Legalism: An Enemy of the Gospel

As Christians who live between the D-Day and V-Day of Christ’s first and second coming, there are certain enemies that we have to be on the lookout for. In the book of Galatians one enemy in particular that Paul constantly warns against is legalism. He warns that it’s not just an enemy to our view of justification (God’s act of declaring us righteous), it’s also an enemy to our sanctification (God’s work of making us righteous). In Galatians 2:16 Paul declares legalism to be an enemy of justification when he says, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.” Later in Galatians 3:3, Paul declares legalism to be an enemy of sanctification when he says, “having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Paul, throughout the book of Galatians, is clearly passionate about preserving the purity of the Gospel and upholding the sole sufficiency of the work of the Savior. One of the ways this is clearly demonstrated is in his all out assault on legalism, one of the greatest enemies of Gospel. But what exactly is legalism? This is a word that is tossed around frequently and like much “Christianese” it has been overused, abused, misused and under-defined. So, I want to attempt to move toward a clearer understanding of what legalism is in hopes that this will help us detect it more easily, repent of it more specifically, and embrace it’s remedy more wholeheartedly.

The Subtlety of Legalism

Before I give a definition of Legalism, it is important to note that legalism shares a lot of similarities to a Deer Tick that carries Lyme Disease. Like a Deer Tick, legalism is sometimes undetectable (a Deer Tick is almost microscopic). It can easily be mistaken as completely harmless (a Deer Tick looks like a cute baby ladybug). It can be hard to diagnose (early stages of Lyme Disease mimic the flu). And if it is allowed to go untreated, it’s effects can be devastating (untreated Lyme Disease can have chronic effects). This is what, in part, makes legalism so dangerous.

The Spectrum of Legalism

Furthermore, legalism does not come in one shape and size, as if it were one very specific thing that you could point to. Legalism comes in a variety of flavors and exists on a spectrum. For example, on one end of the spectrum you have forms of legalism that are heretical. These are the extreme cases of legalism that distort the truth of the Gospel so much that to believe them or teach them is damnable (Paul seems to deal with this kind in Gal 1:6-9). On the other end of the spectrum, you have less extreme cases of legalism that though not heretical, are still harmful (Paul seems to deal with this kind in Gal 2:11-14).

Defining Legalism

Legalism is any man-made addition(s) to salvation or Scripture which we use to earn, maintain, or improve our standing before God and which we impose upon others.

Let’s break that down…

Legalism Usurps the Authority of God

Legalism makes “man-made addition(s)” to things that only God has the authority to speak on. In a sense, legalism is “fools rushing in where angels fear to tread.” Scripture has one ultimate author and it is not us. Only God has the prerogative to say “thus saith the Lord.” Legalism tries to say “thus saith the Lord” without asking permission.

Legalism Undermines the Sufficiency of Christ

Legalism makes “man-made additions to salvation.” By adding any criteria to salvation other than “believe on the Lord Jesus,” legalism essentially says  that Jesus isn’t enough, His work isn’t fully sufficient, more is required. This comes not only in formal ways, where one declares “you must be circumcised if you would be saved.” It also comes in functional ways. No one makes a declaration or writes a position paper on it, but people can unknowingly treat voting a certain way or adopting a certain educational method or adhering to certain social behaviors as necessary criteria for being a Christian. This cuts at the heart of the Gospel.

Legalism Undermines the Wisdom of God

Legalism makes “man-made additions to…Scripture.” By adding anything to Scripture’s commands, Legalism acts as if it were wiser than God. There are many areas of life to which God, in his wisdom, does not say “thus saith the Lord, do this and do not do that.” These are areas of Christian Freedom, or as it has sometimes been called cases of conscience. Legalism seeks to remove freedom in these areas and hold consciences’ captive. In effect, this says if God were as wise as me he would have said “don’t do ________.” 

One clarification here: Obedience is not in question. When God makes commands, we as Christians must “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2). But we are not obligated in any way to submit to man-made additions to God’s commands. That is the difference between obeying God and legalism. (see the Westminster Confession Chapter 20)

Legalism Breaks the Greatest Commandment

Legalism uses obedience to “earn, maintain, or improve our standing with God.” When we do this we break what Jesus called the “greatest commandment:” to LOVE the Lord your God. Instead of fueling love for God, legalism becomes a way of trying to manipulate God and put him in our debt. This is why you will never see joy in a legalistic environment. Legalists aren’t gazing properly at God to derive the joy that comes from truly knowing him. Instead, legalism takes our eyes off of the greatness of God and tries to get God to look at our perceived greatness.

Legalism Breaks the 2nd Greatest Commandment

Finally, Legalism imposes itself on others and judges others by its non-biblical standard. Thus, legalism not only affects things on a vertical level, it also affects things on a horizontal level by breaking the 2nd greatest commandment: “Love your neighbor.” Sam Storms helpfully articulates it this way:

Legalism is the tendency to regard as divine law things which God has neither required nor forbidden in Scripture and the corresponding inclination to look with suspicion on others for their failure or refusal to conform.

Legalism makes us think we are superior to our neighbor because we have reached heights of holiness that they can only dream about. In this state of mind, instead of coming underneath our neighbor and serving them, we stand over our neighbor and judge them for not being like us. That is why you will never see genuine community in a legalistic environment. The only “community” will be cliques that are formed by groups who share the same legalistic tendencies.

In the next post, I will look at what Legalism is not in order to help us avoid a misdiagnosis or an overreaction.

Do You Want An Unfailing Friend? (J.C. Ryle)

“Do we want an unfailing friend? Such a friend is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The saddest part of all the good things of earth is their instability. Riches make themselves wings and flee away; youth and beauty are but for a few years; strength of body soon decays; mind and intellect are soon exhausted.

All is perishing. All is fading. All is passing away. But there is one splendid exception to this general rule, and that is the friendship of Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus is a friend who never changes. There is no fickleness about Him: those whom He loves, He loves unto the end. Husbands have been known to forsake their wives; parents have been known to cast off their children; human vows and promises of faithfulness have often been forgotten.

Thousands have been neglected in their poverty and old age, who were honoured by all when they were rich and young. But Christ never changed His feelings towards one of His friends. He is ‘the same yesterday, today, and forever.’ (Heb. 13:8.)

The Lord Jesus never goes away from His friends. There is never a parting and good-bye between Him and His people. From the time that He makes His abode in the sinner’s heart, He abides in it forever.

The world is full of leave-takings and departures: death and the lapse of time break up the most united family; sons go forth to make their way in life; daughters are married, and leave their father’s house forever.

Scattering, scattering, scattering, is the yearly history of the happiest home. How many we have tearfully watched as they drove away from our doors, whose pleasant faces we have never seen again!

How many we have sorrowfully followed to the grave, and then come back to a cold, silent, lonely, and blank fireside! But, thanks be to God, there is One who never leaves His friends! The Lord Jesus is He who has said, ‘I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5.)

The Lord Jesus goes with His friends wherever they go. There is no possible separation between Him and those whom He loves. There is no place or position on earth, or under the earth, that can divide them from the great Friend of their souls.

When the path of duty calls them far away from home, He is their companion.

When they pass through the fire and water of fierce tribulation, He is with them.

When they lie down on the bed of sickness, He stands by them and makes all their trouble work for good.

When they go down the valley of the shadow of death, and friends and relatives stand still and can go no further, He goes down by their side.

When they wake up in the unknown world of Paradise, they are still with Him.

When they rise with a new body at the judgment day, they will not be alone.

He will own them for His friends, and say, ‘They are mine: deliver them and let them go free.’ He will make good His own words: ‘I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.’ (Matt. 28:20.)

Look round the world, and see how failure is written on all men’s schemes. Count up the partings, and separations, and disappointments, and bereavements which have happened under your own knowledge.

Think what a privilege it is that there is One at least who never fails, and in whom no one was ever disappointed! Never, never was there so unfailing a friend as Jesus Christ.”

–J.C. Ryle, Practical Religion: Being Plain Papers on the Daily Duties, Experience, Dangers, and Privileges of Professing Christians (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1878/2013), 327-328.

What Is Presbyterian Church Government?

Have you ever wondered (or been confused about) what it means to be a part of a “presbyterian” church? In part, to be presbyterian means that we have a unique form of church government. Below is a video that explains presbyterian church government in a very simple and concise way:

Here is another video in which fellow PCA pastor Sean Michael Lucas briefly explains the biblical basis of presbyterian church government:

If you like charts as much as I do, perhaps this chart on PCA church government will be even more clarifying for you:

This was put together by my friend and seminary classmate Steve Johnson.

If this is something that you are interested in exploring further, I would recommend What Is Church Government? by Sean Michael Lucas, which is a short booklet on the topic. Or if you’re really interested in digging into this, you can read How Jesus Runs the Church by Guy Prentiss Waters, which is a book length treatment of the topic.

What is Family Worship and Why is it Important?

The great commentator and puritan Matthew Henry had this to say about the importance and blessing of family worship:

A church in the house will be a good legacy, nay, it will be a good inheritance, to be left to your children after you. Reason directs us to consult the welfare of posterity, and to lay up in store a good foundation for those that shall come after us to build upon: and we cannot do this better than by keeping up religion in our houses. A family altar [gathered family worship] will be the best entail; your children will for this rise up and call you blessed, and it may be hoped they will be praising God for you, and praising God like you, here on earth, when you are praising him in heaven.

If family worship is a new, unfamiliar, or intimidating topic, then take some time to listen to Pastor Jason Helopolous give a wonderful introduction to the topic:

If Christ's Blood Could Speak

As we think about Good Friday and the significance of the cross of Christ, I want to ask and answer a strange question to help you see the preciousness and potency of the blood of Christ: “if the blood of Christ could speak what would it say?” 

But before I answer that rather odd question let me remind you of a story in Genesis about the first time that blood ever spoke. It’s the story of Cain and Abel found in Genesis chapter 4:8-10: 

Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

So we see that the first time blood ever spoke it cried out to God. But what did it cry out? The text doesn’t explicitly say but I think we can draw a solid inference if we examine some uses of the word “crying” in the OT. 

This same word for crying is used in Genesis 41:55 where it says: “When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread.” Here it has a nuance of demanding something that ought to be given them. 

In Exodus 5:15 the word is used again in the context of Israel’s slavery to Egypt: “Then the foremen of the people of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, “Why do you treat your servants like this.” Here the word has a nuance of calling someone to account for performing an injustice against someone. 

Lastly, the most telling example is found in Job 19:7 where Job says: “Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence! ’ but I am not answered; I call for help, but there is no justice.” In this context the word implies a call to bring justice upon someone who has committed a crime. 

This leads me to conclude that when Abel’s blood spoke and cried out to God, it cried for justice against Cain. It’s cries reached the ear of God screaming “a grievous crime has been committed and the one who committed it must be punished properly so that justice is restored.” This is what blood said the first time it spoke.

But there is another recording of blood speaking in the Bible and it answers the question I asked at the beginning: “if the blood of Christ could speak what would it say?” In Hebrews 12:24 it says this: “Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and [His] sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” So Christ blood does speak and when it speaks, it speaks a better word than Abel’s. So if Abel’s blood cries out for “justice” and “punishment” on the one who committed the crime, what “better word” does Christ blood speak? 

When Christ’s blood cries out, it cries not for justice but for mercy because Christ received justice that we might receive justification. When Christ’s blood cries out, it cries not for punishment but for pardon because the punishment that we deserve fell on Christ. As Charles Spurgeon said: 

Far more delightful is the fact that another and more melodious cry went up to heaven from the cross of Calvary. “Father, forgive them,” resounded from the wounds of Immanuel. The blood of Abel was not voiceless, and the blood of Jesus was not [mute]; it cried so as to be heard amid the thrones of heaven, and blessed be God, it spoke for us and not against us; it spoke not worse things, as it might well have done, but better things than that of Abel.

So as you reflect on the meaning and significance of Good Friday, remember that we worship a Savior whose blood speaks this verdict over us: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

Christ is the Key to Holiness (J.C. Ryle)

“No one can grow in holiness except he abides in Christ. Christ is the great root from which every believer must draw his strength to go forward.

Would you be holy? Then Christ is the manna you must daily eat, like Israel in the wilderness of old.

Would you be holy? Then Christ must be the rock from which you must daily drink the living water.

Would you be holy? Then you must be ever looking unto Jesus,—looking at His cross, and learning fresh motives for a closer walk with God,—looking at His example, and taking Him for your pattern.

Looking at Him, you would become like Him.

Looking at Him, your face would shine without your knowing it.

Look less at yourself and more at Christ, and you will find besetting sins dropping off and leaving you, and your eyes enlightened more and more every day. (Heb. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18.)

The true way to be strong is to realize our weakness, and to feel that Christ must be all.

The true way to grow in grace is to make use of Christ as a fountain for every minute’s necessities.”

-J.C. Ryle Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots, 447–448.

The Spirit's Fruit of Self-Control

The fruit of the Spirit is…Self-control

We come to final fruit of the Spirit that Paul lists out for us in Galatians 5. One that is just as desperately needed in our hearts and lives as any other. Much of the cultural current that we stand in flows against the virtue of self-control. In many respects we are an impulse driven culture. Grocery stores are strategically arranged to take advantage of your impulse shopping. Internet ads pop-up hoping to kidnap you into an impulse purchase. Sensual material floods the media because Hollywood knows that one of our strongest impulses is lust.

One author pointed out that the best way to know the difference between practicing self-control and lacking self-control is to look at the difference between Joseph when tempted by Potiphar’s wife (see Genesis 39) and David when tempted regarding Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11). 

Joseph rules over the temptation and flees the scene to safety. David becomes ruled by the temptation and ends up entangled in a web of deception and murder. 

To lack self-control is to be ruled by the desires of the flesh that remain in our hearts.

But the self-control that the Spirit is working to cultivate in our hearts is the ability to recognize and renounce our sinful desires and bring them into submission to the reign of God in our hearts.

The fruit of self-control calls us to ask this question: “Who or what is winning the battle over your heart: Is it the desires of the flesh or the desires of the Spirit?”

Let’s get even more specific. 

• Are you led by the Spirit in controlling your passions?

• How about your temper?

• Your appetites?

• Your attitude toward others?

• Your use of your time?

• And have you kept a close watch on your tongue? 

As you reflect on even one of these areas, it’s not hard to realize that some serious pruning is needed in our hearts. 

Confession of sin is one means by which the Spirit prunes our heart so that more fruit can grow. So take a moment to go to God confession your lack of and need for self-control. Here is a prayer that can help you give vent to your confession:

Our Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for the ways that we have lacked self-control and been driven by the desires of the flesh.

We have been ruled by our temper, and given in to unrighteous anger.

We have been led by our lusts, and given in to temptation.

We have not tamed our tongue, and have spoken unwholesome cutting words. 

Teach us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled and godly lives.

Forgive us through Christ we pray, Amen.

What hope is there that we will ever be able gain victory over the desires of the flesh that wage war within us? The hope is that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us with the same resurrection power. As Romans 8:10-11 states:

If Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

By grace God not only raises us from our dead state of sin, he also gives us life by his Spirit so that we can walk in newness of life. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God

We recently introduced a new song into our corpus of Corporate Worship songs titled “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God.” We seem to have a deficiency of rich, robust songs that unfold for us the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This song will greatly help to remedy that deficiency. Keith Getty gives us insight into the creativity and logic that went into writing this particular song:

““Holy Spirit” is the final hymn I wrote with Stuart Townend as part of the ‘Apostle’s Creed’ album we created in 2005. This collection of songs focuses on the basic tenets of the Christian faith outlined in the ancient creed. 

As in much of our songwriting, we wanted to connect the radical truths of what we believe with everyday life. In this particular song, we desired the hymn to function as a sung prayer about the Holy Spirit’s renewing power. In church services, it works well used just prior to the sermon or at its conclusion, as well as before the service or during a prayer time. 

We divided the hymn into three verses. The first expresses a prayer for inward change, asking the Holy Spirit to transform us from the core of our being. Without such change, all religious attempts are futile. We must daily ask for renewal and the desire to love and treasure God’s word and his ways. 

Verse two petitions the Spirit to abide in us so we’re able to bountifully bear His fruit, such as the kindness and gentleness described so beautifully in Galatians 5:22-23. Closing this verse is a prayer “to show Christ in all I do.” 

Verse three is a more expansive prayer for the church. During the songwriting process, we kept revisiting this verse as we examined the role of the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament. In passage after passage, evidence of the Holy Spirit’s power in someone’s life was marked by two characteristics—Christ is magnified, and the individual is led on a path of sacrifice. 

We thus combined the lyric and arrangement of the last verse to build through the first five lines as we convey the power of the Spirit and our desire to see the church hunger for His ways. Then in line six, we suddenly stop with the prayer, “Lead us on the road to sacrifice/ That in unity the face of Christ/ Will be clear for all the world to see.” Artistically, this works as a bit of a surprise as we underscore the paradox and wonder of Christ’s power in us. Only through experiencing sacrifice are we unified as the body of Christ. Only through reaching the end of ourselves can we achieve a vibrant Christian witness that everyone on the outside can see as different.”

You can add this song to your personal and/or family devotion time by downloading the lyrics and sheet music.

To help you sing it even better, here is a lyric video from Youtube:

A Prayer for the Spirit's Work in Our Lives (Valley of Vision)

The Valley of Vision is a wonderful collection of prayers from various Reformed pastors in the 17th and 18th century which was poetically arranged by Arthur Bennet. As I was praying through a section of it, I came across this very helpful prayer that is directed to the Holy Spirit:

O Holy Spirit,

As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water, heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of you.

All the purposes of divine love and the redemption accomplished by Jesus would be vain and empty, apart from your working within, regenerating by your power, giving me eyes to see Jesus, showing me the realities of the unseen world.

Fill me with yourself without measure, as an unimpaired fountain, as inexhaustible riches.

I lament my coldness, poverty, emptiness, imperfect vision, languid service, prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.

Protect me from grieving or resisting you.

Come as power, to expel every rebel lust, to reign supreme and preserve me.

Come as teacher, leading me into all truth, filling me with all wisdom and understanding.

Come as love, that I may adore the Father, and love him as my all.

Come as joy, to dwell in me, move in me, animate me, and increase my affections for the things of God.

Come as light, illuminating the Scripture and molding me in its laws.

Come as sanctifier, consecrating me body and soul to the service of the Kingdom.

Come as helper, with the strength to bless and keep, directing my every step.

Come as beautifier, bringing order out of confusion and loveliness out of chaos.

Magnify your mighty work by being magnified in me, and make me redolent of your fragrance.

The Spirit's Fruit of Gentleness

The fruit of the Spirit is…Gentleness

The Spirit wants to produce in us the fruit of gentleness so that we would grow to look more like Christ. In our character we are trying to trace the lines that Christ has drawn for us by his life. He is the pattern that we are to follow.

So, what is the fruit of gentleness? It is the ability to deal with others in a spirit of humility and tenderness rather than with arrogance and anger. You’ve all received a package before at your front door that was stamped “HANDLE WITH CARE.” Well gentleness is the ability to handle others with care. Yet, culturally speaking, gentleness is not a trending virtue.

• Gentleness is not going to convince your political opponent that you're right and they’re wrong. But shouting over them might.

• Gentleness is not going to get your kids room clean. But threatening them in anger might.

• Gentleness is not going to convince the driver in front of you who just cut you off that he needs to rethink all his life choices. But yelling at him with your car horn might.

Our fallen natural impulse is to react with arrogance and anger. 

Many of our responses to others are fueled by two questions: 

“Do you know who you’re messing with?!”

And

“How dare you?!” 

But the Spirit is working to rewire the reactions of our hearts and rewrite the questions that fuel our responses. Our new Spirit-driven reaction toward others should be humility and tenderness. 

The new questions that should drive our responses are

“How can I serve this person for God’s glory?”

And

“How can I demonstrate the gentleness of Christ to them?” 

That rewiring and rewriting process happens, in part, through humbly coming before God to confess our failure to be gentle and our dependence on His grace and His Spirit to grow in gentleness. So go to the Lord in confession. Here is a prayer to help guide you in that:

Our Heavenly Father,

We praise You for You are compassionate and gentle. You do not deal with us as our sins deserve. 

Forgive us for how we have let pride and arrogance fuel our responses toward others.

Cleanse us from the anger that so easily spills out of our hearts.

Cultivate in our lives the gentleness of Christ so that we would deal with others in a spirit of humility and tenderness.

Forgive us in Christ we pray, Amen.

One of the ways that the Gospel highlights the tenderness of Christ is by showing that Jesus is the Good Shepherd:

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:11).

Jesus views all of those who have come to him by faith and repentance as a sheep in his flock. Sheep that he knows by name, that he cares for with deep affection, that he protects with sovereign power, that he feeds with life-giving food, that he supplies with soul-satisfying water. In Christ, you have a Savior who cares for you with omnipotent gentleness:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. (Psalm 23:1-3)

Creation: A Theater of God's Glory (John Calvin)

John Calvin beautifully articulates what it means that “the heavens declare the glory of God”:

[God] has also displayed his perfection in the whole structure of the universe. So he is constantly in our view and we cannot open our eyes without being made to see him. His nature is incomprehensible, far beyond all human thought, but his glory is etched on his creation so brightly, clearly and gloriously, that no one however obtuse and illiterate can plead ignorance as an excuse. So with absolute truth the Psalmist exclaims, ‘He wraps himself in light as with a garment’ (Ps. 104:2). It is as though he was saying that when God created the world for the first time, he put on outer clothes. He hung up gorgeous banners on which we see his perfection clearly portrayed…

Wherever you look, there is no part of the world however small that does not show at least some glimmer of beauty; it is impossible to gaze at the vast expanses of the universe without being overwhelmed by such tremendous beauty. So the author of Hebrews sensitively describes the visible world as an image of the invisible (Heb. 11:3). The superb structure of the world acts as a sort of mirror in which we may see God, who would otherwise be invisible.

John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion ed. Tony Lane and Hilary Osborne, p. 32-33

The Spirit's Fruit of Faithfulness

The fruit of the Spirit is…faithfulness

One of the most frequent refrains throughout the Psalms is “Great is your faithfulness, O Lord.” The people of God delighted to praise God for His faithfulness. Partly because if God were not a faithful God, the history of Israel would have been very short and the OT would have been a very small book. But even though Israel tested God’s faithfulness over and over and over again, God proved His faithfulness beyond a shadow of a doubt. God demonstrated His faithfulness by keeping His promises and by being utterly and completely reliable. 

And one of the parts of the Spirit’s ministry is to make us like our heavenly Father by cultivating the fruit of faithfulness in our lives. What does it mean to be faithful? It means to be enduringly trustworthy, reliable, and devoted.

When someone is enduringly trustworthy they strive to do what is right not only in public before the eyes of others but in secret as well when the Lord, alone, is watching them. They can be trusted with your most precious secret and your most valuable possession.

When someone is enduringly reliable you can take their word to the bank, you can plan on them to be there when they say they will, and you can count on them to help you in a time of need.

When someone is enduringly devoted you see it in there walk with God how they follow the Lord in trial and prosperity in good times and hard times. They stick closer than a brother.

Faithfulness means being enduringly trustworthy, reliable, and devoted. Sadly, though, rather than reflecting God’s faithfulness, we usually stand out as a contrast to it.

Of all the lines of all the songs we sing here the one I feel most comfortable singing is this: 

“Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, 

prone to leave the God I love.” 

As uncomfortable of a thought as this is, we need to understand that every sin we commit, knowingly or unknowingly, is an act of unfaithfulness to the Lord. 

And, on a horizontal level, we demonstrate that we are not completely faithful even when we speak to others with good-intentions: We say things like “I’ll pray for you” and then never pray, we say “I will be there” and don’t show up or cancel last minute because we found something more interesting to do, or we say “Let’s get together” and never follow up.

In light of this, we need to pray to our faithful God and confess that we stand out as a contrast to him. Here are some words to help you do that:

Our Heavenly Father,

Your steadfast love extends to the heavens and Your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Yet we have been faithless.

You are the God who always keeps His Word, yet we have failed to always keep ours.

Forgive us for being like sheep that have gone astray. 

We are prone to wander and prone to leave the God we love.

Forgive us in Christ we pray, Amen.

When we confess our unfaithfulness, we need to remember the place where God has supremely displayed His faithfulness to us, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We read in 1 John that…

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

God’s faithfulness is good news when we flee to Christ, because God will always faithfully forgive the sins that are covered by the perfect sacrifice of Christ.

The Hidden Floodlight Ministry of the Holy Spirit

The following is a very helpful and illuminating illustration from J.I. Packer regarding the ministry of the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit’s distinctive new covenant role . . . is to fulfill what we may call a floodlight ministry in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. So far as this role was concerned, the Spirit “was not yet” (John 7:39, literal Greek) while Jesus was on earth; only when the Father had glorified him (see John 17:1, 5) could the Spirit’s work of making men aware of Jesus’ glory begin.

I remember walking to a church one winter evening to preach on the words “he shall glorify me,” seeing the building floodlit as I turned a corner, and realizing that this was exactly the illustration my message needed.

When floodlighting is well done, the floodlights are so placed that you do not see them; you are not in fact supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the building on which the floodlights are trained. The intended effect is to make it visible when otherwise it would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into relief so that you see it properly. This perfectly illustrates the Spirit’s new covenant role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior.

Or think of it this way. It is as if the Spirit stands behind us, throwing light over our shoulder, on Jesus, who stands facing us.

The Spirit’s message is never,

“Look at me;

listen to me;

come to me;

get to know me,”

but always

“Look at him, and see his glory;

listen to him, and hear his word;

go to him, and have life;

get to know him, and taste his gift of joy and peace.”

—J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit: Finding Fullness in Our Walk with God, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), p. 57; emphasis original.

James Smith, the predecessor to the famous Charles Spurgeon, wonderfully echoes the thoughts of J.I. Packer:

Wherever the Spirit of Christ is, He…

Reveals Christ to the understanding,

Enthrones Christ in the affections,

Gives Christ the control of the will,

Endears Christ to the heart,

Glorifies Christ in the soul,

and Conforms the person to the lovely likeness of Christ.

James Smith, Sabbath Reading; or Profitable Portions for the Lord’s Day, p. 128; as quoted in Knowing Christ by Mark Jones, p. 61.

HT: Justin Taylor

The Spirit's Fruit of Goodness

The fruit of the Spirit is…goodness.

What do we mean by the Spirit’s fruit of goodness? If you saw goodness in action what would it look like? Here’s my attempt at a definition: Goodness refers to someone who is characterized by personal integrity and open-handed generosity.

In that definition you can see two separate but related parts.

First, goodness is marked by a personal integrity. To have personal integrity means that you are an authentic person not phony or hypocritical or manipulative.

Second, goodness is marked by an open-handed generosity. Open-handed generosity means that you hold all of your resources with an open-hand so that you can do good to all as need and opportunity arises. Someone who is marked by open-handed generosity is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to meet needs with the resources God has entrusted to them.

As Christians it should be our desire to be known for having personal integrity and open-handed generosity.

Yet, how often have you been struck with your own phoniness and hypocrisy. We may look one way in public but remove the crowds and outside spectators and we’re a different person. 

And rather than look for need and opportunity to do good, we hoard our resources because “they’re mine, my own, my precious.” 

Or, at times, if we do seek to do good to others, we can detect a subtle hint of reluctance, perhaps even resentfulness, lurking in dark corners of our heart. “Why did I waste my time helping them, now my Saturday is wasted?!” “I really wish I wouldn’t have offered to let them stay at my house, now I have to clean up after them.”

It is utterly humbling to realize that even the good we do so easily becomes contaminated by impure motives, which is why we need to regularly go to our Good God and confess our lack of goodness to Him. Here is a prayer to help you do that:

Our Heavenly Father,

You are good and do good, teach us your ways.

We lack the purity and depth of goodness that you call us to.

Forgive us for the ways we lack personal integrity and instead are marked by hypocrisy.

Cleanse us from the reluctance and resentfulness that still resides in our hearts and keeps us from being generous.

Help us to pursue needs and opportunities to do good to others and to share what we have, so that we may offer You the pleasing sacrifice of obedience.

In the Name of Christ we pray, Amen.

Now turn from thinking of your lack of goodness to thinking of the overflowing abundant goodness of Christ:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus’s whole life was lived in open-handed generosity. He came not to be served (although He had every right to demand to be) but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. And in the greatest act of generosity known to man, He not only expressed open-handed generosity but arm-stretching generosity as He stretched out His arms to be nailed to a cross. This is the most radiant display of goodness.

The Spirit's Fruit of Kindness

We come now to the Spirit’s Fruit of Kindness. We often think of kindness as merely a type of attitude or demeanor that someone has. When we say that someone is kind, we mean that they are “generally nice and pleasant to be around because they don’t annoy me.”

But the biblical concept of kindness puts the accent on action. Someone who is kind is one who eagerly desires to benefit others in a tangible way. “It’s a generous orientation of our hearts toward other people.” A kind person is one who constantly thinks to themselves “how can I do unto others, as I wish they would do unto me”?

To be kind we ask questions like this… 

What specifically can I do to help this person in need?

How can I be a means of comfort to that person who is grieving?

How can I encourage that person who seems to be struggling?

What can I do to demonstrate gratitude to that person who is serving?

But kindness doesn’t stop at the asking of those questions. Kindness also gets busy answering those questions with action.

Sadly, there are many weeds that grow up in our hearts that choke out the Spirit’s Fruit of Kindness. There are obvious ones like selfishness where instead of being moved outward toward others we are turned inward on ourselves. But then there are some not so obvious weeds that work against kindness. 

Busyness smothers the fruit of kindness. Kindness requires thoughtfulness, which takes time and effort and mental energy. And the tangible act of Kindness takes time as well. But if we’re so busy that we can’t even spend time thinking or demonstrating kindness to someone, then we’re probably too busy. Think how busy Jesus was during his earthly ministry, how many demands and burdens were placed on him every moment of every day, yet he never told someone who called out to him “sorry, I’m busy right now.”

Also, a fear of man works against kindness. In an effort to do something kind, especially in relation to someone who is grieving, haven’t you caught yourself thinking “but what if I say the wrong thing, what if I buy the wrong flowers, write the wrong note, or what if they don’t like this meal”? Suddenly you feel paralyzed and crippled by what the other person might or might not think of you if you were to do this that you end up shutting down and doing nothing. On the one hand, we don’t want to be so insensitive to someone that we come in like a wrecking ball. On the other hand, we don’t want to be so sensitive to how we will be perceived that we decided “it’s best that I do nothing.” The worst thing you can do for someone hurting, struggling, or grieving is nothing. And the worst thing you can say is nothing. And often it’s a fear of man that keeps us from doing and saying something rather than reaching out in kindness.

In light of how we fall short of God’s calling to kindness, we need to regularly go before the Lord and confess our lack of kindness to him. Here is a prayer to help you do that:

Our Heavenly Father, who overflows with kindness,

Forgive us for the unkindness we have done to others and the kindness we have failed to do for others. Instead of being moved outward toward others, we have been focused inward on ourselves. In our busyness and fearfulness, we have failed to act in kindness toward our neighbor. Give us an eagerness and zeal to benefit others with Christ-like acts of kindness.

In the Name of Christ we pray, Amen.

In addition to confession, we need to run to the fountain of God’s kindness which is found in the Gospel of Christ:

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… (Titus 3:4-5)

Regularly drinking from the fountain of God’s kindness to us in Christ is the spiritual refreshment that most helps us grow in kindness to others

The Spirit's Fruit of Patience

The fruit of the Spirit is…patience.

Because of the pace of life in our culture and the fact that we can receive so many goods and services almost instantly, patience is a fruit of the Spirit that is uniquely hard to cultivate. We don’t really have to be patient anymore and ironically enough, we don’t have time for the fruit of patience to grow.

When we moved into our new house, I had my heart set on planting a mango tree in our yard. I foolishly assumed that all you needed was some free space in your yard that had dirt. Then someone came and burst my mango tree dreams by telling me that it’s not so simple. It can take anywhere from 4-8 years for a mango tree to produce fruit. I can’t wait that long, I want a delicious mango tomorrow.

We are all in serious need of the Spirit’s fruit of patience, especially when it comes to our relationships with one another. It has been said that if you ever want to really test and grow your patience all you have to do is become a member of a local church and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so. Or as one humorous little poem puts it:

To dwell in love with saints above—

Oh that will be glory!

But to dwell below with saints we know—

Now that’s a different story!

The fruit of patience that the Spirit wants to bring forth in all our lives for the good of the church and our witness to those outside is the ability to steadfastly respond to others shortcomings and sins with gentleness and forgiveness.

Patience remembers that grace often works slow in our own lives just as much as it does in others. 

Patience is mindful that God has forgiven us far more than we’ve ever had to forgive someone else.

Patience is conscious of the fact that people have to put up with us just as much as we have to put up with them.

Patience views an offense as an opportunity to display the Gospel rather than to display revenge.

Confessing our Lack of Patience

Sadly we are an impatient people in desperate need of a harvest of patience. In light of that, here is a prayer that you can use as a guide to help you confess your impatience to the Lord:

Our Gracious Heavenly Father, who overflows with patience toward his impatient children,

Forgive us for the many ways that we have failed to bear the fruit of patience in our lives. We have responded to the offenses of others by being quick to anger and slow to forgive. We have responded to the shortcomings of others with harshness rather than gentleness. We have pridefully forgotten our own faults and weaknesses and dealt impatiently with others. Instead of patiently overlooking wrongs that have been done to us we have responded according to the flesh. O Lord, be merciful and patient with us and give us the grace to be patient with one another.

In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.

Seeing Patience through the Lens of the Gospel

As impatient as we are, we need to hear and remember the gospel, which so wonderfully tells us that our God is an abundantly patient Father toward His children. He is slow to anger and quick to forgive as we’re reminded in Psalm 103:

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always accuse, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

The Spirit's Fruit of Peace

The fruit of the Spirit is…peace.

Peace is almost as hot of a commodity in pop-culture as love. The right answer to the pageant question is "world peace." the cry amidst the political conflict is "peace.” The bumper sticker reads “No Christ. No peace. Know Christ. Know Peace.” 

So what are we talking about when speaking of the spirit's fruit of peace? What is God, by His Spirit, seeking  to cultivate in the life of His children? 

Before we zoom in on specifics lets pan out and make note of some generals. When the Bible speaks  of peace it speaks in a multi-faceted way. There is the peace that God makes with us in Christ. There is the peace that God gives to us so that we can have a divinely-given calmness and restfulness amidst all circumstances. Then, most relevantly to our topic, is the peace that God calls us to. The calling to peace is captured in one of the beatitudes “blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In essence, the God of peace calls us to be agents of peace. 

So the fruit of peace that the Spirit wants to cultivate in our life is this: a striving to live in harmony and unity with others through constant forgiveness and reconciliation. 

The Psalmist praises the pleasantness of the fruit of peace in the opening of Psalm 133: 

“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

You can hear Paul's earnest call to the Church to actively pursue peace in Ephesians 4:3: 

“Be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Also, later in Ephesians 4:32, Paul tells us about the primary tool for maintaining and mending peace: 

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Harmony and unity, in this life, is not a destination that you arrive at but something you must actively maintain and mend. Why does it require constant maintenance? Because we are often peace-breakers rather than peace-makers. Instead of cultivating the fruit of peace-making, we allow the weeds of peace-breaking to grow. 

When wronged by another instead of pursuing reconciliation, we can allow bitterness and anger to simmer in our hearts toward that person. In a disagreement with another instead of listening carefully and speaking softly, we can flare up and become contentious and quarrelsome. Often reconciliation and the restoration of peace is a simple matter of saying “You're right, I was wrong.”  Which turns out to be a not so simple matter for our pride. 

This is why we need to constantly humble ourselves before the God of peace and confess our sin of peace-breaking. Here is a prayer to help you do that: 

Our Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for the ways that we have failed to bear the fruit of peace.  Pardon us for the ways in which we have been peace-breakers. Forgive us for the times that we have stubbornly refused to restore peace and seek reconciliation with others. Give us an eagerness to maintain the bond of peace in Your Church and to live peaceably with all.

In the Name of Christ we pray, Amen.

Having confessed our sin of peace breaking, we need to them cling to the peace that we have with God in Christ: 

Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1,8-9)

Dwelling deeply on the peace that we have through the Gospel of christ, greatly aids the cultivation of the Spirit’s fruit of peace.

O Father, You Are Sovereign

This past week we introduced a new song into our collection of corporate worship repertoire. The song is titled “O Father, You Are Sovereign,” after it’s opening line and major theme. The reason I find this song worth singing is because it so richly and poetically unfolds what it means to confess that God is sovereign. In the first verse it highlights God’s sovereignty in creation. The second verse highlights God’s sovereignty in all of our daily affairs. The third verse highlights God’s sovereignty even amidst our trials and pain. And the final verse looks forward to the day when every knee will bow before the Sovereign One. It is not only worth singing, it is worth committing to memory.

O Father, you are sovereign
in all the worlds you made;
your mighty word was spoken
and light and life obeyed.
Your voice commands the seasons
and bounds the ocean’s shore,
sets stars within their courses
and stills the tempests’ roar.

O Father, you are sovereign
in all affairs of man;
no pow'rs of death or darkness
can thwart Your perfect plan.
All chance and change transcending,
supreme in time and space,
you hold your trusting children
secure in your embrace.

O Father, you are sovereign
the Lord of human pain,
transmuting earthly sorrows
to gold of heav'nly gain.
All evil over-ruling,
as none but Conqu'ror could,
your love pursues its purpose —
our souls’ eternal good.

O Father, you are sovereign!
We see you dimly now,
but soon before your triumph
earth’s every knee shall bow.
With this glad hope before us
our faith springs up anew:
our sovereign Lord and Savior,
we trust and worship you!

The Spirit's Fruit of Joy

The fruit of the Spirit is…joy.

The second fruit that should grow on the tree of a Christian’s character is joy. This fruit is a little trickery to define since it refers to an affection or emotion of the heart more than it does to an act of the will. But let me try and piece it together, first by contrasting it with the type of joy that the world displays.

The joy of a Christian is not based on material possessions. The world so often finds gladness in goods. We can easily fall into this trap ourselves. The problem with getting our joy from material realities is that as Jesus points out “moth and rust can destroy and thieves can break in and steal.” The joy of a Christian is not rooted in the temporary but the eternal. Here’s a good way to test how much of your joy is wrapped up in something material and temporary: Is there any possession that if you lost it or if it broke down would cause your day to be ruined and your attitude to be soured?

Also, the joy of a Christian is not based on circumstances. Circumstances ebb and flow like the rise and fall of the ocean tide. Not only that, but our feelings about our circumstances, whether they’ve changed or not, can feel like riding a six-flags roller coaster. A tough day at work, a rough day with the kids, a tense meeting with a friend, should not dictate your joy. Don’t mistake this to mean that Christian’s always have to walk around with a plastic smile telling everyone that they feel “swell.” The joy of a Christian can be present even in the midst of real tears over real sorrows.

So if the joy of a Christian is not based on material possessions or dependent on circumstances, what is it? The joy of a Christian is a happiness of heart that is firmly rooted in God’s sovereignty and salvation.

It is rooted in God’s sovereignty, which gives the child of God the unshakeable confidence that despite my circumstances God is on the throne and He does whatever He pleases and will work out all things for His glory and my good.

And it is rooted in God’s salvation, which gives the child of God an eternal possession of greatest value that can never fade or perish unlike the things of earth.

Sadly, we often allow many weeds to grow up in our hearts that rob us of joy. For example, we allow envy, greed, and discontentment to rob us of joy. We wish we had what they have, or if only we could have that newer vehicle or bigger house then we could breath a little, or how can I be joyful when my clothes don’t fit like I’d like them to. Our joy can be robbed from a Gospel-Amnesia. We neglect to meditate on the glories of the Gospel and so our heart grows cold and damp and joyless. Also, we can lose our joy in the Lord when we harbor secret sin and live in hypocrisy. David makes it clear in Psalm 32 that secret sin sucks out all the joy of the Christian life.

For these reasons and many more we need to regularly confess our joylessness and ask the Lord to restore joy to us. Here is a prayer that can guide you down the path of confession:

Our Heavenly Father,

Forgive us for we have lacked the joy of the Spirit in our lives. At times we have honored you with our lips but our hearts have been far from You. We have choked out the joy of the Spirit with discontentment, coveting, grumbling, and hypocrisy. Create in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within us. Restore to us the joy of your salvation, and uphold us with a willing spirit.

In the Name of Christ we pray, Amen.

Even though you do not rejoice in the Lord as you ought, you should take great joy in the fact that the Lord rejoices over you. If you don’t believe me read it for yourself from Zephaniah 3:14-17:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil…The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Did you catch that? God “rejoices over you with gladness.” God, the infinitely happy God, takes joy in you, his redeemed child. As a Father comes into the room of his little child to sing a sweet lullaby to them, so the Lord sings over you with deep and overflowing affection. How can you not be joyful at news such as that?

The Spirit's Fruit of Love

The fruit of the Spirit is…love.

The first fruit of the Spirit that Paul mentions in his list is love. Love has been referred to as the crown-jewel of Christian character. You could say that it is the fruit above all fruit and the fruit that is present in all the other fruits. But what is love? There are as many answers to this question as there are 80’s rock songs about this topic. Perhaps a better way to phrase the question would be this: What does it mean to love in a distinctively Christian way? Our love should not be conformed to the definitions and standards of culture but to the character of Christ. He is the One in whom the Spirit’s fruit of love flourished purely and perfectly. When we look at Christ’s actions and words they give us this definition and model of love:

Christ-like love is serving and sacrificing for the good of another regardless of whether the act is reciprocated or the person is deserving. [1]

Love is…serving

Jesus demonstrated the servant-hearted nature of love in John 13 when he humbly stooped down to wash the disciples (disgustingly dirty and terribly smelly) feet. After this act of service he said to his disciples: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34)

How can you show tangible love by serving those in your church family today, this week, this year?

Love is…sacrificing

As Jesus demonstrated for us in the ultimate act of love on the cross, love requires sacrifice. We are called to emulate that love: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” (1 John 3:16)

What sacrifices of time, energy, money, resources, personal ability, and gifts can you make to show love to others?

Love is…for the good of another

True Christian love is about motives and aims just as much as it is about action. You can serve in great ways and sacrifice to great degrees but not have love if you’re motives are impure. Serving to gain recognition is not Christian love. Sacrificing so that others will praise how much you sacrifice for others is not Christian love. Christian love is a self-forgetful others-oriented love. Christ-like love looks at another person and says “What burdens do they have that I can help them bear?” “What needs do they have that I can help them meet?” “What griefs do they have that I can share?” “What trials do they have that I can help walk them through?”

How would you answer those questions in relation to people you know of in your own life?

Love is…regardless of whether the act is reciprocated

Love is never offered as a bargaining chip or as a form of negotiating a mutually beneficial agreement. Love does not look for a “return on investment.” When we act in a “I’ll scratch your back and you scratch mine” sort of way, that’s manipulation not love. Jesus died for us “while we were still sinners” even “enemies” of God. If Jesus had waited to love until we were able to reciprocate that love, we would be perpetually left in a state of “unloved.”

Where are you withholding or being stingy with love because the person isn’t reciprocating the love like you’d hoped they would?

Love is…regardless of whether the person is deserving

One of the most precious realities about Christ’s love toward us is that there is nothing we could do to merit it and we have done everything to demerit it, yet he has freely lavished his love upon us. What ought to separate a Christian’s love from the love that the world shows is that our love extends even to our enemies, those who are actively hostile and opposed to us.

How can you show tangible love to someone in your life who is “undeserving”?

May the Spirit abundantly produce the sweet fruit of Christ-like love in your heart and life.

[1] This definition and some of the explanations are borrowed and adapted from Paul Tripp, What Did You Expect?, p. 188-189.