On Griping About Work

Josh Hicks

It is a natural tendency of man to complain about effort exertion. It seems that in this day and age, however, it is glorified, exalted, and expected for a man to complain about the drudgery of work and the lack of “free time.” I know that I have been quite guilty of this sentiment in an unrighteous way many times. Consider, then, this pithy saying from the venerable Matthew Henry:

Observe here, [1.] That labour is our duty, which we must faithfully perform; we are bound to work, not as creatures only, but as criminals; it is part of our sentence, which idleness daringly defies. [2.] That uneasiness and weariness with labour are our just punishment, which we must patiently submit to, and not complain of, since they are less than our iniquity deserves. Let not us, by inordinate care and labour, make our punishment heavier than God has made it; but rather study to lighten our burden, and wipe off our sweat, by eyeing Providence in all and expecting rest shortly.

Let us, then, not grow weary in our vocations, duties, etc. but execute them thoroughly to the glory of God, giving thanks to Him Who has provided for us, despite our biting of His Hand that feeds us.

I have been a great beneficiary of Matthew Henry’s pious generosity, as can be gleaned from his commentary on the Scriptures. He, and other Puritan Divines, are an invaluable source of biblical piety (as opposed to the moralism of pietism) that all Christians, “great and small,” would do well to read, ingest, digest, meditate, and think upon.

The Lord’s Wrath, the Lord’s Discipline, and the Lord’s Salvation

Genesis 6:3

And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

As I was reading through Scripture and Matthew Henry’s Commentary this morning, I was struck by the callousness and coldness of my heart in the area of sanctification. Henry had this to say (emboldened text my emphasis):

Note, 1. It is the corrupt nature, and the inclination of the soul towards the flesh, that oppose the Spirit’s strivings and render them ineffectual. 2. When a sinner has long adhered to that interest, and sided with the flesh against the Spirit, the Spirit justly withdraws his agency, and strives no more. None lose the Spirit’s strivings but those that have first forfeited them.

III. A reprieve granted, notwithstanding: Yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years; so long I will defer the judgment they deserve, and give them space to prevent it by their repentance and reformation. Justice said, Cut them down; but mercy interceded, Lord, let them alone this year also; and so far mercy prevailed, that a reprieve was obtained for six-score years. Note, The time of God’s patience and forbearance towards provoking sinners is sometimes long, but always limited: reprieves are not pardons; though God bear a great while, he will not bear always.

This, of course, is not meant to make downcast the believer, who might be tempted to despair due to the medieval whip; rather, it is but a reminder of God’s work toward sinners. Thankfully, we are not bastards, but sons, and the Lord does not leave us to our own destruction. He has means by which He does this, of course, one of those being Scriptural precepts and examples from which we may draw application to our own lives.

Let such passages be a fearful and reverent reminder of God’s Holiness, but also His patience; His wrath and hatred of sin, but His mercies toward repentant sinners; His justice toward the impenitent men, but his longsuffering and loving discipline toward His children. Blessed be the Lord God Who will save us from our sins and conform us to the likeness of His Son. May we be reminded of such wonderful yet terrible truths when our judgments are clouded by sin and our practice muddied with iniquities. Then let us cling to that mercy that is found only in Christ, trusting not in our merit, but His. Upon considering such, may we be all the more driven to holy and biblical piety, casting off the sin which so easily entangles.

The Lord is good to His children.

Josh Hicks

O How I Love Thy Law! (Closure of Legalists & Libertines)

Psalm 119:4  Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

While we can see the error of the Legalists on one hand and the Libertines on the other, we should never let such excesses paralyze our own due diligence in the pursuit of holiness. And, mind you, the pursuit of holiness cannot be rightly taken up without the Law of God, for it is the standard by which we measure our progress. Granted, we will only have gradual progress until that day the Lord returns and makes us like He is, but we are nonetheless charged to “keep [God's] precepts diligently.”

Do we love Jesus? Then we ought keep His commandments (John 14:15). Do we hate our sin? Then we ought diligently study the Law to see our sin in light of God’s perfection (Romans 7:7b). Do we love one another? Then we ought seek their good, for Christ’s sake (Exodus 20:12-17). Do we realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin? Then we ought see that the mortification thereof is more important than life or limb (Matthew 5:29, 30).

Christians have the privilege of possessing an alien righteousness that gives us a right standing before the Holy God of Scripture. In light of such a wonderful truth, is it really so difficult to believe that God expects, nay demands, our pursuit of perfect obedience to His Law? It shouldn’t be. Romans 12 calls it out “reasonable service.” Does this mean we can merit God’s favor by keeping His Law? Of course not, because even in our greatest law-keeping we are yet deficient. We don’t keep the law to merit favor, but as a response to undeserved favor lavished upon us.

Would that we can echo the Psalmist when he says, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.”

Josh

Piper, Prophecy, and Providence

So I’ve seen a few people blog about Piper’s “take” on the Tornado hitting the meeting where the ELCA voted to allow homosexual clergy. I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Most people may think me extreme, but it’s neither our duty nor our right to read or interpret Providence. Since I’m lazy, I’m just going to copy and paste a blurb I wrote elsewhere on the matter.

We are not privy to the secret things of the Lord our God. Did he predict this event in Scripture? No. Should we dogmatically presume that what has happened was God’s response as a direct consequence of the ELCA meeting? I don’t think we should. However, here’s what we can agree upon:

1. All negative things that happen in this life (sickness, calamity, disaster, death, etc.) are a consequence of sin. Therefore, there’s at least a general way to say that this, yet another natural disaster, is ultimately due to sin. Adam brought it into the world, and we are good at carrying that torch on as well.

Might God have sent this calamity as a means of shaking up these people? Maybe. That’s not for us to proclaim, cuz we cannot know. I assure you, though, if that’s why God did it, He’ll make it known beyond a shadow of a doubt to those people. God certainly sent this act. But can we really say why? Do we need to? No.

We can rest in knowing that God was pleased to bring it. We can be satisfied with calling what the ELCA is doing as an abomination and sin. But the two do not have to be related (although they may very well be). We can pray that the whole thing be used as a means to bring these people to repentance, but not simply a calamity by itself; rather, a hearing of the Word of God, which is much more powerful than any disaster that occurs.

We needn’t speak where God hasn’t spoken.

Josh

Legalists & Libertines: Both Imbalanced – Part 3

Psalm 119:4 Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.

Previously, we discussed the Right Group (as opposed to the Wrong Group) within the context of the Libertines. Today I’d like to explore the Right Group within the context of the Legalists. It will really be quite brief, because I’d like to simply reference some sermons from Pastor Todd Ruddell that go into detail concerning the relationship of God’s Law to the believer.

Although Legalists carry the aura about themselves as folks who love God’s Law, we must understand that such boastings are all a charade. Due to their misuse of God’s Law they may rightly be classified as antinomian, for their abuse and misuse is truly against God’s intended purpose of the Law in the life of the believer. Legalism proper can be defined in two ways:

1. Legalism: Trying to gain merit before God by keeping the Law.

2. Legalism: Requiring more of people than God requires.

Having already addressed the number 2 definition in a previous post, I’d like to hit on the first definition as it is the import of this particular series. The Law of God obeyed by the works of man cannot merit any favor from God, and that is not its purpose. While the Libertines have taken that and decided to abrogate or severely distort the purpose of God’s Law altogether, the Legalists have done quite the opposite.

The Pharisees not only thought they could merit favor before God by keeping the Law, but in order to “keep” the Law they had to change the depth and breadth of the Law altogether. Jesus called them white washed tombs because they “kept” these Laws on the outside, but they did not truly keep the Law in its fullness. Christianity is a heart religion. The Religion of Yahweh was a heart religion. It is not enough to simply keep the outward letter of the law, but we must be compelled to obey the Law in our hearts too.

This, of course, was Christ’s purpose in preaching the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). He would say to the Pharisees, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you…,” and in doing so would tear down any pride the Pharisees may have had in their so-called “law keeping.” They were like white washed tombs because on the outside they looked nice and clean, but on the inside were full of dead men’s bones.

The Law is not a means of salvation for anyone. The Law cannot be fully kept by any mere human born to woman. All of Adam’s posterity have broken God’s Commandments in thought, word, and deed, so to pretend that we may attain salvation by the keeping of said law is a farce. The prophet Isaiah has referenced that even the “greatest” of our “righteousness” is filthy rags in the site of the thrice Holy God of Scripture. God does demand perfect obedience to His Law to have salvation, and that is exactly why Christ had to come and obey the Law perfectly on behalf of His people so that we will be able to stand before God as pure, holy, and undefiled. And THAT’s the good news of the Gospel, Friends!

Christ paid our debt that He did not owe. But we must never see God’s Law as a means to merit favor before God or a way to salvation. No, salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Rather, our obedience to God’s Law should be a loving response to the glorious truth that God, in His mercy, has saved us from ourselves, passing us from death unto life. Our love, study, half-obedience, and failure of God’s Law are to serve as a reminder that we cannot please God with our works, and a reminder of the good news that Jesus has pleased the Father on our behalf.

So, is the Law of God binding upon the believer? Absolutely. Does our half-hearted keeping of God’s Law merit us anything before the Almighty? Absolutely not. Does this fact negate our responsibility to obey God’s Law to the best of our abilities and with the utmost sincerity of our hearts and minds? Absolutely not. For God’s Law is good, perfect, holy and just. Our hearts are not. We seek to obey and uphold God’s Law because He has commanded it be so. Jesus said, “He who loves me, obeys my commands.” The following links are a sermon series that my pastor preached on Matthew 5 concerning the Law, the distinctions therein, the proper & improper uses thereof, and its relationship to the believer. I implore you to listen to them, as they are greatly edifying and helpful.

1. The Law or the Prophets: Who Are They?

2. Distinctions in the Law: How is Law Used in Scripture?

3. Distinctions in the Law, Part 2: Ceremonial, Judicial

4. Distinctions in the Law, Part 3: The Moral Law, Part 1

5. Distinctions in the Law, Part 4: The Moral Law, Part 2 – the Moral Law Abides)

6. Uses of the Law, Part 1: Unlawful Uses – As a Means of Justification

7. Uses of the Law, Part 2: Unlawful Uses (Cont.)

8. Uses of the Law, Part 3: Lawful Uses – Who’s Law Will Prevail?

9. Lawful Uses of the Law – How Do You Define Sin?

10. Preaching the Law – The Revealer of Sin

11. Uses of the Law, Part 4: Lawful Uses – The Law Binds us to Christ

12. Uses of the Law, Part 5: Lawful Uses – An Affectionate Rule of Life

13. Preaching the Law – Do You Love God’s Law?

14. Introduction – The Greatest and the Least

15. Are You Least or Greatest in the Kingdom?

16. Keeping the Least Commandments

17. Keeping the Least Commandments, Part 2

18. True Biblical Greatness

19. Doing and Teaching the Least Commandments

Josh