Repent Again?

"When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said 'Repent', He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence."--Martin Luther

The first of Martin Luther's 95 theses has been a reoccurring thought to me this year. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that it is true. Repentance is not merely the event whereby one crosses over from death into life (i.e., is converted). While it is certainly that, it is not only that. Repentance is both initial AND ongoing in the life of the believer. One might say it is to be a lifestyle. Anytime the believer finds himself or herself outside of the way of obedience they are called to repent.

In his book Disciplined by Grace Jerry Bridges quotes a passage that gives a wonderful summary of what biblical repentance looks like:

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalms 32:1-5 ESV).

Father, help us to humble ourselves before you in daily repentance. Let not our hearts grow hard from the deceitfulness of indwelling sin. Surround us by Your people who have Your Word ready upon their lips. Lead us by Your Spirit to avoid the sin that so easily entangles us. Help us to live by Your grace without abusing it.

J

P.S.--For the few people I know read this blog, I wanted to invite your comments and/or reflections here. Some of my posts will not be worth your time. Hopefully, some will be used to provoke some thoughts, applications, or additional insight. Please feel free to share. I plan to continue posting regardless of comments. However, I was told the other day that I don't write in such a way as to invite comments. If you have insights into how I might do that better I welcome those too. Thanks for being apart of the ongoing conversations I am having with myself and with the Lord. I pray God uses it for His glory.

Greater love...Greater hate

"The more sanctified the person is, the more conformed he is to the image of his Savior, the more he must recoil against every lack of conformity to the holiness of God. The deeper his apprehension of the majesty of God, the greater the intensity of his love to God, the more persistent his yearning for the attainment of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the more conscious will he be of the gravity of the sin which remains and the more poignant will be his detestation of it."--John Murray, Redemption--Accomplished and Applied (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1961), 144-45; as quoted by Jerry Bridges in The Discipline of Grace, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2004), 104.

Praying that our love for God and hatred for sin increases each day,

Jonathan

Meditating on the Cross

The following quote is from Living the Cross Centered Life (C. J. Mahaney):

"What was your spiritual focus [this past week]? Was it on the spot where God most reveals His personal love for you--the cross? Or was it on your own circumstances, your own condition, your own concerns? Was your preoccupation with your personal pursuit of godliness? Growth in godliness must be pursued, but never apart from joyful gratitude for the cross. . . . Let there never be a length period of time where you aren't receiving inspiration and instruction related directly to the cross, since that is where we find a fresh, sustaining conviction of [God's] personal love" (106-07).

I feel the following Scripture reflects Mahaney's words above:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

There is a temptation in the Christian life to move beyond the Gospel to "deeper" things (for a brief description of the Gospel see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). This notion is ultimately flawed in that the entirety of the Christian life is a pursuit of understanding and application of the Gospel. It is the Gospel that the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to faith in Christ and repentance before God, and it is the Gospel that the Spirit uses to lead us through the Christian life. How should I react to my obnoxious co-worker? Answer: just as God has dealt with me, in mercy, grace, and forgiveness. What should determine the ways I spend my time, money, and energy? Answer: Since I have been redeemed by Christ, my life is not my own, I have been bought with a price (cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 5:15). Further, the Gospel tells me that Christ will come again to receive His own and to judge the world. My time is to be spent in light of the immanent return of Christ (also a facet of the Gospel). As believers our responses are grounded in the love God has demonstrated to us in Christ's death in our place, taking upon himself the wrath of God that we rightly deserved and the present hope of His immanent return.

I pray that I do not "move past" the Gospel, but rather center my gaze each day upon the work of Christ on the cross, His vindication by God in His resurrection, and the hope of His imminent return. As we seek to encourage one another, we should keep the Gospel (i.e., the person and work of Christ) at the center of that encouragement. I pray that all who read this post know and are submitted to Him. If you do not know Jesus in the manner described above, please let me know. I would love to talk through any questions you might have. Please do not delay in responding to God's call to repent and believe (Mark 1:15).

Jonathan

Karen + Jonathan + Baby = Family

Well, it has been some time since I last posted a blog. As you might have surmised from the title, we have a lot going on these days . . . Karen is 16 weeks pregnant!!

This is something for which we have prayed for about four years. However, God in His infinite wisdom did not see fit to answer our prayers until His timing was complete.

We could not be happier and are excited about the prospects and challenges of parenthood. What an overwhelming responsibility! We know that it will only be by God's grace that such a task can be faithfully undertaken.

We have shared this news with many, but there are many others with whom we have not had time or opportunity to tell. We wish we could talk to each of our friends and family directly and share this news in person, but there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Most likely we will begin a separate blog just for family updates. I will post a link here once that is up and running, so please keep checking in on us.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. . . . Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!” (Psalms 127:3-5). God of heaven and earth, You are the giver of every good and perfect gift. There is no shadow or indication of unfaithfulness toward us. You are a God who can be trusted and to whom we must entrust ourselves. We give you praise, adoration, and honor for Your merciful and gracious gift of this pregnancy. Help us to believe when we are weak and forgive us when we follow our flesh and become anxious. Let us not presume upon tomorrow, but rest in You each day. Your mercy is more than we deserve. Our hearts, our lives, our family is Yours. Be the center of our home. Amen.

J

Eyes to See and Ears to Hear

Karen and I are reading (slowly) through the book of John. The slowness is more a result of our sporadic reading than of careful study. Nonetheless, we recently read chapter 5. In this chapter Jesus heals a paralytic on the Sabbath. Upon healing the man Jesus commands him to take up his bed and walk. The Pharisees observe the man carrying his bed on the Sabbath (i.e., "working") and question him about it. When they found out it was Jesus who had healed him and told him to carry his bed on the Sabbath it became an occasion for the Pharisees to oppose Jesus. To make matters worse in their eyes, Jesus refers to God as His Father, thus, as John notes, "making himself equal with God" (5:18). Though they saw that work (i.e., healing by Jesus and bed carrying by the ex-paralytic) was being done on the Sabbath, the Pharisees failed to recognize that Jesus was doing the works of the Father. The remainder of the chapter is Jesus' response/explanation of the works that He is doing and how He is doing them, namely, the Father is doing them through Jesus.

An important observation in Jesus' response is His emphasis upon hearing (i.e., listening to Him and believing). Jesus states, "Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. . . . An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (Jn 5:24-25). NOTE: Jesus here has the spiritually dead in view. Those who receive eternal life by believing Jesus' testimony will also be raised when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead at the end of the age (1Th 4:13-17; 2 Tim 4:1).

A significant part of Jesus' reply deals with the witnesses that testify of who Jesus is (cf. Jn 5:30-47). Though the Pharisees were looking for the Messiah in the Scriptures (v.39) they were failing to see that Jesus was the fulfillment of those Scriptures. Jesus concludes, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?" (Jn 5:46-47). It seems evident that Jesus here has the following prophecy in mind:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me [i.e., Moses] from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the LORD said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19 ESV).

Moses' message is simple: "God will raise up a prophet greater than me. Listen to Him." Jesus, as the only begotten Son of God, knows God like no other prophet (Jn 1:18) and has delivered to us the words of life (Jn 6:68). The Pharisees failed both to recognize the works of God and to hear the testimonies of Scripture. It is ironic that on the Sabbath, a day set aside for the remembrance of God's mighty acts of salvation (Deut 5:12-15), their focus on their own legalistic rules to preserve the Sabbath led them to overlook the work that God was doing before their very eyes. In these works God was showing Jesus to be the prophet who was greater than Moses. Nonetheless, they failed to heed Moses' command and did not listen.

I pray that God will give us eyes to see and recognize Christ for who He is and ears to hear His words of life and embrace them in faith. May we accept the demands of these words and joyfully live them out in eager anticipation of our great Savior's return!

Grace and Peace,

J

We are Beggars...

"We are beggars! That is true."--Martin Luther, February 16, 1546 (2 days before his death)

This quote came to mind tonight as I conclude an evening of study. Reflecting at the end of his life, Luther, who spent practically his entire adulthood pouring over and proclaiming the Scriptures, recognized how feeble his understanding truly was. All of us (even the greatest theological and philosophical minds of all time) are in need of God's gracious lisp as Calvin put it. Our minds are too feeble to understand the infinite depth of God's character nor can we fathom His purposes from start to finish. While he has truly revealed Himself by His Word and Spirit, we cannot wrap our minds or our words around the breadth of His being. Our infinite and eternal God exhausts the ability of our frail and finite minds to contemplate. He is incomprehensibly bigger than us.

Christians throughout history have acknowledged that the more we know about God, the more we realize how little we know (a.k.a., "the cloud of unknowing"). What a helpful reminder for us when we ever feel we have arrived or are "getting close." Such thoughts actually reveal quite the opposite: we are getting farther away rather than closer. True understanding of God leads to humility and worship of Him for who He is and what He has done. If our study of God results in pride and self-worship, we have missed the mark miserably.

Father, grant us humility and meekness in our learning. Take the feeble words that we speak and write about you and use them for Your glory and the spreading of Your Gospel. We thank You that it is in our weaknesses that You demonstrate your strength. Help us to humble ourselves before You, to rely solely upon You, and to lead others to know You and make You known. We look forward to the day when Your Son will return and we will no longer "see in a mirror dimly, but [rather] face to face," no longer only "know in part" but rather "know fully, even as [we] have been fully known” (1 Cor 13:12).

Declaring God's Glory...Together

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:1-6).

This week in our Care Group meeting we discussed the nature of Christian fellowship. Since our meeting I read the passage above. It reflects much of what we discussed.

1. God has called all his children (i.e., those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior--Matth 16:16) to consider each other and how we might edify ("build up") each other (Phil. 2:1-4).
   
2. As with all areas of the Christian life, Christ is our model. The Son of God humbled himself, leaving the glory of heaven, to seek and save those who were lost (cf. Phil 2:1-11).
   
3. God in His providence has supplied us with His Word written--the Holy Scriptures. As we are led by His Holy Spirit in reading and hearing this Word, we be convicted of sin and led in paths of righteousness (ways that please God) (cf. Jn 16).
   
4. As we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, humbly seek God and seek to live in the humility of Jesus Christ, God will produce a unity among His children. This unity and fellowship will lead us to a particular mission.
   
5. Our mission as a people called by God is to "glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [with one voice]." This is our great calling, to adore and declare the glory of our great, holy, loving, and gracious God.

Paul's prayer for the Romans is my prayer for you: "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

J