Life in Christ

Do you know what it means to be "in Christ"?
You haven't quite grasped it if things go wrong and the first thing you do is anxiously try to dig up some unconfessed sin as the reason.

You haven't quite grasped it if you miss your quiet time one morning and think you'll be thrown off course all day as a result.

You haven't quite grasped it if you think you have to reach some spiritual peak before God will give you a husband or fix your marriage or save your children or give you a job.

You haven't quite grasped it if you don't really understand Jesus' invitation: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11:28–30).

Why is this so hard for us—even as Christians—to grasp? It's hard in part because Satan doesn’t want us to grasp it. It's also hard because we are natural legalists at heart. We don't want the yoke of Christ; we like finding our own way. We naturally bend toward self-righteousness rather than Christ-righteousness.

That's why Jerry Bridges said that Christians have to preach the gospel to themselves every day. The gospel isn't just for the lost; it's for the already saved, too. Jesus isn't just what gets us in the door—he's what keeps us in. And he didn't just die for us—he also lived perfectly for us.

We focus on his final days—his trial, crucifixion, death, and burial—but we need to look just as much at the 33 years that led up to that. Everything he did, he did on our behalf, in our place, for us.
His resistance to temptation in the wilderness is applied to our failures.
His kindness in the face of harsh treatment covers our retaliations.
His obedience to the Father atones for our disobedience.
His righteousness atones for our self-righteousness.

Here are a few implications of what it means to be in Christ:

1. Every sin we have every committed or will commit has been forgiven already.
2. We have no need to worry that God will do his part only if we do ours.
3. Our well-being doesn't hinge on our devotional time.
4. When we sin, we are disciplined in love, not punished in anger.
5. Our well-being doesn't hinge on how well we understand doctrine or theology, or on how much love we feel for Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon wrote: "Ah! what a mercy it is that it is not your hold of Christ that saves you, but his hold of you! What a sweet fact that it is not how you grasp his hand, but his grasp of yours, that saves you."

So, as we head into Easter week, before we ask God to give us:
*order in our daily life,
*healing in a difficult relationship,
*a sense of feeling good enough for him or for others, or
*any other thing we think we need to be happy,

Let's pray that he would:
*fill us afresh with his Spirit of adoption,
*humble our hearts to see his kindness and love, and
*lead us to the rest of soul that makes for joy, no matter what our circumstances are.

He is risen!

Who's a Fool?

When we dip into Proverbs, we go there looking for wisdom. Sometimes we go there seeking wisdom in a particular area--relation wisdom, financial wisdom, moral wisdom--and that is good. But Proverbs is so much more than sage advice for getting along in the world. It shows us that wisdom isn't so much what we do as what we believe. Real wisdom is defined by Proverbs as "the fear of the Lord," which, to be brief here, is another way of saying, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37). In a nutshell, Proverbs points us to Jesus and our need of him, because he is the only one who lived wisely all the time. He is the perfect wise man, and we, more often than not, tend toward folly. As I've studied Proverbs in recent months, I've come up with a list of fool-traits. A few of them are listed here:

1. A foolish woman is easily enticed by the world. "If sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say . . . ‘We shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse” . . . do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths” (1:10–15). A woman easily enticed by the world is also often materialistic and ambitious for success by the world’s standards. She allows worldly philosophies to shape her understanding about everything. For such a woman, self-esteem and self-worth can seem to her more valuable than following Christ in a lifestyle of self-denial.

2. A foolish woman believes the lie that security lies in material blessings: "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf" (11:28).

3. A foolish woman hates knowledge. She is one who shuns, ignores, disdains, scorns, or rationalizes away biblical wisdom and counsel. She lives by the dictates of her emotions, and she insists on fulfilling her personal desires and believes that her way of thinking is always the right way. To such a woman Proverbs asks, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?” (1:22).

4. A foolish woman is complacent. A complacent woman is contented with a mediocre Christian life. She fails to grasp the truth that there is no middle road, no fence-sitting, when it comes to discipleship; we are at all times either going forward or going backward. “The complacency of fools will destroy them” (1:32).

5. A foolish woman is lazy. Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise" (6:6). The ant-like principle of industriousness applies equally to spiritual matters and to every other area of our lives. Proverbs issues a call to exercise ourselves toward wisdom and good judgment in all our ways and relationships. Foolish women tend to sit back and wait for it all to just magically happen.

6. A foolish woman is sinfully independent. She seeks autonomy from God and others. “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment” (18:1)

Do we see ourselves here somewhere? If not, consider this:

There are six things that the LORD hates,seven that are an abomination to him:haughty eyes, a lying tongue,and hands that shed innocent blood,a heart that devises wicked plans,feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. (6:16–19)

We may think we aren't fools until we realize that haughty eyes are walking into someone’s home and taking pleasure because we have better taste in décor or because our outfit is more appropriate for the occasion. We may think we don’t shed innocent blood until we remember Jesus’ words that anger is murder. We may we think we don’t stir up trouble unless we realize that we do so by participating in gossip. Each one of us is, in some way, a foolish woman.

But that's okay, because it makes Paul's words real and personal: "God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God" (1 Cor. 1:28-30). Christ is the foolish woman’s remedy--our remedy.

Blogging in 2011

Most of us go through seasons in which it seems as if the famous words of Robert Burns were written just for us: "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray." It's not all bad when plans go awry. After all, it's humbling, and it teaches us that the truth underlying Burns's words is found in Scripture:

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that" (James 4:13-15).

Last fall I expressed expectations to do more blogging. As it turned out, I blogged not at all in the months that followed. So, this year, I'm not going to talk about blogging intentions, and we'll just see what happens. In addition to my wonderful work at Crossway, I'm finishing up a book on Proverbs, and I have a rather heavy speaking schedule this winter/spring. But I miss the blog and hearing from TPC readers, so I do hope to interact with you from time to time in 2011. Soli Deo gloria!

Quote of the Week

I came across a convicting message by John Piper called "The Radical Cost of Following Jesus." Based on Jesus' words in Luke 9:56-62, Piper talks about "fickle following" and "the danger of indecisive discipleship." He says this:

"No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." You can’t plow a straight furrow while looking back. You can’t serve Christ, that is, you can’t make Christ look great, if you are always second-guessing the value of following him. Looking back means longing back. It means that we are not really sure he is worth following, especially to Jerusalem. Divided hearts like that are not useful in displaying the worth of Christ."

You can read the whole thing by clicking here.

Left Off the List

Rejected. That's how we feel when the invitations go out, but one doesn't arrive in our mailbox. As we near the end of summer wedding season, maybe you know what I'm talking about. You assumed you'd be invited. In fact, you arranged your schedule in advance to be able to attend. Then, five weeks before the wedding, you realize your invitation hasn't come. "Maybe their running behind," you tell yourself, knowing the insanity that ensues in the weeks leading up to the big day. Four weeks before the wedding, you make a few snarky remarks about the postal service. Three weeks before, you can no longer deny the reality--you just weren't invited. Some of us at that point might get angry. Most of us just feel hurt. We wonder whether we did something to offend the bride or groom. Once we have convinced ourselves that is not the case, we are further saddened by the thought that we just didn't matter enough to be included. All this sorrow is unnecessary, however, if we would just alter our perspective a bit.

First, think about it from the bride's perspective. I saw this firsthand in recent weeks, when a colleague was preparing for her wedding. She had a limited budget and, therefore, a limited guest list. I watched the bride-to-be labor over whom to include, knowing, as she did, that there would inevitably be hurt feelings. She decided the best approach was all-or-nothing: all the cousins, or none; all the sorority sisters, or none; all the nieces and nephews, or none. If neither cousin Sally nor cousin Sue was invited, they wouldn't be hurt, she reasoned. But that's not how it worked out. Cousin Sue rang the bride a week before the wedding and asked if she could come, and, oh, by the way, could she bring her new boyfriend? And cousin Sally called and said she assumed that being left off the list was an oversight, so she planned on being there--with her six kids. The poor bride was sent into a tailspin. After all, she loves her cousins. So she was left with a dilemma: more hurt feelings or going into debt.

Second, think about it from a broader perspective: It's not about you. Odds are good that you were not excluded because you offended, because you are insignficant to the host and hostess, or because you have an obnoxious personality that brings a good party to a crashing halt. It's pretty safe to say that you were left off the list for reasons that have nothing to do with you at all.

Third, think about it from a love perspective. How can we respond in a godly way to being left out, whether to a wedding or to something else? We can rejoice with God's good gift of marriage to the bride and groom. We can do all we can not to grieve the bride by letting on that we are hurt, or worse--by calling and asking why we weren't invited. We can also realize afresh that being willing to love means opening ourselves to the vulnerability of being hurt. It goes with the territory.

But how do we do this? We begin by asking God to change us. We can ask him to lift our focus outward and upward. We can also pour out our sorrow and feelings of rejection to him, and he will comfort us. We may never really know why we weren't invited, and we may have to cling to God for a season with those lingering feelings of rejection. If so, we can see it as an opportunity to know a little bit of what our Savior experienced. He offered more love than we ever could, yet he received primarily rejection. He knows what rejection feels like. "We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15).

Taking Responsibility

In a culture that sues McDonalds for our own obesity we should not then be surprised that many blame God for their problems. . . . Understand this vital principle — you will never grow in gospel holiness until you acknowledge you alone, not God or anyone else, are responsible for your own sinful behaviour. This may be easy to say but it is very hard to practice daily. Until the alcoholic, for example, stops blaming his wife, friends, childhood trauma, or the devil’s tempting influence, then he will never make progress in holiness. Until the man given to outbursts of anger with his wife or children acknowledges that he is the culprit, not the tense circumstances of living with too little money, too little time; then he will make little progress in biblical holiness. Until the man addicted to porn quits blaming his miserable marriage or job, saying he only wants relief and a little pleasure; will he make progress in 'casting out the demon' of decadent passion. This is fundamental to gospel holiness. Quit passing the buck. Quit blaming God, your past, your circumstances, or the devil. I am not saying that these are not present, but you alone are responsible for your sinful actions.

This hard-hitting article by Allen M Baker, pastor of Christ Community Presbyterian Church in West Hartford, Connecticut, is a good note on which to end the week. You can read the whole thing by clicking here.

HT: Banner of Truth