ResponsiveReiding

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the passing of Dr. James Montgomery Boice. A true solider of the cross, who even though I was only able to meet once, has had a profound impact on my own life and ministry.

Back when we were just trying to get conferences on Reformed Theology going in this area, Dr. Boice not only agreed to come (a promise he could not keep due to his health – he was diagnosed very shortly after) – but said to me – “Rochester! That’s only about 5 hours away, you wouldn’t even need to get me a plane, I could drive.” He was so excited to come. And had absolutely no sense of how generous that was, nor impactful his willingness remains to be to me.

I wrote this at the the time of his passing – and bring it back out. It is good to remember those who have blessed us.

The Gentle Warrior sleeps at last

Now shed this mortal coil

And wakes, anew in Christ’s blest arms

Full finished this life’s toil

And there, he bows, before the Throne

Of Christ he loved so dear

And marvels at the angels’ songs

He’s yearned so long to hear

In waves of glorious rapture swells

Convulsed with boundless joy

He weeps and sings and worships there

At beauty unalloyed

The vision of His God unveiled

Fills every livened sense

The Holiness of God now seen

Ecstatic reverence

The mind filled more than ever dreamed

Divinities laid bare

Transcending all he’d loved and spoke

His all – His Christ is there!

No shadows found in any room

No darkness anywhere

He flies from each new wonder, then

To more beyond compare

“He’s greater still!, He’s greater still!”

Is all his lips can say

As each unfolding moment brings

Him more of Heaven’s Day

In this his soul is now employed

Imbibing Heaven’s store

Till all who fell asleep in Him

Shall rise to die no more

The Gentle Warrior sleeps till then

His battles fought and won

In sweet repose upon the breast

Of Christ, the Blessed Son

In Loving memory of Dr. James Montgomery Boice, Who went home to be with His glorious God and King on June 15, 2000

James 1:1–4 (ESV) “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

The more time I spend in the book of James, the more convicted I am, AND, the more encouraged I am. And these opening lines are ones I come back to virtually every day. Why? Because I’m a runner.

I don’t like conflict. I prefer the path of least resistance. While the word “challenge” seems to energize some – it almost always evokes feelings of doubt, fear and defeat in me. Challenges, are only opportunities to fail – not to succeed. Maybe you’re somewhat like me.

This is why passages like this one are so important to people like me. The jury is still out on who originated the saying: “When the going get tough, the tough get going” (Joseph P. Kennedy or Knute Rockne) but when I hear it – I say internally “Yeah, when the going gets rough, I get going, IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!” And that response is deadly, especially when it comes to spiritual growth. For it is only in remaining “steadfast” – keeping on the path and in a forward motion WHEN IT IS TOUGH – that finds us at last where we want to be. No one ever arrived at a destination they stopped moving toward.

The glad thing for the Christian is – we have God’s inviolable promise that one day – we WILL arrive. No matter how little progress we seem to make. Just staying on the path, is the key. Just trusting His Word. Believing his promises. Resting in His character. Remaining – steadfast. Keeping the eye fixed upon Heaven, no matter what else happens or doesn’t happen.

Years ago, the Imperials had a song with these lyrics:

He didn’t bring us this far, to leave us.

He didn’t teach us to swim, to let us drown.

He didn’t build His home in us, to move away.

He didn’t lift us up, to let us down.

They aren’t Scripture – but they’re true.

In the words of George Herbert Walker Bush – “stay the course”. Not for earthly pursuits – but for the one, all consuming heavenly one. You are His. He will not let you go. Let steadfastness have its perfect work. That one day, you may fully bear the image of our precious Redeemer.

Proverbs 11:12 (ESV) “Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.”

It is true that we live in a day of “Political Correctness.” As a result we’ve become a most thin-skinned people. Almost anything and everything offends someone somehow. It seems virtually impossible to avoid it. Being thin-skinned and easily offended is a topic for another day. It is its own problem.

That said, there is something of truth about this present trend. Our text strikes accurately at what the culture is addressing instinctively but errantly due to sin. The “belittling” of others is a serious problem. Not just in the culture, but also in the Church.

Treating others with disrespect, in a belittling fashion, so as to treat them with scorn and as though they have little worth isn’t Godly. It is sin. This, does not mean that our freedom in Christ to live in respect for others converts instantly into an inability to disagree or determine that some things really are wrong, while others are correct. Scripture indicates nothing of the kind. Open dialog where truth is upheld and untruth exposed, is a necessary facet of God-given society. As Christians, we are to be heralds of the truth. We are to be speaking truth to our generation and as stewards of it, passing it on to the generations which follow.

What it does mean is – that Christians are not to be so lacking either in intellectual acuity, as to be unable to dialog sensibly on issues, nor so devoid of an informing awareness of others having been made in the image of God, that we retreat to invective, scorn, ridicule and disrespect in our dialog.

This is one thing in the public sector, but it is altogether worse in the Church and in the home. How often it is done when parents belittle their children, or one another. When they make fun of them, or make them look foolish or worthless in the eyes of others. Instructors need to be especially careful here with students. Wives when speaking to one another about their husbands, and husbands when speaking to others about their wives. Children not exposing their parents to scorn among their friends and parents not ripping dignity from their children either privately or publicly.

And perhaps we need to be reminded that our politicians are not be treated this way either. Peter helps us remember that even in defending the Gospel, are to do so “with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15) Or that Paul admonishes us to “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.” ( 2 Timothy 2:23–25)

Lord, give us wisdom and grace – so that we do not fail to speak the truth – but to do so in love.

Luke 1:5–7 (ESV) “In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.”

Christians need to be careful not think in terms of God dealing with us in a tit-for-tat paradigm. This small section of seemingly unimportant historical information is not to be quickly overlooked.

Simply because Zechariah and Elizabeth had remained devoid of the blessing of children prior to this time – we are not to conclude they were somehow living in disobedience or sin. Nor are we to conclude that God was somehow unjustly withholding. The text tells us just the opposite. Sometimes, we can be serving in the most upright way, and yet God in His love and wisdom may withhold some proper, normal or perceived good. Ours, is to rest in Him. This is a word most especially meant to comfort those who may have long desired a spouse, children of their own, or perhaps even a particular field of service.

Many under such circumstances can be led to think that there must be some sort of sin or defect which prevents their having such blessings. And, while the question is good in that examining our hearts for unrepentant sin is always a useful exercise – nevertheless, one can torture their own soul needlessly if they have concluded this “must” be the case.

Instead, let us learn to trust our Lord’s providential appointments. Given a life ordinarily lived uprightly before Him, He does not withhold His good things from us – excepting to grant us some other blessing in His infinite wisdom and loving heart – which only eternity will reveal to have been greater than that we sought in our fallen wisdom. Trust Him believed – trust Him.

Those in Christ must remember we are dealt with as beloved children, not mere citizens of our Lord’s Kingdom. Citizens we are – but more, we are His own! He will not treat us poorly. He cannot. He is God.

The last of our cult-proofing mottoes is the famous “Soli Deo Gloria” – To God alone, be the glory. This particular one is probably best known because J. S. Bach used the initials for it – SDG – as part of his signing the manuscripts of his cantatas and other works. Following Bach’s example, George Frideric Handel was known to do the same. By it, these men meant to dedicate their works to the glory of God. But its theological import during the Reformation was a bit different.

Soli Deo Gloria as part of the the roster of Reformation slogans carried this meaning above all: The salvation revealed in the Scripture alone, which is ours by grace alone through faith alone because of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ alone – is a salvation which owes all of its glory to God alone. It was His plan; issues from His love, mercy and grace; is paid for by Him and is wrought in our souls by Him: ALONE. TO GOD BE THE GLORY – all of it. To Him alone.

Sadly, in our day, the idea of God being worthy of all the glory all Creation can muster has taken on a dark hue. Some think because God has done all things for His own glory – that somehow He is on some sort of cosmic ego-trip, wandering through the cosmos and going to every creature saying: “worship me!” Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, God is the most humble of all beings, though He IS the most glorious as the most perfect, wonderful and deserving of our awe, wonder and glory. Especially in His work of saving His enemies by the Cross.

To give God ALL the glory, simply means – to make sure God is recognized and appreciated for who and what He is. Nothing more. This in fact results in the greatest good of His creatures – like you and me. Since He is the source of all good, all love, all mercy and grace and loving kindness and holiness – we can have no greater good than to be exposed to Him. He Himself IS the greatest good. And when we “give” Him glory – all we are doing is making Him known.

But then, in our context here – we need to remember that because salvation is God’s idea, at God’s expense, and through His sovereign agency alone – it is most fitting that all the glory for it be His alone. And none of it belongs to the undeserving creature saved, or the secondary means by which it is accomplished, or any organization, Church, Council, person or anyone or anything else. The Apostle Paul summed it up perfectly when he said: “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV).

That is the bottom line beloved. Keep Him in His rightful place, and never let anyone or anything else take that place – and all will be well. He is Lord of all.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36 (ESV)

Mark 14:32–36 (ESV) 32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

We all face decisions. Some easy, some hard.

But put yourself in God the Father’s shoes at this moment.

His Son, His only begotten Son – THE Son, is praying.

He appeals to the Father’s absolute sovereignty and power – “All things are possible for you” He says.

And He is right.

The Father does not HAVE to save anyone.

He can at this moment, deliver His own Son – and let the rebellious race go to Hell.

He is under no obligation.

There is nothing constraining Him but one thing – His own heart.

Out of nothing but pure love, He willingly sends His Son to that Cross in our place.

He didn’t have to.

He wanted to.

He could remain just and eternally condemn us all.

He could remain full of mercy and grace – without it rising to the level of this sacrificial act.

But He refused.

Hearing His perfect Son’s pleas.

Knowing His agony.

Seeing His “distress” and “trouble” (vs. 33).

Knowing He was “sorrowful, even unto death” (vs. 34).

Yet still, He will not relent.

He sees the Son’s willing heart.

It must melt His own.

It can do no other.

Yet the plan remains.

The deliverance will not come.

The Son will die – though the Father can freely and in all holiness and righteousness choose to spare the Son and cast us aside.

But the “love that will not let me go” prevails.

What love is this?

What a Father is this?

What a Son is this?

What a salvation is this?

Words, cannot express.

Solus Christus – Through Christ alone. This marks our 4th cult-proofing slogan. And it is just as essential as the others. It is in Scripture alone, and by its sole authority, that we learn that the malady of the sinful rebellion of lost humanity against God has a remedy which is ours by God’s free gift of grace alone, obtained through faith alone, because of the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on Calvary – alone. Or, as we read in Acts 4:11-12 “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Beloved, once again, EVERY false belief system or cult errs on this point. Each and every one of them posits SOME kind of addition to the work of Jesus at Calvary as essential for our salvation. But, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4) No sacrifice can do it.  And, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:3) These things He has done alone. There is nothing to be added. Concepts like Purgatory or personal acts of penance rob Jesus of His mediatorial glory. If His infinitely righteous blood shed in death for my sin is not sufficient to God, what hope do any of us have? What can possibly be of more effect? Who can possibly be more worthy? “For there is one God, and there is ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” (1 Timothy 2:5–7, emphasis mine)

No other mediator. No other means. No other sacrifice. No other works of obedience. No other anything. We are saved – through the mediating work of Jesus Christ and Him alone. His sole obedience to the Father on our behalf – to give us a righteous history. His sole death on the cross enduring our guilt and shame so that we might have an expunged sentence. No thing more is due – nor could we pay it if we still owed the smallest portion of it. Christ, and Christ alone – saves. He is the Savior of lost people.

Solus Christus!

So far we’ve looked at 2 “slogans” from the Reformation period. Sola Scriptura points us back to the ultimate authority of Scripture above a persons, experiences, writings or groups – be they Synods, Councils, Denominations, Popes or anything else. Everything and everyone but Scripture, can err. Then secondly we looked briefly at “Sola Gratia” – that salvation comes to fallen mankind solely through the grace of God as a gift. Forgiveness of sin and eternal life are NEVER the product of any human merit whatsoever. Else, (as Paul notes so well in Rom. 11:6) “otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

Thirdly then, we want to consider the idea of “Sola Fide” – that salvation is through FAITH ALONE. And in this one consideration, we have THE sticking point of the Reformation itself. Indeed, once again, EVERY false system falls at this point. If we lose this reality, we lose the Gospel. Fallen human beings are justified (declared righteous through the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us) solely on the basis of believing the Gospel. Once again, as Scripture declares: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph 2:8–9)

Beloved, we cannot make this point strongly enough. The Bible emphatically, undeniably, and unequivocally posits our justification before God as through the means of faith, and that, in direct opposition to human works, or effort. It does not mean the Redeemed will not exert effort in following Christ – we invariably will. It does mean however that we do not obtain our right standing with God by any of our efforts. We obtain it by faith alone.

Let me make one brief comment before we close, since many fear that to call men to believe the Gospel, to repent of their sin and cast their hope upon Jesus alone is somehow “a work” – look again at the passage just quoted. However one may conceive of faith – the Bible says it does not qualify as a “work” – and thus pits faith specifically against works here. The eye sees, but it exerts no effort to see. It simply drinks in the light and images proposed to it. Faith is like that. It sees the truth of the Gospel, and believes it. There is no merit to be assigned for only believing what is true, and no effort in believing what is evident. Thus no merit accrues to the Believer, and the Believer has done nothing to save themselves – but to believe what is true and declared under the command of God to be believed.

Through the authority of the Scripture, we come to know the person and work of Jesus Christ, and are called upon to Believe it. By God’s good grace alone. We are saved BY grace, THROUGH the agency of faith. A fire hose can put out no fires. Water is needed for that. Faith is the fire hose through which the saving grace God sends extinguishes the fires of Hell within our fallen souls. Keep to this, and no cult or false religion will suck you in. Look to some other means, and you will lose your own soul.

James 1:2–4 (ESV) “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Christians count the meeting of their trials joy – NOT because the trials are “joyful” in and of themselves. We do so because the unpleasant trials, due to Christ’s redemptive work, will make them useful to us in joyful results. If our single goal for our lives is our Father’s – Christ’s likeness – then everything in life can be co-opted to that end. Even if what we suffer comes from the World, the Flesh or the Devil. In Christ, “all things are []ours” (1 Cor. 3:21)

But we MUST remember this: Only one who remains undeterred (steadfast) and single-minded in pursuing Heaven and the likeness of Christ will gain the “full effect” – the “completeness” referred to here.

There are things which DRAW us off the road, things which BLOCK the road, things which DRIVE us off of the road, things which make the road HARD and things which make the road DANGEROUS. We must be ready to face them all if we will persevere and obtain.

So, what is so enticing that you are DRAWN off of the path today? What lures you away from holiness and the love of God as supreme in your heart and mind? What is it that you perceive as an imovable block to making progress? What have you been struck by, what disaster has plowed into you which has knocked you off course? What seemingly innocuous attention grabber steals you away from keeping on course, from keeping focused on the goal and active pursuing the goal? What difficulty ahead seems impossible to overcome? What seems to threaten your safety and well being if you continue?

Only steadfastness will serve to bring you to completion. DON’T GIVE UP NOW! “THIS” is what we are after, and thus we build our lives around “THIS”. That we may be like Him!