The Gospel According to Joseph: Humility

As we continue through the story of Joseph, Jacob, and Judah, there are so many great aspects of this story that we won't be able to cover from the pulpit. The passage at which we will be looking this week, Ge. 41, is one of the high points of this whole narrative. In it we see the climax of God's providential work in and through Joseph, and in it we also get a great look at Joseph's character.

Remember, one of the things we noted in the very beginning of this series is that we can often see the gospel in the development of characters in OT stories, i.e. gospel-change working in their lives. In the previous chapters of this narrative, we have seen Joseph become a man who endures and serves God faithfully wherever God has put him. However, in Ge. 41 we get the clearest picture of Joseph's developing character so far, and one of the things that stands out is the humility that God has developed in Joseph.

Humility is a tricky virtue to nail down. It's the one fruit of the Spirit that when we look at it or gaze upon it in ourselves, it immediately becomes something else. That's because true, gospel-driven, Christ-centered humility isn't what we might normally think of as "humble." I think we often think that the opposite of pride is self-abasing, but that's not true humility. True humility isn't talking or thinking about how bad we are and constantly bemoaning our flaws or sin in our own minds or before others. Constantly thinking about or pointing out how lowly we are is just another way of putting ourselves at the center when it is Christ that should be at the center. Furthermore, when do debase ourselves in our minds or before others, what creeps into minds after that is how great it is that we're so humble, and we become proud of being humble! Listen to what Jonathan Edwards has to say about this aspect of humility:

If on the proposal of the question [Are you humble?], you answer, "No, it seems to me, none are so bad as I." Don't let the matter pass off so; but examine again, whether or no you don't think yourself better than others on this very account, because you imagine you think so meanly of yourself. Haven't you a high opinion of this humility? And if you answer again, "No; I have not a high opinion of my humility; it seems to me I am as proud as the devil"; yet examine again, whether self-conceit don't rise up under this cover; whether on this very account, that you think yourself as proud as the devil, you don't think yourself to be very humble.

C. S. Lewis called this cycle of fighting self-admiration and then admiring yourself for defeating your self-admiration "like fighting the hydra... There seems to be no end to it. Depth under depths of self-love and self-admiration."

That's because humility is the one fruit of the Spirit that flourishes when our thoughts and our gaze are on Christ and others and not at ourselves at all! Humility isn't thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking about ourselves less. It is "blessed self-forgetfulness," as Tim Keller calls it. Lewis has a great statement about this in Mere Christianity:

Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all. [Emphasis added]

And, in Ge. 41, we see this kind of humility in Joseph when he stands before Pharaoh. In that moment, he has the chance to put himself in the spotlight. He has the chance to show Pharaoh how useful he could be to him or how he's been treated so unjustly, but he doesn't take it. In fact, it is remarkable how Joseph points the spotlight away from himself towards God. He doesn't give any hint of trying to impress Pharaoh with his abilities, self-abasement, or anything else. He simply serves God faithfully and let's God handle the rest. Before Pharaoh, Joseph isn't thinking about himself at all. He's self-forgetful, and that's because he finds his true, core identity in his relationship with God and nowhere else. And, that will be one of the things we talk about this Sunday from Ge. 41: true identity in Christ.

In the mean time, when you read through Ge. 41, make note of Joseph's humility and how it is in his self-forgetfulness, not self-abasing.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Happiness

O LORD,
Help me never to expect any happiness
  from the world, but only in Thee.
Let me not think that I shall be more happy
    by living to myself,
  for I can only be happy if employed for Thee,
  and if I desire to live in this world
  only to do and suffer what Thou dost allot me.
Teach me
  that if I do not live a life that satisfies Thee,
    I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself.
Help me to desire the spirit and temper of angels
  who willingly come down to this lower world
    to perform Thy will,
  though their desires are heavenly,
  and not set in the least upon earthly things;
    then I shall be of that temper I ought to have.
Help me not to think of living to Thee
    in my own strength,
  but always to look to and rely on Thee
    for assistance.
Teach me that there is no greater truth than this,
  that I can do nothing of myself.
Lord, this is the life that no unconverted man
    can live,
  yet it is an end that every godly soul
    presses after;
Let it be then my concern to devote myself
  and all to Thee.
Make me more fruitful and more spiritual,
  for barrenness is my daily affliction and load.
How precious is time, and how painful to see it fly
  with little done to good purpose!
I need Thy help:
O may my soul sensibly depend upon Thee
    for all sanctification,
  and every accomplishment of Thy purposes
    for me, for the world,
    and for Thy Kingdom.
~ "Happiness" from The Valley of Vision

If you have never read or used The Valley of Vision in your personal devotions, you are missing out on a great resource. It is a collection of Puritan prayers from Christ-exalting saints like Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, and many others, and it will bless your soul.

This particular prayer was one that I read this morning, and so many different lines caught my attention. (If you follow me on Twitter, you will find that my customary #MorningPrayers for next week will all come from this one prayer.)

• "Help me never to expect any happiness from the world..." Right out of the gate, the author reminds us that true happiness is found only in God. Certainly, He gives us gifts in this world that add to our happiness, but if we try to find our happiness in the gift without looking past the gift to the Giver, we will ultimately be disappointed. We will turn the gift into an idol, and those who worship idols become like them: empty. (cf. Ps. 115:4-8)
• "Let me not think that I shall be more happy by living to myself..." Again, the author reminds us of where our true happiness is. In our time and culture, we tend to think that we will find happiness if we live for ourselves or for some "noble cause" (which is just another form of living for ourselves). But, we were created to glorify God (Is. 43:7; 48:11; 1 Co. 10:31), and that is where we get the most joy (cf. Php. 4:4). The first question of the WSC shows us that these (i.e. God's glory and our happiness) are two aspects of our one end, which cannot be separated: What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. See how it is the "chief end" (singular) with two aspects? Jonathan Edwards did a great job of arguing this truth in The End for which God Created the World. This is a Christian classic that is well-worth reading.
• "Teach me that if I do not live a life that satisfies Thee, I shall not live a life that will satisfy myself." This basically carries the previous statement, on which I commented above, forward. John Piper has argued well in Desiring God that our greatest satisfaction is derived from pursuing our joy in God's satisfaction in Himself. While I think Piper is sometimes too cut-and-dry in many statements in this book, it is another Christian class that is well-worth reading.
• "Help me not to think of living for Thee in my own strength, but always to look to and rely on Thee for assistance." The Christian life cannot be living in our own strength. We just cannot do it. Fortunately, Jesus has told us, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Co. 12:9)
• "Lord, this is the life that no unconverted man can live..." Since we were created to glorify God and our greatest joy comes in that end, the unconverted man cannot truly live this life to its fullest joy and happiness. Paul tells us that the unconverted cannot submit to God and are indeed hostile to Him (Ro. 8:7). They will always pursue their happiness in something else that will eventually disappoint them. Life in meaningless if it is not live for God. Even atheists like Albert Camus have argued for this. As Camus argues, without God the only important life-question is whether or not to commit suicide, and his solution was simply to live with dogged hatred of the situation in which we are. There is no joy in that, but there is true joy in Christ. The world needs to see that in our lives. Christians are the only people who have anything worth laughing about, and the world needs to hear the laughter of the redeemed.

Let me end with a couple of quotes from Edwards and Augustine. One of my favorite things Edwards wrote is in The End for Which God Created the World:

God in seeking His glory seeks the good of His creatures because the emanation of His glory... implies the... happiness of His creatures. And in communicating His fullness for them, He does it for Himself, because their good, which He seeks, is so much in union and communion with Himself. God is their good. Their excellency and happiness is nothing but the emanation and expression of God's glory. God, in seeking their glory and happiness, seeks Himself, and in seeking Himself... He seeks their glory and happiness.

The other quote on this subject, which I have previously written about here, comes from Augustine's Confessions:

Forbid it, O Lord, put it far from the heart of Thy servant, who confesses to Thee--far be it from me to think I am happy because of any and all the joy I have. For there is a joy not granted to the wicked but only to those who worship Thee thankfully--and this joy Thou Thyself art. The happy life is this--to rejoice to Thee, in Thee, and for Thee. This it is and there is no other.

May we always remember that any other joy or happiness we might experience is not true, but fleeting, and that we can only have true joy and happiness in God. Even all those things that God has blessed us with were given to us so that we could have joy in Him through happiness in His gifts. If we ever start to look to the gifts for joy, instead of Him, they will cease to satisfy, but if, while enjoying the gift, we look past it to the Giver, we will find true happiness in Him.

By His Grace,
Taylor

In the Meantime...

As I mentioned in the last post, I am pretty busy right now studying for ordination exams, preparing to move to Blacksburg, etc., which means I have not had much time to write. So, I was thinking that in the meantime I would give you some links to some good reading. So here you go:

• Michael Kruger--President of RTS Charlotte--has written an excellent series of articles on the New Testament (NT) canon. The complete series can be found here. They are a just taste of his recent work Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books, which is one of the best and most detailed books on the NT canon.
• Ken Samples--philosopher and theologian for Reasons to Believe (RTB)--just posted part one of a brief two-part series about Jonathan Edwards on his blog. I highly recommend it, and if you want more detail about Edwards, check out Piper's A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards.
• RTB just did a series of interviews with Vern Poythress--WTS professor--on the Christian world-view and science: parts 1, 2, 3, and 4. They are not "reading" but still really good.
• Logic is a lost discipline these days. Well, Ken (see above) has written an excellent series of articles on logic called "Logic 101." It is a twelve-part series that would be well-worth your time. Part 1 can be found here, and from there you can follow the links to the subsequent parts.
• Finally, if you have not read the Heidelberg Catechism, you need to. If you want to read about it too, here is a review of a book edited by a former professor of mine that would be a good place to start. I would also recommend Kevin DeYoung's The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism.

Okay, that is more than enough to keep you busy for a while.

By His Grace,

Taylor

Unassailable Acceptance

"Mark, believer, how sure and unchanging must be our acceptance, since it is in him! Take care that you never doubt your acceptance in Jesus. You cannot be accepted without Christ; but, when you have received his merit, you cannot be unaccepted. Notwithstanding all your doubts, and fears, and sins, Jehovah’s gracious eye never looks upon you in anger; though he sees sin in you, in yourself, yet when he looks at you through Christ, he sees no sin." ~ Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening, evening March 28

What we celebrate on this day--Easter--is central to Christianity, and it guarantees our full, irremovable, unassailable acceptance before God. Is it historical? Absolutely. Is it important? Absolutely, for as Paul says, "...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." (1 Co. 15:17) Christ's resurrection is essential for the completed work of salvation, for an unresurrected Christ still bears the guilt of sin and has secured nothing (1 Co. 15:14-17). As long as He remained in death the righteous character of His work as our federal head and Savior remained in question. Through His resurrection He secured justification (1 Ti. 3:16), adoption (Ro. 1:4), sanctification (Ro. 6:3-11), glorification (1 Co. 6:14), and eternal life (Ro. 6:4-8). Since we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection (Col. 2:12), we have all these things too. Without His resurrection we have nothing.

As Spurgeon says, "when you have received His merit, you cannot be unaccepted." When Paul said, "³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Ro. 8:38-39) he meant nothing can separate us from God if we are in Christ and that includes we ourselves. Nothing means nothing; so you cannot be unaccepted. If you have repented of your sin and accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, you cannot make God love you any more or any less by anything you do. You are fully accepted before God in Christ, period. Bask in that truth today and every day, and go live a life of thankfulness to Him for it.

Someone might say, "All of my incentive goes away when I know that my acceptance with God does not depend on my success or failure in obedience." But, if you say that, you do not really know or understand the love of Christ. Let me give you an example. (It is a marriage one so for those of you who are not married, use your imagination.) Husbands, would you cheat on your wife, if you knew that she would love and forgive you anyway? (Wives, think about it from your perspective.) I doubt it. Why not? Because her unconditional love engenders your love and thankfulness, and you would not do that to someone you love, even if you knew for certain they would still love you if you did cheat. You would not bring yourself to hurt them that much for your own selfish gain because their love has engendered your reciprocating love and thankfulness. You would want to show them by not cheating how thankful you are for a love that would forgive you even if you did cheat. Now, if you would cheat, then you do not really understand her love or understand love at all and probably have never understood it.

True believers have been changed by the love of Christ and will want to please Him and show Him their thankfulness. In fact, the only people who get any better are those that know if they do not get any better, God will still love them anyway. Does that mean we will not sin? No, of course not (1 Jn. 1:8). But, we do when we forget the truth of the gospel and go looking for what we already have in Christ in some idol that is smaller than Him. We have hearts that are prone to wander, which is why we need to come back to the gospel over and over again. The gospel is not just the flame that ignites the Christian life, it is the fuel that makes it burn every day. Jonathan Edwards used to say, "The key to the Christian life is letting the gospel filter down into every aspect of your life both rationally and experientially." You need the gospel as much today as you did when you were still dead in your sins. Never forget that, and never forget that you "cannot be accepted without Christ; but, when you have received His merit, you cannot be unaccepted."

By His Grace,
Taylor

How Should We Worship?

"[It is the] tension between the need to remain faithful to the gospel and the Christian tradition while at the same time faithfully communicating that Evangel [good news] in a changing and complex cultural milieu that presents mammoth challenges to the continued witness of the Christian church." ~ J. Matthew Pinson, Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views

How we should worship God, especially in public worship, is an important question for the Church. It is one of the more important questions because worship is one of the main ways we glorify God before an unbelieving world, and it is what we will be doing for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth. I would like to pose a list of fifteen things that I think are essential for public worship. Now, this list is a work-in-progress and I am in no way claiming that it is exhaustive. I welcome any comments on how to biblically refine these points.

Here we go: public worship should...

1. ...be God-exalting, Christ-centered, and Spirit-filled: The second commandment, the Psalter (e.g. Ps. 134), and the rest of the Scriptures declare of the glory of the Triune God and that He is to be worshiped and only Him. Other Scriptures (cf. Jn. 4:21-23; 5:23; Php. 2:9) tell us that worship in spirit and in truth is Christ-centered worship for He is the glory of the Father and the one whom God has exalted to the highest place. Finally, passages like 1 Co. 12:3 tell us that no one can worship God unless indwelt by the Spirit, for a renewed heart is essential to the right worship of God. 
2. ...put the amazing back into grace. The grace of God to us in Christ Jesus is more than we can fathom and we can never the exhaust the depths of this grace. Every worship service must amaze us and shock us by the grace of God, for we are a people prone to wander and we need constantly to be reminded of the magnitude of what He has done for us. 
3. ...be founded on the fact that we are created to worship God and enjoy Him. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (WSC) asks, "What is the chief end of man?" It then biblically answers, "Man's chief end is to glorify God (cf. Ps. 86; Is. 43:7; 60:21; Ro. 11:36; Re. 4:11), and to enjoy Him forever (cf. Ps. 16:5-11; 144:15; Is. 12:2; Php. 4:4; Re. 21:3-4)." It is important to note that this is one end with two aspects—when we truly glorify God, we also enjoy Him. This means that public worship (and private too) should always be an overflow from our very purpose of existence. It should also be enjoyable because glorifying God and enjoying Him are inseparable. 
4. ...be on the Lord's Day. The Sabbath was not just part of the 10 Commandments (though that is no trivial thing) but was part of the creation ordinance. Even before man fell, he was to rest and worship one day in seven. In the OT, the Lord's Day was the seventh day of the week. Now that Christ has come, He is making a people for Himself, and grace abounds, the first day of the week is the Lord's Day (Re. 1:10; cf. Mt. 28:1; Lk. 24:1; Jn. 20:1, 19-23; Ac. 20:7; 1 Co. 16:2) for it mirrors grace—we rest in grace and then we work—and it is the day in which our Lord was raised from the dead. Though not foundational, it is also practical, for God's people need a Lord's Day to have a common day to gather for worship (cf. He. 10:25). 
5. ...be corporate. On the Lord's Day (see above), God's people gather for corporate worship. While private worship is absolutely essential, one can and should distinguish between corporate and private worship. There are few explicit commands in the NT that tell us to gather together to worship (He. 10:25 being one) but that is not because the NT does not expect there to be corporate worship. That is because the teaching of the NT apostles rests firmly on the OT view of public worship and the assumption that the NT saints gather together in a public, definable worship service. Indeed, many of the NT commands about worship are unintelligible if there is not a distinct, corporate worship service for God's people (cf. Mt. 18:20; Ro. 14; Ac. 20:17-38; 1 Co. 7-11; 14; 16:2; 1 Ti. 2; 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4; Tt; 2; He. 4:9; Re. 1:10). 
6. ...be governed by the Regulative Principle (RP) of worship. This principle is thrown around a lot these days and sometimes quite incorrectly, so let me attempt to define it for you. The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) 21.1 states it well, "But the acceptable way of worshiping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshiped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representation, or any other way not prescribed in the holy Scripture (Dt. 12:32; Mt. 15:9; Ac. 17:35)." Why does it say this? It's justification is stated in WCF 20.2, "God alone is Lord of the conscience (Js. 4:12; Ro. 14:4), and has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to His Word; or beside it, in matters of faith or worship (Mt. 15:9; 23:8-10; Ac. 4:19; 5:29; 1 Co. 7:23; 2 Co. 1:24)." In short, the RP tells us that pastors, sessions, worship leaders, or anyone else directing worship can only prescribe in public worship that which God Himself has prescribed. Because God alone is Lord of the conscience, man has no right to insist another man do anything in matters of faith and worship unless God Himself has commanded it. No man has a right to make another man feel guilty about anything unless it comes from God's command in Scripture (cf. Mt. 15:1-9; Ro. 14; 1 Co. 8-10). This frees man's conscience from the tyranny of man and places it under the only Sovereign who can rule the conscience without damaging it—God. It is helpful, when discussing the RP, to distinguish between elements (those things prescribed as essential to gathered, public worship), forms (the way the element is expressed in public worship), and circumstances (those considerations regarding how, when, where, and in what manner or amount the elements are to be performed, i.e. bulletins, length of prayers, number of songs, times of services, etc.). The RP tells us the elements of public worship but leaves the forms and circumstances open. The forms and circumstances are those things that are, as WCF 1.6 states, "common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word." (In the case of forms, they are open but only to things which do not detract from the element itself, and some forms can detract from the element, which is why the WCF says, "ordered by... Christian prudence." E.g. reading Scripture in Latin to a people who do not understand Latin, as the Roman Catholic church did and still does at times, is a form which detracts from the element and therefore unacceptable.)
7. ...contain the following elements: reading the Bible (1 Ti. 4:13), preaching the Bible (Ro. 10:14, 17; 1 Ti. 4:6-13; 2 Ti. 4:2), praying the Bible (Ac. 2:42; 1 Ti. 2:1-4), singing the Bible (Eph. 5:18-19; Col. 3:16), and "seeing" the Bible, i.e. the sacraments (Mt. 28:19; Lk. 22:14-20; Ac. 2:38-39; 1 Co. 11:23-26; Col. 2:11-12). Why is it that we read, preach, etc. the Bible? Because God’s Word is central to our knowledge of Him, His works, His will, and our salvation. With its content and its content alone can we be assured that we are worshiping Him properly. Therefore, as the elements of worship are derived from Scripture, so should those elements be saturated with Scripture. 
8. ...be following the one, true worship leader—Jesus Christ Himself. Everyone else who directs a worship service is merely a minister, Jesus is the one who leads us into worship (Mt. 18:20; Jn. 4:21-23; He. 2:5ff). Jesus gathers us together in Him and brings us before God as our great High Priest. If we really remembered that Jesus is our worship leader (not the man or woman with a piano or guitar), would we not worship differently? 
9. ...be the whole thing—every activity between the call to worship and the benediction. Worship is not just singing. Worship is reading God's Word, praying, preaching, singing, and participating in the sacraments. Every act between from the beginning to the end is part of public worship. When we hear God's Word read or listen to a sermon, we should be cognizant that the hearing, actively listening, and contemplating of it are acts of worship and should lift our affections toward Him. 
10. ...have music that aids in the worship of God but never gets in the way of the worship of God. I do not think it is biblical to quibble over style of music in general, yet there are things that need to be considered when we choose our style. Music is a great way to involve our affections in worship, but it can also manipulate those affections and lead us away from worship, when not used properly. Being moved emotionally is not the same thing as being spiritually changed. Music should engage the affections but always in a way that is spiritually edifying, not just emotionally charged. 
11. ...be orderly. This is a simple but very important aspect of public worship that Paul pounds into the Corinthian people in 1 Co. 14. Paul builds an argument for order in worship and then closes it by saying, "But all things should be done decently and in order." How else is it going to edify God’s people and be a witness to the lost? 
12. ...be edifying. Like the previous point, in 1 Co. 13-14, Paul tells the Corinthian people that gifts and actions in worship are to be done "so that the church may be built up." What good does it do to speak in a tongue, prophesy, or have all knowledge if it is not used in love for the edification of the body? Paul answers in 1 Co. 13:3 we "gain nothing."
13. ...be covenantal. WCF 7.1 states, "The distance between God and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do owe obedience unto Him as their Creator, yet they could never have any fruition of Him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary condescension on God's part, which He has been pleased to express by way of covenant." God's people should come before God to praise Him for what He has done, hear His Word preached, understand the new covenant in Christ, learn about His commitment to them, learn about their commitment to Him, give Him thanks for His covenant, and receive the sign and seal the covenant and be nourished by Christ in the Lord's Supper. All these are aspects of a covenant renewal ceremony, which is at the heart of public worship.
14. ...engage the affections. Jonathan Edwards, in his excellent work Religious Affections, states, "True religion consists so much in the affections, that there can no true religion without them." One can have sound doctrine and not be a Christian, but one cannot be a true Christian and not have true affections. Now, it is important to note that affections are not just emotions, they are the response of the whole person. Affections are not emotions as distinct from the other faculties but the whole lot of emotions, will, and mind. They involve the will, the intellect, and the full range of emotions (not just the happy emotions). It is only through the engagement of the affections for God that we can glorify and enjoy Him. 
15. ...be simple, transferable, and flexible. Worship should not require any elaborate ritual or prescribed book of liturgy/prayer. Since it is based on the principles of God's Word, it is simple, not complicated. Worship, if guided by the RP, is also transferable. The elements are defined (and uncomplicated) but the forms and circumstances can be adapted to every culture (when guided by Christian prudence and the light of nature, according to the general rules of the Word). Finally, worship should be flexible. Like its transferability, it is flexible because biblical worship does not and cannot produce a "cookie-cutter" pattern that everyone church must fit into. The flexibility of worship guided by the RP encourages diversity and cultural expressions. 

As I stated above, this list is not exhaustive and I welcome any comments that may help me biblically refine what is said above.

By His Grace,
Taylor

What is "New" about the New Covenant?

"There is perhaps no part of divinity attended with so much intricacy, and wherein orthodox divines so much differ, as the stating the precise agreement and difference between the two dispensations of Moses and Christ." ~ Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards (vol. 1, p. 160)

Those who have spent significant time in the Reformed tradition are likely aware of covenant theology and that there are not "two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations." (WCF, VII.6)  They would probably be able to tell someone that the Church is under the new covenant, which was ushered in by Christ through His work of redemption. But, if one were to ask them what is "new" about the new covenant, one would probably get many different vague answers. Many would be able to point someone Jeremiah 31 as the Old Testament (OT) prophecy about the new covenant, yet the "newness" of it would probably still be hazy. Christians in the Reformed tradition are often taught that OT saints were redeemed on the basis of Christ’s (future) work of redemption just as present-day saints, yet this teaching often leaves the specific details of the old and new covenants under a cloud of confusion. And, as Edward's says (above), the specifics of the "newness" of the new covenant are hotly debated.

I have written a paper on this subject that, hopefully, will help clear up some of the confusion. I do not want to claim that this paper in any way settles the debate because there are many that would disagree with me. However, it gives my take on the issue, which I believe to biblical. Below is a little bit of the introduction:

The question must be asked, then, "What is 'new' about the new covenant?" A quick survey of the New Testament (NT) use of [Jeremiah 31] will show the importance of this question. At least ten NT passages quote from Jeremiah 31:31-34 directly or allude to it.  It is also the longest section of the OT quoted in the NT,  found in Hebrews 8:8-12 where the author uses it to show that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant. Christ Himself alludes to it in His institutions of the Lord’s Supper (Mt. 26:28; Mk. 14:24; Lk. 22:20; 1 Co. 11:25). The breadth of the impact of this passage on the NT alone shows the importance of this question. It is this question that the author will attempt to answer in this paper. In this paper, the author will show that the "newness" of the new covenant is not a matter of essence but a matter of degree and form: the old expands in the new through a more substantial administration of salvation, greater fellowship with God, particularity giving way to universality, and shadow and promise giving way to substance and fulfillment. To use the Dutch Reformer Herman Bavinck’s illustration, in the old covenant the fruit was still in the husk but with the new covenant the fruit was ripe and broke through the husk.

You can read the rest of the paper here. I pray that it will not only clear up some confusion you may have on this subject, but bring your heart to praise of God's glorious revelation of Himself and His grace to men in His covenants.

By His Grace,
Taylor

New Year's Resolution

I am not a big fan of New Year's resolutions in general, but those of you who know me know that I am a big fan of Jonathan Edwards. Trevin Wax of Kingdom People adapted a New Year's prayer  from Jonathan Edwards' resolutions (the first 21). (Thanks to Stand to Reason for pointing it out.) Enjoy:

Lord God Almighty,

I understand that I am unable to do anything without your help,

so I ask you to enable me by your grace to fulfill your will.

Give me grace to do whatever brings most glory and honor to you,

pleasure and profit to me,

and life and love to others.

Help me to number my days,

spending my time wisely,

living my life with all my might while I still have breath.

Humble me in the knowledge that I am chief of sinners;

when I hear of the sins of others,

help me to not look upon them with pride,

but to look upon myself with shame,

confessing my own sins to you.

When I go through difficulties and trials,

remind me of the pains of hell

from which you have already delivered me.

Place people in my path who need my help,

and give me a compassionate and generous spirit.

Fill my heart with such love

that I would never do anything out of a spirit of revenge,

nor lose my temper with those around me.

Hold my tongue when I am tempted to speak evil of others.

Thank you for the gospel and for the hope of glory.

Help me to live in light of these truths every day of my life,

so that when the time of my death arrives,

I will rest assuredly in you,

and you will be most glorified in me.

In Christ’s name...

By His Grace,

Taylor

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

"The astounding truth is that in Jesus Christ, humanity encountered God in a real, personal, historical, and tangible way." ~ Kenneth Samples, Without a Doubt

Yesterday was the last Sunday in Advent. The time of anticipation is coming to an end because the celebration is near. When we truly reflect upon what we celebrate in Advent we cannot help but be astounded. Listen to the expressions of wonder from a couple of the greatest minds in Church history:

He by whom all things were made was made one of all things. The Son of God by the Father without a mother became the Son of man by a mother without a father. The Word Who is God before all time became flesh at the appointed time. The maker of the sun was made under the sun. He Who fills the world lay in a manger, great in the form of God but tiny in the form of a servant; this was in such a way that neither was His greatness diminished by His tininess, nor was His tininess overcome by His greatness. ~ Augustine, "Sermon 187"

The next thing that I would observe concerning the incarnation of Christ, is the greatness of this event. Christ’s incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing than ever had yet come to pass. The creation of the world was a very great thing, but not so great as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to make the creature, but not so great as the for the Creator himself to become a creature. We have spoken of many great things that were accomplished between the fall of man and the incarnation of Christ: but God becoming man was greater than all. Then the greatest person was born that ever was or ever will be. ~ Jonathan Edwards, "Of Christ's Incarnation" from A History of the Work of Redemption

Soon we will celebrate the birth of the "greatest person... born that ever was or ever will be", God "great in form... but tiny in the form of a servant." It truly is the "season to be jolly", but not because of presents, time off work, or even family celebrations. Those are good things, but they all pale in comparison to the celebration of He who made joy becoming like us so that we could experience joy in Him.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Fourth Advent Sunday

"The astounding truth is that in Jesus Christ, humanity encountered God in a real, personal, historical, and tangible way." ~ Kenneth Samples, Without a Doubt

Today was the last Sunday in Advent. The time of anticipation is coming to an end because the celebration is near. When we truly reflect upon what we celebrate in Advent we cannot help but be astounded. Listen to the expressions of wonder from a couple of the greatest minds in Church history:

He by whom all things were made was made one of all things. The Son of God by the Father without a mother became the Son of man by a mother without a father. The Word Who is God before all time became flesh at the appointed time. The maker of the sun was made under the sun. He Who fills the world lay in a manger, great in the form of God but tiny in the form of a servant; this was in such a way that neither was His greatness diminished by His tininess, nor was His tininess overcome by His greatness. ~ Aurelius Augustine, "Sermon 187"

The next thing that I would observe concerning the incarnation of Christ, is the greatness of this event. Christ’s incarnation was a greater and more wonderful thing than ever had yet come to pass. The creation of the world was a very great thing, but not so great as the incarnation of Christ. It was a great thing for God to make the creature, but not so great as the for the Creator himself to become a creature. We have spoken of many great things that were accomplished between the fall of man and the incarnation of Christ: but God becoming man was greater than all. Then the greatest person was born that ever was or ever will be. ~ Jonathan Edwards, "Of Christ's Incarnation" from A History of the Work of Redemption

Soon we will celebrate the birth of the "greatest person... born that ever was or ever will be", God "great in form... but tiny in the form of a servant." It truly is the "season to be jolly", but not because of presents, time off work, or even family celebrations. Those are good things, but they all pale in comparison to the celebration of He who created joy becoming like us so that we could experience joy in Him.

 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

~ Isaiah 7:10-14

By His Grace,
Taylor

True Joy II

Remember, O my soul,
  It is thy duty and privilege to rejoice in God:
  He requires it of thee for all His favours of grace.
Rejoice then in the Giver and His goodness,
Be happy in Him, O my heart, and in nothing
   but God,
  for whatever a man trusts in,
  from that he expects happiness.

He who is the ground of thy faith
  should be the substance of thy joy.
Whence then comes heaviness and dejection,
  when joy is sown in Thee,
   promise by the Father,
   bestowed by the Son,
   inwrought by the Holy Spirit,
   thine by grace,
   thy birthright in believing?

Art thou seeking to rejoice in thyself
  from an evil motive of pride and self-reputation?
Thou hast nothing of thine own but sin,
  nothing to move God to be gracious
  or to continue His grace towards thee.
If thou forget this thou wilt lose thy joy.
Art thou grieving under a sense of indwelling sin?
Let godly sorrow work repentance,
  as the true spirit which the Lord blesses,
  and which creates fullest joy;
Sorrow for self opens rejoicing in God,
Self-loathing draws down divine delights.
Hast thou sought joys in some creature comfort?
Look not below God for happiness;
  fall not asleep on Delilah’s lap.
Let God be all in all to thee,
  and joy in the fountain that is always full.
~ "A Colloquy on Rejoicing", The Valley of Vision


I have quoted from The Valley of Vision before so some of you may already know this but this work is a collection of Puritan prayers, poems, and devotionals. I love reading from it because each prayer is short yet so rich with good theology and the glory of God. I like this one because it reminds me of a lot of the Psalms that David wrote calling his soul to rejoice in God and bless His name (Psalms 31, 32, 103, and 104 to name a few).

I also like it because it reminds me of what our purpose on earth really is. The first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man?" and answers "The chief end of man is to glorify God [Isaiah 43:7; 48:11; I Corinthians 10:31] and enjoy Him forever [Psalm 16:5-11; 144:15; Isaiah 12:2]." One of my favorite things about this answer is how it wisely combines enjoying and glorifying God. Do you see it? The "chief end" (singular) has two components--glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. Glorifying God and enjoying Him are not two different ends but two aspects of one end. We cannot have one without the other. True, endless joy is only found in Him and only in enjoying Him can we truly glorify Him.

Jonathan Edwards (a Puritan preacher and American philosopher) wrote on this subject often. One of my favorite things he wrote is in The End for Which God Created the World:

God in seeking His glory seeks the good of His creatures because the emanation of His glory... implies the... happiness of His creatures. And in communicating His fullness for them, He does it for Himself, because their good, which He seeks, is so much in union and communion with Himself. God is their good. Their excellency and happiness is nothing but the emanation and expression of God's glory. God, in seeking their glory and happiness, seeks Himself, and in seeking Himself... He seeks their glory and happiness.

Another quote on this subject, that I have previously written about here, which I love comes from Augustine's Confessions:

Forbid it, O Lord, put it far from the heart of Thy servant, who confesses to Thee--far be it from me to think I am happy because of any and all the joy I have. For there is a joy not granted to the wicked but only to those who worship Thee thankfully--and this joy Thou Thyself art. The happy life is this--to rejoice to Thee, in Thee, and for Thee. This it is and there is no other.

May we always remember that any other joy we might experience is not true joy, but fleeting, and that we can only have true joy in God. Even all those things that God has blessed us with were given to us so that we could have joy in Him through happiness in His gifts. If we ever start to look to the gifts for joy, instead of Him, they will cease to satisfy, but if, while enjoying the gift, we look past it to the Giver, we will find true joy in Him.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Humility

"Humility senses that humility is a gift beyond our reach. If humility is the product of reaching, then we will instinctively feel proud about our successful reach. Humility is the gift that receives all things as gift. It is the fruit not of our achievement but of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is the fruit of the gospel—knowing and feeling that we are desperate sinners and that Christ is a great and undeserved Savior.

Humility is the one grace in all our graces that, if we gaze on it, becomes something else. It flourishes when the gaze is elsewhere—on the greatness of the grace of God in Christ" ~ John Piper, Lewis and Edwards on the Layers of Self-Admiration

I have written on humility before, but I really wanted to share this quote. Piper hits on a key point when it comes to humility: once gazed upon it immediately becomes something else. When we think about our humility we cannot help but be proud of the fact that we are humble, thus damaging the humility. Tim Keller calls true humility "blessed self-forgetfulness" because it is only when our focus is lifted from ourselves to something else (to Christ, as Piper points out) that true humility can be developed. C. S. Lewis affirms this in Mere Christianity: "Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all."

By His Grace,
Taylor

Sojourners

"The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh." ~ Jonathan Edwards, “The Christian Pilgrim”

I love this quote because Edwards reminds us that we cannot expect that our pilgrimage through this world to be easy. This world hates those who follow Christ (John 15:19) and, as we have seen in the lives of Christ and the apostles, it does not make the journey easy. However, two things God has shown us can encourage us in this. First, we are not alone in our battle for we are promised that "he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6) and "it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil. 2:13). Second, there is a great prize at the end (I Cor. 9:24), which is Christ. This prize is so great that to die is gain, as Paul reminds us (Phil. 1:21).

It is hard, but worth it. As Edwards reminds us later, "How can you better employ your strength, use your means, and spend your days, than in traveling the road that leads to the everlasting enjoyment of God: to his glorious presence, to the new Jerusalem, to the heavenly mount Zion, where all your desires will be filled and no danger of ever losing your happiness? — No man is at home in this world, whether he choose heaven or not: here he is but a transient person. Where can you choose your home better than in heaven?"

By His Grace,
Taylor