Tag Archives: humility

Sanctification Rests on a Divine Act

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John Webster:

Sanctification rests on the divine act of salvation accomplished in the death and resurrection of the Son and pronounced in the gospel promulgation of acquittal. Consequently, the agent of the Christian holiness is not the Christian but God. In effect, the rooting of sanctification in justification prohibits any conversion of sanctification into ethical self-improvement, as if justification were merely an initial infusion of capacities which are then activated through moral or spiritual exertion.

Holiness, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 81.

The Humility of Christ in Yielding the Vindication of His Identity

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The glory of Jesus’ humiliation was not him coming to earth as anything less than who he was. Jesus was not God with his ‘armed tied behind his back,’ nor did he renounce his deity in some type of kenotic cleverness. The glory of Jesus’ humiliation was that he did everything that he did as God. The wonder of the cross is not the death of a man who was the shadow of deity, but the death of God who had become a man. It was God as a man who hung there and heard the scoffing:

“He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” (Luke 23:35-37)

And yet Jesus was silent. He humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross. His identity was challenged and he opened not his mouth. Here is humility: Silent to his death. Silent to his grave. Silent for three days. Silent until the Father raised him from the dead and declared him to be the Son of God in power!

Read the whole thing via The Humility of Christ in Yielding the Vindication of His Identity.

The Old Good News and the Frontier of Our Lives

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The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the salvation of those who trust him is old news. It is really old, really good news. What are we after in hearing again and again what we’ve heard before?

The hope of hearing the old, good news is that it would perpetually break new ground in our lives. Have you looked inside lately? It is full of jungle. Inside of me is untamed wilderness and deep dark caves. And there is a claim that lays hold to all of it—  Jesus Christ is Lord.

So while the gospel is not new, there are new, unchartered territories in my life that are not yet under its rule. What I beg for my soul, for my family, for my church… is that the old good news of Jesus Christ would reach into these new territories of my life and establish its dominion. In short, this is sanctification– to be overcome by the gospel.

Learning from Augustine—credo ut intelligam: Newbigin, Part 2

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After showing the need for revelation (57-64), Newbigin shows that the embrace of the gospel is a work of grace. He writes,

Christian discipleship is not a two-stage affair in which a concept of truth is first formulated and is then translated into a program for action. It is a single action of faith and obedience to a living person, the response to a personal calling (66).[1]

The work of God to reveal himself to creatures is a work of grace. He writes,

[The] world is not free as it thinks it is. We are not honest inquirers seeking the truth. We are alienated from truth and are enemies of it. We are by nature idolaters, constructing images of truth shaped by our own desires (69).

If we are to know God and embrace his revelation then he must call us out of the darkness to which we are accustomed and into his marvelous light where Christ is all.

Speaking of the Trinity, Augustine writes “And if this cannot be grasped by the understanding, let it be held by faith, until He shall dawn in the heart who says by the prophet, ‘If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not understand’” (Trinity, 7.12). The reference to Isaiah 9:7 is fundamental to Augustine’s theology. The ESV translates, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.” Although Augustine’s reading does not reflect the grammatical-historical hermeneutic of the present day’s most influential interpretive community, his reading is an accurate judgment in acknowledging the preeminence of faith in the task of knowledge. He discerned that the “Catholic doctrine” required him to believe things that could not be demonstrated (Confessions, 6.5). In Newbigin’s words, the gospel invites us to embrace things for which we cannot have certainty in the present. We are called to believe that which is still open to doubt. But our ability to doubt exists only because we are putting our faith in something else, namely, in the darkness to which we are captive. Augustine writes:

Behold my heart, O Lord, who wouldest I should remember all this, and confess to Thee. Let my soul cleave unto Thee, now that Thou hast freed it from that fast-holding birdlime of death. How wretched was it! And Thou didst irritate the feeling of its wound, that forsaking all else, it might be converted unto Thee, who art above all, and without whom all things would be nothing; be converted, and be healed (Confessions, 6.5).

As Augustine understood, faith is a work of God in calling us to life, breaking us free from the chains that once consumed our “personal commitment.”

[1] Calvin likewise locates the knowledge of God in the realm of trust and reverence. This location of knowledge is in the same vein of our present discussion by providing a theological basis for knowledge. Speaking of knowledge of God demands a different structure than the intellectual edifices of current vogue. See Calvin, Institutes, I.2.

Non-cuckooness: Chan, Driscoll, and Love for the Church

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I like Francis Chan, Mark Driscoll, and Joshua Harris.

Via Justin Taylor, it is a neat thing to watch the three interact in a recent video by The Gospel Coalition. Driscoll diverts the conversation to questioning Chan for this recent resignation from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA–the local church where he has served as the founding pastor/primary preacher for the past 16 years. Driscoll doesn’t get why he left.

Chan’s response is gracious. To say what he said more bluntly: Chan would comeback at Driscoll’s question “Why did you leave your church?” with a simple “because I don’t want to be like you.”

Chan is uncomfortable with being a celebrity pastor. He doesn’t like it. Driscoll really shows how different his perspective on the subject is when he comments about three minutes in, “go multi-site.” He is implying that Cornerstone have a multiplicity of campuses with Chan as the preaching pastor, one being in LA. No way—that would undermine exactly what Chan is avoiding.

Chan leaving Cornerstone is because he loves her. I think that he realizes he has set Cornerstone up in such a way that the life of the church is becoming inseparably woven with his own preaching ministry. His decision to step down is a pivotal move to resist having a church built after his own personality. His move is an endeavor to have Cornerstone be characterized by gospel faithfulness and not merely have the legacy of hosting a dynamic pastor with growing international influence.

The move is courageous and humble. I appreciate the trail he is blazing and I desire its character in my life and in the brethen’s.  Amen.

Reorienting Our Approach

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In the current day, we are taught by many writers and preachers, religious or otherwise, to begin our spiritual quests, our faith journeys, with ourselves. We are encouraged to seek God because He can meet our needs and satisfy our deepest desires. There is some truth to this claim, but the fundamental duty of every person before the holy God is to humble themselves (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Unlike what certain leaders tell us, we do not come to God and being articulating a list of deep-seated desires and needs. If we have biblical faith, we must fall before our majestic God, trembling to be in His presence, rejoicing that because of the blood of Christ we have access to Him and will not be crushed by the weight of His glory. If we have been taught that religion is all about us, if we find ourselves breathing the “me-centered” air of our day, then we must cleanse ourselves, reorient our minds, and approach God in a new way…

True knowledge of God begins with humility, quietness before the Lord, and a willingness to listen to God’s Word and to order our lives according to it (Proverbs 1:7). Only when we possess and practice this mindset can we fully appreciate the beauty of the One who in His mercy has claimed us through the death and resurrection of His Son and the regeneration of His Spirit.

Owen Strachan and Doug Sweeney, Jonathan Edwards on Beauty, “The Essential Edwards Collection,” 41ff.

Theology is No Detached Exercise

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The process of studying the great truths of God is not a detached exercise that is incompetent to affect the way students of theology perceive God and themselves. Rather, this process is essential to how they perceive God and themselves.

J.I. Packer writes:

If our theology does not quicken the conscience and soften the heart, it actually hardens both; if it does not encourage the commitment of faith, it reinforces the detachment of unbelief; if it fails to promote humility, it inevitably feeds pride.

J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness, 15.

On Ecumenism Among Credo- and Paedo- Baptists

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Wellum helpfully admits that there are profound differences at work between the two evangelical positions and he suggests, “it is not helpful to blur the differences merely for the sake of unity” (160). He goes on:

To get baptism wrong is not a minor issue. It is not only misconstrues our Lord’s command and instruction to the church, it also leads to a misunderstanding of elements of the gospel, particularly in regard to the beneficiaries of the new covenant and the nature of the church (160 ff).

Although I affirm Wellum’s point, I want to briefly contend for unity on a larger scale while also affirming the integrity of local congregations to their doctrinal convictions. The essence of the paedobaptist error is most poignant when it comes to the misunderstanding of the New Covenant and therefore, the nature of the Church. There are two levels to address: the gospel itself and gospel in terms of the New Covenant. I do think that such a dichotomy is unnatural, but necessary in order to not breach fellowship where fellowship is possible. According to these two levels, I do not think that paedobaptism is a misunderstanding of the gospel, per se. However, I do think that it is a serious misunderstanding of the New Covenant and therefore a misunderstanding of the gospel in its grand biblical-theological context.

All this to say that I love paedobaptists and thank God for many of them and their influences on me.

On the Gospel and Spiritual Leadership

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The theme that I take away from reading Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders deals more with the task of leadership training than leadership training itself. The exercise of training leaders, i.e. giving leadership advice and instruction, should be clearly centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. An example of what I am suggesting could be seen in the principle of humility that Sanders discusses in chapter eight, entitled “Essential Qualities of Leadership.” Humility is one quality named in a list that includes courage, decision, wisdom, vision, and discipline.

I think that there is a better way. The danger of listing humility as a quality is to make it a mere principle to be manufactured instead of a response to a work outside of oneself. When humility is mentioned as an attribute it runs the risk of being presented as a characteristic to be fabricated. Aspiring leaders do not need to hear that they should be humble. They need to be told why they should be humble. Focus on the gospel will appropriately lead to the effect of humility.

I think that meditating on Ephesians 2 is more worthwhile than being told that humility is an “essential quality for leadership.” If a man goes deep in the gospel and saturates his life with everything that the cross and resurrection means then he will not need to be told to be humble as a leader. The man who does that trembles at the smallest thought of standing before the people of God with the responsibility of caring for their souls. The man who does that dares never to venture into a position of leadership without leaning on Christ alone for life and breath.

Don’t Loiter in that Ditch

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It is true, religion in the souls of men is the immediate work of God, and all our natural endeavors can neither produce it alone, nor merit those supernatural aids by which it must be wrought: the Holy Ghost must come upon us, and the power of the Highest must overshadow us, before that holy thing can be begotten, and Christ be formed in us: but yet we must not expect that this whole work should be done without any concurring endeavours of our own: we must not lie loitering in the ditch, and wait till Omnipotence pull us from thence; no, no! we must bestir ourselves to our utmost capacities, and then we may hope that, ‘our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord ‘ (1 Corinthians 15:58).

Henry Scougal, The Life of God in the Soul of Man, 97ff.

And then looking back on the “bestirring of ourselves” we will say that it was all of grace.