Making the most of the time (Ephesians 5:16)

The goal of the disciple of Jesus is to be “making the most of the time,” as Paul commends us in Ephesians 5:15-16. That goal is clear from Scripture. Moses asks the Lord to “teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12).” Same idea. We are called to make the most of every day. But the question is, how do we do that? That is, who is to say what “making the most of the time” looks like? With so many ways to spend my time, who determines when I am “making the most of my time?”

PRINCIPLE: “Making the most of the time” is spending your time according to God’s priorities for life. These priorities are expressed in the Bible and are constrained by and applied through the circumstances of each individual life, with its specific roles and responsibilities.

Because the best source for discovering God’s priorities is the Bible, the better a person knows the Bible, the better they can “make the most of the time.”

            “But wait a minute” you may say. “The Bible is a big book full of all kinds of teaching and stories and songs and prayers. How do I find God’s priorities for life in all that?” A great question! While it is true that there is not a special section in the Bible that explicitly spells out God’s priorities for life, it is also true that the Bible is a book that is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and is breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16). God Himself has inspired the Bible to be His word to His people, and so the Bible informs ANY life, and it informs ALL of life. The Bible is written such that it speaks to any believer in any circumstance and communicates God’s message to that believer, regardless of their circumstances. And the Bible is written to communicate God’s guidance for all aspects of life, “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).”

            So, again I say, the better a person knows the Bible, the better they can “make the most of the time.”

            Practically speaking, God’s priorities gradually become our own over time as we abide with the Lord in His word and in prayer. After years spent living and reliving the many narrative stories in the Scriptures, we gradually absorb their lessons, and we see the errors and the successes of hundreds of characters, and we learn something of God’s priorities. Reading and rereading the gospels allows us to learn from the God-Man Himself, the Lord Jesus, and so have God’s priorities shape us. Repeated trips through Job and the Psalms and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes allow us to implicitly see God’s priorities as we read the wisdom literature. The point is that extended time with God in His word will gradually instill His priorities in your heart.

            So, when Paul exhorts us to “make the most of the time, because the days are evil,” He has not given the follower of Jesus Christ an impossible assignment. Diligently read your Bible, be often in prayer, and carefully examine your life to make sure that you are intentionally living for Jesus, and you will probably be making the most of the time.

SDG                 rmb                 1/14/2021

The conscience, the Law, and sin – Part 1: The conscience

In the next several days I will be writing two articles, one on the conscience and sin, and one on the Law and sin. The connection is that the conscience and the Law are two of God’s means of grace which bring our sin to our attention so that we can repent. These articles will examine how the natural man responds to these God-given means of grace.

The conscience and sin

What do we know about the conscience from the Bible? We will look at a passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans that addresses the conscience and use that as our starting point. Then we will examine several other verses that further inform our understanding of our conscience and try to apply those ideas to our lives.

For when Gentiles, who do not have the Law, do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves in that they show the work of the Law written on their heart, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternatively accusing or else defending them on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. – Romans 2:14-16

Paul writes that “Gentiles do not have the Law,” but they do have a conscience. From this we can conclude that all people are born with a conscience. This is, in fact, what the whole Bible makes plain. All people have a God-given sin-detector called a conscience. Whether Jew or Gentile, or believer or unbeliever. A conscience is part of the standard equipment for all people.

The function of the conscience

What is the function of the conscience? Since not everyone knows about the moral Law of God as written in the Bible, God in His grace has given everyone a conscience to reveal to us our sin so that we can be led to repentance (Romans 2:4). In fact, as we read the passage above more carefully, we see that the conscience does “the work of the Law.” The conscience functions as a copy of “the Law written on our heart,” and it either accuses us of sin or acquits us of not-sin as we go through our lives. Here is how this might work. As I am talking to someone, I tell them what I know to be a lie. My conscience immediately convicts me of that sin, and I know that I have lied, and thus I have the opportunity to repent. Or else I walk past a co-worker’s cubicle and see that he has left his wallet on his desk while he went out to lunch. I could steal the wallet, but I resist, and my conscience defends me because I did not steal. The conscience, then, is evidence of God’s grace, revealing to us our sin so that we can repent.

Before we leave this passage, we should also notice that there is a vitally important reason why we need to repent. You see, there is a judgment coming. There will be a day in the future when “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” On that day, all sin that has not been forgiven will receive the full wrath of God through Christ Jesus. The sins that you think are safely secret are all known to God, and you will be judged for them. The sins that are unknown to you are all known to God, and you will be condemned by them (Romans 2:12). So, the natural man needs to listen to his conscience and repent of his sin.

The limitations of the conscience

Since everyone has a conscience, we would expect that people would be aware of their sin and would often repent of it, but this is definitely not the case. Why is this not the case? It is because of the limitations of the conscience in the face of the fallenness of man.

First, while the conscience convicts of sin universally, it convicts of sin weakly. The pang of guilt from the conscience is never that sharp, so the natural man learns very quickly how to ignore and silence the conscience. The Bible says that the conscience can be seared (1 Timothy 4:2), and the conscience can be defiled (Titus 1:15). In both these cases, the convicting effects of the conscience are silenced, and the people can proceed in their sin with a feeling of impunity. The sin remains and condemns, but the conscience’s ability to convict is smothered. This is what all people learn to do as they go through life, to a greater or lesser degree.

But second and more importantly, unsaved man loves his sin. In the gospel of John, he says: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed (John 3:19-20).” The Bible is clear that the natural man is a slave of sin and he loves his slavery. The unsaved have given themselves over to the desires of their flesh and hate anything that seeks to limit their sin. Thus, unsaved people hate the conscience because they hate to be told about their sin.

Finally, while the conscience can convict of sin, it can only convict of sin. That is, the conscience can make the sinner aware of their sin, but they cannot restrain the sinner from sinning. More than this, the conscience cannot remove from the sinner the guilt and condemnation which they have revealed to the sinner. The conscience tells the sinner, “You are guilty of that sin!” The sinner replies, “Oh. How can I be forgiven of that sin?” “I don’t know,” says the conscience. In some sense, the conscience is like a fire alarm in your house. The fire alarm is good at letting you know that there is a fire in your house. Its piercing shriek is designed to basically wake the dead so that you are aware of the danger. But if you are relying on the alarm to save you from the fire, you will be sadly disappointed. An alarm without a separate escape plan is a casualty. Just so, your conscience can do nothing about your sin except to point out your guilt. If you do not have a way of being forgiven of that sin, you will surely perish in the judgment.

The answer to revealed sin

If the conscience cannot remove my sin or forgive my sin, then what am I to do? There is only one way to be forgiven of any sin, whether known or unknown, whether revealed by the conscience or by some other means.

“In Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses (Ephesians 1:7).”

            It is only through repentance of your sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that you can have forgiveness of sins. If your conscience is bothering you and you are convicted of your guilt before a holy God, confess your sins, and repent, and come to Jesus in faith. (1 John 1:9; Mark 1:15)

SDG                 rmb                 1/11/2021

Do we seek suffering? – Part 2 (Philippians 3:10)

“that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.” – the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:10

It seems that the statement is made at some point in conversations about suffering, especially among American Christians. It is usually well intended and sounds like an appropriate thing to say in response to affliction for the name of Jesus. “Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering. . .” But the more I think about that statement, the more uncomfortable I become. Is that true? Are we not to seek suffering? And if that is the case, then why do so many of my heroes in the Bible and so many Christians in history suffer for their faith? Is it normal to be a serious Christian and not suffer for my faith? And what do I do if God is calling me to a course of action that almost certainly includes suffering to some degree?

            Because of the importance of the topic of suffering for the believer, I am going to spend several posts exploring what I see to be problems with the statement, “Of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering.” The goal is to arrive at a solid perspective on suffering that makes me more useful to Jesus.

            Problem #1 (January 5) dealt with the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ effectively sought out His own suffering as the necessary means for accomplishing His mission of redemption and atonement. Since Jesus sought suffering, it seems hard to imagine that we do not. In this post we will look at Problem #2.

“Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering . . .”

PROBLEM #2

            “That’s really a trivial statement.”

Upon examination, we realize that the declaration above (“Of course, we do not seek suffering”) is somewhat trivial. What I mean is this: Of course, Christians do not seek out suffering! No one in their right mind seeks out suffering as an end in itself, so saying that the Christian is not called to seek suffering is just stating the obvious. Jesus did not call His disciples to seek suffering for suffering’s sake, but He did call us to follow Him wherever He leads regardless of any real or imagined consequences. The consequences of my obedience are the Lord’s responsibility. He determines those, and one of those potential consequences may be suffering. Another consequence could be my physical death. As a disciple of Jesus, I choose to obey regardless. The duty of obedience is my responsibility. I obey because obedience to my Master is my highest aim. I long to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

When viewed in this light, the possibility of suffering is irrelevant. It is beside the point. Suffering is just one of the potential consequences of my obedience to the Lord. Why focus on one potential consequence instead of focusing on the goal or the prize of my obedience (Philippians 3:14)? Why highlight this one possible personal consequence instead of bringing all glory to Christ and focusing all my energy on proclaiming the gospel? Why think about a consequence of obedience that might cause me to shrink back from God’s appointed path (Hebrews 10:38-39), instead of running with endurance the race before me and fixing my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:1-2), which will spur me on?

The bottom line is that the disciple of Jesus does not seek out a path just because it offers an opportunity to suffer, but neither does the disciple of Jesus shrink back from any God-appointed path that requires personal suffering. Suffering is not sought, nor is it required, but neither is it ever avoided.

SDG                 rmb                 1/9/2021

Are we distracted, seeing the wind? (Matthew 14:30)

Our time is a time of uncertainty and distraction. Much of what was the bedrock of our existence and of our routines has begun to show alarming fractures, and we are sensing that our boat is being battered by the waves and that the wind is contrary (the disciples on the sea of Galilee in Matthew 14:24). There are storms swirling all around us – political storms, medical storms, social storms, relational storms, moral storms – and it is increasingly difficult not to be distracted by the winds and be swept up in fear.

PETER AND THE DISCIPLES IN THE STORM

Jesus’ disciples faced a similar situation one night on the Sea of Galilee, not figuratively, but literally (Matthew 14:22-33). Jesus had stayed behind on the shore while they tried to row to the other side of the lake. Their boat was being battered by the waves, for the wind was contrary (14:24). Jesus came to them, walking on the sea, and reassures them in the midst of their plight, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid (14:27).” Then (28) Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” (29) And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” – Matthew 14:30

(31) Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

As we consider how Peter responded to his storm, we will learn several things about how to respond to our own storms.

SEEING THE WIND, NOT THE LORD

Peter began to sink because he was seeing the wind, not the Lord Jesus. This is the major lesson we can learn from this. Jesus is the Lord of all nature and thus the Lord of all storms and all winds. He is the one who speaks to the winds and the sea and they obey Him (Matthew 8:27). He is the one who made the sea and the dry land (Psalm 95:5). Jesus is also the Lord of glory, the King of kings, the Son of God. This Jesus had commanded Peter to come to Him (14:29). Yet, with the Lord of glory beckoning him to come to Him, Peter was distracted by the winds. The incarnate Son of God was a short distance away, and Peter took his eyes off Jesus and put them on the wind.

Let us consider this: When we take our eyes off Jesus and are distracted by the prevailing winds, even the invisible becomes dangerous. But when we fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), our field of vision is taken up by Him who is most powerful and most lovely. When Jesus consumes our gaze, we seem to have supernatural power to attempt the impossible and are reminded that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

When Peter was concentrated on Jesus, he had supernatural power to walk on water, but when he was distracted by the prevailing storm and was “seeing the wind,” he sank like an ordinary man. Just so, a faithful walk with Jesus calls for us to be concentrated on Him. We are not involved in a pastime or a hobby with which we dabble from time to time. No! We are involved in a minute-by-minute faith-walk with the King of kings that involves our whole being. So, we press forward with vigor and we ignore the winds of distraction, no matter how hard they blow. Jesus is worthy of being the one who fills our entire gaze and captures all our attention.

WHEN PETER FAILED

Peter is one of only two human beings who has ever walked on water. This is a remarkable achievement. When the fishermen got together around the Sea of Galilee, Peter could stop the boasting by saying, “Well, I guess that’s impressive, but I walked on water.” End of conversation.

But we also notice from the story that Peter failed. Peter’s zeal to walk to Jesus on the water was drowned by his fascination with the invisible winds. Peter got distracted, and “seeing the wind, he became frightened and began to sink (14:30).” Has that ever happened to you? I mean, have you ever failed, despite your best intentions? How does Jesus respond to Peter’s failure? DON’T MISS THIS. When Peter is sinking and cries out, “Lord, save me!” . . .

“IMMEDIATELY Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him.”

Peter exercised incredible faith and boldly attempted something that should have been impossible. Ultimately, his attempt failed. What do we hear from Jesus? There is no rebuke, no ridicule, no chagrin. Instead, the same hand that in the Creation formed the sea and the dry land is immediately stretched out to take a firm hold of His beloved disciple. Peter cries out for the Lord to save him, and immediately the Lord Jesus does exactly that. Jesus upholds His own with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). When we pass through the waters, Jesus is with us (Isaiah 43:2). When we fail, as we inevitably will, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

APPLICATIONS

There are basically three takeaways from this study, three applications that have emerged.

  • Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and don’t spend time “seeing the wind”
  • As an act of your will, IGNORE THE WIND. That is, IGNORE THE DISTRACTIONS.
  • Attempt bold things for the glory of God, because Jesus is our Advocate (1 John 2:1).

SDG                 rmb                 1/7/2021

Why should we study end-times?

            Since the disciple of Jesus is to be living in anticipation of our rapture (or death), why should we study the end-times? Besides the obvious reasons for studying anything in the Bible, there are two prominent reasons for spending time in the eschatological passages of Scripture.

The first reason is that studying the end-times and then seeing these events coming to pass in our lifetime increases our sense of urgency and causes us to work harder. How does that work? Imagine that you are a forty-five-year-old American believer in good physical health. As you look out at the future, you could reasonably expect forty more years before your death. Nothing is guaranteed, but, based on statistics, an expectation that you would live forty more years would not be imprudent or unreasonable. In this case, if you had something that you wanted to accomplish for the Lord or had a special mission that you wanted to complete before you died, you would have a slight sense of urgency, because you felt that you had forty years or so to get it done.

But now suppose that you were that same forty-five-year-old American believer in good health and were studying last things in the Bible and began to see happening on your morning Internet news feeds events that were predicted by the Bible as events of the end-times. At first cautiously and then with increasing excitement, the news articles began to sound more and more like fulfillment of the biblical prophecies and, as your conviction began to grow, you began to seriously contemplate the possibility that you might not quietly live out your days in serenity, but you might be raptured before your physical death or you might even be martyred. In other words, an any-minute return of Jesus would supply a sense of urgency that a “normal” Christian life would (potentially) lack. You would get after your kingdom projects with vigor.

The second reason for spending time in the eschatological passages of Scripture is to persuade us beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus is certainly coming back. That one day the resurrected Jesus Christ is returning from heaven to earth to destroy all the unrighteous and to judge the world is a lot for a new believer to take in. The events of the end of the age seem so fantastic that they almost cannot be real. Then the adversary, Satan, whispers his doubts in your ear and the world adds its ridicule and scoffing, and the believer who is not scripturally rooted and grounded can become effectively agnostic in their beliefs. Before long, they have abandoned the return of Christ as Christian myth, not realizing that they have unwittingly actually gone apostate. A Christianity without a returning Christ is an anemic fairy tale.

But now picture the believer who has a sure grasp of Scripture and who is not intimidated by the apocalyptic language of end-times prophecy. This disciple reads and studies the whole word of God with prayerful diligence. All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16), and so all Scripture is to be understood and enjoyed in a godly walk with the Lord. Yes, some of the eschatological passages are difficult to understand fully, but they are not inconsistent. Jesus has certainly been resurrected and He has ascended to the Father’s right hand and there will be a day when the Father sends Him back to gather all His people to Himself and to judge all the unrighteous to eternal punishment. All the Scripture affirms this, and the Scripture cannot be broken. God cannot lie, and His Word is therefore always true. Therefore, the disciple of Jesus is to work hard to understand the difficult end-times passages and thereby to become more and more convinced of the soon-coming return of Jesus. The more the disciple studies the Scripture, the deeper the roots go and the more convinced they are of all that the Scripture declares, including the bodily return of the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. Satan’s whispers are ignored and the ridicule and scoffing of the world becomes the noise of fools who are perishing. Christ is coming back, and it could be today, and I am looking up.

SDG                 rmb                 1/6/2021

What if Jesus was coming back in six months?

Today is January 6, 2021. This morning I was planning to continue with another post on suffering, but the political events of the day led me otherwise. With the Democrats winning both Senate races in Georgia, the Democratic Party now controls the White House and both houses of Congress. This means that, when Joe Biden is sworn in as President on January 20, there is no legislation that cannot be passed into law. Based on the radical nature of the Democratic platform, I anticipate seismic changes in the American form of government that will probably include intense pressure of the followers of Jesus in this country. So, while a post on suffering is also appropriate, I decided to write an article on what the believer is to do if we see that the Lord Jesus is coming back soon. rmb

            QUESTION: If you were convinced that Jesus was coming back in, say, six months, how would your life change?

            CORRECT ANSWER: Based on Matthew 24-25, where the disciple is urged repeatedly to be ready and on the alert for the return of Jesus, and based on the witness of the New Testament documents, where Jesus’ return is presented as imminent, the correct answer should be, “Except maybe in terms of degree and urgency, nothing would significantly change.”

NOTES:

  • Plans and strategies that were longer-term (a year or more out) would be evaluated, then either compressed or abandoned.
  • Plans that were deemed still valuable and viable would be ruthlessly prioritized for Kingdom impact and accelerated.
  • Expenditures would accelerate to make sure that I did not meet the Lord with a bunch of unneeded money in my possession.

This question is more important now than ever. Jesus’ coming is certainly nearer now than it has ever been, but maybe, with all that is going on in the world, it is close in absolute terms. The believer is always to be living with their own death or their rapture in view so that they will make the most of the time (Ephesians 5:15-16). If Jesus were going to appear in six months (or if you knew you were going to die in six months), how would you live for the next six months? This is the fundamental question. What is your answer? Are you ready?

SDG rmb 1/6/2021

Do we seek suffering? – Part 1 (Phil. 3:10)

            It seems that the statement is made at some point in most conversations about suffering, especially among American Christians. It is usually well intended and sounds like an appropriate thing to say in response to suffering for the name of Jesus. “Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek suffering. . .” But the more I think about that statement, the more uncomfortable I become. Is that true? Are we not to seek suffering? And if that is the case, then why do so many of my heroes in the Bible and in history suffer for their faith? Why does the Bible have so much to say about suffering if my experience of the Christian life can safely avoid it? Is it normal to be a serious Christian and not suffer? And what do I do if God is calling me to a course that will almost certainly result in my suffering to some degree?

            Because of these questions and because of the importance of the topic of suffering, I am going to spend the next several posts exploring what I see to be problems with this statement. The goal is to arrive at a solid perspective on suffering that makes me more useful to Jesus.

“Well, of course, the Christian is not called to seek out suffering . . .”

PROBLEM #1

“Can you support that statement with Scripture?”

The first reaction to this statement may be to agree with it and let the conversation move on, but as discerning followers of Jesus, we must respond to these types of statements with at least a small challenge.

“That’s an interesting idea. Can you support that statement with Scripture?” Scripture is the place where all disciples of Jesus find a common foundation. Does a given theological position, or a faith practice find solid support in the word of God?

When I think about the fact that Jesus Christ was acutely aware of His appointed suffering on the cross from the beginning of His ministry and had, in fact, been sent to earth for the express purpose of suffering and dying on the cross, I seriously wonder if I can support the statement above. My entire salvation depends upon Jesus seeking suffering. Jesus’ mission could only be accomplished if He suffered and died on the cross. Where does the Lord Jesus tell His disciples that they are not to seek out suffering? Chapter and verse, please.

What about Paul? Paul intentionally did things that provoked persecution and inevitably resulted in his suffering. In Philippi he cast out a demon that ended the merchants’ revenue with the slave girl. He must have known that this was going to result in his being punished and his suffering.

Paul continued his way to Jerusalem knowing that conflict awaited him there (Acts 20-21). His own people pleaded with him to turn back and to change his plans, but Paul steadfastly refused even though he knew that he would suffer. Would Paul agree with the statement that the Christian does not seek out suffering?

And then there is Peter. Peter was warned repeatedly that, if he continued with his preaching about Jesus in Jerusalem, he was going to be severely punished (Acts 4-5), and yet he never even slowed down. If the Jewish or Roman authorities needed to punish someone for preaching about Jesus, Peter was not hard to find. Also, his first epistle has as its central theme the perseverance of the believer in the face of suffering for Christ. Would Peter say that the believer does not seek suffering?

            In the Old Testament, evil kings and false prophets warned the true prophets that, if they did not silence their prophecy or change their message, they would be punished, and the true prophets remained true to the message the LORD had given them to proclaim. For example, more than once, Jeremiah suffered for the message that he preached, but he would rather be punished with the stripes of men than fail to obey the LORD and deliver His message.

            So, while these heroes from Scripture may not have sought suffering, the prospect of suffering was not a factor in their decision-making. They sought to be obedient to the LORD, regardless. That is the view that the Scripture supports.

SDG rmb 1/5/2021

But let’s take a step back for a minute. Maybe the problem with the statement is the statement itself. That is, maybe we are saying what we mean in a clumsy way. My next post will explore that possibility in PROBLEM #2. rmb

The godly will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)

In his last letter, the letter of 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul is writing to his beloved disciple Timothy his last words about life and ministry. Every verse of this epistle feels the weight of Paul’s urgency and sincerity. There are no words to waste and there is no time to lose. “The executioner awaits, so consider what I say.”

Perhaps the most prominent theme in this letter is the theme of standing firm in the face of opposition and suffering. Paul wants there to be no doubt in Timothy’s mind that, as he presses on in the gospel ministry, there will be pain involved. “Join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God (2 Timothy 1:8).” Paul repeatedly calls Timothy, and by obvious implication, calls all believers to suffer for the cause of the gospel. Toward the end of the main exhortations of the epistle, Paul makes a challenging statement:

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. – 3:12

I want to think about this verse for a moment. I am troubled by this verse, not because it talks about persecution, but because it requires persecution. Paul does not give a warning or admonition that applies only to pastors in hostile countries. He does not declare a fact that only affects a handful of missionaries who sail in uncharted gospel waters. Instead, Paul makes a statement that applies to ALL people in a particular group. “Those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus” is the group he has in mind. That includes me, and I suspect it includes you. Now comes the troubling part. All people in that group will be persecuted. But I am not being persecuted. Why am I not being persecuted?

One possible reason that I am not being persecuted is that I think I meet the conditions, when in fact I do not. That is, I think I live godly in Christ Jesus, but I am really kidding myself. I am just pretending. I am playing games. I do not believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil. 1:21). I am not presenting my body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). I am not striving to be holy, as God is holy (1 Peter 1:16). I should be nervous if everyone in my spheres of influence, including pagans and the overtly ungodly, speak well of me and are comfortable hanging around with me. If I am not living godly in Christ Jesus, then I will not be persecuted. Satan does not waste his ammunition. Examine yourself (2 Cor. 13:5)! Make an honest assessment and repent if you are being lukewarm or timid or are shrinking back. Ask the Lord to give your faith a fire that merits persecution.

Another possibility is that I am misunderstanding persecution. It could be that I am experiencing persecution, but I do not notice it because my definition of persecution is inaccurate. For example, if I consider only martyrdom or imprisonment to qualify as persecution, then I will miss the more subtle forms of persecution like social rejection, job discrimination, ridicule, being shunned or avoided by others, and things like these. Be alert for more subtle kinds of persecution.

There is a third possibility, and that is that Paul is speaking in hyperbole. What I mean is that Paul is using the word all in the sense that every single disciple of Christ is willing to accept persecution as part of the price to follow Christ. We must accept that being persecuted is normal for the Christian and that others will reject me and hate me solely because I am a Christian.

“Persecution is one of the marks of a converted man.” – J. C. Ryle

SDG                 rmb                 1/4/2021

The unprompted extravagance of God (Genesis 12:2-3)

“And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Genesis 12:2-3

In these two verses in Genesis 12, the LORD pours out a landslide of seven unconditional promises of blessing on this man, this Abram the son of Terah from Ur of the Chaldeans. Take a moment with me and consider the unprompted extravagance of the LORD.

WHAT ABRAM DESERVED OR MERITED?

We begin by considering Abram and see why he received such an outpouring of blessings from the LORD. As we read of Abram ancestors in Genesis 11:10-31, we search in vain for any indication of anyone in his family tree having a knowledge of the LORD. Where are his forefathers who called on the name of the LORD? They are absent. Instead, we read through nine generations without a single mention of the LORD. Indeed, Terah, Abram’s father, was a pagan who worshiped the moon god. As we study Abram’s lineage, there is no evidence of any acquaintance with the LORD or with any exercise of faith. It is hard to imagine that Abram had any concept of the LORD before He called him.

THE EXTRAVAGANCE OF THE LORD’S CALL

Then at the time appointed by the LORD, He calls Abram to go forth from his country to an unseen, unknown land that the LORD will show him. There had been no relationship between Abram and the LORD and then suddenly the LORD bursts upon Abram’s consciousness, calls him to trust Him with his entire future, and pours out astonishing, unconditional promises on him. And all of this is completely unprompted and unrequested. There is nothing that motivated or prompted the LORD to choose Abram other than His own divine will. Abram was unaware of the LORD’s existence and could have died that way. Abram could have continued his father’s legacy of bowing down to the moon god and never have known the joy of walking with the living God. Abram could happily have continued in his ignorance, but the LORD chose to speak to this man. Why Abram? We do not know, but the LORD chose him to be the father of a multitude and to walk with Him.

ALL THE GRACIOUS PROMISES

And then, as if that were not amazing enough, the LORD immediately makes seven astonishing promises to Abram. This is the unprompted extravagance of the LORD, to call Abram to Himself and then to make these glorious promises of blessing, and all of this as an act of His grace, just because He chose to do this.

“And I will make you a great nation.” At the time of this promise, Abram had no children and a barren wife, yet the LORD gives him an unconditional promise that he will become a great and populous nation.

“And I will bless you.” Abram gets the LORD’s unconditional promise that He will bless him. This probably refers to material blessings of flocks and herds.

“And I will make your name great.” Abram will be known far and wide as a great man. He will be famous and respected. Another unconditional promise.

“And so you shall be a blessing.” Not only will Abram be blessed, but he will also be a blessing to others. He will be blessed to be a blessing. Another unconditional promise.

“And I will bless those who bless you.” Those who are allies with Abram and those who help and bless Abram will be blessed by the LORD. Another unconditional promise.

“And the one who curses you I will curse.” Likewise, those who oppose or threaten Abram, or who seek to curse him will themselves be cursed, for the LORD will protect him. Another unconditional promise.

“And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” This is, of course, the grandest extravagance of all, as the LORD gives Abram the veiled promise that he will be the forefather of the Messiah. Another unconditional promise.

EXTRAVAGANT GRACE TO ALL WHO CALL ON THE LORD

            God’s extravagance to Abram was clearly displayed as the Lord of the universe called a pagan shepherd from a far country to be a father of a multitude and to become a friend of God. But we also understand that this is not a unique situation, nor is it even an uncommon one. The Lord who sought out and found Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans and called him to a life of faith walking with the living God is also the same Lord who seeks out and finds all His elect wherever they are and calls them to faith in the Lord Jesus.

            My own story is a display of the Lord’s unprompted extravagance, since before I became a Christian, I was far from Him, had little knowledge of Him, and had less interest in knowing Him. I was content in my ignorance, happily careening toward judgment. Then one day on a cliff in California, in an act of unprompted grace, the Lord awakened me to my own mortality and called me to Himself and called me to change. In a short time, He had led me to a good church and made sure that I had a Bible. He brought me to repentance of my many sins and to faith in the crucified and risen Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He brought me from death to life and promised to never leave me or forsake me. In His Word, he gave me many precious and magnificent promises (2 Peter 1:4) that are all “yes” and “Amen” in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).

            And, although there are as many variations as there are salvation testimonies, this display of His unprompted extravagance is what the Lord does all the time. This is who He is. He is a God who gives and loves extravagantly, and His blessings on His people are unprompted by anything in us and are only the expression of His mercy and glory and generosity and grace.

            Abram and you and I have this in common: we have been the recipient of God’s unprompted extravagance and His promises of blessing.

SDG                 rmb                 1/3/2021

Behold, he is hiding in Lo-debar (2 Samuel 9)

            The last day of the year is a good day to reflect on the glories of Christ and on His unlimited merit before God, and how He came from heaven to earth so that unworthy sinners who merited nothing but God’s wrath could be saved and seated at the Lord’s table through faith in Jesus. The story of David and Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9 is always fascinating to me.

HIDING IN LO-DEBAR – A STORY

The day dawned just like every other day in Lo-debar had dawned, probably since time began. His name was Mephibosheth, which in Hebrew meant “dispeller of shame.” “What a twist of cruel irony!” he thought to himself, as he dragged his crippled feet off the cot and onto the floor. “The great ‘dispeller of shame,’ the man from Lo-debar!”

It would be difficult to find a less likely ‘dispeller of shame.’ Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul, Israel’s first king. Saul had failed as a man and failed as a king. He was defeated by the Philistines and then, in defeat, had committed suicide on the battlefield. Saul, his grandfather, was then beheaded by his enemies, and his body was nailed to the wall of Beth-Shan in an act of ultimate humiliation (1 Samuel 31). Jonathan, Mephibosheth’s father, was also killed by the Philistines and nailed to the city wall alongside Saul. All Mephibosheth’s worldly inheritance vanished that day, dying with his father and grandfather, and he was left humiliated and destitute. The only thing that he inherited from his father was defeat and shame.

As if adding insult to injury, when Mephibosheth’s nurse heard that Israel had been defeated and that Jonathan was dead, she had fled with Mephibosheth to find refuge. As they were fleeing, he fell and was crippled in both feet (2 Samuel 4:4). Thus, on one day when he was five years old, Mephibosheth had become an orphan and a cripple, and the course of his life was set.

Now, years later, Mephibosheth is far away from Jerusalem, safely forgotten and hiding out in a desolate village in Gilead, in the town of Lo-debar. The town’s name means “no pasture,” which accurately describes the dusty village and its forlorn surroundings. Each today in Lo-debar is like yesterday, and tomorrow will be more so. In Lo-debar there is no future and there is no hope, but the village’s desolate obscurity provides Mephibosheth with a strange sense of security. No one asks about his past, so he does not need to deal with the shame of his family’s failures. The fact that he is crippled is actually an asset, because while he cannot work and cannot be a soldier, he can receive alms from people out of their pity for his misery. Most of all, he will never be found by the great warrior, King David. The misery of the monotonous life of Lo-debar is a small price to pay to remain hidden from the eyes of the great king in Jerusalem. Mephibosheth could not bear the thought of having to face the great king.

Then suddenly Mephibosheth’s safety is shattered. Messengers have come all the way from Jerusalem to Lo-debar and they have come looking for him. Ziba, the faithful family servant, has betrayed his location and has told David exactly where he has been hiding (2 Samuel 9:3-4). The messengers take Mephibosheth and bring him all the way to Jerusalem, into the very presence of the man he fears most, King David. Of course, David will kill him. He is the only remaining heir from the line of Saul, and conquering kings do not long tolerate rivals, even rivals as pathetic as Mephibosheth. So, no doubt David has brought him to Jerusalem to slaughter him personally. As he is brought into the king’s presence, Mephibosheth falls on his face and prostrates himself before King David. Perhaps the king will feel some sense of pity and will show him a moment’s compassion before he dispatches the miserable Mephibosheth.

EXALTED ON THE BASIS OF ANOTHER MAN’S MERIT

            But Mephibosheth does not receive the king’s wrath and he does not experience the king’s vengeance. King David does not speak of the fact that Mephibosheth is crippled in both feet nor does he remind Mephibosheth of his shameful past, that he is the lone survivor of a failed monarchy. Instead of trying to find Mephibosheth so that he can kill him, David has made a diligent search for Mephibosheth and has called him by name (2 Samuel 9:6) so that he can bless him and show him the kindness of God (2 Samuel 9:3).

            And why does Mephibosheth receive all these blessings? Is it because he is really a pretty spectacular guy and deserves to be showered with blessings? Were all his thoughts of humiliation and shame just the results of poor self-esteem, and has David seen that Mephibosheth is really a “diamond in the rough?” Despite being physically crippled and emotionally damaged and financially destitute, isn’t Mephibosheth basically good?

            No. Mephibosheth’s assessment of himself was accurate. There is nothing in Mephibosheth himself that merits anything from David except contempt. If Mephibosheth got what he deserved, then he would be destroyed at once.

            Mephibosheth receives grace and blessing from King David, the Lord’s anointed king, because of the merits of another. You see, Mephibosheth was Jonathan’s son, and David loved Jonathan as his own soul (2 Samuel 1:26). David goes in search of Mephibosheth because Mephibosheth was related to Jonathan. Because of Jonathan, David summons the “dead dog (2 Samuel 9:8)” from Lo-debar in the wastelands of Gilead to his own house to eat at his own table as one of his own sons. Because of Jonathan, all that belonged to Saul and to Saul’s house is restored to Mephibosheth. Because of Jonathan, all of Mephibosheth’s weaknesses and shame and faults are concealed under Jonathan’s merits and worth. Mephibosheth is treated as if he himself possessed all the merits of Jonathan, because he is associated with Jonathan. David pours out his favor on Mephibosheth not because of anything in Mephibosheth, but because David loved Jonathan. Mephibosheth can offer nothing to King David. He has no merits. He can only bring his lame feet and his shameful past, and he can plead for mercy based on his father, Jonathan. And that plea for mercy based on the merits of another will place him at the king’s table to eat regularly as one of the king’s sons.

A MODERN-DAY MEPHIBOSHETH

Like Mephibosheth, I, too, once dwelt in Lo-debar, far from the King, hiding in my shame and fear. I was ashamed of my sin and my weakness and failures, and I was fearful of God’s judgment and His punishment. Oh no, of course I did not know these things at the time. I only knew the misery of my wretchedness, being convinced of having ghastly, oozing flaws which, though invisible to me, were immediately and glaringly obvious to others, and these flaws caused others to be repulsed by me.

But then the King sought me out. The One who owned everything and who knew everything, including all my sin and shame, the King who ruled the universe from His eternal, heavenly throne began His search for me. “Is there someone for whom My Son has died whom I can now bring into My house to dwell with Me forever?”

Then the King sent messengers to me in “Lo-debar” to tell me about the Lord Jesus, the one who was worthy of all glory and honor, the one who had merited God’s perfect favor based on His perfect life. I saw the beauty and the power and the glory of Jesus, but I could not understand how that had anything to do with me. “Surely, O King, You do not mean for me to dwell with You! I am flawed and full of shame. I could never merit Your love.” But the King said, “I do not need for you to merit my blessing, for Jesus, My Son, is the favored one. He has merited My favor, and if you will love Jesus, then His merits will be credited to you. You see, you could never get to heaven on your own merits, so I have sent My Son to earth to give you His righteousness. He is the great ‘dispeller of shame.’ Believe in Him, and His merits become your merits and His righteousness becomes yours. Because of Jesus, you can be fully accepted. By believing in Jesus, you can put on His perfect robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Because of Jesus, you can eat at My table as one of My adopted sons. Because of Jesus, you can dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Because of Jesus, even though you are lame in both feet (2 Samuel 9:13), you will live with me as My child.”

And so, this “dead dog” was raised up with Jesus and seated in the heavenlies with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-7).

AS WE END 2020

            As we end 2020 and head into a new year, I would encourage us to think more deeply about all that God has accomplished for us through the Lord Jesus. He has done the impossible. He has brought those who deserve His wrath into His presence as adopted sons and daughters based on faith in the Lord Jesus.

“that He may be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).”                        SDG                 rmb                 12/31/2020