Cultivating a Thankful Heart

How important is gratitude to God?

The Apostle Paul commands us, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Gratitude is thus central to our becoming what God intends us to be. But we easily fall into ingratitude, focusing on what God has not given us as opposed to what He has.

Consider these seven categories of items, from the past and in the present, for which we should express thankfulness to God:

1) Salvation, in all its parts

We were by nature children of wrath, but God being rich in mercy made us alive in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:3-5). That salvation is completely undeserved; it is all a gift, all by His grace (Ephesians 2:6-9). In Christ Jesus we have complete forgiveness through His sacrifice on the cross, and thus have access directly to God the Father. He adopts us into His intimate family and has His Holy Spirit dwell in us. He transforms us more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

2) Obvious Other Gifts

God sometimes grants us pleasures, joys that are clearly unexpected gifts from Him. Here’s one from my life:

I was a competitive distance runner for almost 25 years. As a 37-year old In 1993, I ran a small town Thanksgiving Day 5k in Massachusetts that I should have won. But I limped home third, showing no guts and little speed. I was disgusted with myself.

The next day I got up before sunrise to run a five-mile loop. Looking at the thermometer, I almost got back into bed – it was 7 degrees, the coldest morning so far. I forced myself out of the house, just planning to go through the motions.

And then God gave me the gift. After a mile or two, I found myself running with tremendous freedom, with smooth form, with considerable speed, soaking in the beauty of the sunrise over the mountains.

All that I loved about running was encapsulated in that effort.

Then God gave me another gift – I wrote about that run. Unbeknownst to me, eight months later I would suffer a knee injury that would prevent me from ever running like that again. But our Lord prompted me to write in part in order that I would have that reminder for the rest of my life of His gift of running.

I wrote, “I am most thankful not for the years of races, not for the hard training, not for any speed I may have, but for this Thanksgiving Friday run.” (You can read my write-up here.)

What obvious gifts are you thankful for?

3) Clear Answers to Prayer

God involves us in accomplishing His purposes via prayer in part so that we will give thanks to Him when He answers: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11).

So remember what you pray for – and give thanks when He answers!

4) What We are Tempted to Think We Produced or Obtained Ourselves

Let me just list several examples to prompt your reflection:

  • Spouses
  • Children
  • Jobs
  • Income: “It is [God] who gives you the power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18)
  • Homes
  • Health and Fitness
  • Skills and Abilities
  • Education
  • Christian virtues: faith, obedience, perseverance, even the desire to follow Him (Psalm 119:36)

5) What We are Tempted to Think We Deserve

Again, here are some possible examples:

  • Life – He created us
  • Breath – He sustains us
  • Sleep – “He gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2)
  • Daily provision – food, health care, peace
  • A functioning government – While it is easy to see flaws in our government, very few people in the history of the world have lived under a better government than ours.

We recognize all the items in these first five categories as good. The problem is that we often don’t acknowledge them as from God, and so we fail to give Him thanks.

The last two categories are different:

6) Gifts that We Easily Overlook

We are tempted not to notice these gifts – instead, we often complain when we don’t encounter them. Examples:

  • An efficient customer service agent
  • A courteous driver
  • Electricity when it doesn’t go out
  • Police who do their jobs effectively and professionally
  • The church members who aren’t up front – who prepare the Lord’s Supper, who put up signs, who clean the church, and do so many other tasks

What do you benefit from that you overlook? Thank God – as well as the people involved.

7) Always and for Everything by Faith in God’s Future Grace

The seventh category brings us to Paul’s statement that we should give thanks “in all circumstances,” or, as the Apostle says in Ephesians 5:20, “always and for everything.” That implies that we should thank God for trials and difficulties – even for the results of sin.

So we should rightly thank God for:

  • Tragedies
  • Deaths
  • Disappointments
  • “Negative” answers to prayer – when the sick are not healed, when the door to a job or a ministry or marriage is not opened, when a relationship is not reconciled, when a war is not

How do we give thanks for these?

We do not thank God for the sin, the sorrow, the pain, the suffering. But we do thank Him that He is working out His purposes even through such hardships.

Remember what our Lord says in Luke 11:11-12: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?”

A good father doesn’t refuse to give his child something good, and never gives his child something harmful. But when a good father’s two-year old asks for a cookie he may well give him an orange. We – spiritual two-year olds that we are – often struggle to see how what God gives us serves His purposes. But if we are in Christ, whatever He gives us is for our good and His glory.

Sometimes we get a glimpse of how God is at work, as Paul did 2 Corinthians 1:8-9:

We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Paul discerns one way God worked through that difficult trial – He highlighted Paul’s dependence on Him. God undoubtedly was accomplishing millions of other objectives simultaneously; as the Apostle says elsewhere, “How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways” (Romans 11:33). Though Paul doesn’t see those millions of accomplishments, he is able to thank God for this one good result of his trial – for this one way this difficulty was an egg and not a scorpion.

So when in the midst of trials and difficulties, look for ways that God may be at work. Ask Him to show you a glimpse of what he is accomplishing.

However, even when we pray for such glimpses, oftentimes we fail to discern any good that results from the evil we experience. How do we thank God “always and for everything” then?

Thank God that He promises that:

  • He is at work – even when we can’t see how
  • He has not given us a scorpion
  • He is sustaining our faith in the midst of the trial
  • He provides in His Word and in church history accounts of others in similarly terrible circumstances – and those worked for the good of His people and the glory of His Name.

I encourage you to cultivate a thankful heart by considering these seven categories. Identify and thank God for one example from each, whether recent or from your past. Thank Him for:

  • One aspect of salvation
  • One obvious gift
  • One clear answer to prayer
  • One good you are tempted to think you earned or produced
  • One good you are tempted to think you deserve
  • One gift you easily overlook
  • One difficulty that considered by itself is not good

You may want to do the entire exercise in one sitting. Alternately, perhaps it would be more beneficial to pick one category a day over the course of a week. In either case, then share these thanksgivings with someone else. Ask him or her to do the same.

Continue to remind yourself that any good, any pleasure, any delight, all health, all wisdom, all knowledge, any growth, any improvement, any Christlikeness comes from God – and they are ours only because of Jesus.  Apart from Him, either the entire human race is destroyed under God’s wrath, or we live in a Genesis 6:5 world: “Every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time” (NIV).

So cultivate a thankful heart. Give thanks always and for everything. Express that thanks to God and to one another.

And so fulfill the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

[This devotion is based on part of the March 27 sermon, “Give Thanks in All Circumstances.” You can listen to that sermon via this link.]

Have You Created a Designer God?

[This week I was reminded of these words written by J.I. Packer in 1958:

“If the human mind is set up as the measure and test of truth, it will quickly substitute for man’s incomprehensible Creator a comprehensible idol fashioned in man’s own image; man wants a god he can manage and feel comfortable with and will inevitably invent one if allowed…. Once people reverse the proper relationship between Scripture and their own thinking and start judging biblical statements about God by their private ideas about God, instead of vice versa, their knowledge of the Creator is in eminent danger of perishing.”

I elaborated on these ideas in a September 2003 sermon on Habakkuk 2:18-20. Here is an edited, shortened version of that sermon – Coty]

Imagine that you are two years old. If you haven’t spent much time with two-year-olds, let me remind you of some characteristics of this age:

  • Two-year-olds believe the world revolves around them (one doesn’t have to be two to believe this! But virtually all two-year-olds think this way.)
  • Two-year-olds have a hard time confusing needs with desires. “I want those gummy bears!” becomes “I need those gummy bears!”
  • Two-year-olds’ desires quickly become commands: “I need those gummy bears!” becomes “Give me those gummy bears right now!”
  • Two-year-olds don’t have a clue about what they really need. During my six years of parenting two-year-olds, I never heard one say, “Daddy, I really need a good night’s sleep tonight. Could I go to bed early?”

With these reminders, now imagine that you are two years old. And imagine that you can choose whatever type of parent you want – a Designer Parent. What type of parent will you choose?

Let’s assume that as two-year-olds go, you are quite wise. So you identify that you need a parent who will provide food, shelter, and care.

As a rare, wise two-year old, you also recognize that you don’t know everything. You choose a parent who will be able to teach you.

Third, you definitely want a parent you can trust – a reliable parent who will never let you down.

So far this doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

But every two-year old would choose this fourth characteristic: You want a parent you can control. You choose a parent who does what you want. Yes, you do want a parent who can teach you facts – when and if you want to learn. But you don’t want a parent who will control you, who will override your will.

What would be the outcome of allowing two-year-olds to design their parents?

Disaster would result.

But we live in a culture that encourages spiritual two-year olds to design their own gods. And when given that opportunity, most people act exactly like the physical two-year olds: they design a god who will work for their good, who can teach them something about the future, whom they can trust – but most of all, whom they can control.

But, friends, the God of the universe – the One and Only Living and True God – is not controllable! He promises to work for the good of His people, He is entirely trustworthy, He leads us into all truth – but our God does whatever HE pleases. He is not our genie, He is not at our beck and call – instead, He is sovereign, He rules over all.

The second chapter of Habakkuk addresses this issue. The chapter begins by contrasting the proud one with the righteous one who lives by faith. God then pronounces five woes on the proud one, in each case giving us an example of how not to live by faith. The first four lessons are:

  • True satisfaction comes from God alone;
  • True security comes from God alone;
  • True accomplishment comes from God alone;
  • True honor comes from God alone.

All these “woe’s” have a common structure: the proud one aims to fulfill a good, God-given desire, but he goes about pursuing that desire through evil means. God then issues an appropriate punishment, leading to a lesson about living by faith.

The fifth woe, Habakkuk 2:18-20, brings us to two-year-olds. We will first look at the proud one’s goal and means, then his punishment, and finally the lessons for living by faith.

18 “What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, Or an image, a teacher of falsehood? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork When he fashions speechless idols. 19 “Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’ To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’ And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it. 20 “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (New American Standard)

The Goal: To Know the Unknowable, to Control the Uncontrollable; the Means: Idolatry 

Why does the proud one want to have anything to do with an idol?

Because the proud one knows that some things are out of his control. He thinks, “Disease, natural calamity, or my revengeful opponents may be around any corner.  I don’t know what tomorrow might bring! I’ve managed pretty well so far in accomplishing my objectives – but I need some additional power to ensure my position.”

And so he turns to an idol. This is the means he uses to accomplish his purpose. What is an idol?

An idol is any person, power, or spirit that you rely on instead of God for satisfaction, security, accomplishment, and honor.

Note: these are the goals of the first four woes! In effect, the proud one is relying on himself in pursuing those goals – thereby making an idol of himself. Here in the fifth woe, he realizes he needs some additional power to secure his position, and so he turns to a physical idol. But we commit idolatry whenever we rely on something other than God to meet these objectives.

What are the goals of the proud one in verses 18 and 19? There are four:

  • Profit: He wants a “god” who will be on his side, who will work for his benefit.
  • Teaching: The Hebrew word used in verses 18 and 19 has the same root as “Torah”, the word for God’s teaching to Israel, the Law. The proud one wants a “god” who will explain confusing things in this world, who will predict the future, who will instruct him on the best way to live in this world.
  • Trust: The proud one wants a “god” who is reliable, who will never leave him unprotected, who is powerful enough to preserve him from harm.
  • Control (note the proud one calls to the idol, “Awake! Arise!”, or as the NIV renders those verbs: “Come to life! Wake up!”): He wants a “god” who is at his beck and call, a “god” who will act as the proud one wants, a “god” who will profit him according to his desires.

Do you see the inherent contradiction here?

In order to profit us in all circumstances, in order to be worthy of our trust, this “god” must be all-powerful.

In order to be our teacher, this “god” must know more than us – particularly about the future, things unknowable to us. Indeed, if we are to trust him in all circumstances, he must be able to predict the future with complete accuracy.

Yet we want to control this “god”! Yet if we could control him, he would not be all powerful; if we could tell him how best to meet our needs, he would not be all knowing.

So the necessary conclusion: There are no gods like this.  Indeed, there cannot be gods like this. We want an all-powerful god who is under our control. That is a logical impossibility.

Thus, the proud one aims to profit himself, to have a teacher for himself, to have someone to trust – all of these goals are God-given, and God Himself is the only answer for these desires.

Yet the proud one rejects the one living and true God, because that God is out of his control. So the proud one opts instead for a pseudo-god he can control, an idol.

The Punishment: Futility

For the first four woes, God’s punishments are logical and just: the plunderer is plundered, the house the proud one builds for security cries out against the builder, accomplishment disappears, honor turns to disgrace.

For this woe, there is a twist. God does not state an explicit punishment. Instead, the punishment is implicit. What is it?

Look at the terms used to describe the idol in verses 18 and 19:

  • “Speechless”
  • “Mute” or “silent”
  • “Teacher of falsehood.” Or “teacher of lies”. Question: How can a mute teacher teach falsehood? Such a teacher can only tell you what you already know. So the falsehood taught by the idol is actually the lie of the idol’s maker, the false promise of support and wisdom from the idol.
  • “No breath at all inside it.” The Hebrew word for “breath” is also the word for “spirit,” so this phrase can be translated, “No spirit at all inside it.”

So what is the proud one’s punishment? If your teacher is speechless, if one in whom you trust has no breath, no spirit, then he also has no power – and thus you have no protection. In the end, relying on an idol is only relying on yourself. You will get no profit. As the Psalmist says,

Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them. (Psalm 115:8)

Will become like them in what sense? Dead, powerless, helpless. This is the punishment. Futility.

Lessons for Living by Faith

God gives us an explicit lesson in living by faith in Habakkuk 2:20:

But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.

Do you see the contrasts between the true God and idols?

  • There is no breath or spirit in the idol, but the Lord is really present in His holy temple
  • The one who makes the idol speaks to it, he commands it – yet the idol is mute. In contrast, the true God of the universe is the one who speaks – and before Him, we fall down silent.

With these thoughts in mind, let us draw out two lessons for living by faith:

(1) Living by faith means we receive commands from God; we do not give him commands.

This is a hard lesson, isn’t it? We so much want to be in control. We really do want that genie in the bottle. Like the two-year-old, we really think we know what is best for us and what is best for those we care for – and God doesn’t seem to bring that about!

As Mr. and Mrs. Beaver explain to the Pevensie children in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe:

“Is [Aslan]—quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver, “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver…. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Our God is not safe. Our God is not tame. Our God is not under our control. Our God does things that we cannot comprehend, that we cannot fathom. But our God is good. He works for the benefit of His people – so let us acknowledge that we are less than two-year-olds in our understanding compared to His; let us acknowledge that He knows infinitely more than us; and let us therefore bow before Him.

(2) Living by faith means relying on the God Who is with us.

The Lord is in His holy temple. (Habakkuk 2:20)

Where is that temple today?

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

If this is true – then why rely on any idol? God is not only with His people at the center of their country in a physical building – God Himself, Jesus Himself is in you! If you belong to Him, if you have repented and come to faith in Him, then you have the gift of God’s Spirit as a down payment of all the blessings God will give you in the future.  And Jesus lives in you.

So on whom should you rely for satisfaction, security, accomplishment, and honor? The God who is in you! And if He is in you, if He loves you more than you can imagine, if He has already given you the gift of infinite cost – His own Son’s death – then how will He not also along with Jesus freely give us all things?

As Isaiah says:

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, And your righteousness like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48:17-18)

He is the one who teaches us! He is the one who profits us! Listening to Him leads to well-being that flows and flows and flows like a river, that keeps breaking over us like waves at the beach! His love and goodness toward us never end. When God offers us His very presence within us – is it really too much for Him to ask for us to yield all control to Him? Is it really too much to ask that we value Jesus, love Jesus, put Jesus first in our hearts?

Conclusion

So, my friends: Where do you place your trust during the tough times in life? To whom do you turn when

  • People let you down,
  • When illness strikes,
  • When you lose your job,
  • When death hits those you love?

The world today offers you a zillion false gods. The world today offers you ways to discern the future, whether through horoscopes or economic forecasts. And many around us have set up such idols in their hearts. But none work. All in the end are the same as relying on yourself.

So do you trust the God of the universe?

Do you give yourself completely to the One Who gave His Son completely for you?

Do you trust in Jesus Christ and in Him alone – for salvation first, and then for all good things in your life: satisfaction, security, accomplishment, and honor?

Do you turn yourself over to His hands, saying, “God, I know I can’t control you! I know I am less than a two-year-old before you. Your understanding, no one can fathom. So, Lord, I trust you; I believe you are indeed working all things together for the good of those who love you, even when that doesn’t look to be the case. God! Make me yours completely!”

So trust in God through Jesus Christ! And keep trusting in Him, turning away from idols and false hopes! For trusting in God is a never-ending task. We must turn to him day by day by day by day by day, leaning not on ourselves but on God’s goodness, power, and faithfulness.

“The Lord is in His holy temple – Be silent before Him, all the earth.”

 

Quenching the Spirit, Despising Prophecies

“Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies.” (1 Thessalonians 5:19-20)

How do we quench the Spirit? How do we despise prophecies?

Many answer that question by assuming the Apostle Paul is saying “Do not quench the Spirit or despise prophecies in your worship services.” For the Apostle does warn against that in 1 Corinthians 14.

But the context of 1 Thessalonians is quite different from the context of 1 Corinthians. Paul had to correct several problems with worship services in Corinth, but he says nothing explicit about worship services in Thessalonica. Instead, he focuses throughout the letter on living our entire lives in light of Jesus’ return. Indeed, in chapter 5 he is moving towards the climax in verse 23:

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Thus, we should understand Paul’s exhortations as:  “Do not quench the Holy Spirit in all your life; do not despise prophecies in all your life. In this way be prepared for Jesus’ return.”

There are undoubtedly implications for worship services in these commands. But there is no reason to limit the application to that setting.

To understand Paul’s exhortations we also need to clarify the meaning of prophecy.

Most biblical prophecies are not predictions about the future. Rather, prophecies are words of God spoken or written by men through the Holy Spirit. By that definition, all Scripture is prophecy.

We see this through 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:19-21:

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Peter explains how these God-breathed words become written:

We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention [note that Peter is referring to a description of the transfiguration recorded in the Gospels] …  knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (emphasis added)

So all Scripture is prophecy and all Scripture results from the work of the Holy Spirit.

Furthermore, all that Paul taught the Thessalonians – whether in person, or via a letter – is prophecy:

Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. (1 Thessalonians 1:5, emphasis added)

Furthermore, some of what Paul said prophetically was a direct exposition of the words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel accounts. For as argued in the January 9th sermon, in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 Paul declares to his readers “by a word from the Lord” what Jesus says in Matthew 24.

So prophecy includes all of Scripture as well as all teaching and preaching and counseling of the truths of Scripture.

How then are we tempted to quench the Holy Spirit and to despise prophecies in our lives? What is Paul warning us against?

We can despise prophecy, quenching the Holy Spirit, in at least three ways:

1) Not listening to the prophetic Word in a worship service.

The word simply goes in one ear and then out the other. We are distracted. We think of what we will do in the afternoon, or focus on the cute baby sitting in front of us, or correct the speaker’s grammar or pronunciation.

2) Listening and agreeing to the prophetic Word, and then living as if we never heard it.

We may even call out, “Amen!” We may congratulate the speaker on a wonderful exposition. But if we do not live out those truths, we have despised prophecy and quenched the Spirit.

3) Similarly, reading or hearing biblical truths outside of worship services, and then failing to live out those truths.

A friend may provide us with biblical counsel, which we ignore. Or we may read the Word at 6am – and then by 7am completely forget what we read.

These are all ways we despise prophecy and quench the work of the Holy Spirit through His Word.

What then is the opposite of despising prophesy and quenching the Spirit?

Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

When we are Bible-saturated, when the Word permeates all we do, when the Holy Spirit takes that prophetic Word and teaches us, corrects us, reproves us, and trains us in righteousness, sanctifying us completely, setting us apart for God and using us to advance His purposes – then we avoid despising prophecy and quenching the Spirit.

Thus this passage has little to do with whether or not someone should stand up in a worship service and give a spontaneous word from God. Whether or not such activities occur in our worship services, we are all tempted to quench the Spirit and despise prophecies in these three ways.

So the Apostle’s point here is broader than his point in 1 Corinthians 14. Indeed, his point here is foundational. He says, “As you live in these last days, live by the Spirit-inspired Word. Walk by the Spirit as He leads you by God’s Word. The Word must dwell in you richly as the Spirit opens up the Word, bringing to mind what you have read, enabling you to apply what you know. That is the only way to become what God intends you to be, the only way to be the church, to be salt and light, to be His ambassadors to this fallen, sinful, hurting world.”

May we all live by God’s Word by the Spirit’s power day by day, hour by hour. May we remember what God has revealed, and may that Word dwell richly in us. May we pray that the Holy Spirit would enable us to apply that Word to our thoughts, attitudes, and desires, and so may we be transformed by the renewal of our minds.

In this way may we be ready for our Lord’s return, holding fast the prophetic word and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

[This devotion is based on part of the 2/20/22 sermon. The video of that service is available at this link; the audio of the sermon will be available at this link shortly.]

 

What Do We Need to Know about End Times and Why Do We Need to Know It?

What do we need to know about end times and why do we need to know it?

Revelation speaks of end times more than any other book of the Bible. There’s an interesting promise at the beginning of that book:

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)

The last chapter repeats the promise: Jesus is speaking:

“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” (Revelation 22:7)

Who receives the blessing? Who will be blessed by reading, hearing, and keeping what is written in book of Revelation?

  • EVERYONE who reads, hears, and keeps these words,
  • EVERYONE in the first century, when the book was written,
  • EVERYONE during the Middle Ages,
  • EVERYONE at the time of Luther and Calvin,
  • EVERYONE today:
  • EVERYONE who reads hears and keeps these words IN WHATEVER CENTURY.

That implies: These teachings are helpful to all believers in Jesus of all times. Furthermore: that means that the book of Revelation specifically and biblical teaching on end times in general are not primarily concerned to give a timetable of future events. For how would a believer in 100AD be blessed by a timetable of events more than 2000 years in the future? Indeed, how could any reader of the book keep the words of the prophecy if they were primarily giving a timetable?

Instead: Biblical teaching on end times is given so that today we might live to God’s glory, rejoicing in Him, whatever our circumstances.

With that in mind, consider 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2. Paul has just explained that when Jesus returns, all believers from all time will be with Him forever, in new bodies. Then he writes:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Paul says they need read no more about times and seasons. Why? For they already know what they need to know. They already are aware that Jesus will return unexpectedly. Jesus had said, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven” (Matthew 24:36). Paul had evidently taught them that in his short time in Thessalonica.

And yet, despite that clear statement of our Lord, despite Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:1, many Christian teachers have declared over the years, “Jesus will return on such and such a date.” Why? Because we’re curious. We want to know what God has not revealed to us. And friends, God is under no obligation to satisfy our curiosity.

He does not tell us when Jesus will return. Any person who says he or she knows that date is either a liar or is self-deceived.

Now: in Matthew 24 and elsewhere, Jesus does speak of precursors, signs that indicate the end is near. We are to pay attention. But these are generic enough that all Christians over the centuries have been able to see at least some of them in events during their day. Thus they serve to keep all believers of all time ready for His return.

So today we want to examine 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, asking the question the question above: What do we need to know about end times and why do we need to know it?

Our outline is simple:

  • What do we need to know?
  • Why do we need to know it?
  • What do we NOT need to know?
  • Humility With Firm Convictions

What do we need to know?

In the two previous sermons on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, we’ve seen that Paul makes several rather simple points about end times. Let’s highlight four of them – four truths that Paul must think are important for us to know.

1) Jesus will return.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. (1 Thessalonians 4:16)

2) All those in Christ, from all times, will be with Jesus forever.

And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16b-17)

3) The time of Jesus’ return is unknown; it will be sudden.

4) Jesus’ opponents will be destroyed

The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:2b-3)

It’s not complicated. We can summarize Paul’s teaching in this passage on end times succinctly:

At an unknown future time, Jesus will return suddenly. He will raise the dead in Christ and gather them to Himself together with all living believers, and they will be with Him for all eternity. At the same time, He will overwhelm and destroy all who continue to rebel against Him.

You need to know at least those four truths. Why? Because each of those truths has an impact on you today.

Why do we need to know it?

These truths help us today in at least three ways. We learn the first from other passages; we can see the second and third in today’s text.

1) To warn those who are self-deceived about salvation

Consider these three passages:

Jesus dictates to the church in Sardis:

“You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. … Wake up!… If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. (From Revelation 3:1,3)

Hebrews 10:26-27:

“If we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire
that will consume the adversaries.

Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Judgment is coming – and those who are part of the visible church, thinking they are saved when they are not, are in the most dangerous position of all. For they hear the call to repent and think, “That doesn’t apply to me!”

This truth about the final condemnation of professed believers serves today to warn us, to cause us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And that is a blessing today.

Now, understand: The point is not: “All professed Christians, fear judgment! Every time you sin, doubt your salvation!” The point is rather: Believe in the Lord Jesus! And keep believing in Him! See Him as Savior, Master, and Treasure! Repent when you sin! Delight in Him more than in all world has to offer! Seek to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him, to enjoy Him! Then you can look to His return with eager expectation, rather than with a fear of impending judgment.

That’s the first reason we need to know these truths.

2) So that today we might be sober

Recall from last week that 1 Thessalonians 5 speaks twice of being sober:

  • So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)
  • But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

Last week we emphasized that we are sober when we think clearly about the truths God teaches us in His Word. To be sober is to have our minds shaped and renewed by His Word so that we see the world as it really is rather than as it appears.

What do we need to think clearly about?

At least four big questions:

a) Who is God?

He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is Creator of all. He is the sovereign ruler of all. He is working all things together for the glory of his Name and the good of His people. He is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, but He will by no means clear the guilty.

b) Who is man?

Made in God’s image. The pinnacle of His creation. But we are fallen, sinful, and rebellious. God the Son, however, took on flesh, and lived the life we should have lived. He died as a sacrifice, paying the penalty for our sins. If we believe in Him, the benefits of that death accrue to us: we are God’s beloved children, precious in His sight, forgiven, accepted, and redeemed.

c) What about unredeemed mankind?

Many among the unredeemed will attack God’s people, threatening them, persecuting them, mocking them, even killing them. Yet God will open the eyes of some of them, bringing them to Himself (as He did with the Apostle Paul). The rest of the unredeemed will face sudden destruction and eternal punishment. So don’t fear them. They have no power against God.

d) What about the topics that dominate most men’s thoughts?

Consider politics, accomplishments, technology, entertainment, money, and possessions. Realize that all will be destroyed. Only what is done for God’s glory will last.

We must think clearly about those big questions. Biblical teaching on end times is vital in this regard. For the truths that we need to know about end times teach us:

  • That God is indeed king now and forever
  • That His opponents who look so powerful have no ultimate power
  • That His people who look so weak are strong in Him
  • That He fulfills every promise, every purpose.

So: Why do we need to know these truths about end times? First, those who are self-deceived about salvation can be warned. Second, so that we think soberly about these big questions. Third:

3) So that we can live rightly today

Scripture highlights both right thinking and right acting. This basic teaching on end times helps with both.

Today, when we all have email and cell phones, it’s hard to imagine knowing someone will return, but not knowing when. If a loved one is to be an hour or two late, we expect to be informed.

But try to put yourself back a couple of hundred years. Imagine your husband or father must leave home. He’s not sure how long the journey will take. He may be gone only weeks, but it could drag on to years. Yet he promises: “I will return. Expect me. Have confidence in me. Trust me. Be ready for me.”

Night after night. Month after month. Year after year, you look. Every day you are prepared. Ready. Expectant.

When one day leads to another and he does not return, you are tempted to discouragement, tempted to give up hope. But you persevere, remembering his promise: “I will return.”

Then one day – a day that seems like all the others – the door opens: There he is! You run to him, embrace him, hug him, kiss him! He has come – just as he said.

These basic teachings about end times are like that husband’s promise. They help us persevere in hope today so that right now we can live in light of his return.

Our passage highlights three aspects of right living:

a) As our story emphasizes, we are to be ready for Jesus’s return every day (1 Thessalonians 5:6).

b) We are to live today for Him

Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:8-9)

He has destined or appointed us to obtain salvation. That’s the purpose of our existence – to glorify Him. He has given us, He has dressed us with, the breastplate of saving faith and effective love as well as the helmet of the hope of salvation. Fitted out with such faith, hope, and love, He has destined us for joy with Him. So live like that today! Your life is about Jesus! You have no good from Jesus! So live for Him.

c) Live with Him today

[The Lord Jesus] died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:10, emphasis added)

The basic truths about end times tell us we will live with Him for all eternity. So begin eternity now! Live that out now! He is with you today. His Spirit indwells you. So glorify and enjoy forever the God who is with you.

What do we NOT need to know

Go back to 1 Thessalonians 5:1:

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware [and then Paul reminds them of these basic truths] (emphasis added)

Neither Paul nor Jesus nor John nor Daniel sets out clearly the exact order of events in the last days spoken of in these different passages. Neither Paul nor Jesus nor John nor Daniel sets out clearly the details of those last days or the details of what the new heavens and new earth will be like.

Why?

Because we only need to know what will help us live to God’s glory today.

As stated earlier: God doesn’t care about satisfying our curiosity. He cares about glorifying Himself through His people. He cares about conforming us to the image of Jesus. He cares about our joy in Him

So we can have attitude of David in Psalm 131:

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Meditate on what He has clearly revealed. Trust Him to fulfill those clear promises. Live today for Him and with Him. Your following Him does not depend on your discovering what He has not clearly revealed.

Humility With Firm Convictions

Before concluding, let me address a wider, related question: How do we teach and lead on controversial topics, those that Bible-believing Christians disagree on?

My point is not: “Only teach and emphasize what all Bible-believing Christians agree on.” For we disagree on some vitally important matters.

We should have convictions, as Paul says when speaking of such disagreements:

Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)

I have no problem with those who convictions about end times teaching go well beyond the basic outline we emphasized today.

But we all must have humility, so that we give grace to one another, so that we are able to listen to one another, to test what each is saying.

Let me make a confession – I am not perfect! Maybe some of you have noticed that! I am not Jesus, so I am not perfect. Thus, I know some of my theology is wrong – I just don’t know what. If I did, I would change it.

So it is right to have strong convictions and to listen – to my fellow elders, to you all, to others today, to other teachers across the centuries.

If I’m teaching on a topic which is in dispute, I must test my interpretation to see if it is idiosyncratic. If so, I need to check it more thoroughly by seeing how it meshes with the context of the passage and with the entire storyline of Scripture. I need to interact with other interpreters who come to different conclusions.

If after that checking I’m still convinced my unusual interpretation is correct, how should I preach? As if anyone who disagrees is a heretic? No. I may well say something like, “I’ve become convinced this passage is saying X. Consider if that might be helpful for you.”

On this morning’s controversial topic: In my opinion, it is an error to require all members of a church or even all elders to agree on a particular interpretation of the timing and order of events. For such details are not the main point of any biblical passage that teaches on eschatology, and the application of those passages to our lives today do not depend on one interpretation on those issues. Indeed, to focus on timing and order distracts from main application point of those passages.

So, yes, study the Scriptures and have firm convictions. And be humble, recognizing that some of your firm convictions are wrong.

Conclusion

Peter tells us that God has granted us “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) – that is: everything we need to live today to His glory, everything we need to be redeemed, to be incorporated into His body, His church – everything we need to rejoice in Him always, to depend on Him, to serve Him, to be His ambassadors.

But He has not granted us everything that will satisfy our curiosity.

He assures us: Jesus will return. All in Jesus from all centuries will be raised with Him forever. He will return suddenly, without warning. He will destroy His enemies.

  • Focus on those truths.
  • Live today in light of those truths
  • Trust Him today to return at exactly the right time

All that happens today is preparatory, one further step along the road that leads to the new heavens and new earth, one further advance toward Jesus’ return.

He is coming back.

Are you ready – today?

[This sermon was preached 2/13/22. The audio is available at this link.]

A Picture of Mao in Hell

[Sunday February 6 we consider 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, which says in part: “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” Randy Alcorn’s book Safely Home attempts to describe what this destruction looks like. The book tells the story of Ben Fielding, a high-powered corporate executive in a multinational firm with factories in China, and Li Quan, Ben’s college roommate whom he locates after twenty years and visits. Expecting Li to be a successful university professor, Ben instead finds that his Harvard-educated friend is a strong believer in Jesus, a leader in a house church, and – because of persecution – a locksmith’s apprentice. Li Quan’s faith, the persecution that he encounters, and Ben’s reaction to that persecution form the structure of the novel. Alcorn is not trying to write great literature; instead, he is trying to communicate biblical truth in a way that is engaging, interesting, and accessible. By that standard, this book is excellent. Alcorn is a reliable interpreter of the Word, and uses the medium of the novel to teach:

  • the reality of persecution today;
  • how to fight the fight of faith in the midst of suffering;
  • the reality of the spiritual world around us;
  • the nature of heaven;
  • the nature of hell

After reading the first hundred pages, I found myself praying more regularly and more fervently for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. That alone makes reading Safely Home worthwhile. I strongly recommend it.

Below find Alcorn’s picture of Mao Zedong – the founder of the People’s Republic of China – in hell. Read it – and weep – and witness – Coty]

Where is my palace? Where are my servants? Does no one know who I am?

The vast, cold darkness cut into his face. It felt like intense frostbite, burning his skin.

I was the most powerful man in Zhongguo. I created the People’s Republic. I was the revered father of my country. They worshiped me. I was god! He waited, listening to the silence. Cannot anyone hear me?

His voice disappeared into the great dark void. It did not echo, for there was nothing for it to echo off. It was immediately absorbed into infinite nothingness. His words went no farther than his blistered lips.

A parade of untold millions marched inside his mind’s eye. His sentence was to relive the suffering of each of his victims. He had been here over twenty-five years. Every minute of those years he had relived the sufferings he inflicted on others. Every torture his regime inflicted he now received, one after the next after the next. Eventually, perhaps, they would start over, so the millions he had already endured were but the first installment. The pain was unbearable, yet he had no choice but to bear it. There was no escape into unconsciousness – no drug to take, no sleeping pill, no alcohol. That which he had laid upon others was now laid upon him – endlessly, relentlessly.

He longed to pluck out his eyes, to keep from seeing what he saw, to puncture his eardrums to keep from hearing the wailing misery, to pull out his tongue to keep from tasting the awfulness he had legislated. But he had no ability to destroy himself. He had no control now over his destiny, no power over himself or others. There was no one he could command to fix the situation, no one to prepare him an eight-course meal to assuage the eternal hunger, no one to do his work, no one to punish for their errors. No one to salute him, cower at his voice, or bow heads in his presence.

Where is everyone?

Misery loves company, and he had long sought the consolation of others. But all others were still on earth, secure in heaven, or confined to their own private hells at distances immeasurable.

The aloneness was stifling. He could hear nothing but his victims’ cries, feel nothing but their pain, see nothing but their blood, taste nothing but their vomit, sense nothing but their torture. He had only himself. He could not enjoy his own company, for he saw himself as he really was. It was an ugly sight, revolting beyond comprehension.

He felt a burning. A fury welled up inside him. Anger and bitterness, unfocused hostility, frustration leading him to lash out. But there was no one to lash out at. No incompetent aide, no dissident, no Christian pastor, no helpless peasant. No one to beat or shoot or hang or starve. No one to cower in fear at the power of the great chairman, architect of the Republic. No one to shine his shoes or rub lotion upon his burning feet.

Grief and rage warred within him. His hell was a growing cancer, gnawing at him, eating away at him, devouring him. He was like a bush that burned yet was not consumed, so the burning could never stop.

He had come to death entirely unprepared – and now it was too late to prepare. If the torture was not enough, a sickening feeling of foreboding had gripped him from his first moments here. He had hoped it would subside, that he would get used to it. He hadn’t. It only got worse.

He could see now through all his rationalizations. His arguments against belief in a Creator had never been intellectual ones, as he had claimed. By rejecting a Creator he thought he could rid himself of a Judge. But it had not worked. His atheism had been the opiate of his soul and the executioner of uncalculated millions. But now his comforting atheism could no longer exist, even for a fleeting moment, for he had been forever stripped of the power to deny reality.

He had lived his short todays as if there were no long tomorrows. He had believed the lie that all were accountable to him and he was accountable to none. He had believed the lie that death would slip him into eternal unconsciousness. He knew now – how well he knew – the curse of always being awake, ever alert, unable to allay his suffering with a moment’s sleep or distraction.

The winds of hell blew upon him. On them floated sounds of laughter and joy from a place far distant. These voices were torture. Many he recognized as belonging to Christians he had persecuted, worshipers of the Carpenter he had murdered. He relived what he had done to them, this time on the other end of the cattle prod. By the time he had died, while he and all he stood for were in decline, they and all they embraced were in ascent. They had beaten him. Their King had dethroned him even in the other life – how much more in this one.

As they celebrated in their far-off realm, at first he had imagined they were cursing him, celebrating his demise. He thought of them as his eternal enemies who would forever speak of what a great foe he had been to them. But he had come to realize something far worse. They did not curse him. They did not relive his great campaigns against him. No. They simply did not think of him at all. He was unimportant. Insignificant. In the eternal scheme of things, he did not matter.

Not matter? How dare they ignore me! Don’t they know who I am?

He had said, “I want there to be no God; I want nothing to do with him.” His atheist’s prayer had been answered. The everywhere-present God had chosen to withdraw his presence from this single place, turning it into a cosmic desert. This was a ghetto of massive proportions, yet so small it could slip through a single crack in the tiles of heaven. It was located in some distant and empty place, never to be feared or even stumbled upon by the citizens of Charis. His life, with all his supposed accomplishments, was but a puff of smoke, dissipating into nothingness.

Stop what you’re doing and listen to me! Stop or I will… I will…

No power to give meaning to a threat. No reason to be listened to. And no one to hear him.

Thirst without water to quench it. Hunger without food to satisfy it. Loneliness without company to alleviate it. There was no God here. He’d gotten his wish. On earth he’d managed to reject God while still enjoying his blessings and provisions. But it was excruciatingly clear now that God was the author of good. Therefore the absence of God meant the absence of good. He could not have it both ways, not here. No God, no good. Forever.

He had wanted a world where no one else was in charge, where no order was forced upon him. He had finally gotten it. He had secretly wondered if there was something beyond death, but if he went to hell, he’d fully expected to rule there. Yet there was no king, for there were no subjects. Only one prisoner – himself – in eternal solitary confinement.

He missed the sound of laughter. There was no laughter here, nor could there be, for laughter cannot exist without joy or hope. An awful realization gripped him. There was no history here. No story line. No opening scene, no developing plot, no climax, no resolution. No character development. No travel, no movement. Only a setting of constant nothingness, going nowhere. Excruciating, eternal boredom. Nothing to distract him from the torment of the eternal now.

He had charmed his friends and cheated his enemies, but death he could not cheat, hell he could not charm. This nameless, ever-shriveling man writhed in terror. Faced with his own deeds, punished by them, he was receiving in himself the penalty for what he had done. He longed for a visit from a foreign dignitary, delivered by a courier, a request for an audience in his illustrious presence. But no. He knew now none would ever come, or even want to. He could not return to Beijing – and knew Beijing itself would soon be gone, a flower withered in a summer’s wind. Perhaps it was gone already.

No one to fear him. No one to revere him. No one to hear him. No one to think about him.

He who had claimed to be savior was forever without a Savior. Ignored and insignificant. Empty and embittered and regretful. Without a following. Without a heart. Without a hope.

Forever, time without end.

[From Safely Home by Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House, 2001), p. 327-330. The first chapter of the book is available online. Visit www.epm.org for more resources from the author, or to order the book. Note that all royalties from its sale are used to help persecuted Christians and to spread the Gospel in their countries.]

 

What Leads to Abortion?

January 22 marked the 49th anniversary of the Roe v Wade Supreme Court decision that overturned limitations on abortion in almost every state. Since that time, about 60 million unborn children have been aborted in this country.

Three years after that decision, I was a 20-year-old junior at Davidson. I professed Christ, but thought I knew better than Scripture what was right and what was wrong. I had been in a relationship for more than a year with a young woman – let’s call her Susan. We were involved sexually –that was one area where I thought my moral judgment was superior to Scripture. But I thought – if we are involved this way, we should be responsible and make plans for what we would do should she become pregnant. So I told her: Should that happen, we can get an abortion in Charlotte.

Susan said something like: “I don’t want to get pregnant. We’ll be careful so there’s little likelihood that I’ll get pregnant. But should that happen- I want to keep our baby.”

She said: “Our baby.”

I had thought of the possible pregnancy as

  • inconvenient,
  • unsettling,
  • a distraction from our plans,
  • a problem we would have to deal with.

And Susan said: “Our baby.”

She rightly saw that possible pregnancy as the beginning of a life – the life of our child. I, that potential child’s father, had planned to do away with him or her. That is: had planned to kill him or her. If – as Jesus says – a man who lusts after a woman has already committed adultery (Matthew 5:27-28), surely the man who would have advocated abortion, who planned to pay for an abortion, is already guilty of it. I am guilty.

I’m sad to say that that sobering moment in 1976 did not lead to an immediate change in my actions or in my attitude. But her statement did plant a seed that eventually sprouted and grew to a horror over abortion.

I tell that story to make clear: I’m guilty of this evil. If you have had an abortion or if you have advocated for an abortion, I share your guilt. Indeed, the message of this sermon is: All of us are guilty of what leads to abortion. The same factors that influence mothers to abort their children, the same factors that lead fathers to want their children aborted, influence all of us, tempt all of us to assert our autonomy and reject the God of the universe.

We guilty sinners have only one hope. And that one hope is a merciful and gracious God Who sent His Son to die for guilty sinners like us so that we might believe in Him and so be saved. We need to believe this Gospel. And we need the light of God’s Word to shine its truth on us, clarifying our thoughts, laying bare the lies, the falsehoods that lead us down the path to destruction. I pray that God would do that now, even in this sermon.

Three headings today:

  • Abortion Kills a Person
  • What Leads to Abortion?
  • What Does God Say?

Abortion Kills a Person

For many years abortion advocates argued that the fetus (and of course they deliberately use that technical-sounding term Instead of “baby” or “child” or “infant” – words matter) is just a lump of tissue, part of the mother’s body, and thus has no more moral standing than your appendix. Such statements are less prevalent now, in part because of the advances in ultrasound technology – we now can see these little ones only a handful of weeks after conception.

But thousands of years before ultrasounds, God made clear in His revelation: That “fetus” is a person, is a human baby. We’ll note three ways He does that this morning (we could add more).

First: Scripture uses the same word for children before and after birth.

As noted, those who advocate abortion consciously use “fetus” to distinguish that supposed lump of tissue from a baby. The authors of Scripture – and thus God Himself – use the same word in both Hebrew and Greek. Check it out. Genesis 25:22 refers to Jacob and Esau in the womb by the same Hebrew word used for Moses after he is born in Exodus 2:2. In the New Testament, Luke 1:41 refers to John the Baptist in Elizabeth’s womb by the same word used of Jesus after He is born in the next chapter (Luke 2:12).

Second: John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb.

That’s what the angel Gabriel says (Luke 1:15). Your appendix cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit. A lump of tissue cannot respond to the presence of the incarnate Son of God (also in utero) as the unborn John the Baptist does in Luke 1:41.

Third: David – and all of us – were sinners the moment we were conceived.

David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5 ESV). Or, as the NET renders that verse: “Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.” As the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans 5, sin entered the world through Adam, and all of us inherit that sin, then add to it. An appendix cannot be a sinner.

So, yes: Unborn children are human persons. Scripture makes that clear. Abortion kills a person.

What leads to abortion?

Listen to the following statements. Do they sound familiar?

  • “My body is mine – I can do what I want with it!”
  • “As long as I’m not hurting someone else, who are you to tell me what is right and wrong?”
  • “I know who I am. Only I can know who I am. I know what I need to do to fulfill who I am.”

These are all claims to autonomy, to independence, to self-sovereignty. Though people rarely refer explicitly to God in such statements, implicitly they are saying, “My body is mine, not God’s;” “God can’t tell me what is right and wrong;” “God can’t tell me who I am, what I need to do to fulfill who I am.”

You can see how such attitudes lead to abortion:

  • “My uterus is part of my body – I can do what I want with it.”
  • “This fetus is part of my body – I know it’s right to get rid of it.”
  • “I know that having a baby now would not fulfill my identity, so I will do away with it”

Some who make statements like these then proceed with abortions, apparently with no qualms. Some are even proud of their abortions. Others go into abortion with many qualms and misgivings, thinking, “I’m trapped – all options are terrible, all seem bad – but abortion seems the least bad.” Or, someone with a church background who in the past has thought abortion to be wrong might think, “I can’t follow what God says because it’s too hard, too painful, too disruptive.” While even others are more like my 20-year-old self, not pondering the issue at all, just assuming abortion to be the responsible, right action.

But, you see, both those with qualms and those who are unthinking are, like those with no qualms, rejecting God’s sovereignty and asserting their autonomy. They are acting as if there is no God ruling over them, as if they are not created, contingent beings.

This attitude leads to abortion. This attitude leads to almost every sin. It’s often unstated. It’s often not even conscious. But when we reject what God says and choose our own path, we say by our actions, “You do not rule me, God. I rule myself.”

What Does God Say?

We could look at many specific statements from Scripture to combat this attitude. In a bit, we will look at a few. But the primary, most powerful argument against this attitude, comes from the overarching story of the Bible. Here’s a summary:

God created mankind for a purpose: To glorify Him by trusting Him, depending on Him, and enjoying Him forever. But the first man and the first woman rejected that purpose by asserting their autonomy. They acted as if they knew better than God what was in their own interest. So believing Satan’s lie, they rebelled against God. All of us since then, throughout history, are infected with that rebellion.

God would have been just, He would have been righteous to destroy all humanity after that initial rebellion. Instead, He instituted a plan – a plan to create a new, redeemed, perfected humanity that would fulfill His purpose.

He promised that a descendant of the first woman would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15). Later He chose one man, Abram, out of this rebellious world, and promised that through his descendant God would bless all the families of the nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Although his descendants, the Hebrews, are rebellious themselves century after century, od continues to carry out His plan faithfully. He shows them that sin and rebellion necessitate a death if justice is to be done. Eventually from His people He raises up a king, David, and promises that this man’s descendant will rule over an eternal kingdom of righteousness and peace (2 Samuel 7:12-16, Isaiah 9:6-7). Indeed, He promises that a suffering servant will take on himself the just punishment for the people’s rebellion (Isaiah 53:4-6).

The people clearly show that they cannot fix themselves. God’s plan, God’s action alone can fulfill His purpose for humanity. They are dependent. He is sovereign.

So, at exactly the right time, God sent His Son Jesus into the world. He alone of all those born to women was not infected with sin from conception. He alone of all humanity loved God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day. He alone of all humanity loved every person He encountered as He loved Himself. Thus He alone of all humanity did not deserve to die for His own sins.

Fulfilling God’s plan, rebellious humans then killed Him, nailing Him to the cross. Through that act, God fulfilled the promise of a suffering servant dying for the sins of His people. God then raised Him from the dead, exalting Him to His right hand, where He reigns until He returns to crush Satan’s head and to conquer all rebels, establishing His promised eternal kingdom. God then sent His Holy Spirit to open the eyes of rebels, to bring us to faith in Jesus, and to empower us to go to every tribe, tongue, people, and nation to speak this Gospel. God thereby is fulfilling His promise to Abram that some from every people group will believe. We see that great fulfillment in Revelation 7:9-12.

That’s the story of the Bible.

It’s not the existentialist story of courageous men and women looking inside themselves, deciding who they are, and boldly striking out on their own to fulfill their purpose.

It’s a story:

  • of man’s inability and God’s ability,
  • of man’s evil and God’s goodness,
  • of our moral darkness, and God’s moral light,
  • of man’s repeated failures, and God’s continual faithfulness,
  • of man’s dependence on God for anything good and God’s grace in showering us with undeserved goodness.

That overarching story shows clearly that the lies that lead to abortion and other sins are indeed lies. Only God can tell us what is right and wrong. Only God can tell us how to fulfill our purpose. We do not belong to ourselves. We belong to Him by right of creation – He made us for Himself – and by right of redemption – He gives us life when our rebellion deserves death.

Although we can draw those conclusions from the overarching story of the Bible, as promised, now let’s look at some specific texts that counter the three primary lies mentioned above. Having seen the big story, the specific statements become that much more powerful.

First Lie: “My body is my own.”

The Word: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,  for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Your body is not your own. Your body belongs to God.

Second Lie: “Only I can decide what is right and wrong for me.”

The Word: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

The Hebrews word translated “heart” refers not only to desires, but to the entire inner self, including the mind. This verse tells us that we cannot think straight. Our moral sense fails, again and again and again. We rationalize and justify all sorts of evil. The story of the Bible brings this out hundreds of times. Thus Proverbs 28:26: “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered [by God].” (The word translated “mind” in this verse is the same word translated “heart” in Jeremiah 17:9). Similarly Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Think of walking along a trail and coming to a fork. The trail to the right looks easy, while the trail to the left looks exceptionally challenging. The trail to the right seems better – but God tells you what you can’t know on your own: There is great danger around the corner of the supposedly easier trail. Will you believe Him?

Third Lie: “Only I can forge my identity. God’s way would hinder me from becoming who I really am.”

The Word: Isaiah 48:17: “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go” (emphasis added). He has to teach us to profit, to teach us what will be to our good. Indeed, that’s why He gives us commandments: Deuteronomy 10:13 (NET):  “Keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving you today for your own good” (emphasis added). His commandments are not arbitrary. Nor are they simply His preferences, for His good. His way, His road, is the road to life – as Isaiah 55:1-3 tells us:

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
and he who has no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live (emphasis added).

Far from hindering you from becoming who you really are, God’s way is the way to true life, to true joy, to true fulfillment.

So we’ve seen both from the overarching story of the Bible and from specific texts that the attitudes that lead to abortion and other sins are all lies. They are falsehoods. They lead in the end to sorrow, to failure, to death, to destruction.

Instead of such arrogant, rebellious attitudes, Scripture tells us:

  • Come to God as little children;
  • Submit to His wisdom, His strength;
  • Delight in your dependence on Him.

As Jesus says in Matthew 18:3: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” So the Psalmist writes:

O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 131).

When we become like children, we come to God acknowledging that we don’t know what is best for us. My three-year-old grandson Simon apart from his parents’ intervention would eat nothing but fruit. Similarly my 7-month-old grandson Shepherd would gobble up watermelon, even though it gives him hives. They need loving guidance; they need restrictions; so do we all. God graciously gives us such guidance in His Word – through its overall story and through specific texts.

Conclusion

As you know, the Supreme Court is considering a case that could overturn Roe v Wade. I pray that that happens. But while that would reduce dramatically the number of abortions in many states, abortions would continue – and would probably increase – in other states. And all the other sins that flow out of the attitudes that lead to abortion would continue as before.

Our hope is not in a Supreme Court decision. Our hope is in God – in His mercy, in His grace, in the power of the Gospel through the Holy Spirit. So I ask you:

  • Have you had an abortion?
  • Have you advised someone else to have an abortion?
  • Would you – like me – have argued for abortion or had an abortion in case of an unplanned pregnancy?

Confess that to God – and to a strong Christian. Jesus died to take on Himself the punishment for that sin – if you throw yourself on God’s mercy. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). You can be clean before a holy and righteous God. Confess. Trust Him. A broken and contrite heart He will not despise (Psalm 51:17).

And I ask you:

  • How has this cultural obsession with autonomy affected you?
  • How have these same attitudes led you into sins other than abortion?

The exhortation to you is the same: Confess. Repent. Throw yourself on God’s mercy. Identify those wrong attitudes – those wrong attitudes that bombard us every day in this culture. Turn from them. Become like a child before God, basking in His love, crying out to Him in your pain, submitting to His wise counsel. Come to the Father through the sacrifice of the Son by the power of the Spirit. God redeems rebels:

  • Rebels who acknowledge they are children before God
  • Rebels who acknowledge they are dependent on God
  • Rebels who know that true life is found only in Jesus.

I’m a sinner. From the moment I was conceived I have been a rebel. So please join this rebel. Come to God. And know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and broken by the fall;
If you tarry ’til you’re better,
You will never come at all.

Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream;
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him. (Joseph Hart, 1759)

[This sermon was preached January 23, 2022. The audio is available here.]

DGCC Pastoral Search

Desiring God Community Church in Charlotte NC is beginning a search for a pastor. 

The new pastor will begin as a full-time associate pastor, with the intention of his becoming senior pastor when Coty Pinckney, the planting pastor in 2003, transitions to part-time associate pastor. We expect this transition to happen by the end of 2022. 

Applicants will agree enthusiastically with the DGCC core values and Statement of Faith Governing Teaching. The resources linked in the topical index on the website give a yet broader view of the teaching of the church on a variety of issues.

DGCC is a church with Cross Cultural Missions at its core, not simply as a program. We value being “a church of the nations, with ministries to the nations in Charlotte and around the world.” We presently have a Swahili service each Sunday afternoon following the English service. DGCC has about 60 adult members; around 50 non-members attend the Swahili service. 

In addition to the usual pastoral responsibilities of the ministry of the Word, prayer, pastoral care, counseling, and vision-casting, DGCC would especially benefit from a pastor with skills in helping translate vision into practice. Candidates will be elder-qualified according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and well-trained in theology, biblical exposition, and language. They will be eager to serve on an elder team that works harmoniously for the glory of God and the good of the church. We value experience serving as an elder, but may choose to consider especially strong candidates without such experience. 

Desiring God Church is part of the Treasuring Christ Together Network, and the new pastor will have significant involvement in the network. After the congregation votes to call the pastor, he will be assessed by the network, and network resources will be available to assist him in becoming more and more what God intends him to be.

Interested persons seeking more information prior to applying are welcome to email searchteam@desiringGodchurch.org. 

In addition to a cover letter and resume, please send us a completed application by March 31. 

 

Perfection and Discouragement

Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

Perfect? Like God? In this life, I’ll never be perfect. So what does that statement mean?

In Matthew 5 Jesus builds up to that statement:

  • “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13).
  • “You are the light of the world…. let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16).
  • “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

Our Lord then gives several examples of ways the scribes and Pharisees fall short of the true meaning of the law by redefining it to be achievable by their own efforts. He then concludes with the statement about perfection. We are to be “sons of your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:45), taking on His family resemblance, showing what He is like. This is the purpose of both our creation (Isaiah 43:7) and our redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14).

But how do we live this out? How do we hold to a standard of perfection, of Christlikeness, without despairing of our ability to attain it?

The Apostle Paul helps us do this through what he writes to the believers in Thessalonica:

Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).

Paul commends them for their love – they are exhibiting the type of love that all Christians should have for one another. Yet, in instructing them to “do this more and more,” he implies that their love is not yet perfect.

We can learn how to live as imperfect people called to perfection by distinguishing among our goal, our practice, and our standing.

  • Our goal: Perfection, complete Christlikeness, loving with His love.
  • Our practice: Increasing in Christlikeness, loving more and more.
  • Our standing: Loved in Christ Jesus, accepted in Christ Jesus, forgiven in Christ Jesus.

The goal is clear: Conformity to Christ, complete sinlessness, shining with the glory of God. God promises to complete that good work in us after Jesus returns.

In the meantime, we aim for that goal, and are not satisfied with anything less. We hate the sin that obscures God’s image in us. But we praise God for ways that we are more closely taking on Jesus’ character, and strive to grow in those ways.

All the while, God accepts us fully because of the work of Jesus. He did not bring us into His family because of our works, and He does not keep us in His family because of our striving.

So do not get discouraged as you see how far short of perfection you fall. And do not redefine “perfection” to make it achievable. Instead, confident in your standing before God because of Jesus, strive for more and more love, for more and more Christlikeness, thanking Him for whatever ways you improve, asking for forgiveness through Jesus for the ways you fall short, and holding firmly to His promise that He will complete that good work in you.

The Treasure and Marvel in the Heart of Mary

[by Wil Hester]

What Mary Knew

The popular, modern Christmas song asks the question of what Mary knew about her son. As many have pointed out, God’s Word reveals Mary knew a number of things on that first Christmas.

  • She knew from the angel Gabriel that she was favored of God and that God was with her (Luke 1:28, 30).
  • She knew (just as the angel foretold) she had conceived and birthed a son while she was a virgin (Luke 1:31).
  • She knew her son was conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit, in the Most High’s overshadowing power (Luke 1:35a).
  • She knew he was to be called the Son of the Most High and named Jesus (Luke 1:31-32a).
  • She knew he was to inherit the throne of his father David, was to reign over the house of Jacob forever, and that his kingdom would be everlasting (Luke 1:32b-33).
  • She knew that He would be holy, even the Son of God (Luke 1:35b)!
  • From Joseph’s dream, she knew her boy was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, of a virgin bearing a son named Immanuel (God with us) who would save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21,23).
  • From her time with Elizabeth, she knew her son was the Lord who brought great joy to young and old alike (Luke 1:42-44).
  • In her response of praise, we see Mary knew God would mercifully use her son to help His servant Israel and fulfill His promises to Abraham’s offspring (Luke 1:54-55).

Though not explicitly stated, it is likely Mary knew and was thinking of Micah 5:2 (the ancient and strong ruler who was to come from Bethlehem) as she made the trek with Joseph to be registered. When you think of all these things, Mary knew so much! You readers likely know all these things about Jesus as well. And yet God had more to show Mary about Jesus – more that would bring wonder to Mary’s heart. Pay attention, because He has more for us as well.

What Mary Knew Grew

On at least three different occasions in the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel, he gives us insight into Mary’s reaction to remarkable things that took place. Likely these came from personal conversations others had with her later in life. In each of these, we see a sense of wonder, contemplation, and treasuring in Mary’s heart and soul.

The first instance comes after the visit of the shepherds. The shepherds were the first evangelists, making known to Mary, Joseph and others the good news that the angels had declared. This Child was the “good news of great joy that would be for all the people” (Luke 2:11). He was the “Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). He was the one who already had and would again bring much “glory to God and on earth peace among those with whom [the Lord] is pleased,” (Luke 2:14). Heavenly and earthly messengers sent by God were proclaiming to Mary that her Son was Christ the Lord. The prophecies and promises foretold were all coming true in one person- her Son, the Messiah and Lord! Mary’s response was that she “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”  We too must treasure again Jesus being the good news of great joy as our Savior and Lord. He brings glory to God and peace to all who look to Him as their only source of forgiveness and joy.

The second instance of Mary’s wonder comes as she and Joseph bring Jesus to be dedicated at the temple in obedience to Exodus 13:2, 12. Unexpectedly, Simeon takes Jesus in his arms. In a mixture of blessing and prophecy, he thanks God and tells Mary and Joseph that their Son will be a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory to Israel (Luke 2:34), affirming that Jesus is the Messiah. Mary and Joseph learn that His blessings will come to Gentiles as well as Jews. They therefore “marveled at what was said about Him” (Luke 2:33). So let us ask the Lord to expand our hearts again this year to marvel with Mary and Joseph that Jesus’ saving power has reached beyond the Jews, to us Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth!

The third instance comes after twelve-year-old Jesus goes missing for three days, and then is found in the temple with the teachers of the Law. When they express their concern, Jesus asks, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). Luke tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things in heart” (Luke 2:51). Treasure this Christmas that Jesus accomplished His Father’s business in His perfect obedience to his Father, His substitutionary death, and His resurrection.  And now again, He is in His Father’s house and expanding that house both in heaven and in and through redeemed sinners like us!

This season, make room for marveling and treasuring more of Jesus Christ. Ponder what He has shown us already, and look forward expectantly to what God will enable us to see of Him in our lives today, and on that Last Day when He returns!

Merry Christmas!

Rejoice Exceedingly with Great Joy!

Charlotte airport arrivals, Tuesday, almost midnight. My 3-year-old grandson Simon hasn’t seen me for four months. Pushed in his stroller around a corner, he notices me. His face lights up. Breaking into a huge smile, he cries out, “Papa!” He laughs and snuggles up against me.

I am near tears (a not uncommon occurrence these days!). Seeing me, Simon rejoices exceedingly with great joy.

Matthew uses those words to describe the wise men’s reaction when the star leads them to the infant King (Matthew 2:10). They have traveled far to worship Him, and they rejoice to see Him at long last.  Similarly, the angel tells the shepherds “good news of great joy” – their Savior is born, and they can see Him nearby, in Bethlehem (Luke 2:10).

In our present age, we do not yet have the joy of seeing Jesus in person. Yet we do have joy – just as Simon eagerly anticipated seeing Beth and me when his parents told him weeks ago about the upcoming trip. But then, upon their arrival, Simon’s joy seeing us face to face both fulfilled and surpassed the joy of that eager expectation.

Peter describes this present joy: “Though you have not seen [Jesus], you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8).

But this state of joyful expectation is temporary. Jesus will return. Our joy will be full. We will break into huge smiles and laugh. We will see Him face to face. We will see in that face the complete acceptance made possible by His sacrifice during His incarnation, the deep love that prompted that sacrifice, and His pure delight in welcoming us into His family forever.

This Christmas remember the “wonders of His love.” See this Jesus as your Savior, your King, your Treasure. And long to see Him face to face.