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Archives for September 2016

Every Good Is Grace—Every Breath, Mercy

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Never have so few words carried more far-reaching implications than the first verse of the Bible. For instance, in a single sentence God reveals Himself as the origin of everything, apart from whom nothing would or could exist, without whom we have nothing, and to whom we owe everything. Indeed, “every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

Adam and Eve
God also created our first parents. But while Adam and Eve entered the world with no trace of evil and in a personal and loving relationship with God, they did not possess eternal life, as indicated by their fall and subsequent ban from the Tree of Life. Eternal life required a simple act of fidelity and obedience to God. Created holy, they were able to forfeit their righteous status and relationship to God by a choice of the will. Yet, in freely choosing to disobey God and eat from the forbidden tree, they exalted themselves over the will, knowledge, and authority of God and spiritually died. And while their sin deserved immediate physical and spiritual death, without remedy, God cast them from the garden and kept them from partaking of the Tree of Life by which they would have lived as condemned and cursed, forever. Moreover, God sacrificed animals to cover their nakedness, granted them long lives, and gave them a quiver full of children. And so for Adam and Eve, every good was grace–every breath, mercy.

Cain and Abel
Adam stood for the entire human race in his trial of obedience in the garden, so when he fell his posterity fell with him. “All sinned” in Adam and “through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Rom. 5:12, 19). The results are promptly seen in Cain’s murder of his brother Abel from bitterness over God’s preference of Abel’s animal sacrifice to Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground. God judged and cursed Cain for his sin, but graciously allowed him to live and gave him a sign to prevent others from killing him. But what did Cain deserve? Like Adam and Eve, he deserved immediate physical and spiritual death, without remedy. So, for Cain, every good was grace–every breath, mercy.

Noah and His Family
When the horrible fruit of Adam’s sin filled the world, God filled the world with water and destroyed humanity with a worldwide flood, sparing only Noah and his family. After the Ark and its passengers disembarked upon dry land, God promised to never again destroy the world by water. Noah and his family were spared the judgment of the flood, but were they without sin? Since God judged Adam for a single sin, could Noah claim to have deserved less? Of course not, for “who can say, ‘I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?’” (Prov. 20:9). The question demands humble silence. For, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). So, in light of the same strict and unchanging standard of justice that condemned Adam, Eve, and the entirety of Adam’s posterity for a single sin, for Noah and his family, every good was grace–every breath, mercy.

Everybody
We could multiply examples, but suffice it to say that all of Adam’s physical posterity have born the curse and judgment for their own sin and the sin of Adam, for “through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men” and “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 5: 18, 3:23). Apart from the righteousness of Christ imputed (credited) to us, “There is none righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). Thus, in light of God’s strict and unchanging justice, how should we view life? Should we ask why bad things happen to good people? Should we demand better treatment from God? No, for every child of Adam, every good is grace–every breath, mercy.

Infinite Merit and Blessings in Christ
And so we have every reason to rejoice in the saving work of Jesus Christ, whose life satisfied the requirement of sinless obedience for eternal life (the same requirement that Adam failed to meet as our representative), and whose death paid the penalty required by God’s justice for our sin. God’s infinite grace and mercy in Christ earned for us infinite merit, a merit that God’s justice will compensate with an infinite reward. Thus, while our every good is grace and every breath, mercy, we have been given infinite blessings in Christ.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995. Used by permission.

Click here to download a PDF of this article.

© 2016 Craig Biehl, author of God the Reason, The Box, The Infinite Merit of Christ, and Reading Religious Affections

 

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    Empty Pursuits Made Eternally Meaningful

    “‘Vanity of vanities,’ says the preacher, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’” (Eccl. 1:1-2). Or, to paraphrase, “all is pointless, all is empty.” Ecclesiastes so reduces our many earthly activities to “chasing after wind” that it begs for an answer to the important question: What, then, gives life and living meaning and purpose?

    More to Life
    Enjoy God’s earthly blessings—enjoy your job, enjoy your roast beef, enjoy your spouse, et al (and not necessarily in that order). Great advice, but Ecclesiastes lacks a comprehensive explanation of the reason for our existence and various activities. As one of 66 books of the Bible, it can only be understood properly in light of the entire message of Scripture. Yet, when viewed in this greater biblical context, the goals of life become meaningful as part of the greater purpose of God.

    We often fail to appreciate this important truth in our youth when so many things lie before us, like learning to walk or ride a bike; graduating from kindergarten, high school, and college; getting a job, career, spouse, kids, and a good retirement. We are easily occupied by a successive series of objectives. But when we are older, when we’ve been there, done that, and get a gold watch for 40 years of hard work, we can better appreciate Solomon’s point. It’s why he can say “it is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart” (Eccl. 7:2). Death and eternity put our temporal pursuits into proper perspective.

    The Big Picture
    As Christians, our activities need not be pointless, but part of a life of meaning, contentment, and joy. We need not wait until we have been there and done that to know why we go there and do that. Yet, we sometimes forget how our many goals fit into a comprehensive and greater purpose. Our pursuits can lie scattered like pieces of an unfinished jigsaw puzzle on a table top, with little understanding of how they fit together to form a beautiful and meaningful picture.

    What, then, constitutes the ultimate purpose that gives our pursuits eternal significance and value? The answer lies with God’s ultimate purpose to display His glory, to shine forth the majestic beauty of His attributes.

    Glory in Creation
    God displays His glory in creation and providence—His fingerprints appear on everything. “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens” (Ps. 8:1). “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Ps. 108:5). In other words, let the beauty of your holiness, love, goodness, wisdom, power, etc., radiate throughout your universe for all to see. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1a). The testimony shines so clearly that all people “are without excuse” for not worshipping God and giving Him thanks (Rom. 1:18-20). Every raindrop and bite of food displays His goodness (Acts 14:17).

    Glory in Christ and Redemption
    The ultimate display of God’s glory resides in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. God’s excellent character shines forth in the plan and accomplishment of the salvation of unworthy sinners. Indeed, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” and “predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself” for “the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph. 1:4,5,6). We have been “sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance…to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:13-14). In the saving work of Christ, most particularly in His giving Himself to suffer infinite wrath to save His enemies, the beauty of God’s attributes shines brightly, including His righteousness, holiness, love, goodness, wisdom, and power.

    In fact, to see the excellence of Christ is to see the excellence of the Father: “He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). Or, as Jesus responded to Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

    God’s Purpose—Our Purpose
    What, then, comprises the one purpose that unites and gives meaning to every aspect of life? As created and redeemed by God, our purpose comes from the purpose of the One who created and redeemed us—to display and communicate His infinite excellence. “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you….every one who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory” (Isa. 43:5, 7). For “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). The testimony of our life and words should proclaim and emulate the character of Christ: “For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20). “Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Ps. 96:7b-8a). “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples” (Ps. 96:3). The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it this way: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

    Given that our ultimate purpose consists of God’s ultimate purpose to display His glory, and that His glory radiates most clearly in the person and redeeming work of Christ on the cross, may the beauty of Christ’s character shine in all we say and do. By this the vain and mundane activities of life become part of God’s marvelous purpose in all things. We have been redeemed from meaningless activity to a purpose infinitely greater than ourselves, with eternal consequences. Therefore, “whether… you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

    Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995. Used by permission.

    Click here to download a PDF of this article.

    © 2016 Craig Biehl, author of God the Reason, The Box, The Infinite Merit of Christ, and Reading Religious Affections

     

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      Is Love to God No More Than Self-Love?

      Mr. Christian’s neighbor had a new bumper sticker: Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty. To Mr. Christian, random and senseless acts seemed, well, random and senseless, so he asked his neighbor what it meant. His answer was startling and disturbing. “Selfish acts of doing something to get something are not virtuous; therefore, random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty are truly virtuous acts.” Moreover, “Christianity cannot be virtuous because Christians love God to get rewards and avoid pain.” Mr. Christian replied that believers love God because He first loved us by saving us by the work of Christ on the cross,” to which his neighbor quickly countered, “That’s my point, just as my dog loves me because I feed him, so Christians love God because He gives them good things.” At a loss for words, Mr. Christian smiled, bid his neighbor adieu, and made a quick exit, stage left.

      Setting aside the insult to man’s best friend, how do we respond to the shrewd critique of Christian love to God? Of course, it’s not a new or even uncommon view; Satan accused Job of the same thing, telling God that Job would curse Him to His face if He withdrew Job’s earthly blessings. But, is love to God really no more than love of self, or a mere love of the gifts of God? And if not, what, then, comprises a true love to God?

      Proper Gratitude for Abundant Gifts
      Christians have received marvelous gifts. United to Christ by faith, we have justification by the voluntary and perfect righteousness of Christ satisfying the requirements of God’s justice on our behalf, including sinless obedience and the penalty of death for sin, earning the infinite merit imputed to us. In Christ we are covered in His righteousness. His resurrection life is our life. His victory over sin, death, and Satan is our victory. Adopted into God’s family, we cry, “Abba, Father!” by the Holy Spirit of adoption within us. In Christ we have security, assurance, love, joy, peace, hope, comfort, purpose and meaning in life, etc. And “when He appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).

      We have immeasurable blessings for which we should be thankful. Gratitude for God’s goodness honors God. “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). Thanksgiving should characterize the life of every saint in Christ. In fact, God judges ingratitude as a great sin, worthy of condemnation (Rom. 1:21).

      The Contempt of Mere Gratitude
      At the same time, mere love to God for gifts received insults God. Just ask Job. He suffered to counter Satan’s cynical accusation that his love to God was nothing more than a love of God’s benefits (Job 1:6-11; 2:3-5). Christ tells us that such a love rises no higher than that of unbelievers (Luke 6:31-34). Moreover, to say that love to God involves nothing more than a love of God’s benefits implies that God, by Himself, is not worth loving.

      What, then, constitutes the essential ingredient of a true love to God? According to Edwards, “The first foundation of a true love to God is that whereby He is in Himself lovely, or worthy to be loved, or the supreme loveliness of His nature…God’s nature or divinity is infinitely excellent; yea it is infinite beauty, brightness, and glory itself.”[1] This beauty we see when God opens our spiritual eyes: “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who had shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). Thus we “praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His excellent greatness” (Ps. 150:2). We love His blessings, but a true love to God loves Him for who He is, first and foremost, in addition to gratitude for His blessings. To love God is to love God.

      Can You Love God’s Blessings and Not Love God?
      Yes. Consider the crowds rejoicing at Christ’s miracles when later some called for the release of Barabbas when Jesus stood bleeding and humiliated before Pilate. They “loved” him as long as they thought He would give them their desires, but abandoned Him when their hope for deliverance from Rome was dashed. Even today, stadiums fill to capacity by promises of great worldly blessings, with little consideration of the beauty of God’s attributes.

      But, doesn’t 1 John 4:19 teach that the blessings of God produce our love to God when it says, “We love because He first loved us”? Yes, in a sense, but we also love Him for the character displayed in His benevolence. Moreover, He first loved us “because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Rom. 5:5). We love God because He gave us new life and hearts of love for His intrinsic excellence. We love Him for His great benefits, including salvation, but His greatest gift to us is Himself.

      Beauty in the Gift
      As every blessing from God reveals the goodness of God, our proper response includes gratitude for the gift and love to character of God revealed in the giving of it. Thus, by Christ’s saving work we receive infinite benefits and, more importantly, we see the greatest display of the ultimate object of our love, the infinite excellence of God. We see the beauty of God’s attributes in His purpose to save us and in Christ’s perfect life and voluntary obedience that endured the punishment for our sin upon the cross. In the ministry of Christ we see the boundless and holy love that endured infinite wrath for His condemned and undeserving bride, the righteousness that could not save without the satisfaction of God’s perfect justice, His power in defeating death and the devil; His wisdom in saving the unsavable, loving the unlovable, and producing the best from the worst, and all in a manner consistent with His holiness. We see His grace, patience, truthfulness and faithfulness, mercy, and immutability, etc.

      True Love of Loveliness
      God’s love toward us and our love toward God form the foundation of our joy, the supreme motivation of our life (1 Pet. 1:3-9). The mere love of blessings without a true love to God not only dishonors God, it flows hot and cold as the blessings come and go. A mercenary love evaporates when benefits dry up or persecution strikes. But, the love founded on God’s excellence abides, for the object of its affection remains infinitely lovely, forever.

      The true saint participates in God’s ultimate purpose to display and communicate His glory by responding to the sight of His excellence with a love for His loveliness and gratitude for His blessings. Therefore, as we sing, “count your blessings, name them one by one,” give glory to God who gives them, because the gifts and the giving display the infinite excellence of the Giver. To Him be all praise through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

      [1] Jonathan Edwards, Religious Affections, Banner of Truth, 168; Yale, WJE, 2:242.

      Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995. Used by permission.

      Click here to download a PDF of this article.

      © 2016 Craig Biehl, author of God the Reason, The Box, The Infinite Merit of Christ, and Reading Religious Affections

       

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        Know Your Enemy

        “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-12).

        Christians are fighting a war, but not like the wars fought between nations with earthly weapons to kill. We fight to bring life and eternal happiness, with the Word of God as our weapon. And as our ancient foe hated and sought to destroy Christ, he hates and seeks to destroy us. So, while our soul enjoys peace in Christ, a casual disregard of the dangers of the conflict invites injury to our spiritual and possibly our physical life, and great damage to the mission of the church to display and communicate the glory of God to a lost world. Rest from the struggle against evil awaits us in glory.

        Battlefield Advantage
        Nations spend billions to know their adversaries, while generals gain a battlefield advantage by access to the game plan of the enemy. In a similar way, it behooves every believer to know the nature and tactics of our great adversary. Ignorance of Satan’s schemes risks falling victim to them. Christ said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Paul, instructing the Corinthians about Satan, said, “We are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). And, as Peter warned, “Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). We do well to know his goals and tactics.

        Danger
        At the same time, an undue focus on Satan and evil poses great danger to the believer. Sharing in God’s ultimate purpose to display and communicate His infinite excellence requires a laser-like focus on Christ to grow in our knowledge and love of God, while excessive attention to Satan and evil will not only distract us from our highest priority, it can spoil our walk with God and make us unfruitful. We don’t grow in the joy of knowing and serving Christ with Satan as the center of our gaze. What, then, are the goals and methods of our evil opponent, and how do we best understand them without harm to our spiritual life?

        The Key to the Enemy’s Playbook
        In short, the key to recognizing, understanding, and responding to Satan’s devices rests on knowing God’s ultimate purpose to display His infinite excellence through the person and saving work of Christ, and how God works to further His purpose. Everything God does, from creation to the consummation of all things, including every aspect of our individual lives, is geared to this glorious end. Thus, the essential and consistent nature of Satan’s opposition to God involves the discredit and destruction of anything that furthers the display and communication of God’s glory. If you understand this, then as you develop a more comprehensive understanding of the many ways God displays His excellence in the particulars of life, you will grow in your ability to recognize and resist the Devil’s work to destroy God’s purpose in them.

        Consider a few examples from Satan’s playbook. The marvelous design and beauty of the universe and everything in it declare God’s power, genius, and goodness—call them an accident of time, chance, and evolution. The Word of God displays and explains God’s excellence—reduce its historical accounts to unhistorical moral lessons and its every truth to the mere opinions of men. Christ displays God’s perfections, while His saving work gives the greatest and clearest picture of God’s excellence—call Him a mere man, prophet, or martyr. Marriage displays the marvelous relationship of Christ to His church—destroy it. The different roles of men and women together comprise the image of God and the relationship of the person of the Trinity—confuse and pervert them. The fruits of the Spirit display God’s character—incite the fruits of the flesh. And so on. Satan’s ploys have remained consistent and predictable since his fall from glory in heaven, even as he adjusts the appearance and taste of his deadly poisons to entice different people in different circumstances.

        Fix Your Gaze
        Our need to understand the nature and tactics of the enemy is great, but greater still remains our need to know God. Thus, even as the intensity and frequency of attacks on faith in Christ increase, we dare not turn our gaze from the source of our strength and wisdom in the battle. We need not abandon our focus, for the better we know God, the more we will understand that which opposes and insults Him. The more deeply we love His beauty and excellence, the more we will discern and resist the ugliness of evil. The more we know truth, the more we discern error.

        Thus, by growing in our knowledge of the infinite excellence of God, we not only grow in our faith, love, and joy in Christ, we better see and resist that which opposes God and the Gospel. And by the practice of applying what we know, we train our senses to discern good and evil (Hebrews 5:14), even as we put on the armor of God by which we may “stand firm” against the Devil’s designs. We need not turn our attention from God’s beauty; rather, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Thus, may “grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:2-3). By this we will see the evil of our enemy as it appears against the infinite excellence of our Savior and God. Amen.

        Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995. Used by permission.

        Click here to download a PDF of this article.

        © 2016 Craig Biehl, author of God the Reason, The Box, The Infinite Merit of Christ, and Reading Religious Affections

         

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