Challies on Pink's Seven Sayings

Over at challies.com, Tim Challies has been summarizing and discussing A.W. Pink's classic The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross. Reading this post not only made me want to read the book, it edified my soul. I especially loved this point: “A man must come to the end of himself before he can come to God.”

Read the whole thing.

Good Works and the Gospel, Part 3

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For 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. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 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. These things are excellent and profitable for people.--Titus 3:1-8 (ESV)

Titus 3 opens with a list of ethical commands. Paul sums this up in the phrase "devote themselves to good works." But why should we do this? What motivation does Paul give for doing good works? In the last two posts, we saw that good works are not our means of salvation nor even the means of deserving salvation. So, why should we do them?

The answer is: the Gospel. The very truth which says good works can't save us also drives us to good works. Titus 2:11-14 says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."

How does the Gospel bring about good works? By giving us a reason to love God. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love because He first loved us." I for one cannot meditate on the Cross and on Jesus' sacrifice for my sin without being emotionally affected. This affection drives me to hate sin and love good works. I can't help but think, "I owe Jesus. I want to do His commands. I want to be His servant because He has saved me with such grace." Romans 8:12 says, "So then, brothers, we are debtors." Doing good works is paying God back. Though we can never truly pay Him back, we love to do good works because it brings glory to Him who loved us.

So, though our good works are not effective in our salvation, they are the result of our salvation and our offering to the God whom we love for His salvation.

Good Works and the Gospel, Part 2

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.--Titus 3:4-7 (ESV)

We are saved through washing, not through works.

In Titus 3:4-7, Paul tells the story of the Gospel. God showed His kindness and goodness, He washed us with His Spirit, and He justified us--so that we might have eternal life. Note one thing, though. He didn't save us through good works. The Gospel is not, "God gives us power to do good works and through his sanctifying grace, we are saved." In fact, Paul doesn't even use the word works at all in this passage. Instead, he uses words like "washing" and "regeneration" and "renewal."

The most interesting word here (I think) is regeneration. It comes from the Latin regenerare, meaning "create again." When we are saved, God re-creates us. God does not create evil beings. Therefore, regenerated people are not guilty. When Paul says we're washed with regeneration and renewal, it means we are like Adam and Eve before they sinned. We are sinless, pure, innocent.

So, good works are not the means of salvation of the Gospel story.

National Day of Prayer

And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.--Matthew 1:22
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.--Mark 11:24
Be constant in prayer.--Romans 12:12
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.--Col. 4:2
Pray without ceasing.--1 Thess. 5:17
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.--1 Tim. 2:1

National Day of Prayer is upon us again. While we should praying "without ceasing," a day set aside for prayer is a blessing to Christians--a reminder of the importance of prayer.

Good Works and the Gospel, Part 1

For 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. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy--Titus 3:3-5a (ESV)

I. We do not save ourselves by our good works.

In Titus 3, Paul paints an almost hopeless picture of the unsaved sinner. His description applies to all of us. If youe a Christian like myself, it's a description of who we were and who we would be without God's salvation. If you're not a Christian, it describes you. Without God's grace, all we have is unrighteousness. Because of this, we deserve God's wrath for our sin. We need salvation.

The Gospel is the story of that salvation. "God our Savior appeared" and "He saved us." Listen to that again: He saved us. We aren't saved by ourselves or by our good works, but by God. So, the Gospel has no place for good works being our means of salvation.

II. God does not save us because of our goodness.

After convincing us that God saves us, not our works, Paul moves to God's motive for saving us. He answers the question, "Did He save us because he saw something good in us?" Absolutely not, Paul answers. "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy." God was not moved by our goodness to love us; He loved us while we were still evil. Romans 5:6 says "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." God is not enticed to save us by our works. He sees our righteousness as the "polluted garments" that they are. (Is. 64:6)

We have nothing at all to do with our salvation. The only thing we bring to the Gospel is our sin.

Good Works and the Gospel

For 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. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he 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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 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. These things are excellent and profitable for people.--Titus 3:3-8 (ESV)

How do good works and the Gospel relate?

In the next few posts, I'm going to try to answer this question from this passage in Titus 3. Here's my tentative series outline:

1) We are not able to save ourselves with good works.
2) God does not save us through good works but through regeneration.
3) Our regeneration produces good works.

David Wells on the Spirit and the Word

From an interview on The A-Team Blog. . . ."The work of the Holy Spirit in Scripture is tied to the Word written and the Word living. The work of the Holy Spirit is to illumine the Scripture he inspired in the first place and, second, to apply the work of Christ to people today. So, in this sense, the work of the Spirit coincides with the work of Christ. Why else would Scripture speak of the Spirit is the “Spirit of Christ” or “his Spirit”? When people start ascribing to the Spirit their own internal intuitions, senses about life, desires, and yearnings, they will soon find themselves adrift if they have not asked themselves two questions: first, have I checked what I am sensing against the (objective) revelation of God’s Word? Second, is what I am sensing leading me to a deeper understanding of, and more faithful service to Christ? If we have no answers to these questions, let us speak no more about the “Spirit”doing this and doing that!"

Treating Christ Well

Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.--1 Corinthians 8:12 (ESV)

In a chapel address at the Master's College, Mark Dever made the following statement: "Christ so identifies with His Church, that how you treat each other as Christians is the way you treat Christ." Now that is a convicting truth! Paul clearly states in 1 Corinthians 12:27 that "Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." In 6:17, he wrote "But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one with Him in spirit." Therefore, when we sin against our brothers, who are members of Christ, we sin against Christ. Gossiping about our brothers, lying to our sisters, or weakening the consciences of our fellow church members are ways in which we can sin against our very Savior.

No other truth in the Bible can give us such love for our brothers and sisters as this: They are part of Christ. We should give fellow Christians the love due to Christ. Anything short of this (admittedly rather high) mark offends Christ and sins against Him.

The Spiritual Gymnasium

Train yourselves for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.--1 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)

As I pedaled on a stationary bike this morning, I read this passage.  As I looked around at my schoolmates, I saw many people training themselves bodily.  But they were not alone, nor were they using their own equipment.  We needed the gym.  We could do some calisthenics outside, but the gym equipment took our exercise to a whole new level.  In the same way, Christians need the local church.

We can expect some growth in godliness through disciplines such as personal Bible reading, private prayer, and secret fasting.  But we severely hamper ourselves if we neglect God's spiritual gymnasium: the local church.  Preaching, corporate worship, and corporate prayer are essential duties of the Christian life.  Think on 1 Timothy 4:13--"Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching."

As brothers and sisters in a local church, we fulfill the many "one anothers" of the New Testament.  We love one another.  We admonish one another.  We prophesy to one another.  We correct, protect, encourage, pray for, and teach one another--in the church.  Most of the New Testament epistles were written to churches for a reason.  The pattern for Christians that we find in the early church can be simplified to (1) Belief, (2) Baptism, (3) Church membership.

If godliness truly holds promise for both the present life and the life to come, we should be striving for it as hard as we can--in both our private lives and in the local church.

A Cross-Centered Book

In the foreword to C.J. Maheney's Living the Cross Centered Life, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes, "The book you now hold in your hands is nothing less than a manifesto for turning your world upside down."  I have to agree with Dr. Mohler--this book aims at nothing less than shaking the very foundation of your life.

The subtitle to this book is "Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing."  C.J.'s passion, which is clearly seen in Living the Cross Centered Life, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He wants each reader to walk away from his book with a fresh focus on the Cross and a new passion for the Gospel.

Throughout the book, two things show up again and again.  One is C.J.'s humility.  C.J. is a nationally known minister who leads a movement of 75 churches.  His books are popular, his leadership is admired--he has every reason to be proud of his accomplishments.  But, again and again C.J. writes of his sin being poured out on Jesus.  Without wallowing in his shame, he humbly shares his struggles with sin and glories only in Jesus Christ.

The second recurring theme of this book is Jesus in our place.  Jesus suffered in our place.  Jesus took our iniquity in our place.  Jesus died in our place.  This book is like a giant neon sign that points to the Cross.  C.J. dives deep into the Passion of Christ and reveals the great glory of the Cross.  This book is a modern theological/pastoral masterpiece; I highly recommend it.