http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2212071,00.html
Below is a list of some of the best resources I have found from John Piper on suffering and it’s relationship to God. These Biblical concepts have been some of the most precious material in my life over the years of pain with my messed up family past and my mom’s death. Wrestling through this brings about so much joy and trust that God’s sovereign, intentional designs in suffering and evil itself, are for His glory and our good. We can say to ourselves, “God will work it for good,” while denying He Himself ultimately brought it about (while remaining righteous). Yet Job ascribed the ultimate cause of his loss to God Himself (Job 2:9-10), all of which was meant to bring about the very response he has in Job 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” There were definitely secondary causes (Satan, etc). But underneath those causes was the sovereign, directing hand of God. Satan could only do what God allowed him to do, and no more. Nothing was outside of His control and authority. Satan was/is on a very short leash before the LORD.
To really see God right in the middle of your pain and suffering, bringing you to despair of any hope in yourself or anything in the world and turn to Christ alone for all strength, satisfaction, healing, comfort, is the most loving thing He could possibly do (i.e. one of the reasons to rejoice in suffering, God’s intentions in it: His glory, and our hearts’ greatest satisfaction ever, His glory and essence!). It is totally counterintuitive to the world. But ultimately seeing that God Himself has sovereign, providential design in evil itself (while remaining sinless and righteous at the same time), is to really experience the glory and majesty of God, just as Job did after wrestling through God’s justice in bringing about such calamity in Job 42:5-6, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Where do we see the sovereign hand of God the most clearly in evil and suffering? The cross. Every point leading up to it, every little detail in it, every wicked hand culpable to judgment in it, was planned from the foundation of the world, and Christ willingly (sovereignly) laid down His life in the midst of infinite opposition at the hand of His Father to bring wretched sinners to Himself. There was intelligent design in the work of the cross itself, and for this event to take place, God had to and did sovereignly ordain whatsoever came to pass. Nothing caught Him by surprise, from the smallest molecule involved in darkening the sky when Christ hanged there, to the reigning authorities in the land overseeing His execution. God had good purpose and design in every piece, though look at how it is indeed the most wicked act ever to have taken place: the murder of the innocent Son of God, existing from all eternity. If He orchestrated this event, how much more every step of our lives, even when it is at its worst (cancer, children dying, spouse’s dying, injury, loss of good friends, loss of a job, financial distress)? I pray these resources help all of you who may be hurting that you may see God’s loving hand in it and rejoice in Him alone as your source of all life, spiritual, emotional, psychological. If these things do not sit well with you, please wrestle through them. Do not give up. May we rest in God’s loving providence for His people, that when He brings about pain in our lives, it is to wean us off of trusting in the things of the world, or ourselves, and rather flee to Christ for comfort, strength, power, satisfaction, salvation.
Don’t Waste Your Cancer
Why I Do Not Say, “God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good”
Tsunami and Repentance
Was Katrina Intelligent Design?
NPR Interview with John Piper After the Tsunami (MP3)
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God – Desiring God 2005 National Conference
Update: I have since changed my position on this after having more thoroughly (at least as much as a lay person can) studied covenant theology and the cohesiveness of the Abrahamic and new covenant as essentially being one in the same, and seeing how this thought carries over into the NT in multiple places, and would have been a basic presupposition of first century Jewish thought (i.e., what shall we do with our children?). Long story short, I’m a paedobaptist now. The podcast has since disappeared below. However a newer debate between the two can be found here: http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=531151725250
Owen brings so much content to the table concerning the nature and power of sin in the life of the believer, it is like trying to drink from a fire hose. His thought process, logic, and ability to synthesize Biblical information is beyond comparison. The book is actually a compilation of three books: On the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, and Indwelling Sin.
In the first book, On the Mortification of Sin in Believers, Owen makes the distinction, from the very beginning, that no unbeliever can mortify sin, just as Paul shows in Romans 8:5-8. Sin is only mortified by the Spirit. Unbelievers are without the Spirit, therefore, whatever good they may have attained to is a self-righteousness they have wrought within themselves. And as Isaiah 64:6 states of works done to try and please God outside of God and the righteousness He provides (namely through Christ), “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” and are offensive even to God. “Everything that does not come from faith is sin,” and therefore no unbeliever has a part in true mortification. They may deceive themselves in this manner, thinking they have truly reformed themselves, just as the Pharisees thought. But this is not the case. Owen goes on to describe what mortification is not, by going into detail about the very nature of how men think they have mortified a sin by “morally reforming themselves,” when really the sin still lies in wait until the opportune time to strike, or morphs into another kind of sin (i.e. lust turning to pride or covetousness). Then he goes on to describe what mortification actually is, and that it cannot and will not occur outside of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit through the work of Jesus Christ to strike at the root of the sin. Owen also makes the point that if you are not daily mortifying sin, even though you may think you are simply lying still and being complacent, you are actually being anesthetized by the sin and under attack, where it gains a greater foothold in your life, making it even more difficult to deal with. Then finally, at the end of the book, Owen states that all he has written up until that point was meant to prepare for the actual work of mortifying sin, and then gives directions pertaining to the work of mortification itself.
In the second book, Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, he goes into great detail about what “Entering into Temptation” actually means. He uses the Scripture where Jesus is telling the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane to be watchful and pray that they may not enter into temptation. Many suppose this means simply to avoid temptation, but Owen describes that being tempted and entering into temptation are two entirely different things. Jesus was tempted but never entered into temptation. Once a person enters into temptation, meaning they make a conscious decision to flirt or play with a sin “at a distance” (so they suppose), it is like a quick sand that pulls you down further than you ever wanted to go, moving you to do things you never thought you could do, bringing about ruin and misery in your life.
The third book, Indwelling Sin, is basically Owen’s unpacking of Romans 7, where Paul lays out the great war going on within him between his sin (his old nature) and the Spirit (that is, the new nature created in Him by the Spirit). The great conflict within all regenerate believers in the Gospel can be summed up in the Latin phrase Simul iustus et pecator – that is, we are simultaneously justified yet sinful at the same time. And there is an unimaginable war going on within us as a result, sin fighting vigorously and deceitfully for sovereignty in our hearts over against the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. He shows how the heart is the seat of the affections we have within us. And for sin to reign in our hearts is to control our affections. Owen dissects the various ways in which sin attacks every facet of our being, to keep us in bondage, in order to carry out offenses against God.
In all of these books, Owen strives to show with Scripture, reason, and extensive arguments, our absolute inability to do any spiritual good that matters in God’s eyes. We our poor, wicked souls, that are in need of Gospel/Cross healing, and that is our only hope even. We are utterly dependent upon God to work within us that which is holy and pleasing in his sight, that He might change our affections, desires, wills, to line up with that of Christ’s. God has given us the means of grace (Scripture, prayer, fellowship, accountability, communion, baptism) in order that we may come to Him and be healed by Him alone. We must make use of the means in order that God may work in us and pursue Him and the supernatural change He makes within us, on His time frame and will. He is sovereign, we are not, in every way. The hope of the Christian alone, in becoming conformed to the image of Christ, is that God is sovereign to change hearts through the cross of Christ, and is indeed willing to do just that. We are on His time frame though. We do not have a wishful hope that God would move in us, but a sure promise that, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) And we must fight with all the tools and resources God has given us, to have this change done within us by the Holy Spirit alone.
Oprah Winfrey a Christian? “One of the mistakes human beings make is thinking there is only one way.” “There couldn’t possibly be just one way!” “What if on some remote part of the Earth someone has never heard the name of Jesus … you cannot get to heaven?” Now I want to make clear that I am not in agreement with the apologetic style of these Christians attempting to refute Oprah’s blatant relativism. Christian arrogance and pride never convince anyone of the truth, especially in a PC culture like ours. We would all do well as believers to pay attention to how no one responds well to their attitudes in the video. The arguments made in defense of Christianity are paper thin in this video and really do nothing to actually address the issue at hand (relativism). It may have been more helpful to point out that in order to state all religions lead to the same place that you must have an authoritative, divine, birds-eye view of all other religions above everyone else to be able to say that. Oprah, claiming to be open and inclusive, is claiming to have The Truth of truths, that all smaller truths lead to the one Truth and is arguing for that position against Gospel-Christianity. In an effort to be inclusive she is being very exclusive, just as the video shows. All those claiming there is one way are forced out of the conversation. This is very telling.Based on the Scriptures weighing against what she says in this video, she has denied, “the faith once for all delivered to the saints,” (Jude 3) that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, just as Jesus said of Himself (John 14:6). John, in the book of 1 John, shows that there are certain things you can know (as much as one can know from external evidences) to determine whether someone believes or not. In addition, Jesus says multiple times in the Gospels that, “you will know them by their fruits.” (Matthew 7:15-20) It is not final or divinely authoritative in any manner. We should never conclude someone is finally lost, ever. Only God’s judgment is final and the only one that matters. We are not taking our place as God here when making these doctrinally discerning judgments (as opposed to condemning judgments as forbidden in Matthew 7, Romans 2 and other places). We’re even directed to use good doctrinally discerning judgment! (Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 1:3) As believers, we need not be swept away by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:13-14) that blows our way (in this case a moralistic, works-based religious pluralism as proposed by Oprah).
I bring this up because I have heard something disturbing concerning some women in my church claiming that Oprah Winfrey is indeed a believer in Jesus Christ, simply because some say she claimed Christ when she was younger, the whole “Carnal” Christian thing. Nonsense. Do not true Christians persevere by God’s power in them and continue to confess and believe that He is The Way, The Truth and The Life throughout their lives, that there is no other gate to heaven but through faith alone in Christ? How does this square with what Oprah says in this video? I cannot reconcile it with the Scriptures. If I’m missing something in there, help me find it. I’m not discounting the amazing amount of good she has done in the world; way more influence than I will ever have to help people. I’m merely talking about her counter-profession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and He alone is the way of salvation, not one of many to choose from as our cultural climate dictates to us. To say she is a believer in Jesus Christ is simply fallacious. She has abandoned the faith, which means she never truly believed to begin with (because God keeps those who are saved from walking away). To her and all relativists, Jesus was simply a good teacher, maybe even one of the best, but He was not the one Way.
We cannot know her heart through and through, nor should we suppose to know it in this manner. (The heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, especially my own). We can only look at external evidences (like her counter-profession of faith in this video) and conclude her beliefs. Also, John is very clear to us about testing the spirits to see whether they are from God. “Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” (1 John 4:3). What does it mean to confess Jesus? Is this just mere mental assent that He existed at some time in history and was a good teacher, just as she says in the video? No, it is a confession of belief in the Gospel of Christ unto salvation to eternal life, “the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3) It means you embrace Jesus as The Way of salvation alone, that He accomplished everything on your behalf that was necessary to please God, through faith in Him. Oprah does not do this. To listen to Oprah and believe she is speaking Biblical truth is to stray from the very teachings of the Scriptures themselves. As John states of those who turn away from the faith, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19) Read the verse above again and let it soak in. 1) No true believer can lose their salvation. 2) But if someone walks away from the faith, embracing secular relativism as a religion (as with Oprah), which she clearly does, that means she never truly believed. If she truly knew Christ, she would at the very least confess Him as the only way to God. She does not. She does not, as Augustine says, value Christ above all other religious teachers, which is the only way He is truly valued at all.
In response to Oprah’s question about all those who haven’t heard of Christ but who are “good moral people,” (I respond more for the purpose of giving scriptural support for believers reading this) I respond with Isaiah 64:6, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” Romans 3:10, “None is righteous, no, not one,” Romans 14:23, “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin,” and Romans 1:18-20, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” God’s judgment is His prerogative, not ours. He has chosen His people from the foundation of the world, and they will be saved. That is the hope of evangelism, because we have no idea who He will choose to save! If someone is not saved though, having never heard the Gospel, how can they successfully argue against God, being a sinner before Him? Because of their sin nature, they have offended Him on an infinite level. All that proceeds from sinners is sin (Romans 8:7-8). I do not believe the punishment will be as severe for those who have never heard Christ, but they are still culpable to judgment. However, if He chooses not to send the Gospel to a land via missions, who can argue against Him and demand Him to be merciful on judgment day? He’s God, we’re not. Who are we to question the Creator rights of the Almighty God? The arrogance of our hearts bringing the righteousness and justice of God into question at all! Does He have to save anyone to begin with? No. He would be just and correct to send us all to hell forever. It is simply by His free mercy and grace in Christ that anyone is saved at all. And all of what I have said here is unpacked in Romans 9, particularly verses 6-24, explaining why some Jews believed while most did not. What makes us to differ but the grace of God giving illumination into who Christ really is?
Also, Oprah is a big proponent of The Secret. Here’s an entry I wrote a while back pertaining to that: http://www.davidwesterfield.net/index.p … 711-151143
“Most men love to hear of the doctrine of grace, of the pardon of sin, of free love, and suppose they find food therein; however, it is evident that they grow and thrive in the life and notion of them. But to be breaking up the fallow ground of their hearts, to be inquiring after the weeds and briars that grow in them, they delight not so much, though this be no less necessary than the other. This path is not so beaten as that of grace, nor so trod in, though it be the only way to come to a true knowledge of grace itself. It may be some, who are wise and grown in other truths, may yet be so little skilled in searching their own hearts, that they may be slow in the perception and understanding of these things. But this sloth and neglect is to be shaken off, if we have any regard unto our own souls. It is more than probable that many a false hypocrite, who have deceived themselves as well as others, because they thought the doctrine of the gospel pleased them, and therefore supposed they believed it, might be delivered from their soul-ruining deceits if they would diligently apply themselves unto this search of their own hearts. Or, would other professors walk with so much boldness and security as some do if they considered aright what a deadly watchful enemy they continually carry about with them and in them? Would they so much indulge as they do carnal joys and pleasures, or pursue their perishing affairs with so much delight and greediness as they do? It were to be wished that we would all apply our hearts more to this work, even to come to a true understanding of the nature, power, and subtlety of this our adversary [sin within us], that our souls may be humbled; and that—
In walking with God. His delight is with the humble and contrite ones [Isa. 57:15], those that tremble at his word [Isa. 66:2], the mourners in Zion [Isa. 61:3]; and such are we only when we have a due sense of our own vile condition. This will beget reverence of God, a sense of our distance from him, admiration of his grace and condescension [in Christ], a due valuation of mercy [in the cross], far above those light, verbal, airy attainments, that some have boasted of.”
Overcoming Sin and Temptation – The Power and Efficacy of Indwelling Sin (PDF), John Owen, pg. 282-283
Written in 1923, Machen addresses a system encroaching upon the church that would bring about the sure eclipse of the very Gospel itself within the 20th century. It is important to note from the outset that this liberalism is not at all the same as modern political liberalism, but is rather theological liberalism. In his day, J. Gresham Machen, at great cost to himself, fought against the theological and doctrinal accommodation of the scientific culture within the church, who were denying miracles and the supernatural based upon empirical scientific evidence. Despite many of his “brethren” in the day, he held out that we must adhere to the divine, supernatural nature of all that Christianity entails or else forfeit the Gospel itself: the divine inerrancy of the Scriptures, the nature and qualities of both God and man, that salvation is a supernatural work of God, that real people with real sins were atoned for by the blood of Christ, the human and divine natures of Christ, amongst many things that set Historic Christianity apart from all other religions devised by man out in the world.
The thinking of the forerunners of theological liberalism went like this, “In order to reach the scientifically enlightened culture we live in, it is not important to hold to a literal virgin birth, a literal resurrection, atonement through the cross, or any miracles really at all, mainly because these events cannot be empirically proven through scientific analysis and methods; we believe these things personally, but it is not important to hold to these things in light of science.” Because the church was increasingly falling prey to this and in danger of apostatizing from the Gospel itself as a result, Machen wrote this book in response and fought vigorously for the truth of the Scriptures, Orthodoxy, and Historic Christianity. While it is definitely possible the intentions of the original liberals were good in trying to reach a culture with Christ that had scientific empirical evidence as a presupposition when coming to the spiritual/supernatural statements of Christianity, the followers in its wake have basically denied Christianity of any supernatural and divine quality (which is how lives are effectually changed, i.e. God creates in people something that was not there through the cross of Christ). Theological liberalism essentially renders Christianity just another choice of moralistic religions, that we are all “basically good,” and can morally reform ourselves outside of God, amongst a host of other religions saying the same thing in principle.
I believe it is deeply and vastly important for modern believers in the Gospel to read this book, because there is a movement underway in our culture that is doing the same things as liberals of the early 20th century. The liberalism of the 20th century addressed the Modern era, and now the Emerging church (or new liberalism) addresses the postmodern era. With modernism there was scientific certainty; with postmodernism, there is total uncertainty and skepticism, and this has translated into the realm of spirituality (i.e. “we can’t really know anything for sure concerning who God is, what He’s like,” etc). While times have changed (philosophical/cultural thinking) and even science itself (there is increasing ambiguity concerning the very nature of particles and waves in the scientific community, i.e. what scientists thought they knew for sure in the 20th century concerning matter, anti-matter, and laws of physics, they are not so sure about now, based greatly upon quantum mechanics – so miracles and the supernatural are no longer deemed as impossible scientific propositions), the premise is the same in both ages: adopt the culture with its thinking, belief structure, and presuppositions in order to win the culture for Christ. Make Christianity attractive by bringing in the thinking of the world around us.
Sounds good right? I mean, at least on a surface level, the intention may be good, which is win people for Christ! But is it effective in the long run? As John Piper properly notes in an introduction to a sermon he preached, “If you adjust your doctrine to fit the world in order to attract the world, sooner or later the world realizes that they already have what the church offers. That was the story of much of mainline Protestantism in Europe and America in the 20th century. Adjust your doctrine – or just minimize doctrine – to attract the world, and in the very process of attracting them, lose the radical truth [the Gospel itself] that alone can set them free.”
In order to accommodate a postmodern culture in which we live, the Emerging Church has brought down doctrinal walls in order to win the culture. However, as history shows, this does not work. This movement will ultimately wind up blocking people from seeing, believing in, and enjoying the true Christ of the Scriptures (as opposed to the Jesus made in their own image and likeness), for which they will be held accountable before His White Throne judgment (may God have mercy on us all on that day). Emergents have themselves adopted postmodern thought within a “new” system of Christianity, that you cannot really know anything for sure, so there is no need to be dogmatic on doctrine. And in addition to this, they have in many cases totally redefined the Christian message altogether, where it is no longer distinguishable from that of other religions with their pseudo-pietistic, works-based approach to God. As with the liberalism in the 20th century that Machen addressed in this book, the Emerging Church will surely bring about the very eclipse of Christ and the Gospel (the good news of redemption!) itself in the 21st century. The Emerging Church is just version 2.0 of the theological liberalism of the 20th century. May we learn from history and glorify Jesus by adhering to His infallible Word, even if people hate us!
“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:23-34
If you want to read this book right now, go here (PDF):
http://reformedaudio.org/audio/machen/Machen%20-%20Christianity%20&%20Liberalism.pdf
Audio biography of J. Gresham Machen by John Piper (MP3):
http://www.desiringgod.org/media/audio/conferences/bcp1993/19930126_piper_machen.mp3
John Piper’s sermon on Romans 9:1-5:
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/my-anguish-my-kinsmen-are-accursed
Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith – Review by Dale Van Dyke:
http://www.westerfunk.net/theology/articles/velvetelvis/
We are told everyday by all kinds of voices in our society (particularly Doctors in various psycho-analysis fields, Oprah, Dr. Phil, commercials, and yes, Joel Osteen, amongst others) that our main goal and desire in life is and should be to make ourselves happy, through our own means, for our own self-esteem, to build ourselves up emotionally. Does this square with the scriptures though? I just looked up the word esteem, by itself, to see what the definition was before defining self-esteem. The consensus I came to from several definitions was that to esteem something means to highly regard, make much of, honor, take pride in, etc. So if I esteem someone, that basically means I honor them, find something good in them above others, etc. I realize that in and of itself that is not a bad thing to esteem someone else. We esteem other people all the time. If you esteem someone more than Christ, then obviously that’s idolatry. But what about self-esteem in light that definition of esteem? What does it mean? It would be one honoring, highly regarding, or thinking very highly of oneself.
It is that very thinking that has permeated Western thought on a massive scale, to where it is an assumed idea that we need good self-esteem, i.e. make ourselves feel good by what we do. Now hear me out. That idea of personal fulfillment and deep heart-satisfaction is not apart from the Scriptures. But what does the world say we need to meet this end? Exalt self and you will find the greatest joy. God says exalt Him and you will find the greatest joy in that. The lie of Satan in the Garden was that we can find joy, happiness, peace, fulfillment outside of what God provides in Himself, that we need to create our own happiness and joy apart from Him, hence the taking of the fruit. So the world, by default, thinks that esteeming yourself in a high regard, i.e. making much of yourself outside of God, is the answer. However, what happens when you fail? You get depressed, beat yourself up, and your whole world crumbles, especially if it is a giant mess up. Why? Because you are basing your worth on your performance.
But what do the Scriptures say about esteeming ourselves, or building up our own value and worth? First, here’s a verse from Romans 12:3:
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.” – Romans 12:3
Let’s look at Paul and his ideology concerning himself.
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” – 1 Timothy 1:15
Next, let’s view what Isaiah says in chapter 6, the well known vision of God, which I have used on several occasions to illustrate someone broken by their sin before a holy God:
“And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” – Isaiah 6:4-5
The list could go on. In Romans 12:3 we are told to think of ourselves with sound judgment. What does this mean? It means we analyze ourselves in light of Scripture, God’s law, and His perfections stated therein. What does God say about our state before Him? What would be the sober(ing) response? Scripture is needed:
“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” – Genesis 6:5
Youch. What else?
“And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” – Romans 1:28-32
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” – Romans 3:10-18
I’ll just stop there. What an indictment against us! What is there to esteem in myself if I’m this awful before God? First of all, it is important to note we are not comparing ourselves to other people out in the world, because in all reality, many of us can look morally good compared to some of the nut cases out there. But we’re not comparing ourselves to other fallible sinners, but to an infinitely holy God. That is important to note the context of which we’re speaking. These verses very poetically and forcefully expose what is in each and every one of us: vile and poison that infinitely offends God. What good can come out of a heart that is poisoned like a water well diluted with cyanide? What is there in man to esteem at all? I have no self-esteem! I am a ruined sinner before God with evil intentions, apart from the saving grace of God in Christ. We must come to terms with this. This is one of the reasons the Gospel is so offensive to the world: because in order to be saved, we must admit our condition as being this bad. We are morally bankrupt, depraved in our heart of hearts. Neglecting to see the radical depravity of our souls is to miss the cross altogether. For on the cross, we are shown how awful we are: we killed the Lord of Glory from all eternity. But also how much mercy there is in God for that radical wickedness. Praise Him that He rose from the grave to give us hope!
What about Paul’s view of himself in 1 Timothy 1:15? “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” Paul had such a vision of God, much like Isaiah, that when looking out upon other men even, he viewed himself as the worst sinner. Paul was not a man who esteemed himself at all. Based on that verse, do you think he thought very highly of himself? He claimed to be the foremost sinner of all. In other texts he even boasted in his weaknesses in order to display the power of God in his messages when preaching.
And Isaiah? He was one of the most righteous men in all Israel. And yet when confronted with the infinite power, holiness, might, majesty, frightening, all-encompassing glory of God, he was nothing, a sinner of sinners. Why? Because he saw himself, not in relation to other men, but to God. And even then when comparing himself to others, he saw himself in the same camp: a ruined sinner, broken to pieces before the throne of God.
So after this analysis, what is there left to esteem in ourselves? After reading the accounts of Paul and Isaiah, I cannot imagine them seeking to build up their self-esteem, but rather to be found in Christ alone and the perfect righteousness He provides.
Praise God He did not leave us without any hope though! If this was the end of the story, we would despair of ourselves even to death. But we do have hope!
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21
In great mercy, Christ came to save us from the utter ruin of our souls. The point of the bad news within the Gospel in tearing us down spiritually is so that we quit trusting in our own works and what we do and finding ultimate value, satisfaction, joy, peace, and fulfillment in that/ourselves. To esteem yourself is to make much of, highly regard, boast in yourself and your accomplishments. But is this not the antithesis of the Gospel itself, that we become poor in spirit, confess our wickedness, repent and believe the Gospel so as to be saved? What else does this mean to be poor in spirit but to despair of any hope in yourself so that you find your all-sufficient joy in Christ alone? The worlds’ answer to good mental health and good “self-esteem” is to build yourself up by what you do. This is purely moralism, that I make myself right in my own eyes.
But the answer of the Gospel to all areas of life where we are so utterly deficient, as shown in the passages above, is that we expose what wicked people we really are to God, soberly come to terms with that reality, and then turn to see that Christ succeeded in every area where we have failed. We then look to the forgiveness that is in Christ and see we are accepted with finality and completeness. There is nothing more we can do for God to be found right in His eyes than what Christ has already done. Christ perfectly fulfilled every law of God’s you have broken. Christ, even now, has perfect standing with the Father on behalf of those who believe, because of His life’s perfect work, His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross in the place of sinners, and His triumphant resurrection. The answer to man’s plight is not gaining better self-esteem, but rather looking to the Scriptures, having our self-esteem torn down by the sobering reality of who we really are, and built from the foundation upward by the power of Christ, and finding our worth and value in Him. We esteem Him, not ourselves. Augustine said, “Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.” And that includes yourself. In Him alone will you find true joy, true life, in the midst of whatever suffering, sin struggle, etc, because Christ’s powerful work in the cross transcends all situations and He provides supernatural power and strength in time of need. Praise Jesus for His active obedience on behalf of those who believe in Him. As J. Gresham Machen said, “I thank God for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it.” Esteem the Lord of glory who was slain from the foundation of the world on behalf of His people! He is our all in all!
Praise God for raising up someone to oppose those who were holding down the Gospel through greed, power and manipulation. There had been those before Luther such as John Huss and John Wycliffe who some would consider the first line of troops to break the stronghold of the “Normandy beach” but most of the initial Reformers died for the sake of Christ in making His Gospel known. But Luther was the first to gain a foothold on the beach by nailing his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517 – aka Reformation Day (though it had already begun in debates and dialogs with various Roman Catholic theologians. It was revolutionary, the explosion of the Protestant Reformation was about to take place all over Europe. After seeing the Gospel pop out of the Scriptures before his eyes when reading Romans and Galatians in particular, that the righteous shall live by faith in Christ alone and nothing else (no works, etc), he could not help but see the unbelievable fallacies and evils of the Roman Catholic Church in direct opposition to the Gospel itself in the Scriptures. He saw they had set up a legalistic, religious system of approach to God, offering to all that more was needed than the blood of Christ alone to be saved, such as penance, purgatory, etc. Luther opposed this by showing that Salvation is by Sovereign Grace in the cross work of Christ on behalf of His people. Luther’s main emphasis in the Reformation was a returning to the Biblical Gospel, that we are saved by sovereign Grace Alone through Faith Alone in Christ Alone revealed in the Scriptures Alone to the Glory of God alone (the Five Solas).
Luther considered his most important work to be The Bondage of the Will, which spread like a wildfire throughout Europe, a letter (book really) written to Erasmus, a Roman Catholic theologian debating Luther on the Scriptural validity of the will being free from the corruption of sin or not. The heart of the Reformation itself dealt with the will, i.e. does God have to regenerate the will by the work of Christ to turn our affections and desires; whether God has to do a supernatural work in the heart to make a person willing to believe in Christ alone in order that they may be saved. Monergism vs. Synergism was the core issue. The doctrine of faith alone simply supported Grace Alone. It is God who saves from beginning to end, Alpha to Omega, the flesh is of no avail, just as Jesus said. I find it ironic that today most Protestant evangelicals in the West use the same arguments of Erasmus (a Roman Catholic theologian) when defending free will theology, whereas Luther would oppose them, just as he does in his most important book. It is odd that many disagree with the very conclusions of the heart of the Reformation itself, all the while benefiting from all that came out of it, even though this was the key issue to the whole thing, according to Luther himself. Regardless, praise God for raising up faithful people to spread his Gospel, even when it cost them their lives. Praise God for Reformation Day!
One of my favorite quotes from Luther:
“Whilst a man is persuaded that he has it in his power to contribute anything, be it ever so little, to his salvation, he remains in carnal self-confidence; he is not a self-despairer, and therefore is not duly humbled before God, he believes he may lend a helping hand in his salvation, but on the contrary, whoever is truly convinced that the whole work depends singly on the will of God, such a person renounces his own will and strength; he waits and prays for the operation of God, nor waits and prays in vain . . .” – Martin Luther
Martin Luther – Lessons from His Life (MP3) – John Piper
Biography of Luther
Luther’s 95 Theses
What is Monergism?
Bondage of the Will – Martin Luther
For those of you who have not had the privilege of hearing Paul Washer, I highly recommend watching these two videos. Paul Washer is a missionary in Peru and started an organization called HeartCry Missionary Society @ www.heartcrymissionary.com. The first video is Paul being interviewed on Way of the Master by Kirk Cameron, which airs on TBN (of all places, which is awesome) and on the radio. I post it just because its an intro to the second video, which is much harder to hear, but so good. In the second video, Paul preaches to a group of about 5000 students at a youth conference. He does not hold back. It is a shockingly true message, and does not just apply to students, but really all Americans who claim Christ as Savior and have succumbed to the heresy known as, “Easy-believism.” It is hard to hear, and grates against our flesh, but we all need to hear it. For me, the sermon shows me my utter inability to rescue myself from my sin, and calls loudly for me to throw myself at the feet of Christ for cleansing by His blood. I am nothing before Him. He is everything, my all in all. I cannot just think good thoughts or work myself up into an emotional love for God. He alone has to come in and do a mighty work within me, or I am lost.
There are many who claim to be Christians and look so indistinguishable from the world, it is hard to escape the conviction, based on Scripture, that they may not and probably are not saved. Most American Christians who cannot handle the difficulty of this sermon will cry out, “legalist!” But Jesus’ words are inescapable. Salvation is indeed by faith alone, as shown by Paul in Romans, Galatians and elsewhere. But the conclusion of Jesus, James, Paul and other writers in other passages, is that faith is never alone, but always produces a hatred of sin, and strong affections for Jesus, to honor him with words, deeds, and actions. A good tree produces good fruit, as Jesus says; a bad tree produces bad fruit. A bad tree does not produce good fruit, nor does a good tree produce bad fruit. What is the fruit? Works that honor God or do not, good or bad fruit. The nature of the object determines what comes from it. An apple tree does not produce oranges, nor can it force itself to, and vice versa. So also, a believer, regenerated by the supernatural power of God, will always produce fruit honoring to God, albeit imperfectly. Jesus then says later on in the passage, thus you will know them by their fruit. The Scriptural nature of the sermon is inescapable. Please watch these and throw yourself at the mercy of Christ!