Advent, The Joy of Seeing His Glory – Jim Wilkerson

Manger scenes abound during the advent season. They are pictorial reminders of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the earth, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn.1:14). These scenes depicted by artists on a print or in forms sculpted, carved or molded show forth the privilege given to a select few who drew near him at his appearing. They depict the lowly shepherds who have been called from their watch to look upon their Savior. They allow us to see sheep and cattle gathered around their Creator and the one who would make all things new. Through them we gather around a father and mother who would see the King of Kings and Prince of peace as they hold him in their arms. In the midst of these scenes is the evident humility of the Lord of glory becoming man so that he may become the blessedness of those who in humility receive him by faith as he has revealed himself as the Word made flesh. The manger scene is an artist rendering of a historical and theological reality of how blessed those are who receive this same Savior and Lord as revealed in his Word.

Jonathan Edwards said, “Tis more blessed to be spiritually related to Jesus Christ – to be his disciples, his brethren and the members – than to stand in the nearest temporal relation, than to be his brother or his mother.” What the manger scene cannot depict is the spiritual reality that it is possible to stand in relation to Jesus but not be in his joy.

When I was a child my mother would decorate our home at Christmas. One central piece of my mothers decorating was a manger scene. It was not a beautiful piece of art but it was detailed as it painted a picture in my mind of an historic reality. As a child I would stand by and look at it. As I looked I stood over a Bible that my mother placed before it each year opened to the account of Jesus’ birth in Luke. I stood in relation to the historic theological reality of Jesus but I was not in his joy. For I did not believe in him as the one sent by the Father as the light of the world (Jn.8:12), nor did I come to him as the bread sent down from heaven to satisfy my hunger and thirst (Jn.6:35). I was one like a bystander at his coming who stood in relation to the reality of revealed glory and could only see a blue background, fake stars, angels hanging from strings, plastic figurines of people and animals, and pages with black and white words. So I sought joy in other shadows of the reality like getting gifts, giving gifts and relationships.

Jonathan Edwards said, “Tis a greater blessedness to have spiritual communion with God and to have a saving intercourse with him by the instances of his Spirit and by the exercise of true devotion than it is to converse with God externally, to see the visible representation and manifestations of his presence and glory, and to hear his voice with the bodily ears as Moses did. For in this spiritual intercourse the soul is nigh unto and hath more a particular portion than in any external intercourse.”

Looking on the manger man cannot see, but when the Spirit lifts out the words of Scripture illuminating the mind and heart then sight of the glory of Christ lights upon his life and is put into his heart that obedience of faith that makes him a joy filled disciple walking after his ways. If we can see the blessed mother of Jesus magnifying the Lord and rejoicing in God her Savior as she carries in her womb the revealed Lord of glory (Lk.1:46-55), then how much more joy is there for those who see his beauty with their minds and hearts and walk after him in his revealed will through the Scripture? In the manger we see a historical and theological reality. But when the Christ of the manger is lifted up by the Holy Spirit as a glorious Savior and Lord and our hearts are illumined by his beauty and excellencies through his Word he becomes our joy and walking in obedience to his will for his glory and others good becomes our joy. May the joy of the Lord be your strength as you await his coming again.

Advent, Waiting at His Word – Jim Wilkerson

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

- Revelation 1:3

Advent is a time of looking back at the certainty of what God has done for us in Jesus Christ while we look forward with expectancy in the certainty of what he promises to do in Christ. And with the apostle John we can be certain that the time is near. But we do not know how near so we wait with eager expectation, but how do we wait? We must wait at his Word.

There is for all who turn to God’s Word as a means of grace a gift of joy from God. You are given the joy of God if you read his Word and you are given the joy of God if you listen to his Word read and purpose in your heart to keep it in trust and obedience. Blessed (happy) is the one who reads…, and blessed (happy) are those who hear. As we open the Revelation from Jesus Christ given us through the apostle John we are promised the joy of God. It is he who stands among his church as her light, whose voice is as mighty waters to his church, and from his mouth comes the doubled edged sword who promises his church joy through his Word (Rev.1:13, 15-16). The church forfeits the grace and joy of the Lord when she turns from his Word.

The apostle Paul begins his letter to the Galatians, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:2). Paul ends this same letter to the Galatian church, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. (6:18). Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:2). Paul ends the letter to the Ephesian church, Grace be with you all…(6:24). The letters to the Philippian church, the Colossian church, and the church at Thessalonica all begin and end in the same way. His pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus begin and end in the same manner. Is this merely a pattern of greeting and salutation or is there more to this? These letters were written as Paul was moved along by the Holy Spirit as the revelation of God to the church through Jesus Christ (2Tim.3:16; 2Pe.1:20-21; 3:15-16). Therefore when the letter was read publically there was grace to you and when they heeded the letter in trust and obedience by faith there was grace with you. Grace is the gift of God for joy in him and the means he uses to bring it is his Word. When his Word comes among the church where Jesus stands he opens his mouth as the rush of many waters, and his word comes forth from his tongue as a two edged sword to bless all who read it and all who hear it with his grace.

This is the reason we cannot live by bread alone but every word from the mouth of the Lord (Deut.8:3). And the reason the Psalmist can say happy is the man who delights in and meditates on the Word of God day and night (Ps.1:1-2). And the reason Timothy has the joy of the Lord in the knowledge of God and his Son Jesus Christ in salvation as he listened to the Scriptures read to him from his mother and grandmother (2Tim.1:5; 3:15). The church and her children forfeit true joy when we turn from the living God and his living Word. I pray this advent season is filled with waiting at his feet to listen to his voice from his Word that your joy will be full.

XMAS or CHRISTMAS ? – Tricia Koles

Though all the world would wish Him dead

and will not heed the words He said,

They still the day will celebrate –

just not the birth of Him they hate.

And gifts they’ll give and gifts receive,

but still the Father’s heart they’ll grieve,

For His one gift of love and grace

will be flung back into His face.

—————————————————–

It’s not PC to trust in God,

or paths of faith and hope to trod.

It’s foolishness to say we’re weak

and for a Savior then to seek.

The truth is what we’d have it be –

there is no sin, all’s well with me.

They’ve no idea they’ve been deceived,

and still the Father’s heart is grieved.

————————————————————–

But for the ones whom God has called,

who see their sin and are appalled,

They gaze upon this baby boy

with grateful hearts and tears of joy;

And in the heavens God is praised

as songs of saints redeemed are raised.

The world it’s true may scoff and scorn

but we rejoice for Christ is born!

Tricia Koles

December 2009

An Open Letter to the Elders at RPC – Jim Wilkerson

This is an open letter to the elders at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It is open because we must give account for how we shepherd the flock of God, and because the flock of God should heed warnings. In Jude 17-23 we read,

¹⁷But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²²And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Jude longed to write to the church about the joy they have in the gospel (v.3), but he was diverted from this joy to deal with the solemnity of warning them about ungodliness in the church. A warning we to must heed in our day for there are going to be those who follow their ungodly passions leading others away through division into ungodliness and judgment. Therefore as elders we must be building ourselves up as we do the flock of God through his Word and prayer in the Spirit. This requires our attending to his means of grace privately and publically and urging the flock to do the same. This must be primary in our thinking about what we are doing with the time that is given us. Second we must be cultivating our hearts and minds in the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ and the life that is promised to us in him. We must hold to his Word in the Spirit as his love letter to us revealing his eternal and enduring loving kindness toward us in Christ. And we must be boasting of this love to the flock of God calling them to sing with us in the love of God in Christ. Third we must bear with those in the flock who are struggling. We must listen to and help them answer their questions. We must pull them from the flames of hell with urgings, warnings, exhortations, encouragements and prayer. And we must hate their flesh and our own. While we warn them of the flesh that will destroy them we must see in their struggles our own struggles with the flesh and hate their sin and ours with tender mercies, love and a zeal for the holiness of God.

A flock not watched is a flock untended, and a flock untended is a flock destined the misery of their own waywardness and death. We must watch and tend the flock of God for his glory and their good that we may gather together and rejoice in the joy of the gospel of God in Jesus Christ.  ¹So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: ² shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; ³not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. ⁴And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1Pe.5:1-4) I love you brothers.

Advent, An Ardent Waiting – Jim Wilkerson

¹⁷Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

- Habakkuk 3:17-19

For what are you waiting on this Christmas? While reading through complaints of Habakkuk over the last several days I found myself caught up in similar prayers before the Lord as I long for his appearing. Here are some things I am waiting on this Christmas.

How long will violence come upon the unborn? “Destruction and violence are before me” (1:3). I long for his appearing that violence and unrighteousness will be put under his feet and unborn children will be met with peace and not the sword.

How long will the wicked shed the blood of the righteous saints in the earth? “For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” (1:4). I long for his appearing that my brothers and sisters who are persecuted unjustly throughout the world will see the Son of Righteousness and the Prince of Peace as he triumphs over their enemies.

How long will unrighteous rulers pervert the ways of justice and practice deceit for their own glory? “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (1:13). I long for his appearing that his kingdom would come and his will be done here on earth as it is in heaven as righteousness and peace reign in the nations.

How long will so many in the “church” believe and live as though their works plus Christ’s work merit salvation? “The righteous shall live by faith” (2:4b). I long for the glory of Christ in all his works of righteousness to shine in the hearts of the church so that she will glory in Christ alone for salvation.

How long will man live for his own glory treating his neighbor with contempt and injustice? “Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you…Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!…Woe to him who builds a town with blood and foundsa city on iniquity” (2:8, 9, 12). I long for the appearing of our Lord when, “The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (2:14), and man lives in love and humility before God and his neighbor.

How long will man live for the worship of idols which causes those around them to suffer for their unrighteousness? “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image a teacher of lies?” (2:18). I long for his appearing that darkness and lies will be cast out in the light of his glory revealed, and those who trust in him will live in his light seeing him as he is and being light to those around them.

How long will the church lightly worship God? “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (2:20). I long for his appearing in the glory of his holiness before his church that there may be weight and glory to her worship and work.

How long will the church wait for reform and revival where she longs for his appearing in her worship and work? “O Lord, I have heard the report of you; and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” (3:2). I long for God to revive his church in Christ by the Spirit through his Word that worship and work will be for his glory in repentance and faith and the glory of his name spreads through righteousness, joy and peace in the communities of the earth.

When we were children we wore out the pages of the Sear and Roebuck catalogue at Christmas time longing for the appearing of gifts under a tree. But now we must search the pages of the Scriptures waiting in the Spirit in prayer for the appearing of the glorious Savior. While we wait when the seed is in the earth dying and there is no fruit on the vine, “yet I (we) will rejoice in the LORD; I (we) will take joy in the God of my (our) salvation.” (3:18). Why? We know he is in his holy temple and from above the heavens he does whatever he pleases in the earth. Therefore we will wait for his advent, his coming, for he has come and he is coming again.

Getting Perspective on the Season of Advent – Jim Wilkerson

Advent is an English word derived from the Latin advenio meaning to come. It is a noun describing an expected or anticipated arrival. Advent has come to be known as a season of devotion looking back at the coming of the Savior in his incarnation and an anticipation of his return in judgment. Traditionally Advent begins on the feast day of  St. Andrew, November 30^th, or the Lord’s day that is closest to that day and runs the four Sundays culminating in the feast of Christmas.

American modern tradition has turned this time of year into one of the busiest months of our calendar. We spend a great deal of time hurriedly shopping for clothes, food, and gifts while keeping tabs on our busy calendars marked with days of parties and gatherings. A modern protestant Christmas ethic of the commercial has replaced a historical catholic ethic of a valued Little Pascha – a time of fasting, prayer, confession and reconciliation.  In the past this was a time of year when the church slowed down to contemplate their lives in reflection upon the gospel taking stock of the inventory of our hearts and lifting their minds and hearts to the glory of Christ in his incarnation and his promised return. There are many ways to slow down a run away train, and here I would suggest switching tracks. This week we will begin on the track of historical perspective.

The Scriptures are clear. They tell us of the certainty of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ the Son of the Living God. The Old Testament Prophets point the way and the New Testament writers give us the historical reality. It is the clarity of the Old Testament that enabled Simeon to wait with anticipation (Lk.2:25-32) and the clarity of the New Testament that made many wise unto salvation through the preaching of the apostles about the truthfulness of the person and work of Jesus Christ. However, the Scriptures do not give us the exact date of his birth.

The early patristic writers were varied in their views of the exact date of the birth of Jesus. Basil of Caesarea believed that he was born on November 20^th in 4 B.C. Clement of Alexandria thought him to be born on November 17^th in 3 B.C. John Chrysostom believed that since the shepherds were in the fields at night when Christ was born it must have been in the spring or summer. Athanasius believed similarily and gave the date May 20^th. Cyril of Jerusalem dated his birth in Bethlehem as April 19^th, and Ambrose of Milan dated it March 25^th. Therefore from the writings of those closest to the time of Christ’s life following the apostles there is given us little clarity as to the date of Christ’s birth.

In 354 the leaders of the church in Rome officially began to observe December 25^th as the date of Christ’s birth. In pagan Rome there were many feasts days and in December was the feast day of Saturnalia. Saturnalia began on December 17^th and was a week long festival commemorating the dedication of the temple to the sun god Saturn. It was a public festival throughout Rome and known for its revelry.  The Roman poet Catullus described the feast of Saturnalia as a celebration, time to visit friends and exchange gifts such as wax candles and figurines. Therefore it seems the early Christians in Rome exchanged the worship of the coming of the son god for the worship of the Son of God in his coming. History seems to record that the church was already celebrating the incarnation of Jesus Christ as the Philocalian Calendar (336) marked Christmas Day as a tradition prior to the church in Rome leading in this way in 354.

Though there was no clarity as to the exact date of Christ’s birth the early church was reforming the practices of their pagan ancestors and their own lives by exchanging the worship of the creation for the worship of the Creator and Redeemer. Those pagans who were being converted to Christianity could not celebrate in festivals with a clear conscience the gods they had once worshiped. However, in the midst of that void in the winter the Son of God shown in their hearts that they may replace their old with the new having made all things new. Christ, the Living God, replaced the idols they once worshiped. It is from this early church tradition that Christmas dates and customs came together into a season of Advent. As we now celebrate a period of four weeks beginning in late November leading up the Christmas festival when we celebrate our Lord’s appearing. It is during this season that the church must like Simeon be waiting in the Spirit with anticipation of his coming again to make all things new while we worship in the Spirit taking stock of the reason of his first appearing through sober reflection around his Word and prayer.

Thanksgiving and the Providence of God

The first paragraph of George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation says,

“Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to “recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

In this proclamation he and the government clearly acknowledge the providence of God both in the use of the word and in the reasoning for the proclamation. Therefore as we approach Thanksgiving I thought a reminder or an introduction to the doctrine of God’s providence would be helpful. The reading below comes from Concise Theology written by J.I. Packer. This is his chapter on Providence.

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Pro. 16:33).

“God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions” (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q.11). If Creation was a unique exercise of divine energy causing the world to be, providence is a continued exercise of that same energy whereby the Creator, according to his own will, (a) keeps all creatures in being, (b) involves himself in all events, and (c) directs all things to their appointed end. The model is of purposive personal management with total “hands-on” control: God is completely in charge of his world. His hand may be hidden, but his rule is absolute.

Some have restricted God’s providence to foreknowledge without control, or upholding without intervention, or general oversight without concern for details, but the testimony to providence as formulated above is overwhelming.

The Bible clearly teaches God’s providential control (1) over the universe at large, Ps. 103:19; Dan. 4:35; Eph. 1:11; (2) over the physical world, Job 37; Pss. 104:14; 135:6; Matt. 5:45; (3) over the brute creation, Ps. 104:21, 28; Matt. 6:26; 10:29; (4) over the affairs of nations, Job 12:23; Pss. 22:28; 66:7; Acts 17:26; (5) over man’s birth and lot in life, 1 Sam. 16:1; Ps. 139:16; Isa. 45:5; Gal. 1:15-16; (6) over the outward successes and failures of men’s lives, Ps. 75:6, 7; Luke 1:52; (7) over things seemingly accidental or insignificant, Prov. 16:33; Matt. 10:30; (8) in the protection of the righteous, Pss. 4:8; 5:12; 63:8; 121:3; Rom. 8:28; (9) in supplying the wants of God’s people, Gen. 22:8, 14; Deut. 8:3; Phil. 4:19; (10) in giving answers to prayer, 1 Sam. 1:19; Isa. 20:5, 6; 2 Chron. 33:13; Ps. 65:2; Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:7, 8; and (11) in the exposure and punishment of the wicked, Pss. 7:12-13; 11:6. (L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 4th ed.)

Clear thinking about God’s involvement in the world-process and in the acts of rational creatures requires complementary sets of statements, thus: a person takes action, or an event is triggered by natural causes, or Satan shows his hand – yet God overrules. This is the message of the book of Esther, where God’s name nowhere appears. Again: things that are done contravene God’s will of command – yet they fulfill his will of events (Eph. 1:11). Again: humans mean what they do for evil – yet God who overrules uses their actions for good (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23). Again: humans, under God’s overruling, sin – yet God is not the author of sin (James 1:13-17); rather, he is its judge.

The nature of God’s “concurrent” or “confluent” involvement in all that occurs in his world, as – without violating the nature of things, the ongoing causal processes, or human free agency – he makes his will of events come to pass, is mystery to us, but the consistent biblical teaching about God’s involvement is as stated above.

Of the evils that infect God’s world (moral and spiritual perversity, waste of good, and the physical disorders and disruptions of a spoiled cosmos), it can summarily be said: God permits evil (Acts 14:16); he punishes evil with evil (Ps. 81:11-12; Rom. 1:26-32); he brings good out of evil (Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:27; 1 Cor. 2:7-8); he uses evil to test and discipline those he loves (Matt. 4:1-11; Heb. 12:4-14); and one day he will redeem his people from the power and presence of evil altogether (Rev. 21:27; 22:14-15).

The doctrine of providence teaches Christians that they are never in the grip of blind forces (fortune, chance, luck, fate); all that happens to them is divinely planned, and each event comes as a new summons to trust, obey, and rejoice, knowing that all is for one’s spiritual and eternal good (Rom. 8:28).

 

Thoughts on Thanksgiving

The decorations are up, the flyers, mailings and advertisements proclaim it. “It’s Christmas Time!” It is time for covetous hearts to make merry and misery in idolatry. Those who covet your spending are shouting and those who covet in spending and being spent in spending are listening. I am sorry for getting you started in the season with such boorish and Scrooge like thoughts, but ‘tis the season to be jolly’!

But jolly and blessed are two different things. I appreciate what Webster said about Jolly. He says, it is “Merry; gay; lively; full of life and mirth; jovial. It expresses more life and noise than cheerful; It is seldom applied in colloquial usage to respectable company. We rarely say of respectable persons, they are jolly. It is applied to the young and the vulgar.” (Webster’s Dictionary 1828). It is in these last days that we would be ungrateful so that we can be jolly. And it is because we are not blessed that we can leave off Thanksgiving to be jolly in Christmas time.

Blessed describes one who is highly favored by the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer in the knowledge and enjoyment of him. It describes an enduring joy in the midst of pressing circumstances. This is why the Scriptures can say, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord” (Jer.17:7) or “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked , or stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (all of whom may be jolly); but his delight is in the law of the Lord,” (Ps.1:1-2) or “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.” (Mt.5:3-10). The blessed are the joyful who have the knowledge that they have received everything from God and that their joy is in the continual knowledge and enjoyment of his glory in all things. The blessed long for Thanksgiving where they can celebrate a thanksgiving to God for all his beneficence to them as residents and members of a free state under his kind hand of providence and rule of law, and where they can unite with others to confess our personal and national sins against him who has made us and takes care of us and to plead with him to have mercy on the nation and to pour out an undeserved blessing upon us. Thanksgiving is the opposite of idolatry. Thanksgiving is the solemn and joyful expression of an engaged mind and an affectionate heart that everything has been done for you by one true and living God. Blessed are those who can give thanks to the only wise God.

Tis the season to exchange the worship of the creature and the creation for the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, to put off jolly for being blessed by Almighty God who is the Savior of sinners. Tis the season to give thanks and to look with joyful anticipation for the return of the glorious Savior Jesus Christ who will glorify all who confess their sins and put their faith in him and long for his appearing in thanksgiving, trust, and obedience to his will.

Zealous for Sound Doctrine – Jim Wilkerson

⁸The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.

These words from Titus 3 were examined last week as we considered being zealous for good works. But it is here I would like to focus on what is the fuel of those good works, namely sound doctrine. Paul is teaching the young pastor Titus to insist on” these things”, which begs the question, “What are these things?” We can identify what these things are in the text by what is here in verse 8 and what precedes this verse. Here we read that Paul wants Titus to insist on these things “so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” Therefore it is necessary to believe in God to do the works of God. This leads us then to the doctrine about God and his salvation in the verses that precede verse 8. In verses 3-7 Paul says, ³For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. ⁴But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. These verses are the teaching or doctrine about God, ourselves, and his salvation for us in Christ, and Paul says it is this doctrine that leads to belief in God and the good works of God. Therefore, we may say that where there is no sound doctrine in the church then there will be no good works. The doctrine of God from his word is the fuel that God uses to ignite our minds and hearts for being zealous in doing the works of him.

Paul says something similar to the young pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 3. He is preparing him for the kinds of people there will be in the church who do not do the works that God is pleased with, then he instructs him how to handle this. He is to handle it with the preaching of God’s Word (4:1-2). The Word of God which was able to make him wise unto salvation (3:15) and “is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (3:16).  Here Paul says the Scriptures are first of all profitable for teaching or doctrine then they are profitable good works in righteousness. Therefore in the church the horse of doctrine must come before the cart of good works but they must both come together lest the church be full of runaway horses or broken down carts.

In a culture of spiritual relativism where doctrine is sidelined as a persons particular view of truth or reality and spiritual experience and moralism is highlighted on the playing field as “true Christianity” the church must consider the ancient paths of sound doctrine.

Those in the church must pray for and prize sound doctrinal teaching and preaching. The church is flock of God that is cared for by undershepherds who must teach her the truth about God and his will lest they be scattered and devoured by wolves in sheeps clothing. Pray for the Word of sound doctrine to be faithfully delivered to the people of God. It must be explained, proved and applied with all faithfulness and earnestness according to God’s Word. Pray for those who deliver it that they may be free from the love of this world and the fear of man to preach and teach sound doctrine. Pray for yourselves that you will be hungry for sound doctrine. Pray that the church will hunger and thirst for the deep things of God, the sound things of God, the glorious things of God revealed in his Word. And then apply yourselves to the learning of sound doctrine. Attend to it preached and taught on Sundays and during the week. Read it for yourselves in the doctrinal works of the Confessions and Catechisms of our Reformed faith. Read it in books provided by those who have gone before us to teach us the ancient paths. Read it in the Scriptures which tell us what we need to know about God and what duty God requires of us.

The doctrine that comes forth from God’s Word is the fuel for the works of God that issue forth from the lives of those who are growing in the knowledge and enjoyment of God. We as the church must be zealous for sound doctrine in the way we pray, read and act, for then we will be zealous for the good works of God.

 

 

Zealous for Good Works – Jim Wilkerson

Martin Luther once said, “God does not need your good works, your neighbor does.” We in the church often find ourselves thinking we can “serve God” and feeling guilty when we are not “serving God.” But God is not served by his creatures (Acts 17:25), he serves his creatures by his power, wisdom and goodness so that they may be his instruments of his works for his glory in the earth.

In Paul’s letter to the pastor Titus he insists that he teach the people in the church to “be ready for every good work.” (Titus 3:1). Yet this command is couched in the truth that they have been served by God in his salvation for them in Christ, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, ⁵he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life”.(3:4-7). The work of God in the salvation of his children is an undeniable work of sovereign mercy to recreate for himself a people for his own glory. Therefore Paul can repeat the command that began this section, “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” (3:8). God serves his church with the working of his salvation that he may serve others through the good works of his church. As Paul says elsewhere, “For we are his (God’s) workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Eph.2:10). Therefore the works that the church is called to is the work that flows out of recreated vessels who live by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ so that our neighbors receive the goodness and lovingkindness of God through his church. This truth enabled the apostle Paul to say, “I worked harder than any of them, thought it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1Cor.15:9). And this truth enables us to “serve in the strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may be glorified in Jesus Christ.“ (1Pe.4:11).

If we are to be devoted to good works then we must first be devoted to him in worship through whom we continually receive grace to do those works he gives us to those whom he has called us. We must continually exalt him as worthy of the whole of our lives with a right apprehension of who he is and a right heart response to that revealed knowledge. It is from this informed loving heart that his works will be done for his glory. It will be the reception of his grace in union with Christ through the Spirit that will enable us more and more to put sin to death and live in the paths of righteousness fulfilling the law of love. Therefore, if God will be glorified in the works of his church then his church must be dependent upon his means of communicating grace. He has ordained the preaching of his Word, the faithful observance of his sacraments and the continual care of his body as the marks of his church. And it is in these works of God toward his church that his church will be marked as his maturing body of Christ laying down their lives in service. However, we must also be devoted to those whom the works of God are directed.

When we love God out of a correct apprehension of his revealed glory in Christ then we will rightly love those who are near. This begins among those who are in his church. As the apostle says, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal.6:10). We must do the good works of God to all but begin within God’s church. Do you know those in the church, do you know their needs, their testimonies, their struggles, their confessions? Do you know whose Shepherding Group you are a part of and those who are in your group? The leadership of the church has organized the body at RPC around Shepherding Groups so that we may carry out our callings as Elders and Deacons faithfully, but also that the body of Christ may minister to one another. But God does not call us only to do good works toward those in the church.

We are called to love our neighbors. Jesus identified our neighbors as those who are near and possibly those who we may have difficulties with (Lk.10:25-37). Are you zealous for letting your neighbors see your good works so that your Father in heaven will be glorified? There are opportunities each Sunday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night to get involved in being zealous for good works toward our neighbors through RPC. There are opportunities in your home, at school and in workplace everyday. There are also many other ways you can serve the needs of our neighbors in this community from next door to across town. But remember God does not need your good works your neighbor does so that he or she may find her delight in Him.