Read Illumined and Walk Transformed

Jonathan Parnell post:  Be Stressed Out and Do Not Sin

I love the Book of Psalms. As authoritative models of prayer and worship, we return to them often for help (When we don't know how to pray as we ought, the Spirit intercedes for us... and read some psalms). And in my experience, it's the easiest book to short-circuit meaning for application. Because the theology is so relevant, we can subtly gloss over what the text says to focus on us and our situations. But remember it's only for us — by God about his Son for us.

So how might it look if we read like this? Say, Psalm 4? How would it look if we asked first, "what does this text say?" and then second, "what does it mean for me right now?"

Psalm 4:1–8,

¹  Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
²  O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
³  But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
  ⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵  Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.
⁶  There are many who say, "Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!"
⁷  You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
⁸  In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

What It Means

Prayer is an important theme in this Psalm of David. It begins with the plea, "Answer me when I call" (verse 1). Again, "hear my prayer!" Then, "the Lord hears when I call to him" (verse 3). It's an amazing picture of fellowship. David talks to God and God hears David. And he keeps David. He sustains and guards him (Psalm 3:5; 4:8).

Now these are observations. They are all by the way of discovering what the text says. But don't think we're blank-slate readers. Jesus has let us in on an important tip: the whole Bible is about him (Luke 24:25–27; John 5:39, 46). So an integral part of discovering what this psalm means is seeing how it's connected to our Lord.

Consider again the amazing picture of fellowship: that David prays and God hears him. This is evident in Psalm 3:4 as well. David cried to the Lord and he gets an answer. This access mirrors Psalm 2:8 where the Lord invites his Son (and King) to ask whatever he wants and it will be given to him. The common thread in these first few psalms is that God hears the prayers of his king and no enemy will stand in his way. The Lord hears and ensures his King's dominion (Psalm 2:9–12). Though foes are many, the Lord lifts David's head (Psalm 3:1–3). Even when he's in great distress, David can trust in the Lord (Psalm 4:1–3).

David is undoubtedly a pointer to Jesus. The eternal kingdom promised in 2 Samuel 7:13sets in motion a greater longing for the Messiah to come. David will have a son who is king forever (and it's not Solomon). We begin to see that God's fulfillment of his promised Messiah is wrapped up with his faithfulness to David. God cuts off David's enemies because he is keeping his promise about Jesus (2 Samuel 7:9; 8:1–13, 14). And this is why David is able to trust God amid his enemies in Psalm 4.

David indeed has enemies, but he says not to sin. Be angry, sure, be agitated or perturbed, but do not sin. David knows the promise and he trusts the Lord. Therefore, being the model of a faithful Israelite, he offers right sacrifices (Psalm 4:5). He believes. God is enough for him. Material stuff turns immaterial. Circumstances, come what may. His joy is in the Lordwho keeps him (Psalm 4:7–8). David's faith — his trust that the Lord will keep his promise of an eternal throne (i.e., the reign of Jesus) — propelled him fearless when distress abounded. That's what is happening in Psalm. That is what it means.

Why It Matters

I was irritable a couple days last week when I got home from work. It was the crunch of deadlines and tasks and the feeling that I never seem to get enough accomplished in a day's time. More snappy than angry, my family caught the brunt of my displaced frustration. Then I read this psalm.

David was surrounded by enemies — real enemies. That is enough to make someone angry, or agitated or perturbed, but he says not to sin. He didn't try to take things into his own hands. He trusted the Lord, which included, as I said above, a hope in the future messianic king. The Lord's faithfulness to David concerning Jesus was the foundation of his fearlessness. That's why enemies may annoy him, but they won't lead him to sinful unbelief (Psalm 4:4).

Might this same reality bear the same implications for me? Sure, there are pressures. Responsibilities abound. Concede that point. But be stressed out and do not sin. God is faithful. His care for David in reference to his promise secures care for me. Right there with David, the object of my hope is the same. I look to the same Messiah. God's unfailing love for me in Jesus reaches down into the details of my life and wields them for my good (Romans 8:28). So rather than blow off steam toward my kids, I can ponder in my own heart and be silent. I can trust in the Lord. I can bank on the fact that he's got all this under control. And that makes me a different person.

What the text says (meaning) changes me now (application). We read illumined and walk transformed.

Immeasurably Generous - Incomparably Creative God

Scotty Smith:  A Prayer Celebrating the Beauty and Joy of the Gospel

     But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7 

     Heavenly Father, if I was into tattoos and this Scripture if wasn’t so long, I might consider having it inked onto my body. I want to have this amazing summary of the gospel ever before my eyes, shaping my every thought, coursing through my veins, motivating my every move.  Much better than getting a tattoo, however, is knowing you’ve already written this truth on my heart with indelible ink. What truth, beauty and joy!

     Father, you’re such an immeasurably generous and incomparably creative God. Your kindness and love appeared to me out of nowhere, like a double rainbow after a hurricane; like a rain storm in the middle of a arid desert; like a full moon on the horizon of the bleakest night. I wasn’t seeking you, but you were seeking me—running to me, running after me; not to harm me, but to rescue me from the dominion of darkness, the guilt of my sin and the shame of my story.  I praise you for your multiple and daily mercies.

     And what a “bath” you gave me in the gospel—washing me, once and for all, through the new birth. Now, you continue to renew, revive, and refresh me through the ministry of the Holy Spirit—poured forth like a healing waterfall of kindness, an artesian spring of hope, a liberating river of grace. All of these blessings come to us so freely because you’ve given Jesus for us so fully.

     Now that you’ve justified me by your grace, the rest of my life is defined by heirship and hope. Though I sometimes feel and act like a fatherless, futureless orphan, nothing could be farther from the truth. The saints in heaven are happier but no more secure than I am. You will bring to completion the good work you’ve begun in us and in the entire universe. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! So very Amen I pray in Jesus’ glorious and triumphant name.

Rule Well

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 [Message]

Identity Hid With God in Christ

Tullian Tchividjian post:  Simultaneously Righteous And A Sinner?

My good friend Jono Linebaugh (New Testament Professor at Knox Theological Seminary and content manager for LIBERATE) wrote a thoughtful post on Martin Luther’s famous phrase Simul iustus et peccator–simultaneously justified and a sinner (you can read it here). One reader questioned whether “sinner” is an appropriate term to describe Christian identity. This is an important question. After all, Paul writes to sinful Christians and calls them “saints.” Once God saves us, aren’t we new creatures?

Jono wrote a clarifying explanation of Luther’s phrase–explaining what is and what is notmeant that the Christian is “at the same time righteous and sinner.”

I’m posting his response here.

“Sinner” is an identity word and is misapplied if it’s used to name the Christian’s identity—their person. Before God, identity is not a both/and (sinner and righteous); it is an either/or (sinner or righteous). The basis of this difference is not anthropological (what I do or don’t do). It is strictly and solely Christological: to be in Christ is to be righteous before God.

Paul does something unprecedented (in comparison with early Jewish literature) in that he designates all people outside Christ with the identity “sinner” (Rom 5:8, for example). But even more novel and scandalous is his corresponding claim that it is precisely “sinners” who are identified as “righteous” in Christ (Rom 3:23-24). So, to borrow an expression from a Reformation confession, while the old Adam is a “stubborn, recalcitrant donkey,” this does not define Christian identity before God.

In light of this, it’s important to clarify that simul iustus et peccator is NOT a description of our Christian identity; it is NOT a description of who we are before God. What it is, however, is a description of the both/and that characterizes the Christian life as lived.

The pastoral payoff here is that it enables us to affirm (without crossing our fingers) that in Christ—at the level of identity—the Christian is 100% righteous before God while at the same time recognizing the persistence of sin. If we don’t speak in terms of two total states (100% righteous in Christ and 100% sinful in ourselves) corresponding to the co-existence of two times (the old age and the new creation) then the undeniable reality of ongoing sin leads to the qualification of our identity in Christ: the existence of some sin must mean that one is not totally righteous. This is acid at the very foundation of the peace we have with God on the other side of justification. To say simul iustus et peccator is therefore not to say that “sinner” is our identity; it is to say that while we remain sinful in ourselves we are, in Christ, totally righteous.

This pastoral pattern is reflected in 1 Corinthians. In themselves, the Corinthians are anything but sanctified saints: they are quarreling and creating factions around various Christian leaders; they are taking one another to court; sexual immorality is rampant; the bodily resurrection is being denied; worship is chaotic. But writing to these people in the face of this sin, Paul addresses them as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor 1:2). The possibility of this kind of speech is anchored in a distinction between who the Corinthians are in themselves and who they are in Christ. This confident and creative “calling”—this naming of a person in terms of who they are in Christ—is the catalyst of change. To call a person by their “new name” is to summon them away from faith in themselves–away from the sin and death that defines the old age–and to summon them to faith in Christ, to the salvation and status that defines the new creation and the Christian as one whose identity is “hid with God in Christ.”

Filled with the Fullness of God

May God inflame in you a passion for his centrality and supremacy in your life.  May it be so that when you are dead and gone the people you love and serve will say, "This one knew God.  This one loved God and lived for the glory of God and showed us God day after day.  This one, as the apostle said, was 'filled with the fullness of God'" (Eph 3:19). 

John Piper, John Calvin and His Passion for the Majesty of God 

Gospel Plus Nothing as Everything

Scotty Smith:  A Prayer for More and More and More Gospel Renewal

     But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Rom. 3:21-26

     Dear Lord Jesus, how did the hearts of your people get so disconnected from the gospel that there was even a need for the Reformation? How was the centrality of your Word, Christ, grace, faith and your glory forgotten? What circumstances created the necessity for Martin Luther to nail his Ninety-Five Theses to the front door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517?

     Rhetorical questions, indeed, for I know quite well why we needed the Reformation, and why we’ll always need to be rediscovering and reaffirming the gospel of your sovereign and saving grace. I know this because of my own proud and foolish, unbelieving and idol-attracted heart.

     So, Lord Jesus, here’s what I humbly and gladly affirm to be true, as this day begins. Salvation is entirely of the Lord, from beginning to end. The gospel “outed” me—revealing the depth of my need and the degree of my brokenness. I’m a whole lot worse off than I could ever imagine, and certainly a whole lot more in need of a Savior than I easily acknowledge. But as great as my need is, your provision is exponentially beyond all measure.

     Jesus, you didn’t come into this world to be my moral model to follow, co-pilot to trust or life coach to obey; you didn’t come to give me a second chance, but to be the second Adam. You lived a life of perfect obedience for me—fulfilling all the un-doable demands and exquisite beauty of God’s law for me. I praise you for doing this perfectly, Lord Jesus.

     You didn’t come to give me an example of sacrificial love to emulate. Lord Jesus, you came to be the sacrifice of love for my sin. You took my place upon the cross—receiving the punishment I deserve for all the ways I fall short of God’s glory—breaking, ignoring, and going way beyond his law.

     You became sin for me that in you I might become the righteousness of God. Hallelujah, you have exhausted God’s just and holy wrath against me and my sin—lest I despair of my shame and die in my guilt. Thank you for doing this perfectly, Lord Jesus, once and for all. Because of you I am free, I am free, I am eternally free!

     Once again I affirm that my hope is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than your blood and your righteousness. On you, Lord Jesus, the solid and saving Rock, I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. Keep bringing me back to the gospel, Jesus; keep bringing me back to the gospel plus nothing as my everything. So very Amen I pray, in your most holy and gracious name.

Nothing In My Hands I Bring

Kevin DeYoung post:  Five Key Concepts in the Reformation Understanding of Justification

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses concerning clerical abuses and indulgences on the church door at Wittenberg. This famous event is often considered that launching point for the Protestant Reformation.

The chief concern for Luther and the other reformers was the doctrine of justification. It was, to use Calvin’s language, the “main hinge on which religion turns.” And the doctrine of justification is no less important today than it was 500 years ago.

There are five key concepts every Protestant should grasp if they are to understanding the reformer’s (and the Bible’s) doctrine of justification.

First, the Christian is simul iustus et peccator. This is Martin Luther’s famous Latin phrase which means “At the same time, justified and a sinner.” The Catechism powerfully reminds us that even though we are right with God, we still violate his commands, feel the sting of conscience, and battle against indwelling sin. On this side of the consummation, we will always be sinning saints, righteous wretches, and on occasion even justified jerks. God does not acquit us of our guilt based upon our works, but because we trust “him who justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5).

Second, our right standing with God is based on an alien righteousness. Alien doesn’t refer to an E.T. spirituality. It means we are justified because of a righteousness that is not our own. I am not right with God because of my righteousness, but because “the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ” has been credited to me. “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling; naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace; foul, I to the Fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die” wrote August Toplady in the old hymn. We contribute nothing to our salvation. The name by which every Christian must be called is “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6).

Third, the righteousness of Christ is ours by imputation, not by impartation. That is to say, we are not made holy, or infused with goodness as if we possessed it in ourselves, but rather Christ’s righteousness is credited to our account.

Fourth, we are justified by faith alone. The Catholic Church acknowledged that the Christian was saved by faith; it was the alone part they wouldn’t allow. In fact, the Council of Trent from the 16^th century Catholic counter-reformation declared anathema those who believe in either justification by imputation or justification by faith alone. But evangelical faith has always held that “all I need to do is accept the gift of God with a believing heart.” True, justifying faith must show itself in good works. That’s what James 2 is all about. But these works serve as corroborating evidence, not as the ground of our justification. We are justified by faith without deeds of the law (Rom. 3:28; Titus 3:5). The gospel is “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:30-31), not “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and cooperate with transforming grace and you shall be saved.” There is nothing we contribute to our salvation but our sin, no merit we bring but Christ’s, and nothing necessary for justification except for faith alone.

Finally, with all this talk about the necessity of faith, the Catechism explains that faith is only an instrumental cause in our salvation. In other words, faith is not what God finds acceptable in us. In fact, strictly speaking, faith itself does not justify. Faith is only the instrument by which we embrace Christ, have communion with him, and share in all his benefits. It is the object of our faith that matters. If you venture out on to a frozen pond, it isn’t your faith that keeps you from crashing into the water. True, it takes faith to step onto the pond, but it’s the object of your faith, the twelve inches of ice, that keeps you safe. Believe in Christ with all your heart, but don’t put your faith in your faith. Your experience of trusting Christ will ebb and flow. So be sure to rest in Jesus Christ and not your faith in him. He alone is the one who died for our sakes and was raised for our justification. Believe this, and you too will be saved.