Fight the Good Fight of the Faith: Living by Faith

In the previous post, we talked about calling in the Christian life and how God has called the vast majority of Christians to ordinary but faithful lives that glorify Him and bring them joy. In today's sermon, we are going to look at Jos. 23, which addresses a similar topic: living this Christian life by faith. Really, this has been the topic of this whole series: fighting the good fight of the faith, but in this chapter, Joshua sums up living by faith for us really, really well.

Have you ever thought about what you want your final words to be? We probably don’t think about that often, if at all, because that means thinking about our death, which we don’t like to do. But, in order to die well, perhaps we should. The Puritan, Edmund Barker, summed up the Christian life by saying, “Every Christian hath two great works to do in the world: to live well and to die well.” Our last words in this world before we cross over the Jordan River Jesus has parted for us are our greatest and final opportunity to glorify God by impressing upon those around us what’s most important in this life. Moses’ final words, for example, encouraged God’s people in His promises, “Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.” Right before he died, Moses reminded the Israelites that they had been redeemed by God and God would fight for them as they entered the Promised Land.

In our passage, we have Joshua’s final words to the leadership in Israel. They’re not technically his final words before he died, for in ch. 24, he will lead the whole nation in renewing the covenant with God, but they are his final exhortations to the leadership that will succeed him—his last opportunity to impress upon them what’s most important. In fact, this passage is very similar to Paul’s final words to the Ephesian elders before he left for Jerusalem or the book of 2 Timothy—his final words to Timothy before he died. Just as Paul told the elders in Ephesus and Timothy what’s most important in leading the church, so Joshua here tells the elders, heads, judges, and officers of Israel what’s most important in finishing the settling of the Promised Land and establishing the Kingdom of Israel. And, what’s so amazing about Joshua’s final words (as well as Paul’s), is that they aren’t what we might expect at all.

Joshua was a military general who’d been leading God’s people in the conquest of the land of Canaan for years, and yet his final words weren’t about military strategy or leadership skills, as we might expect. They’re about remaining faithful to God and warnings of temptation. So also, Paul was the greatest church-planter of all time, but his final words to the Ephesian elders or Timothy weren’t about church-growth strategies or theories of church leadership, as we might expect. They too were about remaining faithful to God and warnings of temptation. This, I think, should surprise us, yet it should also show us what’s truly most important for God’s people, whether they’re trying to finish settling the Promised Land by faith—like the Israelites—or simply to live faithfully in everyday life in a hostile culture like all of us. For the Israelites, the most important thing wasn’t military strategy, and for us, the most important thing isn’t appeal in the eyes of the world or culture. It’s maintaining a healthy relationship with the Lord—living by faith in God.

If you want to hear more, you can listen to the sermon here or read the transcript here.

I pray that God will use it to magnify His glory in your heart and fortify you for the battles of this Christian life.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Gospel According to Joseph: Providence

This Sunday's sermon post will focus on God's sovereignty, which is clearly seen in Ge. 45-46 in several ways. One of those ways is providence. Providence has been one of the two major themes that we've seen weaving its way through this narrative thus far, and we have had the chance to talk about it in several ways in several of the past sermons. We are not going to discuss the details of providence in this devotion because the sermon will talk about that, but we are going to discuss the comfort that the knowledge of God's providence can bring to our lives.

The Heidelberg Catechism has a really good statement about the comfort that God's providence can bring to our lives. In question 28 (which will be our confession of faith this Sunday) it asks, "How does the knowledge of God’s creation and providence help us?" And, it answers:

We can be patient when things go against us, thankful when things go well, and for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from His love. All creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they can neither move nor be moved.

Let's consider this a line at a time. First: "we can be patient when things go against us." When we remember that God is in sovereign control of everything that happens to us and that He is our loving, faithful, heavenly Father (which are the two parts to providence), then "we can be patient when things go against us" and don't seem to make any sense because we can know that one day He will work them out for our good (Ge. 50:20; Ro. 8:28). Joseph's sale, slavery, and imprisonment didn't make any sense to him at first, but in our passage for Sunday, we see that he finally understands (at least in part) God's purpose in it. His patience paid off. The enslavement of the Israelite nation didn't make any sense to the Jews at first, but it does now that we can see the whole story. The crucifixion didn't make any sense to the apostles at first (even though Jesus had told them it was coming), and yet they soon figured out how crucial and important it is. And, I bet there are many things in your life that didn't make sense at first, but now that you can look back on them, you can see at least some part that God worked for your good or the good of others in them. Of course, you may be in the middle of something against you right now and cannot see any good reason for it, but be patient for your heavenly Father is working it for your good. As Spurgeon once said, "When you can't trace God's hand, trust His heart."

The next line is, "we can... be thankful when things go well." This is a convicting line in a comforting answer. How often do we pray for God to act and then forget to thank Him when He answers our prayers in the way we'd hoped? How often do we attribute success or prosperity to our abilities? When we realize that God in His providence never for a moment removes His hand from our lives, we'll start to see all things as a reason for rejoicing and thanksgiving; we'll start to realize that everything good is a gift of grace from our loving, faithful, heavenly Father (cf. Js. 1:17).

The third line says, "...for the future we can have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing will separate us from His love." This is simply a restatement of Ro. 8:38-39. Since God is always in sovereign control of everything that happens to us and, again, since He is our loving, faithful, heavenly Father, then we can know that nothing will separate us from His love. Since He is sovereign over this universe, nothing can take us out of His hand, and since God loves us with a never-stopping, never-giving-up, unbreaking, always-and-forever love, He will not let us go. His providence guarantees this comfort and makes promises like Ro. 8:38-39 absolutely certain.

And, finally, the HC states, "All creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they can neither move nor be moved." This is the doctrinal statement that comes from passages like Ps. 115:3; 135:5-6; 145:11-13; Jer. 27:5; Ac. 2:23; 4:23-31; 17:24-26; Eph. 1:11 that makes the three preceding comforts absolute and certain. Without God working "all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11), we can't have the comforts of patience during the hard times, thankfulness for the good, and knowing that nothing can pluck us out of God's hand (Jn. 10:29) or separate us from His love (Ro. 8:38-39).

Now, at this point, the modern, Western sense of autonomy with which most of us grew up tends to recoil and question whether this is really good or fair. Naturally, we want to be masters of our own "fate" or "destiny." But, consider that alternative carefully. I can maybe control the way I respond to what's going on around me in the world, but I can't control the world around me itself. So, how can I possibly think that I can be the master of my own destiny? The best I can do is attempt to respond circumstances that are largely out of my control in way that helps my future, but even then, I'm a sinful man and my even responses are not to be trusted. So, with such sinful, limited ability, how is it at all good for me to be the master of my own fate? Where's the comfort or peace in that? Yet, if God is sovereign and my loving, faithful, heavenly Father, then I can trust Him and rest in His hands. That's what Joseph does, and we'll get to see more of that, Lord willing, in Sunday's sermon post.

By His Grace,
Taylor

Divine Mercies (Overlooked...)

THOU ETERNAL GOD,
Thine is surpassing greatness, unspeakable
    goodness, super-abundant grace;
I can as soon count the sands of ocean's 'lip'
  as number Thy favors towards me;
I know but a part, but that part exceeds all praise.
I thank Thee for personal mercies,
  a measure of health, preservation of body,
  comforts of house and home, sufficiency of food
    and clothing,
  continuance of mental powers,
  my family, their mutual help and support,
    the delights of domestic harmony and peace,
    the seats now filled that might have been vacant,
  my country, church, Bible, faith.
But, O, how I mourn my sin, ingratitude, vileness,
  the days that add to my guilt,
  the scenes that witness my offending tongue;
All things in heaven, earth, around, within, without,
    condemn me—
  the sun which sees my misdeeds,
  the darkness which is light to thee,
  the cruel accuser who justly charges me,
  the good angels who have been provoked to leave
    me,
  Thy countenance which scans my secret sins,
  Thy righteous law, Thy holy Word,
  my sin-soiled conscience, my private and
    public life,
  my neighbors, myself—
    all write dark things against me.
I deny them not, frame no excuse, but confess,
  'Father, I have sinned';
Yet still I live, and fly repenting to Thy outstretched
    arms;
  Thou wilt not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,
  Thou wilt not condemn me, for He died in
    my stead,
  Thou wilt not mark my mountains of sin,
    for He leveled all,
  and His beauty covers my deformities.
O my God, I bid farewell to sin by clinging
    to His cross,
  hiding in His wounds, and sheltering in His side.
~ Divine Mercies, The Valley of Vision

I read this recently when I was getting discouraged about a few things, and like many of my moments of discouragement, I was reminded that my focus is on the wrong things. I found this prayer both convicting and uplifted, for it reminded me of the many divine mercies from our loving Father that my sinful, forgetful heart often overlooks. Below are a few thoughts that came to mind while meditating on this prayer:

"Super-abundant grace": The grace we get from God in Christ is not just enough to squeak by. It is not just enough to push us over the edge, while we handle the rest ourselves. It is super-abundant; far more than we could ever need, like the waves of the ocean--completely inexhaustible. It over flows our cups, even while they should be filled with His wrath. It is greater than all our circumstances, sorrows, victories, talents, weaknesses, good deeds, and sins. Indeed, we cannot out-sin His super-abundant grace to us in Jesus. You know, I preached on this last year but, of course, needed the reminder again. "O, to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be."

"Personal mercies": This is a convicting list, for they are all true of me; yet I do not often give praise to God for them. They are all the things going right in my life, which go unnoticed like a smooth road goes unnoticed by a driver cruising down the highway. Yet, they are countless reasons to praise God, and in that sense, the list is uplifting.

He has granted me a "measure of health" and "preservation of body." I am not in the physical shape I was 10-15 years ago, but in general He has given me great health. I see and hear of many others, like my beloved sister, who have chronic health problems, and yet even while praying for her and the others, I forget to praise God for His grace to me in my health. Yet, it is only His sovereign choice that has kept me in good health while better men and women suffer. Perhaps it is because He knows they will suffer better than I would in their place, which is a testimony to their child-like faith and to my lack thereof, but even if that judgment is true, I should be thankful for His mercy and patience with me while He grows me to such a faith.

In His grace, He has given me the "comforts" of home, food, and clothing. I confess, I often focus more on the fact that our townhouse is, at times, frustrating or that the budget is tight and not on the fact that Erika, Gabriel, and I have all that we need. We have a shelter that is more than adequate, which is more than I can say for some of my friends in Atlanta who are still living on the street. We have food and never worry about our next meal or tomorrow's meals, which is more than much of the world's population can say. I may not have fashion sense, but I have a wife who does and clothes that are more than sufficient for my lifestyle. Perhaps this praise should be in every meal's blessing to remind me that my table is full and my home is warm, while others are not so fortunate.

Our Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family and "domestic harmony." I have a godly wife who loves, supports, and sacrifices for me far more than I remember or thank her for. She is patient with my inconsiderate ways, encouraging in my failures, realistic in my successes, supportive of my calling, and wonderful with my son. We, of course, have our share of squabbles but mostly there is peace, and it is real peace, not peace through avoidance. I have a wonderful son who is in great health, which is more than many parents can say. It breaks my heart to think about children suffering from heart problems, cancer, head injuries, or any number of other maladies, and yet in my sorrow for them, how often do I praise God for a healthy boy? Not as often as I could and should. The above line, "the seats now filled that might have been vacant" nearly brings tears to my eyes. Gabriel's seat could have been vacant. When he was born, he had some complications, and for a time, we thought he was going to die. We are so thankful for God's healing during that time, but how often do I look at his high-chair and think, "That could have been empty, except for the mercy of God"? How often does that thought generate praise? Not nearly as often as it could and should.

While I find many things in our country about which to complain, I am still free to worship and live for God, which is more than many of my friends in closed countries can say. I have a church family that is loving, healthy, and united, and that is not because of me but because God working through great leadership that was here long before I came to this congregation. And, of course, most of all: God chose me and called me out of sin and darkness into His glorious light. It was not because of anything good in me that led Him to do so but was simply because of His good pleasure. Why did He choose to place His love on me? I do not have an answer to that question, but I do know it was not anything in me that deserved it. I was His enemy; only deserving His just wrath. If God took every other aspect of my life away, that would be enough to demand my eternal praise and gratitude.

"How much I mourn my... ingratitude": I guess much of this post so far is such mourning, but does it match the level of ingratitude in my heart? Not hardly. I could mourn all day everyday and not do justice to how ungrateful I am to my faithful God and Savior. Yet, that would do no good. In fact, my sinful heart would likely turn godly mourning into pious penance, thus adding to my mountain of sin. What else can I do? Well, the author of this awesome prayer helps here too: run to my Savior and repent.

"I deny them not... but confess": What else can I do? If I spend much time mourning, my heart will start to believe God should forgive me because, of course, I am so sorry, but that is simply the sin of penance--trying to merit what Jesus has already earned; trying to pay for what I already get for free. Can I make God my debtor in that way? Not hardly. No, I must go to Him on the basis of Christ's work alone and say, "Father, I have sinned." And, when I do, what do I find? "Outstretched arms" is what I find! He can no more reject me than He can reject Christ because Jesus is my bulwark that never fails, and I hide "in His wounds and shelter in His side." To look at my sin and think that God will not want me back (this time) is to say that the Father tires of the pleasing aroma of His Son's sacrifice. It is to say that Jesus is not enough (this time) and that I must add to His work. I cannot add to His work! I can only bring in repentance the sin that needs forgiving, and when I do, "His beauty covers my deformities."

There are so many divine mercies from our heavenly Father! "I can as soon count the sands of the ocean's 'lip' as number [His] favors towards me," but that does not mean I should not endeavor to praise Him for all that I can count--those blessings that are all mine with ten thousand beside. When I do, He is glorified and my joy is increased. What, then, is stopping me? Oh yeah, my sinful, forgetful heart. Well, perhaps, Lord willing, a little less so after today, and if not, well He's still working on me.

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

Thankfulness, Not Obedience

"Come, my soul, think thou of this. Believing in Jesus, thou art actually and effectually cleared from guilt; thou art led out of thy prison. Thou art no more in fetters as a bond-slave; thou art delivered now from the bondage of the law; thou art freed from sin, and canst walk at large as a freeman, thy Saviour's blood has procured thy full discharge. Thou hast a right now to approach thy Father’s throne. No flames of vengeance are there to scare thee now; no fiery sword; justice cannot smite the innocent. Thy disabilities are taken away: thou wast once unable to see thy Father’s face: thou canst see it now. Thou couldst not speak with him: but now thou hast access with boldness. Once there was a fear of hell upon thee; but thou hast no fear of it now, for how can there be punishment for the guiltless? He who believeth is not condemned, and cannot be punished. And more than all, the privileges thou mightst have enjoyed, if thou hadst never sinned, are thine now that thou art justified. All the blessings which thou wouldst have had if thou hadst kept the law, and more, are thine, because Christ has kept it for thee. All the love and the acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to thee, because Christ was perfectly obedient on thy behalf, and hath imputed all his merits to thy account, that thou mightst be exceeding rich through him, who for thy sake became exceeding poor. Oh! how great the debt of love and gratitude thou owest to thy Saviour!" ~ Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

I love Spurgeon's artistic description of the benefits of redemption that Christ has won for us. When I read this, the last sentence especially stood out to me. Notice Spurgeon did not say, "Because of all this, you owe Jesus your obedience." He said that we owe Him thankfulness and there is a big difference between those two.

Think about it this way: if a person says to you, "It would make me happy if you did this for me," there are two ways you could look at their request. If you are indifferent about the person or you do not like them—you have no relationship with them and no reason to be grateful to them—then their request for their happiness is at your expense. If you do what they ask, it is merely compliance, duty, obedience, and it feels inconvenient or burdensome. However, if you love that person, if you are thankful to them for all they have done for you, then your heart is bound up with theirs and their happiness is your happiness. Then, their request for their happiness is not at your expense at all. Even if it is hard for you, even if you have to drop something important to do it, you do not feel exploited or inconvenienced by the request because you want to make them happy, you want to show them how thankful you are. So it is with God. When there is awe at what He has done in Christ for sinners like us; where there is thankfulness for the many benefits of salvation, duty becomes desire, obedience becomes thankfulness, and sacrifice becomes joyful service. Where there is love and gratitude, there is a desire to show our thankfulness through service. That is what we give God: lives of thankfulness, not obedience to the rules.

By His Grace,
Taylor