Audio for August 17 Sermon
August 31, 2008
We had some recording problems with the August 17 sermon, “Work Hard Yet Relax During the Race of Faith,” but thanks to Michael Black and Matthew Pinckney we now have a satisfactory version of the audio online here.
The Heart of the Gospel
August 28, 2008
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)
What is the heart of the Gospel? What does the Gospel teach at its core?
In our adult Core Seminar this week, we consider this issue by means of J.I. Packer’s “The Heart of the Gospel,” chapter 18 from Knowing God (republished by Crossway this year in In My Place Condemned He Stood: Celebrating the Glory of the Atonement). In this chapter Packer explains the central importance of propitiation - that is, of averting God’s anger over sin by an offering. He explains the reason why so many take offense at the idea, the biblical support for the idea, and the importance of the idea in our Christian walk.
Here is a brief outline of the chapter to whet your appetite. Please read it if at all possible, and join us this Sunday as we glory in Christ’s work on our behalf.
Section I: Propitiation is Biblical
Paganism centers on propitiation: Offering a sacrifice to appease capricious, potentially angry gods.
We might expect the Bible, which repudiates paganism, to repudiate the idea of propitiation also. But it doesn’t. Instead “the ‘propitiation’ word-group appears in four passages of . . . transcendent importance:”
- Romans 3:21-26, the rationale of God’s justification of sinners
- Hebrews 2:17, the rationale for the incarnation
- 1 John 2:1-2, the continuing, present ministry of the risen Christ
- 1 John 4:8-10, the definition of the love of God
Many today are offended by this doctrine, thinking of it as vestigial paganism. But “a gospel without propitiation at its heart is another gospel than that which Paul preached.”
Section II: Expiation vs Propitiation
Some translations substitute the word (or the idea) of expiation for propitiation. Expiation is “the covering, putting away or rubbing out of sin so that it no longer constitutes a barrier to friendly fellowship between man and God.”
Propitiation includes that biblical idea, but goes further; it also denotes the pacifying of the wrath of God.
In Romans 3:25, the context - building from the statement in 1:18 that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” - demands the idea of the pacification of God’s wrath.
Section III: The Nature of God’s Wrath
God’s wrath is not capricious, bad-tempered, or malicious.
It is instead the logical result of His perfect holiness. It is the “right reaction of the moral perfection in the Creator towards moral perversity in the creature.”
He is the moral authority in the universe, and He must inflict on sin the penalty it deserves.
Section IV: Three Facts about Propitiation
1) Propitiation is the Work of God Himself
In paganism, humans work to avert God’s anger. In the Bible, God Himself provides the propitiation in His Son.
It is not that the Son decided to avert His Father’s anger. The Father Himself sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).
2) Propitiation was Made by the Death of Jesus Christ
The sacrificial system teaches the necessity of death, the spilling of blood, to make atonement (Leviticus 17:11). Thus Paul says propitiation is “by His blood” (Romans 3:25). It is Jesus’ death rather than His perfect life or His moral example that averts God’s wrath. He died as our representative substitute (Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:14, 18-21). This fulfills the idea acted out in both the regular sacrificial system and on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 4 and 16).
3) Propitiation Manifests God’s Righteousness
In Romans 3:25-26, Paul says that propitiation is necessary to show that God is just. He had passed over former sins by guilty people, not since the flood condemning all mankind as they deserved. Jesus’ death on the cross was the payment, the punishment required, for all the sins of all those who trust in Him, before and after the cross.
Section V: The Heart of the Gospel
The Gospel fundamentally is the solution of man’s problem with God’s wrath. The Gospel is not fundamentally the solution of man’s problem with man, or man’s problem with his environment (though the Gospel has implications for these areas of concern). Any biblical presentation of the Gospel must make this distinction clear.
The idea of the need for and God’s provision of propitiation pervades the New Testament, often using different vocabulary, such as reconciliation, redemption, sacrifice, self-giving, sin-bearing, and blood-shedding. All these words portray different facets of the work of propitiation.
Understanding propitiation is necessary for understanding other central biblical issues; the remainder of the chapter looks at five of these.
Section VI: The Driving Force in the Life of Jesus
Read the Gospel of Mark straight through and your impression of Jesus will include at least four features: He is a man of action, He knew He was divine, He knew He came to die, and His experience of death was a fearful ordeal.
Note in particular the last. Socrates and others faced death fearlessly. Why Gethsemane? Why the forsaken cry from the cross?
The doctrine of propitiation makes all this clear. On the cross Jesus was made to be sin; He had to take on Himself the eternal punishment deserved by millions of sinners. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Section VII: The Destiny of Those Who Reject God
We get a notion of the destiny of those who remain under God’s wrath by looking at the cross. There we see “withdrawal and the deprivation of good.” Jesus lost His sense of the Father’s presence, all enjoyment of the Father, and experienced instead loneliness, pain, and human malice. While there was terrible physical pain, the spiritual and mental suffering was far greater.
Similarly, those who remain under God’s wrath will lose all good. In ordinary life, we enjoy a great deal of good that we rarely notice: health, friendship, respect. Ultimately all that we value will be lost if we remain under God’s wrath.
Section VIII: God’s Gift of Peace
God’s peace does not mean being shielded “from life’s hardest knocks.” Instead it is peace with God, as our status changes from His being against us to His being for us (Colossians 1:20). We cannot understand this concept unless we see our original state, and the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ that was required to change our state.
Section IX: The Dimensions of the Love of God
In Ephesians 3:18-20, Paul prays that his readers might be able to comprehend God’s love that surpasses knowledge. The context shows us what Paul means by God’s love: The redemption that is ours through Christ’s blood (1:7, 2:13). Paul also emphasizes the free nature of that love, shown to those under His wrath (2:1-8), the eternal nature of that love, decided upon by God toward sinners before the foundation of the world (1:4); and the assured nature of that love, guaranteed, despite our sinfulness (1:14).
Section X: The Meaning of God’s Glory
After Judas leaves the Last Supper, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31). Jesus sees the cross as a display of God’s glory: His “wisdom, power, righteousness, truth, and love . . . in the making of propitiation for our sins.”
Packer closes the chapter with these words: “The joyful news of redeeming love and propitiating mercy, which is the heart of the gospel, spurs [the heirs of heaven] to never-ending praise. Are you among their number?”
Maintain Your Form and Finish Well in the Race of Faith
August 27, 2008
(This sermon on 2 Timothy 4:6-8 was preached 8/24/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
Many expected the Beijing Olympic marathon to be slow, as runner after runner would succumb to the pollution on top of high heat and humidity. So when this morning the leaders took off at close to world record pace, a number of runners - including the top Americans, Dathan Ritzenheim and Ryan Hall - decided around three miles that that was suicidal, and backed off, hoping to run a slower, more even pace, and pick off stragglers. Such tactics had worked well in a number of past Olympic marathons.
But not today. Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya had other plans. He had prepared for these conditions. When the day dawned quite clear for Beijing, he was confident he could run a fast pace all the way to the end.
And he did. With a little over two miles to go he picked up the pace - and immediately dropped his last competitor. Running smoothly, relaxed and strong, he entered the stadium with a large lead. The crowd roared, cheering him on. He celebrated as he ran the last quarter mile on the track. Sammy Wanjiru finished well.
Our question this morning: Will you also finish well?
To get the gold medal, you have to finish the race. The marathon is 26 miles 385 yards. If you stop at 26 miles, 384 yards, you do not win - no matter how far ahead you are at that point.
The 1954 Commonwealth Games are remembered not only for the Miracle Mile between Bannister and Landy that I mentioned two weeks ago, but also for a case of NOT finishing well. The WR holder for the marathon, an Englishman, Jim Peters, set a pace in hot and humid conditions no one else cared to match. He entered the stadium with a huge lead - at least 10 minutes. He had run more than 26 miles. But with only half a lap to go, he collapsed. He got up and fell six times. He tried to crawl. But he did not make it to the finish line. He was rushed to hospital - and though he recovered his health and lived until 1999, he never raced again.
For the last several weeks we have been considering the biblical images of running the race of faith.
We have seen that we must first decide: Am I a runner? If so: We must be consistent and disciplined in our training. We must battle our besetting sins, whatever they may be. We must stay alert to the unexpected temptations and hindrances that Satan throws in our path. Yet we must not focus on dealing with sin - we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as our joy, as the one with power to help us complete the race, and on his return. We also must work hard to rest in Christ, actively depending on Him always. Jesus doesn’t want our toiling. He wants our trust. So that is our main work. Our tasks are then done in dependence on Him; we pull the yoke by His power. He is responsible for the outcome.
Today, as we finish this series, we look at the finish line, using 2 Timothy 4:6-8 as our text.
Paul writes this letter from prison. He knows he will die soon. He is finishing his leg of the race, and is passing the baton to Timothy. So, reflecting on his own life, he concludes with these thoughts about finishing the race:
I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6-8
We’ll look at this text under 3 headings:
- Maintain Good Form to the End!
- Remember the Medal!
- Join the Cloud of Witnesses!
Maintain Good Form to the End
You are at the end of a hard race. Your legs feeling heavy; your muscles are feeling tight. Fearful thoughts enter your mind: “I can’t do it! I’m falling apart! I can’t kick! I can’t finish well!” As those fears increase, your form begins to fall apart: Your shoulders tense up, raising your forearms, thereby shortening each stride; your face and neck become tight. You are no longer relaxed. And consequently, you slow down.
Most runners slow down at the end of a race in part because of fear, not solely because of tired muscles. This aspect of slowing down is completely in control of the runner.
How can you fight that? How can you teach runners to finish well?
The key is maintaining good running form all the way to the end. Much training at the elite levels aims to enable the athlete to do just that. Through mimicking conditions at the end of a race, the runner learns to respond rightly. A good coach will give his runners lots of practice in dealing with those feelings of fear. His coaching will become so ingrained in his athletes that they will finish well. This is true for me even today, many years after I last ran a serious race. If when finishing a hard run, I start to feel my legs tighten, without even thinking I’ll check my shoulders and my jaw, focus on the elements of my stride, and work to maintain good form to the end.
Thus, instead of feeling fearful when tiring, a well trained runner will have just the opposite sense. At the end of the race, as he feels tightness in his legs, he’ll think, “This is it! This is what I’m trained for! All my opponents are hurting at least as much as I am. And I KNOW that I can dig down for that final sprint. I’ve done this thousands of times in practice. OK. Here’s where I break the race open. 1 2 3, Hit it!”
Just so in the race in faith. We are to maintain form. Paul says: “I have fought the GOOD fight.” The word translated “good” does not mean “morally upright.” Paul surely was morally upright, but that’s not what he is communicating here. He is saying, “I fought well. I ran the race well. I maintained my form to the end.”
What does maintaining form mean in the race of faith mean?
It means to do all that we have talked about in the past four weeks:
- Be consistent, be disciplined
- Keep going through the pain
- Rejoice in the Lord always
- Be alert to unusual temptations
- Focus on Jesus
- Strive to rest
- Rest while striving
That’s all part of maintaining good form.
And if, like a runner, you have trained yourself for godliness, the right response to crises will be ingrained into you. When a challenge comes that tempts you to lose form, you will respond by focusing on Jesus, resting in Him, rejoicing in Him. You will tell yourself, “It’s natural to panic. But Jesus has prepared me for this. I have his Word. I have the examples of those who have gone before me. I know He is faithful. By His grace, I can do this - and I can endure and rejoice in Him to His glory.”
This is what Paul did. That’s why he could say, “I have fought the good fight.” Consider his life (we’ll do much more of this in months ahead as we journey through the book of Acts):
Paul and Silas praised God in the Philippian jail;
- he was beaten and shipwrecked, but continued to be faithful to his calling;
- he proclaimed the Gospel boldly even when he knew that would result in persecution.
- He was afflicted, persecuted, perplexed, and struck down, but never in despair.
- He never acted ashamed of the Gospel,
- he never lashed back at his persecutors,
- he was never quarrelsome.
- He kept his good form, focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoicing in him, despite all the challenges the world could throw at him.
- He ran the good race.
So he summarizes all these points by saying, “I have kept the faith.” There are two aspects of this keeping faith we should note. First, Paul lived out the faith - that’s what we’ve just seen. He set an example; he showed what having good form means. Second, he guarded and protected the faith. As a teacher, he had to watch his own teaching, and he had to refute those who taught wrongly - as we saw in our series on Galatians. So Paul taught the faith well, he taught the whole counsel of God, and he argued effectively with those who tried to distort it.
Thus, in keeping the faith, Paul was fulfilling the instructions he gave Timothy in his first letter: “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16). He lived out the truth, and he guarded the truth. He kept the faith.
Think for a minute about good form in the race of faith. Good form is what enables you to run well, to run fast, to get you to the finish line first. Good form does not necessarily imply that you will look great to others.
For most of the Beijing marathon, the eventual 3rd and 4th place finishers looked a lot better than the eventual silver medalist. But there are no style points in running - whoever gets to the finish line first is the winner, not the runner who looks best. Good form only matters if it helps you fun faster.
Just so in the race of faith: The opinions of others only matter as they reflect biblical truth, and as they help you to live out biblical truth. The key is to focus on Jesus, to rest in Him. The key is not any particular way of doing that which has worked well for someone else.
So we are to maintain form. And we are to maintain it to the end.
- For the marathoner, that means maintaining form all the way to the finish line, all 26 miles, 385 yards.
- For the sprinter, that means running well all the way through the tape - not letting up don’t at the end.
- For the race of faith, that means maintaining form all the way to death.
How often do you contemplate your death?
Our society pretends there is no death. But the Bible teaches just the opposite:
- Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days.”
- James 4:14: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
Regularly contemplate your death. It may come tomorrow. It may come decades from now. But unless Jesus returns before your death, you will die. So prepare for it - like a runner training for the end of the race.
Paul has done that. He has contemplated his own death many times. So he writes in today’s text, “I am already being poured out like a drink offering” - an apt image for one whose head will be cut off.
But note how Paul talks about his death. Does he say, “I’m really fearing the executioner raising the ax!” No. Like the runner confident in his final kick, Paul looks at his forthcoming death positively.
Notice the words he uses:
Verse 6: “The time for my departure has come.” Death is a departure. The ship is leaving port, departing one country, heading towards another. This is a common event, simply a time of transition.
So Paul’s first word picture is a neutral image of death: It is a change. It is normal.
But then in verse 8 he gives not a neutral but a positive view of death. This leads us to our second heading:
Remember the Medal!
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day
Understand the image. The word “judge” here does not picture a courtroom. Instead, Paul is continuing his running image. Paul is running his race. Jesus is at the finish line. Paul is looking to Him, keeping Him in his sights, running to Him.
But Jesus is not only the goal, but also is the finish line judge. Earlier in this letter Paul had written,
An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. (2 Timothy 2:5)
So the 2nd and 3rd place finishers in the Beijing men’s 200 meters were disqualified by the judge. They stepped on the line on the curve. They didn’t compete according to the rules.
Jesus is the finish line judge. And Paul is confident that he has competed according to the rules, that he will not be disqualified, that he will finish the race by God’s power, and thus that he will receive the victor’s crown.
So do you see the positive image of death? Death is not a negative. It is a necessary step toward the crown. It is the last 100 of the race.
Now, Paul is very clear that this crown is not something he earned. In all his letters, he tells us, “I didn’t earn this by my merit, by my work. It’s all of Him. I was the chief of sinners. I rejected His plan, His Gospel, His Way. He created me for His glory, but I turned my back on Him. So I deserved His just condemnation. But He sent His Son to die on the cross, and He opened my eyes to see Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Through faith, the benefits Jesus gained at the cross are credited to my account. He brought me to Himself. He has enabled me to run the race. He will bring it all to completion. He will give me what I don’t deserve.”
So as Paul approaches that final finish line, Jesus, the finish line Judge, declares, “HE IS MINE! He has My righteousness! He forever will be My beloved! He will forever have My character! He will forever be My delight! He together with all believers of all times places will be My precious bride: Holy, spotless, perfect.”
This is what is coming. So the Word tells us again and again:
- “The one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13
- “If we endure, we shall also reign with him” 2 Timothy 2:12
- “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Revelation 2:10
So maintain good form to the end. Remember the medal. The crown of righteousness, and all that implies, will be yours.
Join the Cloud of Witnesses
Paul writes 2 Timothy not as autobiography. He’s not trying to record his feelings, he memoirs. He doesn’t tell Timothy about fighting the good fight and finishing the race to record a fact about his life. Instead, he is exhorting Timothy and all subsequent readers: “Do this! Run the race! Maintain YOUR form! Keep the faith!”
He makes this absolutely clear in the last half of verse 8: This crown of righteousness will be awarded “not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
Paul is saying, “Timothy, long for Jesus’ appearing! Focus on Him, on His return! You can do this by His grace! Look to Him! This crown will be yours too! Endure to the end!”
Do you see what Paul does here?
Even as he is entering the stadium, finishing his race, completing his marathon, he is encouraging Timothy to run HIS race, to complete HIS marathon.
In effect, even while he is still alive, Paul has become part of the great cloud of witnesses of Hebrews 12:1. Do you remember that image?
“Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses . . . let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
We noted that these people are witnesses in two senses. First, they bear witness to Jesus’ faithfulness. Second, they look at us, they encourage us to lean on Jesus, to depend on Him.
That’s what Paul is doing here: He joins the cloud of witnesses encouraging Timothy and us to run the race.
This is a key complement to the racing image. The race of faith is not run alone. Right now, we are together, running the race together, all together headed to the finish line. And right now, we can be part of that great cloud of witnesses.
God puts us together to do this for those like us, who are going through similar struggles, as well as for those NOT like us, who can help by having a different perspective on our struggles:
- Older to younger: What a blessing it is to those of you in your teens, twenties, and thirties to have in this same church older folks, several decades ahead of you, to tell you of God’s faithfulness over the course of their lives, to speak of their running the race, to describe their challenges and God’s faithfulness to them.
- Younger to older: Again, what a blessing to the older folks to have you all who are young in age and young in the faith in the same body. You remind us of the enthusiasm of newfound faith, and you display the marked change in life after God’s miracle of new birth.
- Across cultural and ethnic differences: What a blessing to see the same faithful God working through the same Word, with people who are completely different from each other.
We are all running the race together. Right now, we are to be part of that cloud of witnesses for each other, as we bear witness to the grace of God
Conclusion
Let me expand on that image in conclusion:
Picture now the race of faith in all its glory. Millions of runners, from all times and places, representing every tribe and tongue and people and nation. Men, women, boys, girls, young, old, healthy, sick, black, white, Asian, African - All called by God’s grace, all looking to Jesus, all running the race to Jesus. Satan is there too, tempting the runners, trying to divert them, to throw obstacles in their path, to get them to pick up objects that will weigh them down.
In this great race, some have finished. They stand with Jesus at the finish line, bearing witness to His faithfulness. They cry out, “He enabled me! You can do it too! He is faithful!”
Others are quite near that final line, and, like Sammy Wanjiru this morning, they are running well. They too cry out, like Paul, “I’m closing in on the finish line. I’ve run a good race by God’s grace. I’ve kept the faith. You can too! Keep those eyes fixed on Jesus! Endure to the end!”
Then there are others, perhaps stumbling like Jim Peters, collapsing close to the finish, or sitting on the side of the road, massaging a sore calf muscle, weeping - they’re not even half way, and they’re wondering if they can possibly make it.
They need your help. You need theirs.
Will you cry out, “God is faithful!”
Will you massage that stiffened calf, to get your fellow runner back in the race?
Then there are those on the sidelines, telling you you’re foolish, that the Beijing pollution will kill you, that you can’t run that fast to the end, that you’ll never make it.
Will you both focus on Jesus - and exhort them to enter the race? Will you complete the team, bringing in all the number of the redeemed?
Ahead of you are many hills, along with many twists and turns. Not only heartbreak hill, but betrayal hill, cancer hill, loneliness hill, abandonment hill.
But on all these hills, throughout the course, there are thousands and millions who have gone before, crying out to you through the Word, through history, through those alive today: “He is faithful!”
And there are thousands and millions behind you who need to hear your faithful witness: “He is faithful!”
Your final 385 yards may be straight up a mountainside. Or it may be easy and downhill. But whatever it may be:
Keep the faith. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Hit that final sprint.
The crown is ahead. So run to Jesus! And praise Him - together with all the saints - for all eternity.
Striving, Resting, and the Word
August 22, 2008
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)
On Sunday we focused in part on Hebrews 4:11:
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
We noted the paradox of this verse: We are to work real hard to rest. And we showed that this does not mean, “Work read hard NOW to rest IN THE FUTURE.” Psalm 23 and Matthew 11:28-30 clearly show we are to be resting now, while we are working. Our rest in Christ is, instead, similar to a runner – a Usain Bolt, a Ryan Hall – relaxing while running the race of his life. He is working hard – yet, other than the specific muscles required for running, he is completely relaxed. In the image of Matthew 11, we are yoked together with Jesus. He gives us rest – simultaneous with our taking up His yoke. His power does the labor, the pulling, as we are paired with Him.
The Hebrews passage clarifies further how we are both to strive to rest, and to rest while striving. The author writes:
11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest . . . 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
The word “for” links the command to how we live out the command. And there is only one way to depend actively on God: Through His Word.
How does the Word help us do this?
First, the Word is living and active. It has energy! That’s what we need to run the race.
We see this throughout Scripture: God speaks – and darkness becomes light. God calls – and Abraham becomes the forefather of the people of God. Jesus cries out, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man lives.
And we see this in our personal lives. We go to the Word frantic, rushed, desperate – and when we open it, meditate on it, let its living and active power sink in to us, we are changed. Our eyes are opened to Who God is. We see God in the midst of our trial.
Second, the Word is sharp and cutting. The Word cuts through our facades, our pretensions, and our masks; the Word slices our excuses and evasions. It penetrates deep into our souls, showing who we are and how desperately we need Christ. Consequently we are “naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).
That doesn’t sound pleasant. But it is absolutely necessary if we are to depend on God, if we are to rest in Him. We must see ourselves as having no ability to effect His purposes, no energy to bring about His plans, apart from His working. We must acknowledge that prior to salvation we are lost, weak, and helpless, deserving His condemnation; and we must recognize that subsequent to salvation we remain ineffective and unproductive, good only to be thrown in the fire and burned (John 15:6), unless we are continually dependent on His Word.
Finally, through the Word we learn of our High Priest who has conquered sin:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
The Word condemns and comforts. The Word shows us how far short we fall of God’s standards – and provides the intercessor who fulfills those standards on our behalf. The Word tells us of God’s severity towards sin – and of His mercy towards His repentant people.
So we can draw near to Him! Mercy and grace is ours – whatever our need.
Are you opening yourself up to the penetrating power of the Word? We have this great gift of God’s Word written, available to us always – are you in it every day, allowing it to clear up all the fog, to cut through all hindrances that keep you from running well?
Read the Word. Love the Word. Depend on the Word. Share the Word. And thereby both strive to rest, and rest while striving.
Work Hard Yet Relax During the Race of Faith
August 18, 2008
(This sermon was preached August 17, 2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
No one in the history of mankind has run 100 meters as fast as Usain Bolt did yesterday. And yet - did you see the head-on shot of his race? He looked completely relaxed.
This coming Saturday night, watch the men’s marathon. Ryan Hall will run over 26 miles, averaging well under 5-minutes per mile. That’s fast. Indeed, looking around, I don’t think there’s anyone here this morning who can run one mile that fast. Yet while making that long, sustained effort, his stride will be fluid and his face relaxed.
Are these two anomalies?
No: All good coaches teach their runners to relax.
When trying to run as fast as we can, we have a natural tendency to grimace, to tighten the mouth, the neck, the shoulders. But all that is counterproductive. All that slows you down.
In order to run fast, you must relax.
Why is this? It is actually quite logical, for two reasons.
First, if I am going to use every ounce of energy to achieve my goal, I must not waste any of that limited supply of energy on something irrelevant. Now, I don’t run with my jaw, or my fists, or my shoulders. So those must all relax, they all must use no energy, so that all of my energy can be focused on those parts of my body that must work hard if I am to run fast. To achieve the supreme physical effort, we must relax every part of our body not necessary to that effort.
But tightening other muscles not only wastes scarce energy, it also hinders us from running faster. When we run, our leg muscles are alternately contracting and relaxing. Tightness in one part of the body easily leads to tightness elsewhere, hindering the necessary relaxation, and slowing the runner. Tightness in the shoulders also has a direct slowing effect, as we’ll see next week.
So we have a paradox: running fast is hard. It requires a great deal of energy. We must work hard if we are to run fast. And yet, we must relax in order to run fast.
Is there a parallel in the Christian life?
By all means. During the service we read passages from Hebrews 4 and Matthew 11, that say, in part:
Make every effort to enter God’s rest!
I will give you rest - Take my yoke upon you!
On the surface, these sentences don’t seem to make much sense. The first sounds something like: Work real had to go to sleep! Many of us know from experience that this is counterproductive. Then Jesus promises rest - right before telling us to act like beasts of burden.
What is He talking about?
He’s talking about a central truth of the Christian life - what Ray Stedman calls a “revolutionary new principle of human behavior.”
This morning we want to look at these two passages, and learn about this paradox of work and rest. We’ll do this under two headings, one for each passage:
Hebrews 4: Striving to Rest
Matthew 11: Resting while Striving
Striving to Rest
Hebrews 3 and 4 is a lengthy, sustained, complicated argument focused on this theme of striving to enter God’s rest. Sometime in the next couple of years I hope to preach through Hebrews; at that point we will look at this text in detail. This morning, I only want to help you understand the main point, and why it is so important.
In chapter 3, the author quotes Psalm 95, saying, in part:
Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness. . . . As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’” (Hebrews 3:7, 8, 11)
This psalm tells of the Israelites who, on their way to the promised land, displayed their lack of faith in God through disobeying Him. They grumbled against Him, they wanted to return to Egypt, they refused to enter the promised land, fearing the giants.
But Psalm 95 is more than history. It also contains a promise. The Holy Spirit, speaking through David, says: “Believe! Trust! Don’t harden your heart like they did! And you will enter my rest!”
With that in mind, then, let’s read Hebrews 4:9-11
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
So: Entering God’s rest involves resting from our works. And we must work hard to rest from our works. We must strive to rest.
Entering God’s rest clearly pictures eternal salvation: Entering His presence, dwelling with Him forever in the new heavens and new earth. To enter God’s rest is thus more important than anything else we can imagine.
But it would be a mistake to think of our entering God’s rest as only something future. We enter His rest NOW, in this life.
David surely understood that. Remember Psalm 23?
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
This is a picture of living a life resting in God. Who is the actor in this psalm? God - again and again and again. David trusts in God’s promises, while God leads and guides, showering His love on His servant all the way into eternity.
When we enter God’s rest, we trust in His work, we lean on Him, we depend on Him.
So listen: Striving to enter God’s rest today is working hard to trust in God’s promises, every minute of every day.
We trust initially, through believing the Gospel: that God created us for His glory; that we all reject that purpose and rebel against Him; that He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him hereafter; that the benefits of that sacrifice accrue to everyone who will repent and believe this Good News.
Subsequent to salvation, we continue to trust every minute of every day. Because in this life we are ALWAYS tempted to lean on our own resources, to lean on our own understanding. We must acknowledge that we CANNOT save ourselves, nor can we make ourselves into the type of person we desire to be, nor can we accomplish ANYTHING for God through our natural resources.
We can never merit salvation through good deeds, nor can we ever merit God’s commendation through acts we do in our power.
So when we enter God’s rest, we confess to God: “I am a sinner; You are the Savior. In my natural self there s no good thing, only darkness - You are all goodness and light. I can ONLY become what I want, I can ONLY become what YOU desire, through Christ in me: changing me, working out His purposes in me. So may my work apart from Your power cease. May your power take over.”
As Ray Stedman says:
We do not have what it takes, and we never did. The only one who can live the Christian life is Jesus Christ. He proposes to reproduce his life in us. Our part is to expose every situation to his life in us, and, by that means, depending upon him and not upon us, we are to meet every situation, enter into every circumstance, and perform every activity. We cease from our own labors.
But this is not easy. We must strive to depend continually on God. We always are tempted to act in our natural selves, apart from God’s power. So we must strive to enter God’s rest by continually checking ourselves:
- When your spouse speaks in an angry tone, and you’re tempted to lash back in kind: Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”A gentle answer turns away wrath”); speak words of peace.
- When you’re complimented over something you’ve done, and are thus tempted to exalt yourself, to think how great you are: Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”Apart from Me you can do nothing,” “he who humbles himself will be exalted.”)
- When a challenge is presented to you at home or at work, and you must plan a response, and you’re tempted to rush right in and figure out solution using your own resources: Pray, seek God’s power and insight, and turn to the Word (”If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”)
- When faced with moral failure in your own life, and you’re tempted to say, “I can overcome this! I will discipline myself, I will improve myself!” Pray, seek God’s power, turn to the Word (”Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”)
Striving to enter God’s rest is to live a life of active dependence upon God, disciplining yourself to turn to God, to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, to lean on Him.
As John Piper says:
Do you see the great lesson here? The Christian life is a life of day by day, hour by hour trust in the promises of God to help us and guide us and take care of us and forgive us and bring us into a future of holiness and joy that will satisfy our hearts infinitely more than if we forsake him and put our trust in ourselves or in the promises of this world. And that day by day, hour by hour trust in God’s promises is not automatic. It is the result of daily diligence.
A marathon runner must continuously monitor himself, asking: “Is there some tightness in my jaw? Relax! Are my shoulders coming up a bit? Drop them!”
Just so, we too must monitor ourselves, saying, “Relax! Relax! Relax! Don’t flex a single unnecessary muscle. Relax! Strive to enter God’s rest!”
Resting While Striving
Hebrews 4:11 tells us to work hard at entering God’s rest, at depending upon him. If I stopped the sermon here, you might conclude that there is no hard work in the Christian life, other than the hard work of making sure we enter God’s rest.
But other passages tell us to work hard for God - yet to rest in Him in the middle of such work.
For example, in Colossians 1:29 Paul says, “I toil.” He toils! And he is not here discussing the toil to enter God’s rest. He’s discussing the toil he faced in spreading the Gospel.
There is no doubt that Paul worked hard. He details in his letters many of the obstacles he had to overcome: Beatings, imprisonments, shipwrecks, death threats, rejection, exposure to the elements - and eventually execution.
So Paul worked his tail off.
But what is the difference between Paul and, say, the rich young ruler? The rich young ruler, remember, tells Jesus he had kept all of God’s commandments from his youth. We might be tempted to laugh at that - but he is unquestionably sincere and, undoubtedly, those looking at his life would conclude that he was an upright, honorable man.
But he has a nagging feeling that all that obedience isn’t good enough. He feels that he needs to do something more.
So he asks Jesus: “What must I DO to inherit eternal life?” He WANTS TO toil for God! He says, “Give me some task to do - I’ll do it!”
How does Jesus reply? Jesus does not tell him to go do some great feat requiring perseverance, danger, or hardship. Instead, He tells him to do the easiest thing in world. Indeed, all he has to do is to give one command to a servant, and it’s done.
And yet this easiest task in the world is exceptionally hard.
Jesus says, “Get rid of everything that you think shows that you are important. Give it away.” And Jesus does NOT say next, “Then you’ll be worthy of the task I give you.” Instead He simply says, “Then FOLLOW me.”
Jesus doesn’t want your striving. He doesn’t need your toiling. He wants your trust.
Those who don’t have faith in Christ strive to live up to some standard, and fail. They then either fool themselves into thinking they are what they aren’t, or they justify their failures - “I’m only human” - or they feel overwhelmed, finding it impossible to live up to their own standards.
What about Christians? What happens when we strive, apart from God’s power?
We too become burdened. We are so busy, we are working so hard, we are toiling and striving - and all the joy of the Christian life has left us. We get caught in a fog of unbelief, through which we can’t see God - so we go through the motions, saying all the right things, doing all the right things, but we’re not really trusting God. We are not striving with His power; we are flailing away with our own power. And so we are weary, burdened, wondering how in the world God’s work can go on without us.
To such people Jesus calls out:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
Rest! That sounds wonderful!
But look at Jesus’ very next words:
Take my yoke upon you.
Try to imagine that you have never heard these words before. What would you expect Jesus to say after “I will give you rest”? You surely would not expect Him to say, “Now work like a beast of burden!”
So we might respond: “God, I’m burdened! I need rest - not a yoke! I can’t handle more hardship, more effort, and more hard work!”
What does Jesus say to this? He first of all goes on:
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me.”
He is the one who can teach us how to take up work and rest at the same time. For Jesus rested - and He worked.
And He goes on to say:
For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:29-30)
So when faced with a task that must be accomplished, we are not to grit our teeth, saying, “Yes, I can! I can do it.”
We must admit: “I cannot do this! I am unable! In my natural self, I will fail!”
And turn to Him. He is our yokemate. It is HIS yoke. We are paired with Him. And He pulls. So when we pull - it’s really by his power.
That is how Colossians 1:29 continues: Paul says,
For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
This is the difference between the rich young ruler’s toiling and Paul’s toiling. Christ wasn’t at work in the rich young ruler. He as at work in Paul. And He works in us!
For, as Paul says earlier in Colossians, this is the mystery of the Gospel, the mystery hidden for ages, now revealed to all: Christ in you, the hope of glory.
As a runner relaxes every muscle except those involved in running, we must relax from our won efforts, and so that God works through us.
- So do you need speed? Someone with more speed than Usain Bolt dwells in you, and is empowering you.
- Do you need endurance? Someone with more endurance than Ryan Hall dwells in you and is empowering you.
And you need Him - every minute of every day. You need Him - at every task. At every task.
We have a tendency to think of God as our ace in the hole. We’ll pull Him out in desperate conditions, but outside of those relatively rare occurrences, we are fine, thank you. We consider ourselves reasonably bright, fairly well-read, somewhat talented, sufficiently educated, and overall pretty nice, good people who can accomplish quite a bit on our own. But we know that crises may come into our lives which we couldn’t handle - a death, a disability, a loss - and we know that eventually we will face that final crisis, our own death. We certainly acknowledge that we need God at those points. But the rest of the time? Our attitude is, “I’m ok. I can handle it.”
When you say that, you are like a runner talking back to his coach: “I run better when I clench my jaw. It feels natural for me to tighten my shoulders!”
You can’t run that way - and you can’t live the Christian life that way.
Every runner should trust his coach, even though that coach is fallible. But In the race of faith we have the perfect coach. And He tells us: “You do not have the resources to run this race. Don’t think you only need Me for the final five yards, to help you across the finish line. You can’t start without Me. You can’t accelerate without Me. You can’t maintain your speed without Me. Apart from Me you can do nothing. So look to Me! I’m pulling with you, making My yoke easy. You are not working for Me. I am working in you and through you, for My glory.”
Friends, this was revolutionary for me in the mid 1980’s when God first opened up these truths to me. I had thought of the Christian life as devoting time and energy to God’s cause. And I considered myself able to do much for Him. God first shattered my self-assurance by showing me I couldn’t even succeed in marriage apart from His power. Then he gave me a series of excellent teachers who explained, in somewhat different ways, these key biblical truths.
I have studied these truths time and again, and since have taught them repeatedly.
But listen: I still struggle with this!
When running the race of faith, I still clench my jaw and tighten my shoulders. That is, I still keep stepping out under my own power. I still fall too easily and too often into a prayerless striving, acting as if my hard work will accomplish God’s purposes.
Back when I used to run marathons, Beth and I would plan for her to drive to different sections of the course. I wanted not only her cheers, but also her observations, telling me if she noticed any tightness: “Your jaw is tight! Drop those shoulders!”
I still need similar reminders from you - “Rest in God! Trust Him! Lean on Him continually! Pray without ceasing!”
Conclusion
Where are you in this? My friend, you need these reminders too.
We will conclude with two final exhortations, two final reminders, to three types of people:
First: Are you striving to please God, hoping He’ll let you into His presence? There is no way you will ever impress God. There is no way you will ever please Him - apart from His work in you. Jesus says: “Come to me! Enter my rest! Stop all this counterproductive activity.” Admit that though God created you for His glory, You’ve toiled to glorify yourself. Admit that you are thus a sinner, deserving God’s judgment. Trust in Christ and in His death on the cross to cover your sin. Come to Him! Enter His rest.
Second: Are you saved, but caught up in the trap of trying to live up to the ideal Christian life on your own?
Or third: Do you - like me - have a right understanding of the biblical doctrines of salvation and sanctification, yet you keep leaning on yourself and not on God?
To these two groups, Jesus says the same:
“My yoke is easy. My burden is light. Depend on Me. Turn to Me for the strength to pull on this yoke. Rely on my Word. Trust My promises. I have begun a good work in you - I will complete it.”
Make every effort to enter God’s rest. And then: In the work He gives, lean, lean, lean on Him.
Trust His promises. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Even if you walk through the valley of shadow, He will be right there. In the daily temptations to anger, to annoyance, to lust, to pride - He is there, providing a way out.
So follow Him. Trust Him. Delight in Him. Relax. And work hard - by His power - in the race of faith.
The Ray Stedman quote is from What More Can God Say? (Regal, 1974), p. 52-53. It can also be found online at www.raystedman.org. The John Piper quote is from his sermon on Hebrews 4:1-11, which is available online here.
The Old and the New
August 15, 2008
(For a version of this devotion that is easier to print, follow this link.)
“So much of the Christian life is not learning new things but learning fundamental things in new ways.”
So wrote Tom Ascol, Executive Director of Founders Ministries, in a recent blog post. Several weeks ago he was struck by lightening - yes, literally - and is still recovering.
In this country, we have a passion for the new: New electronic gadgets, new books, new ideas, new leaders. We expect progress; we anticipate that all will improve.
The anticipation of progress is less common around the world and, from a historical viewpoint, is rather recent. Now, in many ways, believing that change is possible is helpful and necessary; indeed, a belief in change is fundamental to salvation.
But our fascination with the new has a downside also: We quite easily slip into an attitude of disdain for the old. C.S. Lewis labeled this “chronological snobbery,” which he defined as “the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate of our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited” (from Surprised by Joy chapter 13.)
Tom’s statement is an excellent summary of the right attitude towards biblical truth. We must remind ourselves and one another again and again of the great truths of the Gospel, of the great acts of God in history, of the great aspects of His character, of the great promise of Christ’s return. This is how we run the race of faith with endurance.
But reminding ourselves of these fundamental truths requires more than simply reciting a known fact. We must learn them in new ways, as Tom says. We must apply these eternal truths to the changing and challenging circumstances that overwhelm us in this life.
I encourage you to meditate on these themes through the following quotations. Spur each other on to love and good works through reminding each other of these truths, and through helping each other to learn them in new ways. And thus may we remember the Lord our God!
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us-
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
From “Speak, O Lord,” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, 2005
Consider Luke’s barely hidden disdain for the Athenian passion for new ideas:
Acts 17:21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Paul and Peter saw it as their duty to remind their listeners of the same truths they had taught them previously:
Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
Rom 15:15 In some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder.
2 Peter 1:12-15 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
God gave Israel annual feasts to help them remember Who He is:
Deuteronomy 16:3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction–for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste–that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt.
He gave them the sacrificial system, in part, to remind them of sin:
Hebrews 10:3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
Remembering our own sinfulness is key, especially in times of receiving blessings:
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ 18 You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Deuteronomy 9:6-7 “Know, therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. 7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness.
He even gave the Israelites commands for what to wear to remind them of Himself:
Numbers 15:38-40 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.
Yet, despite all these reminders, the Israelites for the most part forget God. This is a serious warning to us:
Psalm 78:41-42 They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel. 42 They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
When we are despondent, we forget God, or think of Him with negative thoughts:
Psalm 77:3 When I remember God, I moan;
But as we focus on His character, His faithfulness, His promised presence with us, we can learn these fundamental truths in new ways, and trust in Him in the midst of our crisis:
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
Psalm 42:6 My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Consider these specific cases when biblical characters had to apply these fundamental truths in new ways:
Jonah in the belly of the great fish:
Jonah 2:7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
Jesus warns His disciples of coming persecution:
John 16:4 I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.
The angel to the women at the empty tomb:
Luke 24:6-8 Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,
Paul in prison, about to be executed, to Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel.
The risen Christ’s statement to a dead church:
Revelation 3:3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent.
So remember the ancient truths the Lord has revealed to us. Hold on to what you know is true. Wrestle with these truths, so that you might endure to the end, for His glory:
Psalm 105:4-5 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! 5 Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,
Why are my Pastors and Elders so Disappointing, and What Should I Do About It?
August 13, 2008
(This is a summary of the last sermon in the six-part series, “God Gave Pastors and Teachers,” preached on July 20, 2008. The audio is available here.)
What do you expect from a pastor?
What do you expect from an elder?
Consider this description of the perfect pastor found in various forms on the internet:
The perfect pastor works every day from 7am until midnight and is a wonderful family man. He is content with a salary of $100 a week, wears stylish clothes, drives a late-model car, buys plenty of books, and donates $100 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 30 years pastoral experience. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He is enthusiastic about missions, but never encourages anyone’s child to live the rest of his life overseas. He makes 5 visits daily to members’ families, visits shut-ins and the hospitalized, spends all his time evangelizing the unchurched, never misses a committee meeting, and is always in his office when anyone calls. That’s the perfect pastor.
People tend to have high expectations of pastors - and they are often disappointed. Some end up hopping from church to church, trying to find someone who fits their ideal. Others work hard to get rid of each inadequate pastor who comes to their church, expecting to be able to find someone better. But then after a few months or a few years, the next man proves just as disappointing.
Surely God doesn’t intend us to church hop, nor does He intend us to trade in our pastors for a newer model every two years.
How should you handle disappointment in pastors and elders?
This is the last sermon in a series on church leadership entitled “God Gave Pastors and Teachers.”
Last week, we discussed how the congregation should honor and esteem their pastors and elders, imitating their faith, and submitting to them joyfully and willingly:
We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)
But we also saw that the congregation, in the end, is responsible for the church maintaining right doctrine, and is responsible for the church displaying the Gospel in its corporate life through its unity and purity.
- How do these ideas go together? How can the congregation maintain right doctrine, and submit to its elders, if the elders are beginning to teach wrong doctrine?
- How can the congregation maintain purity in the church and condemn sin if an elder sins and he is telling them to be quiet and submit to him?
Furthermore, what should you do as a church member if you are disappointed in an elder/pastor? You don’t think your disappointment is the result of unrealistic expectations. You realistically expected him to act one way, and now, he is acting another. When should you be quiet? When should you say something? To whom?
The Bible gives us some guidelines here, beautifully balancing our responsibility to submit with our responsibility to protect.
Last week, we briefly gave part of the answer, in saying that Hebrews 13:17 does NOT mean: “Do whatever your elder/pastor says at all times.” Instead, we summarized the right attitude toward elders with John Piper’s words:
a church should have a bent toward trusting its leaders; you should have a disposition to be supportive in your attitudes and actions toward their goals and directions; you should want to imitate their faith; and you should have a happy inclination to comply with their instructions.
We’ll explore these issues much more deeply today. Once again, there is not one passage that says it all. So we’ll be looking at a number of texts today. I encourage you to go back, look at the context of each, pray over the Word, take them all to heart.
We’ll look at this topic under three headings:
1) The Accountability of the Pastor/Elder: Five principles from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4
2) Dealing with Unfaithful Elders
3) Dealing with Disappointment in Elders
1) The Accountability of the Pastor/Elder: Five principles from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4
Paul has been discussing factions in the Corinthian church. Some folks have been lining up behind different leaders, including himself and a teacher named Apollos:
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:5-7
Principle 1) Leaders are ultimately only important because God uses them
Leaders are useful to the church ONLY because God supernaturally takes their words and ideas and Infuses them with power. The true church is not built because of leaders’ program ideas, personalities, talents, or experience. It is GOD’s choice to work through them. So the fundamental question about any leader: Is he yielded to GOD? Is he seeking GOD’s face? Is he asking God to work through him?
No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw– 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4:1-5)
Principle 2) God will test each pastor/leader’s work on the Last Day
THAT is the pastor’s primary accountability. His accountability is not primarily to the congregation (”Tell me what you want me to do!”) nor even to himself (”This is how I know I can serve best!”) but to God (”This is how Scripture describes the Gospel ministry.”)
Principle 3) Elders/pastors are servants of CHRIST, not servants of the church
This principle is closely related to the second. Elders do indeed SERVE the church - they exist to benefit the church! - but they are not UNDER THE AUTHORITY of the church. Now, that doesn’t mean the congregation should refrain from communicating to pastor or elders how they may be helpful. He may well need to listen to that advice. But both the pastor and the congregation must realize: The congregation does not have authority to tell a pastor/elder how to operate his ministry.
Principle 4) God’s judgment of a man’s ministry will depend in large measure on factors that others cannot see.
1 Corinthians 4:5 says that God will bring to light what is hidden; He will disclose heart issues, such as: Is this man seeking God’s glory or his own? Is he praying, seeking God’s power, or depending on his own efforts? Since these unseen heart issues are so important, Paul says don’t judge. God will do so, with all the information, at the proper time.
Principle 5) Pastors/elders are stewards of the Gospel - and they therefore must keep the Gospel front and center
This is what Paul means when he says they are “stewards of the mysteries of God.” Not that they have some secret knowledge they guard that no one else has. But they have the GOSPEL! And it is precious. They must make it known. In Colossians 1:26, Paul makes clear that the central mystery of God is now revealed to ALL believers. He defines this mystery as “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” That is: God created man for His glory, but from the beginning the first man and woman rebelled against that purpose, setting themselves up as the measure of right and wrong. They and all their descendants were therefore subject to God’s just condemnation. But God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty we all deserve for this rebellion. All those who trust in Christ’s blood alone for their standing before God are credited with the benefits of His death, and can live for all eternity, fulfilling mankind’s original purpose: To bring glory to God.
Pastors and elders must communicate the cross, the Gospel, through teaching, through preaching, through the way they live. That’s their responsibility.. That’s how God will judge them. EVERYTHING they do must be tied in to the Gospel.
Do you see how these principles free you?
In general, you are not responsible to judge your pastor’s performance of his responsibilities. It is not your responsibility to fix him, or to improve him. God may well use you in his life. There are things you may need to say to him that will be helpful.
But there’s much you don’t know. God knows all, and will judge all. Barring overt obvious sin, you are to leave the judging to God.
You are to honor, esteem, joyfully and willing submit, speak up when appropriate, live out the Gospel yourself, and trust God to work in him and through him to His glory.
2) Dealing with an Unfaithful Elders
God sets a high standard for elders:
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. ( Peter 5:1-4)
He warns not only elders and pastors but all teachers:
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. (James 3:1-2)
Furthermore, we know that elders can and do fail, as Scriptures show:
(Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders) 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert. (Acts 20:29-31, emphasis added)
Indeed, Paul makes provision for the public rebuke of an elder:
Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. (1 Timothy 5:19-20)
Therefore, we can never say “Obey your elders, whatever they may say.” The congregation must live out the mandates discussed last week: They are responsible for the church maintaining right doctrine; they are responsible for the church displaying the Gospel in its corporate life through its unity and purity.
While the congregation not responsible for fixing or improving pastors, it IS responsible for rebuking or dismissing a pastor for clearly wrong doctrine or for clear, obvious cases of sin.
In A Display of God’s Glory, p. 40-41, Mark Dever lays out a helpful categorization of matters facing churches. He divide issues on two criteria: Importance and clarity. All issues will fall into one of four quadrants; he then asks, What is role of the congregation and the elders in each?
For those matters that are unimportant and clear or unimportant and unclear, the church is free to decide any way it likes. The matter is unimportant!
For those matters that are important and unclear - such as, Is now the time to plant another church? What should the next sermon series cover? - there is considerable need for input and discussion, but in the end, the congregation must trust its leaders and follow them.
For those matters that are important and clear - such as what is the Gospel? What is sin? - the congregation has great responsibility. THESE are areas the congregation needs to be united around. If elders go astray here, the united congregation must step in and rebuke them. This should not take place over ambiguous, unclear issues or possible sins, but when there is a clear violation of the Gospel, or of the church’s statement of faith, or clear, obvious sin, the congregation must assert its authority.
Every church should have mechanisms in place to deal with such problems. Every church should have:
1) A system of financial accountability, separating pastoral and financial roles;
2) A covenant, in which members and elders explicitly agree to be subject to the church’s discipline;
3) Clear guidelines to follow on avoiding even the appearance of sexual impropriety.
If you’re a visitor, and your church doesn’t have such mechanisms, and you’re worried something wrong is going on, your first step should be to try to get accountability and transparency in place. Make that argument biblically. If the leadership is not willing to be accountable - that is, their disagreement with you is not over a specific method of accountability, but over having any accountability at all - then you should leave that church, even if nothing wrong is going on at present. That is a recipe for disaster.
But assuming such mechanisms are place: How does one deal with serious moral or doctrinal failure in an elder?
I can only mention but can’t discuss two important types of issues for time’s sake:
1) Criminal acts: Make sure you follow the law. Don’t cover up a crime. Don’t try to handle a crime on your own.
2) An elder who is overstepping his bounds, giving commands in your personal life, such as telling you to take a certain job, to marry a certain person, to live in a particular place.
Instead, we will focus on cases where an elder is clearly undermining the Gospel, either doctrinally through violating the church’s statement of faith, or in his life through clear, obvious, non-debatable cases of sin without repentance. In such cases, the church must rebuke the elder publicly, as we saw above in 1 Timothy 5:19-20. Consider also Matthew 18:15-17:
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Note that right after this, Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” And Jesus answers, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Jesus is not telling us to avoid forgiveness. He is telling us to rebuke sin.
Note also that in Matthew 18 Jesus must be referring to obvious sin. For He assumes you are right in accusing your brother of sin. It must not be a matter of opinion. Jesus doesn’t even hold out the possibility that your brother explains what happened, and you’re now convinced no sin was involved. Jesus is here talking about cases of clear, obvious sin, such that when anyone else knows the details, they will agree that serious sin is involved.
If this sin is not so obvious and clear, or if the sin looks obvious to you, but others informed of the facts don’t agree with you, then Romans 14 come into play. The judgment is a matter of opinion:
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 13 ¶ Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Romans 14:10-13)
Do you see the importance of the sin being clear? The purpose of church discipline is to communicate the Gospel. The purpose of discipline is to enable the church to fulfill its threefold Gospel purpose: to express joy in Christ, to deepen joy in Christ, and to spread joy in Christ. That purpose is UNFULFILLED if there is clear wrong teaching, or clear wrong living by an elder. So discipline is intended to UNITE the church BEHIND THE GOSPEL, not to DIVIDE the church over matters of opinion and judgment.
Thus, the church should never attempt to discipline a member or elder over a matter of opinion, or over a debatable matter of interpretation.
But when clear sin is taking place, when there is clear false teaching, when there is no repentance, then, “Let him be to you as Gentile or a tax collector.” In such cases we are to treat the guilty, unrepentant person as an unbeliever, removing him from the church - and from any church ideally - hoping to push him to repentance. That is the goal.
Many churches and elders have experience in exercising godly, biblical discipline. It is wise for any church facing such an issue, particularly concerning a church leader, to seek the help, advice, wisdom, and guidance of such experienced pastors.
What if you’re in a church where false doctrine or obvious sin are going unpunished. And you can’t get rid of the erring elder - either because there is no mechanism to do so, or because the mechanism fails? That’s the time to leave.
So pastors/elders will be judged on the Last Day by God, and are accountable to Him. But pastors/elders who clearly deviate from core doctrines, or who engage in obvious sin, must repent or be removed by the congregation.
3) Dealing with Disappointment in Elders
What if you are disappointed in an elder, but the issue is not serious doctrinal error or obvious sin? Such disappointments might arise from:
- The direction the church is headed
- The way Sunday School is conducted
- Issues in the service, or in the building,
- The way pastors/elders allocate their time,
- Doctrinal issues not in the church’s statement of faith
- Possible sin which is not criminal and not obvious
Three points to remember:
1) Remember as we saw that the pastor/elder is GOD’s servant, not YOURS
2) Remember your responsibility is not to fix the pastor/elder, but to help the church achieve its purpose through its staying faithful to central doctrines and through its purity and unity.
3) Remember to be humble. In particular, remember that you don’t understand your pastor’s calling, his responsibilities, and his challenge in balancing those responsibilities as well as he does. Your pastor/elder probably has thought long and hard about how to serve well. He probably knows the Word well, and has studied the relevant passages about pastoral ministry in depth. He probably is well aware of his faults, limitations, and sins, and is trying to deal with them. So be humble! Acknowledge in your heart and verbally that you could be wrong. Look again at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 and Hebrews 13:17. Ask yourself the questions from Piper’s summary of the congregation’s attitude towards its leaders. Make sure that both in intent and in outcome you are working to build up the church.
So, having remembered those things, if you are still disappointed, ask yourself:
Is it time forbear, or time to speak? We should be more likely to speak to an elder or pastor about matters that concern us in his life than with the typical church member. For the elder should be mature, and thus should be able to take criticism, even invalid criticism, and sort through it. Virtually every pastor I know welcomes responds positively to respectful, healthy criticism.
So don’t go to your pastor/elder saying, “You need to do X, Y, and Z much better!” Or, “I’m fed up; I’m leaving.” Indeed, never leave a church without seeking the prayer and counsel of the church’s pastors/elders, and going through an extended period of time praying for the elders.
Instead, use words something like these:
“Here are some issues we’re facing. We expected X to happen. What we see is Y. Help us here. Did we have wrong impressions? Is there a gap between your own goals and reality? Can we help to improve things in this area? (Note: Sometimes what frustrates us most about church is the very area where we should be serving.) “Know that we are committed here. But this is an important issue to us - important enough that if it is not resolved, we’re going to be quite uncomfortable. We want your prayers, your counsel, and your input. ”
If the issue is specifically related to the pastor/elder’s job performance: “We know that we only have an inkling of what it’s like to be a pastor. So take this advice knowing that we trust you to hear and to put what is right and possible into effect.”
That’s a way to communicate disappointment in a humble, submissive way. Churches benefit greatly if that type of communication happens.
If you communicate in this way and, in the end, must leave the church, you most likely will go with the prayers and blessings of the leadership. And that is the best way to leave a church.
Conclusion
God gave pastors and teachers. They are His gifts to His church. They are servants of Christ and stewards of the Gospel. A church must have Gospel-centered pastors and elders if it is to fulfill its purpose of expressing joy in Christ, spreading joy in Christ, and deepening joy in Christ.
But the church is made up of wandering, stupid sheep, and thus elders will disappoint members for two reasons:
1) Because the flock is made up of sheep with unrealistic expectations for leaders;
2) Because leaders themselves are sinful, limited, sheep.
So don’t be surprised at disappointments. If you’re not disappointed with Fred and myself today - you probably will be at some point soon.
But listen carefully: Every disappointment is an opportunity to display God’s glory. We are put in community in part so that we can live out forgiveness and forbearance when we do sin. God will use even our failures, even our limitations, even our sins to display His glory through is church.
Then we will see the cross that much more clearly. Then we will display the mysteries of God that much more fully. Then the world can see repentance, and faith, and love in new, different ways. Then those around us can see that we are far from perfect, but we are forgiven - and we forgive others - through the blood of Jesus.
That’s what we want to build here: Not a group of perfect pastors, elders, and members - we’ll never achieve that in this life. But a group of forgiven sinners, continuing to sin to our dismay, but continuing to point to the cross, repenting and seeking His face together, confessing and forgiving and loving each other and building each other up - so that even through my sins and failures, even through your sins and failures, we might all be built up in love, being equipped for the work of the ministry, being built up as the body of Christ, growing up into Him who is our head, until we all attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
That’s our calling. That’s our goal. That’s our destiny.
More on the “Miracle Mile”
August 13, 2008
In Sunday’s sermon, I described the 1954 “Miracle Mile” between Roger Bannister and John Landy. Here is Bannister’s complete description of the race, which I excerpted in the sermon. It, in turn, is taken from p. 192-194 of his book The Four-Minute Mile, originally published in 1955 but now available in a 2004 edition from Globe Pequot. Sports Illustrated published a lengthy excerpt from the book in its June 27, 1955 issue; that article, which includes this race description, is available here.
We lined up for the start. Landy was on the inside. The gun fired and Baillie of New Zealand went straight into the lead. I stayed some yards back at Landy ’s shoulder until he took over the lead at the 220-yard mark. Gradually he drew away, and I lay second at the end of the first lap in 59.2 seconds. Landy ’s pace was too fast for me (58.2 seconds) and I had allowed a gap of seven yards to open up. In the second lap this lead increased at one time to 15 yards. I completed the half-mile in one minute 59 seconds, so I was within a four-minute-mile schedule!
By now I had almost lost contact with Landy . I no longer had the advantage of being pulled along by him. The field had split. Landy was out in front on his own and I was leading the rest, 10 yards farther back. I felt complete detachment, and at the half-mile remember saying to myself-only two minutes more. The stage was set for relaxed running until my final burst.
My speed was now the same as Landy ’s. The only problem was that Landy was a long way in front and looked like staying there. I was on schedule, but he was not slowing down as I had expected. This was the moment when my confidence wavered. Was he going to break the world record again?
To have any “finish” left I must be able to follow at his shoulder throughout the early part of the last lap. How could I close the gap before the bell? If I were to stand any chance of winning I must reach his shoulder before then. I must abandon my own time schedule and run to his. This was the turning point of the race.
I quickened my stride, trying at the same time to keep relaxed. I won back the first yard, then each succeeding yard, until his lead was halved by the time we reached the back straight on the third lap. How I wished I had never allowed him to establish such a lead!
I had now “connected” myself to Landy again, though he was still five yards ahead. I was almost hypnotized by his easy shuffling stride-the most clipped and economical I have ever seen. I tried to imagine myself attached to him by some invisible cord. With each stride I drew the cord tighter and reduced his lead. At the three-quarter-mile when the bell rang I was at Landy ’s shoulder. The rest of the field were 20 yards back and I was so absorbed by the man-to-man struggle that I heard no lap time. The real battle was beginning. We two were running alone now with all eyes upon us.
The third lap had tired me-my time was 59.6 seconds. This was the lap when a runner expects to slow down a little to gather momentum for the finish, and I had been toiling hard to win back those painful yards. I fixed myself to Landy like a shadow. He must have known I was at his heels because he began to quicken his stride as soon as we turned into the last back straight. It was incredible that in a race run at this speed he should start a finishing burst 300 yards from the tape. I laughed to remember that three weeks before in England I had actually considered whether I might overtake him at the 220-yard mark! Now it was all I could do to hold him.
We passed the 1,500-meters mark in close to the same time as Landy ’s world record for that distance set up during his mile race at Turku in Finland. If Landy did not slacken soon I would be finished. As we entered the last bend I tried to convince myself that he was tiring. With each stride now I attempted to husband a little strength for the moment at the end of the bend when I had decided to pounce. I knew this would be the point where Landy would least expect me, and if I failed to overtake him there the race would be his.
When the moment came my mind would galvanize my body to the greatest effort it had ever known. I knew I was tired. There might be no response, but it was my only chance. This moment had occurred dozens of times before. This time the only difference was that the whole race was being run to my absolute limit.
Just before the end of the last bend I flung myself past Landy. As I did so I saw him glance inward over his opposite shoulder. This tiny act of his held great significance and gave me confidence. I interpreted it as meaning that he had already made his great effort along the back straight. All round the bend he had been unable to hear me behind him, the noise of the crowd was so great. He must have hoped desperately that I had fallen back. The worry of whether he had succeeded grew on him. His last chance to look around came at the end of the bend. He knew that to challenge now I must run extra distance and therefore did not expect it. The moment he looked round he was unprotected against me and lost a valuable fraction of a second in his response to my challenge. It was my tremendous luck that these two happenings-his turning round and my final spurt-came absolutely simultaneously.
In two strides I was past him, with 70 yards to go, but I could not accelerate further. Though I was slowing all the time I just managed to reach the tape, winning by five yards in 3 minutes 58.8 seconds. Once again the four-minute mile had been broken, this time by both of us in the same race.
This last lap was one of the most intense and exciting of my life. John Landy had shown me what a race could really be at its greatest. He is the sort of runner I could never become, and for this I admire him.
Stay Focused and Alert in the Race of Faith
August 13, 2008
(This sermon on Hebrews 12:1-2 was preached 8/10/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here. The audio is available here.)
You’ve trained for years. Day after day. Season after season. Long runs. Interval training. You’re prepared.
Now the opening ceremonies are over. Your Olympic race day has arrived.
Over the course of anywhere from a few seconds to a bit over 2 hours, you must put into play all you’ve learned; you must put into effect all the strength work, all the cardiovascular work you’ve done. One mistake, one brief loss of focus, one moment of indecision could set aside years of training.
What do you need to remember as you race in order to run to win?
How will you run the race?
A number of you have run in events where place is completely irrelevant. You’re not so much running AGAINST others in the race, as WITH them. Your goal is not to beat others, but to complete the distance, or to achieve a particular time.
Not so in the Olympic track events. In these races, time is almost irrelevant. Your only goal is to win the race. If you can win in a slow time - that’s fine.
In order to win, you have to beat your opponents, either mentally or physically. So, particularly in events 400m or longer, every coach hammers this point into his athletes’ heads: Your goal is to make the race develop in such a way that others can’t catch you, or to make the race develop in such a way that those who can catch you think they can’t.
A classic example of this took place 54 yars ago this week, in the 1954 Commonwealth Games “Miracle Mile.” The Englishman Roger Bannister had run history’s first sub-four minute mile on May 6. The Australian John Landy broke that World Record six weeks later. No one else had broken the barrier. About seven weeks after Landy’s record race, the two runners met for the first and only time. Bannister was known for his fast kick. So Landy calculated that his best chance to win was to break contact early, to go out so hard that Bannister would think he was unable to come back.
That’s what Landy did. He pushed hard from the beginning. By halfway, he had a 10 yard lead. But Bannister still believed in himself. He still believed he could come back. As he wrote later, describing the race:
I quickened my stride, trying at the same time to stay relaxed. I won back the first yard, then each succeeding yard, until his lead was halved by the time we reached the back straight on the third lap. . . . I had now connected myself to Landy again, though he was still 5 yards ahead. . . . I tried to imagine myself attached to him by some invisible cord. With each stride I drew the cord tighter, and reduced his lead. . . . I fixed myself to Landy like a shadow.
Bannister remained focused. Then, with 80 yards to go, he pulled up outside Landy. At this point, Landy made an uncharacteristic mistake. With all the crowd noise, he hadn’t sensed Bannister on his outside. He turned his head inward, to the left, just when Bannister kicked. He lost a stride - and now he was the one who thought he could not catch the other. And he didn’t.
Bannister won. Both ran under four minutes - but Bannister won.
The last two Sundays we’ve looked at running analogies in Scripture that relate to training: We’ve highlighted these lessons:
- Know who you are.
- Be disciplined.
- Be consistent.
- Train through pain.
- Yet know when not to run.
- Enjoy the training, as you fulfill who you are.
Today and during the next two Sundays, we look at biblical analogies with racing. The Bannister/Landy race exemplifies two key lessons for our spiritual lives:
- Stay alert - like Landy failed to do
- Stay focused - like Bannister did.
Our primary text for today is found in Hebrews 12. The previous chapter walks thru Old Testament history, reminding us of men and women who exercised faith in God. Some, through faith, had great earthly success; others, through faith, remained true to God in the midst of terrible persecution. Hear the description that begins in verse 36:
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated– 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:36-40)
So get the picture: All these men and women who endured through faith are waiting for the fulfillment of the promise: The gathering of all God’s people from all time into one worshiping body. And they, as it were, are in the stands, watching, cheering, telling us of God’s faithfulness to them - as we run our race. This is the image in the next two verses, today’s text:
Since we have such a great cloud of witnesses around us, setting aside everything that weighs us down and the sin that so easily entangles us, we must run with endurance the race set before us, by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, thinking nothing of its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We’ll look at this under three headings:
- Stay alert
- Stay alert but maintain focus
- Focus on Christ
Stay Alert
Landy needed to know where Bannister was without looking around. He needed to sense his approach. He needed to stay alert. He wasn’t - and thus wasn’t ready for Bannister’s big move.
We too are in a race where others are trying to keep us from winning. Our enemies are not flesh and blood; and their desire is to do much worse to us than beat us into 2nd place. So the Bible tells us to be alert:.
We see this instruction several places in Scripture:
- Mark 13, which we read during the service, tells us to be alert as we wait for Christ’s return, to be alert in discerning false Christs, to be alert concerning false ends of history, and to be alert for persecution.
- 1 Peter 5:8: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
- Galatians 5:7 uses a running image, implying that we need to be alert to such moves: You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?
Question: What’s the difference between this lesson - to be alert - and the lessons we’ve discussed in previous weeks: Be disciplined, be consistent?
Think in this way: When we strive to be disciplined and consistent, we are fighting besetting sins, sins that are always there, such as laziness, dullness of mind, and lack of passion. That’s the equivalent of daily discipline in training.
What’s the equivalent of being alert in a race? Dealing weith the unexpected. In a race you face surprises. For example, someone cuts in on you. How do you react?
Just so in Christian life. What does Satan throw at you unexpectedly? What unusual outside pressures? What surprising temptations?
These are the events that are analogous to being cut off, or an opponent surprising you with a big move early in the race.
So in this light consider the two warnings in Hebrew 12:1. First:
“setting aside everything that weighs us down.”
The lesson: Be alert to what might weigh you down.
On race day, what might slow you down unexpectedly?
As a runner, there are many possibilities: Wind, heat, humidity, rain, hail, snow, a bad track, hills, sharp turns, stomach cramps. For those competing in Beijing: Pollution. You must be alert. Be ready. Be confident, no matter what the conditions might be.
What weighs you down in the race of faith? Consider this category as those unexpected challenges that are not sinful in themselves, but keep you from doing well in the race. Challenges such as:
- A surprising Illness or disability (I think here of someone like Joni Erickson Tada, who as a healthy, athletic teen was paralyzed for the rest of her life in a diving accident.)
- Unexpected persecution: Anything from imprisonment and torture to friend or relative who ends our relationship because of our faith.
- Unexpected failure or falling into sin by a person you respect.
- This category also includes anything else which is just part of your life, but, surprisingly, you now see is hindering your race of faith. This could be a hobby - even running or another sport. It could be music, or reading, or politics.
The message: Be alert! Notice the hindrances! Be sensitive to what is keeping you from advancing in the faith!
Ask yourself: What is surprisingly keeping me from racing well? Then be alert! Deal with the surprises! Get rid of every hindrance!
Hebrews 12:1 continues: “Setting aside everything that weighs us down, and the sin that so easily entangles”
So the second lesson: Be alert to what might trip you - the sin that so easily entangles.
This corresponds to temptations to sin that weren’t there before. Your enemy prowls around, looking for any crack, any opening. Do you remember when Satan tempted Jesus? At the conclusion of Luke’s account, he says that Satan “departed from him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13) Satan sometimes withdraws temptations when you are fighting successfully. He returns at an unexpected time, hoping that your guard will be down. He always Aims to entangle us, to trip us up, to get us out of the race. He sometimes uses a temptation we never faced before. He sometimes uses a temptation to a sin we thought we had conquered in the past: anger, lust, gossip.
Fundamentally: Satan aims to make us fall into the sin of unbelief. He tries to make us too frightened to take a step of faith. He tells us, “Don’t trust God. Don’t believe His promises.”
Stay alert in these areas. Know your opponent is active. He is trying to catch you off guard. He is trying to destroy your faith, to make faith look frightening. Stay alert.
Stay Alert but Maintain Focus and Confidence
While alert to all these potential dangers, we must keep our focus elsewhere. When warned to stay alert, there is a danger that the runner will focus on the potential dangers. He may think of all that can go wrong, then begin to worry, and consequently to lose confidence. He starts trying to AVOID having things go wrong, instead of trying to win the race.
Every runner must remember: The goal is NOT to avoid being tripped. The goal is to win. The hurdler who focuses on the hurdles will never win the race.
Just so for us in the race of faith: The goal is NOT to avoid sin. The goal is to follow Christ.
We too can get so wrapped up in avoiding sin, or thinking about unexpected barriers to faith, that we lose focus on what is most important. In some measure, this was the problem of the Pharisees. They focused so completely on avoiding sin, that they lost sight of the greatest commandment: Loving God, delighting in Him.
So, yes, we must be alert to surprises, to potential dangers. But of greatest importance: We must run the race set before us with endurance, focusing on Christ.
Focus on Christ
In racing, this is what Bannister did so well in the Miracle Mile. Landy, through going out hard, tried to get Bannister to lose focus - but he never did. He focused on Landy’s back; he imagined a string connecting them; and he pulled Landy in closer and closer.
This is a key point in today’s text: “We must run with endurance the race set before us by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.” “Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” explains HOW we can run the race with endurance. We’re not going to run it any other way.
We’ve spoken of running the race of faith as a distance race, as marathon; because of the element of time and of strategy, that’s usually the most appropriate running analogy. But these phrases in Hebrews 12 also relate to a sprint.
As the race starts, you can see finish line. Your task is to reach that finish line before your opponents. You do that, in part, by looking straight ahead. You never look at your opponents; you never look up in the stands. To do so will twist your body slightly - and every twist in your body will shorten your stride, thus slowing you down. You focus only on the finish, until you run through the tape.
Just so in the race of faith. Jesus Himself is finish line. Keep your eyes fixed on HIM. Never take your eyes off Him. Be alert to what is around you and in you; be aware of your stride pattern, of your arm carriage, of relaxing your jaw and shoulders; be aware of any unevenness or holes in the track; be aware of any lane violations by your opponents; yes, be alert. BUT remain focused on the finish line, on Jesus, and on Him alone.
What exactly about Jesus are we to focus on?
Three aspects of who Jesus is come out in this passage:
First: He is our Joy
Just as Jesus “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, thinking nothing of its shame”, so we run the race with endurance, looking at the joy set before us. And that joy set before us is Jesus Himself.
What was the joy set before Christ? He knew the purpose of the cross. He knew God created man for His glory, yet mankind from the beginning had rebelled against that purpose, had pretended that they were not under God’s authority. All mankind, therefore, was under God’s just condemnation. But Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sin. He lived a perfect life. He therefore did not deserve death. He did not deserve God’s wrath. So when he died, He took on Himself the punishment for all the sins of all who would trust in Him. He knew, therefore, that at the cross He was glorifying God through the redemption of people every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. With that joy in mind, He endured unimaginable punishment for sin not His own. It was all worth it! He knew it. So he endured.
Just so with us. We too have joy set before us: Jesus Him