Yesterday, for the first time, an active player in one of the four major sports in America has announced his homosexuality openly.
Quite frankly, this was inevitable, and it is simply the first. There will be more.
That said, for Christians this isn't really a story. Jason Collins is still unsaved, regardless of whether his homosexual lifestyle is publicly known or not. The Bible makes it clear that those who practice homosexuality are headed for hell.
"9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor
thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Cor. 6:9-11, ESV).
I don't watch basketball much (more of a baseball/hockey guy), so I don't know anything about Jason Collins as a person. I assume he's a nice enough guy. However nice he may be, though, Jason Collins is also a sinner, just like you and me. The *only* thing that separates him from you or me is the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ. Not my natural ability to take hold of God's grace; not my churchgoing or preaching or anything else.
But the real story is not that Jason Collins is a practicing homosexual. The real story is how the culture at large is responding to Jason Collins' revelation. Far too many folks are treating this as the newest branch of the civil rights movement (a misnomer - rights according to our constitution are given by our Creator and cannot be lost; regardless of how you frame the debate there are no rights being lost here). This is absurd for many reasons. First, what right do homosexuals lack that all other citizens possess?
African Americans, for instance were treated by their fellow citizens as unequal. They were segregated away from those with whiter skin because they were apparently lesser citizens. Black men and women were restricted from a number of things that would have been taken for granted by the average white man.
Homosexuals are not segregated to different bathrooms. Homosexuals are not denied the right to sit on a bus. Homosexuals are not restricted from playing in sports on any level. Homosexuals are not restricted from the practice of sin that is defined by their name - that is ultimately between them and God; restricting it does not change their heart (although as Christians we would desire to keep their actions as private as possible to prevent others following their example and turning away from God). And regardless of what is erroneously argued, homosexuals are not restricted from marriage except from the same ways that heterosexuals are: No one is allowed under the law to marry a person already married, a close relative, a child, an animal, or someone of the same sex (I am aware that some states do perform a ceremony that they refer to as marriage in this last one).
Regarding the restriction against marrying someone of the same gender: Homosexuals argue that by restricting them from 'marrying' someone of their own gender, while we may allow them to act in whatever they wish to do, we legally bar them from uniting in marriage with the person they desire to be with. While this is a patently poor argument - I could just as easily argue that if I was married and desired to marry somebody else without divorcing my current spouse, the law was unfair for not letting me do as I desired. This could be adapted to any of the other restricted classes listed above - at the same time, any rational debate is useless against those who advocate homosexual 'rights'. They have already decided that marriage to someone of the same gender is a right and any arguments to the contrary, no matter how valid, are framed as 'homophobic'/'ignorant' - And discussions such as these are usually won based on how the debate has been framed to the culture at large. Hence, why the positive view of homosexuality is gaining steam in culture, particularly among young people: No one likes to think of themselves as a bigot, or as ignorant, or irrationally uncomfortable over the issue; and too many, even among professing believers are more knowledgable about culture than they are about God and the bible, making the direction they will lean a foregone conclusion.
Ultimately though, regardless of how much those who argue for these so-called rights invoke the name of Jesus and attempt to tie his name to 'tolerance', what we are seeing in our culture is no less than a concentrated assault on the law of God - which is a reflection of his very person and nature. This is the playbook of Satan - while mankind has little problem (given the natural depravity of our hearts) in sinning, the devil is fully aware of God's existence and character. And although mankind as a whole is at enmity with God, the devil hates him with a burning hatred. Subsequently, the forces of darkness are at work to pervert God's creation.
Everything that God made, he made for the purpose of demonstrating his glory. Marriage, the family: there are many elements in this relational unit that glorify God. The marriage relationship between a man and a woman is shown clearly in Ephesians 5:22-33 to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. Calling a same-sex relationship marriage is not tolerance or even progressiveness (if we view progress in a positive sense), except in progress towards more abominable displays of sin and perversion of God's established order. In fact, this is not merely a cultural issue, it is a spiritual one. When those in the world around us press us to deny what we believe the Bible teaches about homosexuality, they are pressing us to deny the Bible itself and the God who authored it.
Sadly, regardless of what happens in the courts with Prop 8 in California, or the Defense Of Marriage Act, the homosexual agenda is advancing. Making new laws will not halt the spreading of radical depravity in culture or the human heart. Unfortunately, we didn't just wake up one morning to find ourselves in the situation we are currently in. The responsiblity for the spiraling degenerance of sexuality, particular in America, must in part be laid at the feet of the church. Certainly it is true that unregenerate sinners will always exist until the final judgment, but if the church had not failed so miserably over the last hundred or more years, we would not have decayed so far in so short a time.
There have been a couple of basic problems in the church. One branch of evangelicalism has been essentially faithful in knowing the Word and denouncing sin. Their problem is not that they have been too lax, but they have have much too broad a focus in their denunciation of sin, causing many to refuse to take them seriously. Debates over lesser issues with a lack or love or charity has caused their influence to be marginalized outside the select few who still actually listen. The broader problem, though, has been in the opposite direction. Divorce is rampant even in the church. Sex outside of marriage has gone from restricted, to frowned upon, to no big deal. The church has done an abysmally poor job of standing up and condemning these things among professing believers. And if even those who name the name of Christ are acting this way, should we be surprised when unbelievers see no problem with these sins?
This generation and the last have failed not merely because they have not been doers of the Word, but because too many of them weren't even truly hearers of the Word.
If there is to be a reformation in this country, it must start with the church. We must be faithful to know the Word of God and what it teaches. We must be faithful to understand it and pass on its truth when given the opportunity. We must be careful not to damage our own credibility by excessively debating issues of lesser importance like music, bible versions, political activism, etc. (all important things that deserve their place in discussions at the appropriate time, but rarely issues to draw a line in the sand over). We must always be guided by God's Word and not swayed by our emotions that can easily be led astray by remnants of our former sin nature that have not fully been expelled from our heart and mind.
Their is now an openly homosexual professional athlete. The question is not, 'How did we get here?' The question is, 'What now?' How can we as individuals do our part to forge a new reformation in the church in America that, if God allows, will be the foundation of a new revival in America? That is the question.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
ICYMI - "What Does a Christian Look Like?" Sunday Afternoon, 4-7-13
Originally preached at Carmel Village on Sunday afternoon, about a week and a half ago. Dedicated to Kyle since he was unable to make it. This is the final message in a loose series that Kevin, Kyle and I were preaching through Philippians. The text is essentially Philippians 4:10-20, although it runs back through most of the rest of the book as a kind of light refresher on the contents of Philippians. If you feel like skimming through it, hope you enjoy.
-------
What does it mean to be ‘filled with the fruit of righteousness’? A tree bears fruit based on the seed that planted it. The fruit of an apple tree would be apples, etc. The fruit of righteousness in one’s life would be how our heart, and subsequently our whole person – the inward thoughts and the outward actions – how that looks when the seed of righteousness, so to speak, is planted in our heart.
That is what happens, after all, with believers. God promised in Ezekiel 36 that he would put his Spirit in us, remove the heart of stone from inside us and replace it with a heart of flesh, and write his law on our heart.
Our hearts did not become sinful because you and I sinned – rather, we sinned because our hearts are sinful. That’s what David testified in Psalm 51:5,
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Ever since the original sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden that we read about in Genesis 3, mankind has from generation to generation been sinners at heart.
In fact, that is the Gospel: That man is lost in sin – separated from God and under condemnation. But God sent his Son to become a man and live a life in full accordance with the law. By so doing, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, could take the penalty due to unbelievers and allow them to be received by God through his righteousness that is applied to our account. He took our punishment – we go free.
Now that sounds an awful lot like the conclusion of a sermon. In fact, when I preach the unbelievers, that’s the bulk of my message. Today, it is just the introduction. We’re going to go beyond that.
The guilty record is gone – there is no longer any condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, it says in Romans 5:1. The Holy Spirit renewed our hearts, causing us to be born again – born from above. Subsequently, we no longer live the way we did before. This is what Peter is saying in 1 Peter 4.
“1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for
he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his
time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our
past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” (1 Peter 4:1-5, NKJV).
So let’s return now to where we started: Philippians 1. Paul is telling these believers his prayer for them. In verse 11, he prays that they may be,
“...filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise
of God.”
In basic terms this is what Philippians as a book is about: We have believed the Gospel, we’ve repented of our sins – how do we live now? What does a Christian – a follower of Jesus Christ – look like?
Our text is in Philippians 4:10-20. Back in verses 2-3, Paul gave a negative example – What Christians are not to do. Then in verses 10-16, he gives a positive example.
In verses 2-3, Paul points out these two prominent ladies in the church at Philippi who are at odds. He does not take sides; he does not say that either or both of these ladies are not saved; he simply points out the problem, urges them to be at unity, and gives practical instruction on how they can individually resolve the situation in verses 4-9. He tells them to rejoice (v.4); be known by all as reasonable by your habit (v.5); scuttle anxieties by giving them to God in prayer (v.6-7); and meditate on good things – and he gives examples in verses 8-9.
These things all lead to the humbling of self and the return to the Godly imperative of the Old Testament: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that all the law and prophets hang on those two principles.
To rejoice in the Lord is to delight yourself in God; enjoy him; appreciate what he provides instead of puffing ourselves up with all we suppose that we have done.
Be reasonable – but he doesn’t stop there; I mean, everyone thinks they’re reasonable – Go beyond that: be someone who is recognized by all as reasonable. Basically, don’t be recognized as a difficult person to be with – although it is not an excuse for us to behave badly because someone else is: Our standard is God, not those around us.
Get rid of anxieties: This is what happens when we start looking to ourselves to solve problems rather than God. The response that someone makes who is led by the Holy Spirit is that when things that would cause anxiety happen, we recognize that they have come from God to help us grow more like him. That’s what James is talking about in the first chapter of his book: Don’t get upset about difficulties, but embrace them as God-sent for our benefit. We might almost describe it like spiritual fitness. Certainly Paul uses imagery like that in his epistles.
Fourth, our actions are the result of our thoughts. We generally don’t act contrary to the inclinations of our heart. Thus, Paul’s solution is to meditate on things that are ‘true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, things worthy of praise’ (v.8).
Finally, Paul says: The things ‘you have learned and received and heard and seen in me’ – what I’ve taught you and what you’ve seen me do – ‘practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.’ (Phil. 4:9, ESV). Their problem was that they weren’t at peace – Do these things, Paul says, and the God of peace will be with you.
That is the negative example from Philippi with Paul's antidote. That is also the introduction. So what is the positive example?
We’ll look over two different main headings on this section: Paul’s analysis and Paul’s directive. What he observed, and, based on that, what he instructed them.
“10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being
in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of
facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who
strengthens me.
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the
beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in
giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs
once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I
have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the
gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will
supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and
Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:10-19, ESV).
1. Paul’s Analysis
Chapter 4 is really what the whole letter has been building toward. Paul’s purpose in writing the letter was to help settle this feud in v.2-3, and to express appreciation for financial support that the Philippian church had sent him. The rest of the book is preparing the ground for Paul’s teaching about these two issues in their church.
He begins by sharing with them the joy that their gift brought him in v.10.
“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.”
Now at length, or at last, you have helped support me again, Paul says. Less charitable readers might imply from this some acrimony on Paul’s part: 'It’s about time you sent me some money to support me'. But that is not Paul’s point at all. That’s why he stresses that, although it has been several years since they last sent him financial support to help provide for him in his mission work, this does not indicate a lack of concern for him, rather, there was just not an opportunity for them to give.
But why is Paul rejoicing in the Lord over their gift?
a. Their work is good, not because of need
If it was me, I can imagine thinking: ‘Wow, I was really running low on savings to provide for myself. This gift came just at the right time to fill some pressing needs.’ But that’s not what Paul says.
“11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be
content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every
circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
(Phil. 4:11-12, ESV).
Paul caps this point off with perhaps the most famous verse of this book,
“I can do all things through him [Christ] who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:11, ESV).
Now, this verse isn’t actually meant as a sort of Christian version of the American dream: ‘I can do anything I want to do…with God’s help!’ No, what Paul is saying is that, regardless of whether he is eating three meals a day and sleeping in a warm bed, or whether he is cold at night and unsure where his next meal is coming from, God provides for him. In either case, God cares for him.
That’s why Paul says his joy over their gift was not because of his need. I suspect Paul probably did not have an abundance of food and clothing or any other perks.
Here’s the thing, though, Paul does not want them to be full of themselves or think of themselves particularly highly as Christians because of this; he wants to put it in perspective. That’s why he says in verse 19,
“And my God will supply every need…”
It is the same way in evangelism. Like the sower of seeds in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13: We are the sower. The seed is God’s Word. Some seed falls on good ground and grows and flourishes. Some seed falls on bad ground and never makes it to maturity. The growth of the seed – its life – comes from God. As Paul put it: I planted, another watered, but God gives the increase.
We have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. God is all-powerful and all knowing. He has ordained all that will take place. God knows his own sheep. They will hear his voice, as it says in John 10. If we fail to share the Gospel with someone that God has told us to, that does not limit God’s ability to save them. But our failure does mean that we will not be involved in their salvation in any way.
Now, the fact that God does not need you or me to do any work – he can work without our help - that doesn’t mean that we should be indolent and unconcerned. God has commanded us to help others, particularly other believers, because they are our spiritual brothers and sisters. We are family members in Christ, and thus ought to care for each other. God has also commanded us to evangelize. Therefore, we must do so.
What we must not do is have a puffed up idea of our own importance. Perspective is needed so that we recognize that all we do is subordinate to what God does.
But if God could just magically create a pile of gold right next to Paul, and, for that matter, if God could simply save everyone on earth at that time, why does he want us to give and to evangelize? Why are these things important if God could simply do them himself?
b. Their work is good because of what it shows.
“14 Yet it was kind of your to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that
in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with
me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my
needs once and again.” (Phil. 4:14-16, ESV).
Paul tells us that this church as a pattern of acting in this way – of supporting him in the ministry; providing financially for him. There were churches in which Paul refused to ask for money, in order that they not think of him as a traveling confidence man. But this is a church that Paul was close to. They knew that he was not using their money to enrich himself. On the contrary, the money was used to further the gospel.
As we saw in verse 10, Paul is rejoicing over their gift. This is a good thing they are doing – a godly thing. But he wants them to have perspective on why it is a good thing. We saw in v.11-13 that his joy is not merely because he needed their help. After all, God provides for him, Paul noted.
On the contrary, the reason he is rejoicing over their gift is in the next verse:
“17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
Now, remember back to chapter 1, verse 11. Paul prayed that they would, as a church, be
“filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
The purpose of God in creation was to create man in his image so that they could be in relationship with each other – God with man. God would show his power and glory and man would be blessed by God’s gifts and revel in God’s majesty.
Because of sin and the need for salvation, man is now in a different state. That’s what we were talking about at the beginning. What does a Christian look like? Our guilty record is gone because Jesus died for our sins - if we have repented of them and trusted him for salvation. Thus, we are no longer under condemnation for sin. But habitually, we still sin. That is why the Holy Spirit now indwells us: To conform us back into the image of God; to make us like Jesus Christ.
So that is why Paul is excited and rejoicing over their gift: It demonstrates that God is working in them. This is the not attitude of a non-believer. While those who are not Christians do sometimes help others, it is rare that they will be willing to give up much for someone else, particularly if it is not someone close to them.
The unbeliever who is separated from God is characterized by selfishness – putting himself first and others second. The believer, the one who has been reborn from above and has the Holy Spirit at work in his heart, is characterized by selflessness. We begin to see fruit in his life: He is beginning to love God and others more, and himself less.
Self-love and self-satisfaction are the enemies of God. Understand: We are not basically good people. We are by nature sinners who have been separated from God by our sin. It is only by God’s grace that there is any good in us at all. It is a lie from Satan that we are basically good. He doesn’t want us to see where we fall short and fail. The devil does not want us to see how dirty and sinful we really are. The closer we get to God, the more we will recognize just how sinful we are.
In order to emphasize the double-standard that we have, consider this statement from years back: “I can keep a secret just fine; it’s that person I told it to who can’t keep a secret.” We become annoyed at other people for making the same mistakes that we, if we’re honest about ourselves, are guilty of.
Now, this selfless behavior has been a theme of the whole book, really. Paul’s main point throughout Philippians has been: What does a follower of Jesus look like?
In chapter 1, he gave his own example: Paul is in prison, and other people were preaching the gospel out of spite: While they weren’t sincere, they were trying to ‘afflict him in his imprisonment’ (1:17). Paul’s response? He does not complain or whine. He rejoices that the gospel is being preached.
Does he complain in the same chapter about being in prison or the fact that might be executed (as does eventually take place)? No. He says that his imprisonment has actually made it clear to the imperial guard in Rome that he is imprisoned for Christ. And Paul’s life on earth, he tells us, is not important to him. In fact, Paul says in 1:23, I’d just as soon be gone and with Christ now, but I recognize that I can still be of help to you in my teaching. In any case, Paul is willing to leave those details up to Christ. He truly has learned, as he said in chapter 4, verse 11, to be content in every situation.
But then in chapter 2, Paul tells us to have the same attitude as Christ.
“1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the
Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same
love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of
men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:1-11, ESV).
That’s what Peter was saying earlier in 1 Peter 4:
"1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for
whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the
flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2, ESV).
And finally in Philippians 3, Paul notes practically his own example. His desire is,
“10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from
the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it
my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made
it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Phil. 3:10-14, ESV).
In view of that, Paul exhorts,
“15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God
will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Phil. 3:15-16, ESV).
That leads us into the second (and much briefer) point,
2. Paul’s Directive
Paul said in chapter 4, verse 17,
“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
Basically, this is the kind of attitude they should have: This generous, selfless, giving attitude. And I don’t think this was just their spare change from a penny jar. Paul describes their gift in verse 18 as,
“…a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”
This imagery looks back to sacrifices of the Old Testament, and to an extent, even pagan sacrifices. The smell of this offering is pleasing to God. The idea behind those sacrifices was that it cost them deeply. In the book of Malachi, that is what God is angered over. The people were offering blind animals and tainted crops as sacrifices to God. The Lord said, ‘If you offered that to the governor, would he accept it?’ On the contrary, this gift was pleasing to the Lord. It showed selflessness and generosity.
We are to cultivate this kind of behavior.
As we noted earlier, we’re being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ. That’s why how we act is so important. God no longer walks on the earth as Jesus did. People can’t just look at him. He is veiled in his creation. The world sees God through believers, and our purpose is to glorify him: To demonstrate his glory in changing us from sinners to saints.
But if we still act just like everyone else – self-centered and greedy, what kind of message do we send about God? It ought to be obvious that we are different.
In closing, there are two things we need to do. First, examine ourselves carefully, not being afraid to uncover sin inside us or to be changed if necessary. That’s a necessity if we are truly saved by Christ. If you don’t bear the cross, you can’t wear the crown.
Second, pray for the Holy Spirit’s help. We cannot do it on our own. Trying to rely on ourselves to change will make no result. We need to first pray for God’s help and seek to demonstrate Christ’s example to those around us as best we can, recognizing that we will still fail often. One key to changing is to look back at Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:4-9. These are marvelous keys to cultivating Godliness within ourselves.
-------
What does it mean to be ‘filled with the fruit of righteousness’? A tree bears fruit based on the seed that planted it. The fruit of an apple tree would be apples, etc. The fruit of righteousness in one’s life would be how our heart, and subsequently our whole person – the inward thoughts and the outward actions – how that looks when the seed of righteousness, so to speak, is planted in our heart.
That is what happens, after all, with believers. God promised in Ezekiel 36 that he would put his Spirit in us, remove the heart of stone from inside us and replace it with a heart of flesh, and write his law on our heart.
Our hearts did not become sinful because you and I sinned – rather, we sinned because our hearts are sinful. That’s what David testified in Psalm 51:5,
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Ever since the original sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden that we read about in Genesis 3, mankind has from generation to generation been sinners at heart.
In fact, that is the Gospel: That man is lost in sin – separated from God and under condemnation. But God sent his Son to become a man and live a life in full accordance with the law. By so doing, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, could take the penalty due to unbelievers and allow them to be received by God through his righteousness that is applied to our account. He took our punishment – we go free.
Now that sounds an awful lot like the conclusion of a sermon. In fact, when I preach the unbelievers, that’s the bulk of my message. Today, it is just the introduction. We’re going to go beyond that.
The guilty record is gone – there is no longer any condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, it says in Romans 5:1. The Holy Spirit renewed our hearts, causing us to be born again – born from above. Subsequently, we no longer live the way we did before. This is what Peter is saying in 1 Peter 4.
“1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for
he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his
time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our
past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness,
revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” (1 Peter 4:1-5, NKJV).
So let’s return now to where we started: Philippians 1. Paul is telling these believers his prayer for them. In verse 11, he prays that they may be,
“...filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise
of God.”
In basic terms this is what Philippians as a book is about: We have believed the Gospel, we’ve repented of our sins – how do we live now? What does a Christian – a follower of Jesus Christ – look like?
Our text is in Philippians 4:10-20. Back in verses 2-3, Paul gave a negative example – What Christians are not to do. Then in verses 10-16, he gives a positive example.
In verses 2-3, Paul points out these two prominent ladies in the church at Philippi who are at odds. He does not take sides; he does not say that either or both of these ladies are not saved; he simply points out the problem, urges them to be at unity, and gives practical instruction on how they can individually resolve the situation in verses 4-9. He tells them to rejoice (v.4); be known by all as reasonable by your habit (v.5); scuttle anxieties by giving them to God in prayer (v.6-7); and meditate on good things – and he gives examples in verses 8-9.
These things all lead to the humbling of self and the return to the Godly imperative of the Old Testament: Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said that all the law and prophets hang on those two principles.
To rejoice in the Lord is to delight yourself in God; enjoy him; appreciate what he provides instead of puffing ourselves up with all we suppose that we have done.
Be reasonable – but he doesn’t stop there; I mean, everyone thinks they’re reasonable – Go beyond that: be someone who is recognized by all as reasonable. Basically, don’t be recognized as a difficult person to be with – although it is not an excuse for us to behave badly because someone else is: Our standard is God, not those around us.
Get rid of anxieties: This is what happens when we start looking to ourselves to solve problems rather than God. The response that someone makes who is led by the Holy Spirit is that when things that would cause anxiety happen, we recognize that they have come from God to help us grow more like him. That’s what James is talking about in the first chapter of his book: Don’t get upset about difficulties, but embrace them as God-sent for our benefit. We might almost describe it like spiritual fitness. Certainly Paul uses imagery like that in his epistles.
Fourth, our actions are the result of our thoughts. We generally don’t act contrary to the inclinations of our heart. Thus, Paul’s solution is to meditate on things that are ‘true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, things worthy of praise’ (v.8).
Finally, Paul says: The things ‘you have learned and received and heard and seen in me’ – what I’ve taught you and what you’ve seen me do – ‘practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.’ (Phil. 4:9, ESV). Their problem was that they weren’t at peace – Do these things, Paul says, and the God of peace will be with you.
That is the negative example from Philippi with Paul's antidote. That is also the introduction. So what is the positive example?
We’ll look over two different main headings on this section: Paul’s analysis and Paul’s directive. What he observed, and, based on that, what he instructed them.
“10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being
in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought
low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of
facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who
strengthens me.
14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the
beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in
giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs
once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I
have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the
gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will
supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and
Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:10-19, ESV).
1. Paul’s Analysis
Chapter 4 is really what the whole letter has been building toward. Paul’s purpose in writing the letter was to help settle this feud in v.2-3, and to express appreciation for financial support that the Philippian church had sent him. The rest of the book is preparing the ground for Paul’s teaching about these two issues in their church.
He begins by sharing with them the joy that their gift brought him in v.10.
“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You
were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.”
Now at length, or at last, you have helped support me again, Paul says. Less charitable readers might imply from this some acrimony on Paul’s part: 'It’s about time you sent me some money to support me'. But that is not Paul’s point at all. That’s why he stresses that, although it has been several years since they last sent him financial support to help provide for him in his mission work, this does not indicate a lack of concern for him, rather, there was just not an opportunity for them to give.
But why is Paul rejoicing in the Lord over their gift?
a. Their work is good, not because of need
If it was me, I can imagine thinking: ‘Wow, I was really running low on savings to provide for myself. This gift came just at the right time to fill some pressing needs.’ But that’s not what Paul says.
“11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be
content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every
circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
(Phil. 4:11-12, ESV).
Paul caps this point off with perhaps the most famous verse of this book,
“I can do all things through him [Christ] who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:11, ESV).
Now, this verse isn’t actually meant as a sort of Christian version of the American dream: ‘I can do anything I want to do…with God’s help!’ No, what Paul is saying is that, regardless of whether he is eating three meals a day and sleeping in a warm bed, or whether he is cold at night and unsure where his next meal is coming from, God provides for him. In either case, God cares for him.
That’s why Paul says his joy over their gift was not because of his need. I suspect Paul probably did not have an abundance of food and clothing or any other perks.
Here’s the thing, though, Paul does not want them to be full of themselves or think of themselves particularly highly as Christians because of this; he wants to put it in perspective. That’s why he says in verse 19,
“And my God will supply every need…”
It is the same way in evangelism. Like the sower of seeds in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13: We are the sower. The seed is God’s Word. Some seed falls on good ground and grows and flourishes. Some seed falls on bad ground and never makes it to maturity. The growth of the seed – its life – comes from God. As Paul put it: I planted, another watered, but God gives the increase.
We have a tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. God is all-powerful and all knowing. He has ordained all that will take place. God knows his own sheep. They will hear his voice, as it says in John 10. If we fail to share the Gospel with someone that God has told us to, that does not limit God’s ability to save them. But our failure does mean that we will not be involved in their salvation in any way.
Now, the fact that God does not need you or me to do any work – he can work without our help - that doesn’t mean that we should be indolent and unconcerned. God has commanded us to help others, particularly other believers, because they are our spiritual brothers and sisters. We are family members in Christ, and thus ought to care for each other. God has also commanded us to evangelize. Therefore, we must do so.
What we must not do is have a puffed up idea of our own importance. Perspective is needed so that we recognize that all we do is subordinate to what God does.
But if God could just magically create a pile of gold right next to Paul, and, for that matter, if God could simply save everyone on earth at that time, why does he want us to give and to evangelize? Why are these things important if God could simply do them himself?
b. Their work is good because of what it shows.
“14 Yet it was kind of your to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that
in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with
me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my
needs once and again.” (Phil. 4:14-16, ESV).
Paul tells us that this church as a pattern of acting in this way – of supporting him in the ministry; providing financially for him. There were churches in which Paul refused to ask for money, in order that they not think of him as a traveling confidence man. But this is a church that Paul was close to. They knew that he was not using their money to enrich himself. On the contrary, the money was used to further the gospel.
As we saw in verse 10, Paul is rejoicing over their gift. This is a good thing they are doing – a godly thing. But he wants them to have perspective on why it is a good thing. We saw in v.11-13 that his joy is not merely because he needed their help. After all, God provides for him, Paul noted.
On the contrary, the reason he is rejoicing over their gift is in the next verse:
“17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
Now, remember back to chapter 1, verse 11. Paul prayed that they would, as a church, be
“filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
The purpose of God in creation was to create man in his image so that they could be in relationship with each other – God with man. God would show his power and glory and man would be blessed by God’s gifts and revel in God’s majesty.
Because of sin and the need for salvation, man is now in a different state. That’s what we were talking about at the beginning. What does a Christian look like? Our guilty record is gone because Jesus died for our sins - if we have repented of them and trusted him for salvation. Thus, we are no longer under condemnation for sin. But habitually, we still sin. That is why the Holy Spirit now indwells us: To conform us back into the image of God; to make us like Jesus Christ.
So that is why Paul is excited and rejoicing over their gift: It demonstrates that God is working in them. This is the not attitude of a non-believer. While those who are not Christians do sometimes help others, it is rare that they will be willing to give up much for someone else, particularly if it is not someone close to them.
The unbeliever who is separated from God is characterized by selfishness – putting himself first and others second. The believer, the one who has been reborn from above and has the Holy Spirit at work in his heart, is characterized by selflessness. We begin to see fruit in his life: He is beginning to love God and others more, and himself less.
Self-love and self-satisfaction are the enemies of God. Understand: We are not basically good people. We are by nature sinners who have been separated from God by our sin. It is only by God’s grace that there is any good in us at all. It is a lie from Satan that we are basically good. He doesn’t want us to see where we fall short and fail. The devil does not want us to see how dirty and sinful we really are. The closer we get to God, the more we will recognize just how sinful we are.
In order to emphasize the double-standard that we have, consider this statement from years back: “I can keep a secret just fine; it’s that person I told it to who can’t keep a secret.” We become annoyed at other people for making the same mistakes that we, if we’re honest about ourselves, are guilty of.
Now, this selfless behavior has been a theme of the whole book, really. Paul’s main point throughout Philippians has been: What does a follower of Jesus look like?
In chapter 1, he gave his own example: Paul is in prison, and other people were preaching the gospel out of spite: While they weren’t sincere, they were trying to ‘afflict him in his imprisonment’ (1:17). Paul’s response? He does not complain or whine. He rejoices that the gospel is being preached.
Does he complain in the same chapter about being in prison or the fact that might be executed (as does eventually take place)? No. He says that his imprisonment has actually made it clear to the imperial guard in Rome that he is imprisoned for Christ. And Paul’s life on earth, he tells us, is not important to him. In fact, Paul says in 1:23, I’d just as soon be gone and with Christ now, but I recognize that I can still be of help to you in my teaching. In any case, Paul is willing to leave those details up to Christ. He truly has learned, as he said in chapter 4, verse 11, to be content in every situation.
But then in chapter 2, Paul tells us to have the same attitude as Christ.
“1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the
Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same
love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in
humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to
be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of
men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the
name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:1-11, ESV).
That’s what Peter was saying earlier in 1 Peter 4:
"1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for
whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the
flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2, ESV).
And finally in Philippians 3, Paul notes practically his own example. His desire is,
“10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from
the dead.12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it
my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made
it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
(Phil. 3:10-14, ESV).
In view of that, Paul exhorts,
“15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God
will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Phil. 3:15-16, ESV).
That leads us into the second (and much briefer) point,
2. Paul’s Directive
Paul said in chapter 4, verse 17,
“Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
Basically, this is the kind of attitude they should have: This generous, selfless, giving attitude. And I don’t think this was just their spare change from a penny jar. Paul describes their gift in verse 18 as,
“…a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”
This imagery looks back to sacrifices of the Old Testament, and to an extent, even pagan sacrifices. The smell of this offering is pleasing to God. The idea behind those sacrifices was that it cost them deeply. In the book of Malachi, that is what God is angered over. The people were offering blind animals and tainted crops as sacrifices to God. The Lord said, ‘If you offered that to the governor, would he accept it?’ On the contrary, this gift was pleasing to the Lord. It showed selflessness and generosity.
We are to cultivate this kind of behavior.
As we noted earlier, we’re being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ. That’s why how we act is so important. God no longer walks on the earth as Jesus did. People can’t just look at him. He is veiled in his creation. The world sees God through believers, and our purpose is to glorify him: To demonstrate his glory in changing us from sinners to saints.
But if we still act just like everyone else – self-centered and greedy, what kind of message do we send about God? It ought to be obvious that we are different.
In closing, there are two things we need to do. First, examine ourselves carefully, not being afraid to uncover sin inside us or to be changed if necessary. That’s a necessity if we are truly saved by Christ. If you don’t bear the cross, you can’t wear the crown.
Second, pray for the Holy Spirit’s help. We cannot do it on our own. Trying to rely on ourselves to change will make no result. We need to first pray for God’s help and seek to demonstrate Christ’s example to those around us as best we can, recognizing that we will still fail often. One key to changing is to look back at Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:4-9. These are marvelous keys to cultivating Godliness within ourselves.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
ICYMI - "Psalm 38" 3-27-13 Wed PM
Well, this does seem to be a bit late. Still, most of you who read this blog were not there when I spoke on this and probably didn't know I even spoke on it, so it's no huge loss. But if you feel like doing a skim over it looking for errors, or if you just like reading sermon notes: Enjoy.
----------
Hindsight is twenty-twenty.
It seems as though the best troubles are the ones that we see in the rearview mirror. They’re gone; ancient history.
But what about the difficulties that are still there? As long as they exist – in fact, the longer that they exist – the more difficult they seem. And when we pray, and they’re still there, with no end in sight, what do we do?
Depending on what it is, we may easily wonder why it doesn’t cease. In some cases, difficulty is God’s refining fire to purify us. It is part of his work to transform us more perfectly into his image.
Other times, we suffer difficulty to glorify God – we can think of Job, or the man blind from birth that Jesus healed in John 9. That God may be glorified through taking them away, or through our trust in him throughout it. In both cases, God’s glory is seen.
But there is a third reason for troubles, whether they be sickness, circumstances, or people that are simply a thorn in our side – sometimes God brings these things into our life because of our sin.
We see this in the life of David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba: The first child born of that union became sick and died. And throughout the rest of his life, David experienced much trouble because of this sin.
At first, it was because he lived unrepentant in that sin for a year after the initial wrongdoing. But second, it was God’s punishment on him. David was hand picked by God to rule over Israel. However, David abused that power and privilege to sin in the face of God. As David had used his God-given position to satisfy his own selfish desires, God punished him in that same position and caused strife and trouble throughout many of the following years of David’s reign.
In Psalm 38, David confesses an unnamed sin or sins before God and pleads for mercy. He describes the sorrows he has experienced as a result of his sin. How it ends may surprise you. I think in some ways, though, it is prescient in its reminder to us of what we see in our spiritual walk at times.
There are three points to this message.
- David’s Confession of sin
- David’s Confusion in trouble
- David’s Commitment to God
1. David’s Confession of Sin
"A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows have
sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because
of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have
gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about
mourning. 7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am
feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 9 O Lord, all my longing is before
you; my sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light
of my eyes—it also has gone from me. 11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off. 12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my
hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. 13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15 But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God,
who will answer. 16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my
foot slips!” 17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am
sorry for my sin. 19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me
wrongfully. 20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. 21 Do
not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my
salvation!" (Psalm 38:1-22, ESV).
While there is a superscription over this Psalm, it is difficult to understand the meaning of it. “For the Memorial Offering” suggests that this is a public prayer for the nation, but with even the barest glance at the chapter we see that it is obviously the prayer of an individual. It may be that it was a prayer of David that was recorded and later used by others at the Memorial Offering. Beyond that, I have no insight into the title.
Clearly, David is struggling over sin. I am generally hesitant to identify particular problems or sicknesses as directly caused by sin, because people tend to abuse it – too often, dire circumstances or debilitating illnesses are instantly viewed as judgment by God for sin. Subsequently, the sufferer begins to systematically pore through their memory for every possible sin, no matter how slight, before proceeding to get in touch with everyone we might have wronged, whether they were aware of it or not.
I don’t mean that confession to God or those we have wronged is a bad thing. But my concern is that we are sometimes too quick to identify sin as our problem. In this case: David is absolutely certain that his sin is the issue – what the sin is, we are not told – but it is clear that David knows exactly why God has allowed the ills described here to happen to him. I think that if God is judging us for sin, he will not leave us in the dark over it: We will know exactly what the sin is in that case – we will not be left to guess about it.
In the first two verses, David describes God’s anger with him and the weight of God’s wrath that has leveled him to the ground.
“1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows
have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.”
Again in verse 3:
“3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my
bones because of my sin.”
There is sickness in David, and it is because God is angry with him. But not merely that: David’s sin is also the culprit. Whether through the great guilt on his conscience or through the natural ill effects on the body caused by sin, David is weakened and sick because of his disobedience of God’s law.
Verse 4 describes in vivid detail what this sin is like:
“4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.”
It is like a weighty burden in his arms, or perhaps like in Pilgrim’s Progress, on his back. And, like Christian in the Slough of Despond, David is sinking under the burden of his iniquity.
Truly, nothing weighs more on a Christian than unconfessed sin. If even the reprobate feel the stirrings of conscience, how much more do we who have been adopted by God feel the pain of loss without his nearness?
And as much as we may know this, we must always be reminded: It is not God who leaves us. True, God cannot allow sin in his presence, because he is holy. But at the same time, when we turn aside to sin, it is we who leave the path of God. When we confess our sins, we do not beg him to return to us – as though he went somewhere – but we beg him to restore us to his presence; to draw us back to his side, from which we have strayed. It is not the shepherd who leaves the flock; it is the sheep that leaves the shepherd.
I think we also fail to appreciate too often how much God initiates even our restoration. When David sinned with Bathsheba, it was not David who came to himself, it was God who sent Nathan to uncover the sin and command David to repent.
Just as God seeks and saves we who were lost, he also seeks us to sanctify us when we turn again to old paths we ought to have avoided.
When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. But he does not always remove our difficulties from us immediately. In the process of this confession, David describes the difficulties caused by his sin.
2. Confusion in troubles
There are two kinds of troubles here: Physical troubles and spiritual ones.
a. Physical troubles
Verses 5-8 describe some sort of illness.
“5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and
prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. 7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there
is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my
heart.”
He is wounded; his body is laid low; he is emotionally troubled; there is burning in his sides; he is weak; his heart is not at peace.
In verse 9, David breaks off to beseech the Lord – reminding him that God can see how downcast and sorrowful David is.
“9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.”
Verse 10 returns to the former story:
“10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from
me.”
David’s body is weak, so much so that the light of his eyes has weakened.
We are never told what this sin is that caused his trouble. For that matter, the history of David’s life in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles never really describes this kind of sickness that David is suffering under. That said, in those days sickness was undoubtedly more common. It may be related to the Bathsheba affair; it might also be related to David’s sinful call for a census later on. Of course it may simply be another event that God chose not to record for us. Certainly we don’t know about all the events in David’s life.
I’m not sure I’ve ever suffered physically because of sin. I think if I had, God would reveal the reason to me. But I’m sure we’ve all felt the weight of guilt when we do wrong before God. I think at least some of this is related to that, especially when we look back to verses 3-4 where David describes the iniquity being a heavy burden.
But the problems in this chapter are not merely physical. Verses 11-12 show that David’s relationships are also affected by this sickness.
“11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate
treachery all day long.”
First, his friends and companions stand away from him; even his relatives are keeping their distance. While it’s certainly understandable why someone would not want to get too close to sickness, it still hurts David on a personal level. This aloofness demonstrates self-interest over and against concern for David, and that hurts.
Further, verse 12 describes how David’s enemies take advantage of his present impotence. They try to trap him, they speak out again him, and they conspire among themselves how to wreak even more havoc against him.
In spite of all this, though, David refuses to take personal vengeance.
b. Spiritual troubles
In verses 13-14, David declines to act against them.
“13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 I
have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.”
In fact, he uses that as part of his plea in verse 15.
"15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”
And as he calls upon God, his pleas seem to fall on deaf ears. David reminds God in verse 16 that he had pleaded with God that his enemies not triumph.
“16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!””
Finally, in 17-18, David confesses that he is nearing the breaking point.
“17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am sorry
for my sin.”
Again, he repeats his confession and reiterates the sorrow he feels over his sin. But, David notices in verse 19, his foes are not being brought low; in fact they are mightier than ever.
“19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.”
Worst of all, David points out in verse 20, the motive of these wicked men in their accusations against me is that I follow good.
“20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.”
That is a curious statement to make in a chapter in which David is repenting of sin. On one hand he confesses his iniquity, on the other he declares that his enemies hate him because he is good.
Here is the answer: While David’s immediate troubles are a result of his sin, his life is ultimately characterized by a seeking after God. I think we can all relate to that. Since we have been redeemed and reborn from above, the greatest desire of our heart is to serve God, but that does not preempt our persistent return to old habits and sins.
David’s point is that while he may be under God’s just wrath for a time, his life on the whole is identified even by the wicked as one that seeks after God and pleases him.
In the final two verses, David makes clear that he has not departed from God like Saul, but he continues to trust God – regardless of his failures or God’s apparent separation for him – in spite of that, David is committed to the Lord.
3. Commitment to God
I think the most significant thing about this chapter is that it ends with seemingly no resolution. David is still crying out in prayer for God’s help. Verses 21-22,
“21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!”
We’re at the end and there is no resolution. How can that be? It would be like reading the story of the Three Little Pigs: The two brother pigs, whose houses of straw and twigs have been blown down by the wolf, run to the brother who built the brick house. And we see the wolf come and start to huff and puff on the third house…and then the story ends. In some ways, that’s what this feels like. Spoiler alert: the wolf loses.
That said, I think there is great value in seeing the story end here. We really don’t know how long David suffered under these things. But the truth is that in our Christian lives, there will frequently be difficult things beyond our control that seem as though they will never end.
How often have we prayed for something – the salvation of a close friend or relative, or a situation that just won’t resolve (/Fill in the blank here)?
In John 9, the blind man had been without sight from birth. Job lost everything. Or we could think of the example of the apostle Paul. He was in prison without cause. Yet where do we find complaints about his imprisonment? Where does he even ask for prayer that he will be released? On the contrary, in Colossians 4, he asks that a door will be opened to preach the word. It doesn’t matter to him if that is inside prison bars or not. Does he complain in Philippians 1 when others are preaching the Gospel with wrong motives in order to try to take advantage of his suffering? No, he praises God that the Gospel is preached.
In fact, he says in Philippians 1:12-13,
“12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to
advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard
and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”
Paul is a great one to read if you’re perspective is mired in world-centeredness. He always redirects us to God’s perspective, and helps us to see where we’re looking at it wrong.
William Cowper was a close friend of John Newton. Cowper struggled deeply with depression, so much so that he was unable to be assured of his own salvation. Yet, by God’s grace, he wrote (among others) one of the most beautiful lyrics in all of Christian hymnody: There is a Fountain Filled with Blood.
“There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.
And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing thy power to save.
Dear dying lamb, your precious blood shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.”
The key to all these situations is this: However bad or discouraging these situations were, there was always a confidence that God was neither dead or powerless; rather, these men of faith recognized that God would act, unless it served his glory or their sanctification to allow them to continue through it.
That is what must not be missed in the close of this passage: David’s confidence that God will help, despite the fact that help had not yet come when this Psalm was completed. David is certain that God can help – he is not without the power to do so – and that he will help – he has not rejected David; on the contrary, he cares for David.
The final words of verse 22: 'My salvation': Probably more accurately, ‘my deliverer’. This speaks to the kind of commitment born from years of trusting God and seeing his faithfulness each day.
David had to learn to trust God from an early age: As a shepherd guarding his father’s sheep. He had to trust the protection of the sheep and his own life to the Father’s hand. In the Valley of Elah, he had to trust the Lord to give him victory over the giant, Goliath.
Following that, he served for years in Saul’s army, and God protected him. Then Saul began to seek David’s life. Facing an enemy he could not kill, David was forced to trust God to deliver him from the hand of Saul. Trusting God had been the story of David’s life.
What causes me to trust in God? Knowing that he has saved me my sins. While David may not have been able to conceive of sin and the death of Jesus on the cross with the same level of understanding that we have, he did recognize the core elements of that atonement: That God loved him and daily cared for him and would never abandon him.
Romans 8:31-32 demonstrates the principle for us.
“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He
who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him
graciously give us all things?”
If God through Christ loved us so much that he died on the cross for our sins, even when we were dead in our sins and at enmity with him, can we have any doubts that he will cast us off now that we are his ransomed people?
Trusting in God, particularly in dire circumstances, is not always easy. One writer put it this way:
"If we could see beyond today as God can see,
If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee.
O'er present griefs we would not fret,
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet, for you and me.
If we could know beyond today as God doth know,
Why dearest treasures pass away and tears must flow.
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary days will soon grow bright,
Some day life's wrongs will be made right, faith tells us so.
If we could see, if we could know, we often say,
But God in love a veil doth throw across our way.
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er, trust and obey.”
Trust in God. Are we suffering? Christ suffered more. Are we concerned about a lost friend or family member? Christ loves them more than we do and is even more hurt by their hardened heart. We are called to follow his example - always remembering that no matter what happens, he cares for us; and he never forsakes his own. He will call us some day to his heaven above where we shall dwell by his glorious throne.
----------
Hindsight is twenty-twenty.
It seems as though the best troubles are the ones that we see in the rearview mirror. They’re gone; ancient history.
But what about the difficulties that are still there? As long as they exist – in fact, the longer that they exist – the more difficult they seem. And when we pray, and they’re still there, with no end in sight, what do we do?
Depending on what it is, we may easily wonder why it doesn’t cease. In some cases, difficulty is God’s refining fire to purify us. It is part of his work to transform us more perfectly into his image.
Other times, we suffer difficulty to glorify God – we can think of Job, or the man blind from birth that Jesus healed in John 9. That God may be glorified through taking them away, or through our trust in him throughout it. In both cases, God’s glory is seen.
But there is a third reason for troubles, whether they be sickness, circumstances, or people that are simply a thorn in our side – sometimes God brings these things into our life because of our sin.
We see this in the life of David when he committed adultery with Bathsheba: The first child born of that union became sick and died. And throughout the rest of his life, David experienced much trouble because of this sin.
At first, it was because he lived unrepentant in that sin for a year after the initial wrongdoing. But second, it was God’s punishment on him. David was hand picked by God to rule over Israel. However, David abused that power and privilege to sin in the face of God. As David had used his God-given position to satisfy his own selfish desires, God punished him in that same position and caused strife and trouble throughout many of the following years of David’s reign.
In Psalm 38, David confesses an unnamed sin or sins before God and pleads for mercy. He describes the sorrows he has experienced as a result of his sin. How it ends may surprise you. I think in some ways, though, it is prescient in its reminder to us of what we see in our spiritual walk at times.
There are three points to this message.
- David’s Confession of sin
- David’s Confusion in trouble
- David’s Commitment to God
1. David’s Confession of Sin
"A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows have
sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh because
of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have
gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. 5 My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about
mourning. 7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am
feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. 9 O Lord, all my longing is before
you; my sighing is not hidden from you. 10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light
of my eyes—it also has gone from me. 11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off. 12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my
hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long. 13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes. 15 But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God,
who will answer. 16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my
foot slips!” 17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am
sorry for my sin. 19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me
wrongfully. 20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good. 21 Do
not forsake me, O Lord! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my
salvation!" (Psalm 38:1-22, ESV).
While there is a superscription over this Psalm, it is difficult to understand the meaning of it. “For the Memorial Offering” suggests that this is a public prayer for the nation, but with even the barest glance at the chapter we see that it is obviously the prayer of an individual. It may be that it was a prayer of David that was recorded and later used by others at the Memorial Offering. Beyond that, I have no insight into the title.
Clearly, David is struggling over sin. I am generally hesitant to identify particular problems or sicknesses as directly caused by sin, because people tend to abuse it – too often, dire circumstances or debilitating illnesses are instantly viewed as judgment by God for sin. Subsequently, the sufferer begins to systematically pore through their memory for every possible sin, no matter how slight, before proceeding to get in touch with everyone we might have wronged, whether they were aware of it or not.
I don’t mean that confession to God or those we have wronged is a bad thing. But my concern is that we are sometimes too quick to identify sin as our problem. In this case: David is absolutely certain that his sin is the issue – what the sin is, we are not told – but it is clear that David knows exactly why God has allowed the ills described here to happen to him. I think that if God is judging us for sin, he will not leave us in the dark over it: We will know exactly what the sin is in that case – we will not be left to guess about it.
In the first two verses, David describes God’s anger with him and the weight of God’s wrath that has leveled him to the ground.
“1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! 2 For your arrows
have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me.”
Again in verse 3:
“3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my
bones because of my sin.”
There is sickness in David, and it is because God is angry with him. But not merely that: David’s sin is also the culprit. Whether through the great guilt on his conscience or through the natural ill effects on the body caused by sin, David is weakened and sick because of his disobedience of God’s law.
Verse 4 describes in vivid detail what this sin is like:
“4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.”
It is like a weighty burden in his arms, or perhaps like in Pilgrim’s Progress, on his back. And, like Christian in the Slough of Despond, David is sinking under the burden of his iniquity.
Truly, nothing weighs more on a Christian than unconfessed sin. If even the reprobate feel the stirrings of conscience, how much more do we who have been adopted by God feel the pain of loss without his nearness?
And as much as we may know this, we must always be reminded: It is not God who leaves us. True, God cannot allow sin in his presence, because he is holy. But at the same time, when we turn aside to sin, it is we who leave the path of God. When we confess our sins, we do not beg him to return to us – as though he went somewhere – but we beg him to restore us to his presence; to draw us back to his side, from which we have strayed. It is not the shepherd who leaves the flock; it is the sheep that leaves the shepherd.
I think we also fail to appreciate too often how much God initiates even our restoration. When David sinned with Bathsheba, it was not David who came to himself, it was God who sent Nathan to uncover the sin and command David to repent.
Just as God seeks and saves we who were lost, he also seeks us to sanctify us when we turn again to old paths we ought to have avoided.
When we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. But he does not always remove our difficulties from us immediately. In the process of this confession, David describes the difficulties caused by his sin.
2. Confusion in troubles
There are two kinds of troubles here: Physical troubles and spiritual ones.
a. Physical troubles
Verses 5-8 describe some sort of illness.
“5 My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, 6 I am utterly bowed down and
prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. 7 For my sides are filled with burning, and there
is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my
heart.”
He is wounded; his body is laid low; he is emotionally troubled; there is burning in his sides; he is weak; his heart is not at peace.
In verse 9, David breaks off to beseech the Lord – reminding him that God can see how downcast and sorrowful David is.
“9 O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you.”
Verse 10 returns to the former story:
“10 My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from
me.”
David’s body is weak, so much so that the light of his eyes has weakened.
We are never told what this sin is that caused his trouble. For that matter, the history of David’s life in Samuel, Kings and Chronicles never really describes this kind of sickness that David is suffering under. That said, in those days sickness was undoubtedly more common. It may be related to the Bathsheba affair; it might also be related to David’s sinful call for a census later on. Of course it may simply be another event that God chose not to record for us. Certainly we don’t know about all the events in David’s life.
I’m not sure I’ve ever suffered physically because of sin. I think if I had, God would reveal the reason to me. But I’m sure we’ve all felt the weight of guilt when we do wrong before God. I think at least some of this is related to that, especially when we look back to verses 3-4 where David describes the iniquity being a heavy burden.
But the problems in this chapter are not merely physical. Verses 11-12 show that David’s relationships are also affected by this sickness.
“11 My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.
12 Those who seek my life lay their snares; those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate
treachery all day long.”
First, his friends and companions stand away from him; even his relatives are keeping their distance. While it’s certainly understandable why someone would not want to get too close to sickness, it still hurts David on a personal level. This aloofness demonstrates self-interest over and against concern for David, and that hurts.
Further, verse 12 describes how David’s enemies take advantage of his present impotence. They try to trap him, they speak out again him, and they conspire among themselves how to wreak even more havoc against him.
In spite of all this, though, David refuses to take personal vengeance.
b. Spiritual troubles
In verses 13-14, David declines to act against them.
“13 But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear, like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 I
have become like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth are no rebukes.”
In fact, he uses that as part of his plea in verse 15.
"15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”
And as he calls upon God, his pleas seem to fall on deaf ears. David reminds God in verse 16 that he had pleaded with God that his enemies not triumph.
“16 For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me, who boast against me when my foot slips!””
Finally, in 17-18, David confesses that he is nearing the breaking point.
“17 For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me. 18 I confess my iniquity; I am sorry
for my sin.”
Again, he repeats his confession and reiterates the sorrow he feels over his sin. But, David notices in verse 19, his foes are not being brought low; in fact they are mightier than ever.
“19 But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.”
Worst of all, David points out in verse 20, the motive of these wicked men in their accusations against me is that I follow good.
“20 Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.”
That is a curious statement to make in a chapter in which David is repenting of sin. On one hand he confesses his iniquity, on the other he declares that his enemies hate him because he is good.
Here is the answer: While David’s immediate troubles are a result of his sin, his life is ultimately characterized by a seeking after God. I think we can all relate to that. Since we have been redeemed and reborn from above, the greatest desire of our heart is to serve God, but that does not preempt our persistent return to old habits and sins.
David’s point is that while he may be under God’s just wrath for a time, his life on the whole is identified even by the wicked as one that seeks after God and pleases him.
In the final two verses, David makes clear that he has not departed from God like Saul, but he continues to trust God – regardless of his failures or God’s apparent separation for him – in spite of that, David is committed to the Lord.
3. Commitment to God
I think the most significant thing about this chapter is that it ends with seemingly no resolution. David is still crying out in prayer for God’s help. Verses 21-22,
“21 Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! 22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!”
We’re at the end and there is no resolution. How can that be? It would be like reading the story of the Three Little Pigs: The two brother pigs, whose houses of straw and twigs have been blown down by the wolf, run to the brother who built the brick house. And we see the wolf come and start to huff and puff on the third house…and then the story ends. In some ways, that’s what this feels like. Spoiler alert: the wolf loses.
That said, I think there is great value in seeing the story end here. We really don’t know how long David suffered under these things. But the truth is that in our Christian lives, there will frequently be difficult things beyond our control that seem as though they will never end.
How often have we prayed for something – the salvation of a close friend or relative, or a situation that just won’t resolve (/Fill in the blank here)?
In John 9, the blind man had been without sight from birth. Job lost everything. Or we could think of the example of the apostle Paul. He was in prison without cause. Yet where do we find complaints about his imprisonment? Where does he even ask for prayer that he will be released? On the contrary, in Colossians 4, he asks that a door will be opened to preach the word. It doesn’t matter to him if that is inside prison bars or not. Does he complain in Philippians 1 when others are preaching the Gospel with wrong motives in order to try to take advantage of his suffering? No, he praises God that the Gospel is preached.
In fact, he says in Philippians 1:12-13,
“12 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to
advance the gospel, 13 so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard
and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ.”
Paul is a great one to read if you’re perspective is mired in world-centeredness. He always redirects us to God’s perspective, and helps us to see where we’re looking at it wrong.
William Cowper was a close friend of John Newton. Cowper struggled deeply with depression, so much so that he was unable to be assured of his own salvation. Yet, by God’s grace, he wrote (among others) one of the most beautiful lyrics in all of Christian hymnody: There is a Fountain Filled with Blood.
“There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day.
And there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song I’ll sing thy power to save.
Dear dying lamb, your precious blood shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved to sin no more.”
The key to all these situations is this: However bad or discouraging these situations were, there was always a confidence that God was neither dead or powerless; rather, these men of faith recognized that God would act, unless it served his glory or their sanctification to allow them to continue through it.
That is what must not be missed in the close of this passage: David’s confidence that God will help, despite the fact that help had not yet come when this Psalm was completed. David is certain that God can help – he is not without the power to do so – and that he will help – he has not rejected David; on the contrary, he cares for David.
The final words of verse 22: 'My salvation': Probably more accurately, ‘my deliverer’. This speaks to the kind of commitment born from years of trusting God and seeing his faithfulness each day.
David had to learn to trust God from an early age: As a shepherd guarding his father’s sheep. He had to trust the protection of the sheep and his own life to the Father’s hand. In the Valley of Elah, he had to trust the Lord to give him victory over the giant, Goliath.
Following that, he served for years in Saul’s army, and God protected him. Then Saul began to seek David’s life. Facing an enemy he could not kill, David was forced to trust God to deliver him from the hand of Saul. Trusting God had been the story of David’s life.
What causes me to trust in God? Knowing that he has saved me my sins. While David may not have been able to conceive of sin and the death of Jesus on the cross with the same level of understanding that we have, he did recognize the core elements of that atonement: That God loved him and daily cared for him and would never abandon him.
Romans 8:31-32 demonstrates the principle for us.
“31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He
who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him
graciously give us all things?”
If God through Christ loved us so much that he died on the cross for our sins, even when we were dead in our sins and at enmity with him, can we have any doubts that he will cast us off now that we are his ransomed people?
Trusting in God, particularly in dire circumstances, is not always easy. One writer put it this way:
"If we could see beyond today as God can see,
If all the clouds should roll away, the shadows flee.
O'er present griefs we would not fret,
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet, for you and me.
If we could know beyond today as God doth know,
Why dearest treasures pass away and tears must flow.
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary days will soon grow bright,
Some day life's wrongs will be made right, faith tells us so.
If we could see, if we could know, we often say,
But God in love a veil doth throw across our way.
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er, trust and obey.”
Trust in God. Are we suffering? Christ suffered more. Are we concerned about a lost friend or family member? Christ loves them more than we do and is even more hurt by their hardened heart. We are called to follow his example - always remembering that no matter what happens, he cares for us; and he never forsakes his own. He will call us some day to his heaven above where we shall dwell by his glorious throne.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
