awaiting us. It is not that the loss of property doesn’t grieve us. It is that the loss does not deprive us of joy as we look higher to heaven, a gaze that allays whatever grief we had.
Carnal feelings never prevail over us with grief because we have a possession no one can plunder.
Wherever there is a lively perception of heavenly things, the world will never be relished.
Let us diligently work our jobs, study in school, devote ourselves to our spouse in marriage, but do it all living with one foot raised.
Guest writer Daniel C. Wilson is covering the Desiring God National Conference.
Panel Discussion: Should We Hold the Death of Servetus Against Calvin? | DG 2009
Should we hold the death of Servetus against John Calvin?
The speakers’ responses recorded in a rather rough set of notes:
Mark Talbot: It was out of Calvin’s control
The issue of Servetus was taken out of Calvin’s hands, and Calvin was not allowed to make the decisions. All of the council members said that Servetus needed to be convicted of heresy. At the time, heresy was much worse of an offense because of the way it could disturb the state. It was necessary for the counsel to be firm against heresy as the Catholics. Protestants needed to take a stand.
Calvin was not, in any way, at fault. Servetus’ condemnation was more or less inevitable. Soon after he was condemned, people who were against Calvin on other grounds started to spread rumors that Calvin was at his burning. Calvin was not present, had hoped Servetus would recant, and said that Servetus should be put to death with the sword.
Marvin Olasky: Servetus was looking for trouble
Servetus was a guy indeed looking for trouble. He went to a lot of places speaking what was heresy under any theological regime. Went to one place, got in trouble, went to another place, got in trouble, and so forth. It was standard procedure for heretics to be put to death. …It is not as if Calvin was out for blood and others were not. It is a historical black mark.
Julius Kim: Did the church or the state have the power to excommunicate?
It is important to remember this was all taken out of Calvin’s hands. One of Calvin’s main questions was whether the church or the state had the power to excommunicate people and discipline. Should the church, or the magistrate, be the one to deem people are heretics?
Sam Storms: The essence of Servetus’ heresy: He claimed Jesus was not God
Heresy was considered a public crime, not a private matter. It was viewed on the same level as robbery or civil rebellion. They did not separate theological heresy from other basic criminal offenses.
The essence of his heresy was that Servetus was not willing to say Jesus was God.
Here is the full panel discussion, including the answers to 7 other questions.
Guest writer Daniel C. Wilson is covering the Desiring God National Conference.
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