Christian Living Today

Off and on, as I find time, I have been reading through a book put together by Grace Community Church in honor of Pastor John MacArthur’s fortieth year as their pastor. This book entitled “Truth Endures” is, primarily, a collection of congregation favorite sermons preached by Pastor MacArthur over the past forty years. I say ‘primarily’ because the book begins with a wonderful biography of Pastor MacArthur written by Iain Murray.

One of the most amazing thing about this collection is how these favorite sermons span the years. For example, one favorite is the first sermon John preached at his new church. Others are from the 70’s or 80’s - what most of us would consider the early years. Obviously, while Pastor MacArthur has commented on his spiritual and practical growth over the years, God had already blessed this man with a wonderful understanding of the foundational principles of Christianity. Furthermore, John was committed to expository preaching, right from the start. The depth of his early sermons reveals this.

As I have read through these sermons, I have been blessed and exhorted and encouraged and convicted. Each one is a hallmark for the truths it proclaims and its unrelenting commitment to God’s word.

While most books I read focus on one subject - and, I believe, this is good and necessary as a general rule - this book covers a gamete of subjects all interconnected by their tie to the teachings of God’s’ Word. I strongly encourage you to get it and read it for yourself.

Over the next few days or weeks maybe even months, I will be sharing excerpts from some of these sermons - excerpts which I believe will not only give you a taste of the value of this book, but will also, I pray, convict and encourage and uplift you as they are me.

Today I will focus on Pastor MacArthur’s Sermon from December 26, 1976. This sermon entitled, The Simple Gospel, has ‘endured as a favorite for more than thirty years.’ Pastor MacArthur’s text was John 8:21-30. His premise: “What happens when a person maintains the masquerade of Christmas, giving homage to an event, but not tolerating the individual in which that event finds its meaning? If receiving Jesus Christ results in an abundant and eternal life, then not receiving Jesus Christ results in receiving the curse of God.”

He then turns to John 8 which he calls a difficult passage which makes him “want to cry out with Richard Baxter, ‘Oh, for an empty hell and a full heaven!’” Let’s look at the passage:

“Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.”So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?”And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Then they said to Him, “Who are You?” And Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.”

As Pastor MacArthur points out, those ‘who give lip service to Christianity while rejecting Christ are engaged in the most foolish kind of fun.’ This is serious stuff. This is stuff we all should be paying attention to. Remember, Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees. These are religious people. These people not only thought they were headed to heaven, they knew they were going there. What about me? What about you? How closely do our ‘convictions’ about our eternal destiny line up with theirs? More importantly, how closely do our reasons behind our convictions line up with Scripture?

Pastor MacArthur went on to point out several ways to ‘guarantee’ we will die in our sins. The first way he listed was to be self righteous. He said, “The first way to guarantee that you will die in your sin and not go to the Father’s house in heaven with Jesus is to be convinced that you don’t need to be saved, that you are spiritually all right. By far, those who deny their need of a Savior are the most difficult people to reach. . . Self-righteous people, who have developed a system that they believe gives them the right to enter God’s presence, are the hardest people to convince that they need a Savior because they already feel they are fine.” Upon what or whom is your salvation based? Is it really based on Scripture or are you being misled?

He went on to relate an article sent to a Melbourne newspaper by someone who had heard Billy Graham preach. The article read, “After hearing Dr. Billing Graham on the air, viewing him on television, and seeing reports and letters concerning his mission, I am heartily sick of the type of religion that insists my soul and everyone else’s needs saving, whatever that means. I have never felt that I was lost nor do I feel that I daily wallow in the mire of sin, although repetitious preaching insists I do. Give me a practical religion that teaches gentleness and tolerance, that acknowledges no barriers of color or creed, that remembers the aged and teaches children goodness and not sin. If in order to save my soul I must accept such a philosophy as I have recently heard preached, I prefer to remain forever damned.”

God be merciful!

The second way we can guarantee we will die in our sins is to be earthbound (vs 23). Pastor MacArthur said, “If you want to guarantee that you will die in your sin, just be part of the world system and accept what it offers. Then you can be classified as ‘sons of this age’ (Luke 16:8) entrapped in ‘this present evil age,’ from which Jesus seeks to deliver man (Gal 1:14). Opposed to the truth of God, the world propagates its own self-righteous system.”

Before you assume this is an area of no concern, think again. In my judgment, we are far too influence by our culture. We need to take a good hard look at Scripture (a good place to start might be the Sermon on the Mount) before we consider ourselves free of this pitfall.

The third way we can guarantee we will die in our sins is to be unbelieving (vs 24). Pastor MacArthur says, “You don’t have to go out and kill someone and be bad to go to hell, because hell is not just for criminals, it is for everyone and anyone who refuses Christ. If you refuse Christ in this life, God isn’t going to force you to dwell with Him forever in eternity. . .Because Jesus was identifying Himself with God, saving faith not only becomes a question of turning from sin, but trusting the Son as well. It’s a question of believing Jesus is who He claimed to be. You ask, ‘Am I going to die in my sin unless I believe that He is all that He claimed to be?’ That’s right.”

The last way to guarantee we will die in our sins is to be wilfully ignorant (vs 25). Pastor MacArthur said, “The Jewish leaders had enough evidence about Christ, they just refused to believe. . .They were wilfully ignorant of Christ’s identity. . .

“I wish we could transport ourselves back in a time capsule and meet those people so we could understand the tragedy of rejecting Christ. You would get a little idea of the intensity and the fearfulness of such a warning as Jesus made here.” I suspect we would be AMAZED at how much they are like most ‘Christians’ today. God grant we are not like them.

God grant us the grace to study His word that we may know beyond a shadow of a doubt the Jesus we are following, the Jesus we claim to believe, is the real Jesus - the only way to God. While the gospel is simple, there is only ONE TRUE GOSPEL! We must not settle for a carbon copy or a substitute spawned by man’s ideas or our own self-righteous conceptions.

Worry and Worship

Shame is a strong motivating factor. Even if your shame is known only to you and God. Such was the position I found myself in recently. Worried. Ashamed.

I know worry is sin. While our culture calls it ‘normal’, the Bible calls it sin. However, it was not the worry which brought me the most shame. It was a revelation, an insight, an eye-opening. Lately I have been studying prayer - in particular, the worship aspect of prayer. I suppose that is why I finally made a connection which had never hit me before.

Whatever makes me worry reveals something I worship! Like I said, this is nothing new. However, it hit me hard this time. I finally realized that when I worry I am not only sinning because worry itself is sin, I am sinning because I am worrying about something which means WAY TOO MUCH to me.

In other words, if I analyze what causes me stress, I realize what I matters most to me. What matters most to me is what, in essence, I worship. It is where I have placed my treasure - consciously or unconsciously.

Look at it this way - if I have an accident and wreck my car, this is bad. I am tempted to worry - worry about what effect it will have on my insurance rates, worry about how I will get to and from my job, and so on. If there is someone else involved in my accident, and, worse yet, if I am in some way to blame (or could be blamed) for the accident, my worry increases substantially. Now I worry about if they will sue - if they will require major medical care I will have to pay for - and so on.

On the other hand, say I pass an accident along the road. I can see more than one person is involved, the car is obviously totaled, and possibly I see someone who is quite distraught. What is my reaction then? Assuming rescue personnel are already on the scene: certainly concern - empathy - sympathy. Without a doubt I offer up a prayer for their safety, healing, and comfort.

Nonetheless, do I go home worrying about them? No. Why? Because their accident does not effect me personally. If I learned someone I cared for deeply was involved in that accident, then, again, my reaction would change. In other words, the more personally I am involved, the more likely I am to worry about some aspect.

What does my worry reveal? Well, take the scenario above. If I worry about my insurance rates or being sued or medical bills or my job, I reveal I worship material things. For, ultimately what am I worrying about except that I will potentially have less ‘money’ in my pocket?

So far, in every scenario I have played through in my mind (or in real life), what I would worry about (or do worry about) reveals something I ‘treasure’ - in other words, something I worship.

This led me to ponder the verse “where your treasure is. . .”. As I pondered this, I found myself wondering about the context in which it was placed. Sure enough, my suspicions were verified. Did you realize, this verse which speaks directly to ‘what’ we treasure - in other words, what we worship - lies smack dab between the Lord’s prayer (our Lord’s example of proper prayer, thus proper priorities) and His admonition on worry? (see Matt 6)

If my heart fully and truly worships God, I know　I cannot lose Him because He has promised He will not lose me. Now that (if I could just get it implanted into my heart) is a sure cure for worry! Next time you find yourself worrying, ask yourself - ‘what am I worshiping?’ That’s something I am going to ask myself.

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believe in Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ They answered and said to Him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendents, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be free?’ ‘ Jesus answered them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. . .If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jn 8:31-34, 36)

What was with the Jews? Why the statement, ‘we have never been in bondage to anyone’? Had they forgotten Egypt? Their history? The reason they celebrated the Passover?

Our nature, our sinful nature, denies our bondage. Like the Jews we are quick to proclaim our freedom. However, we are laboring under a false perception of reality.

Archbishop William Temple has laid out our delusioned view in a simple, understandable way which makes clear the ‘heart’ of the issue. He says,

“When we open our eyes as babies we see the world stretching out around us; we are in the middle of it; all we see is determined by the relation of all objects to ourselves. This will be true as long as we live. I am the center of the world I see; where the horizon is depends on where I stand. The same is true of our mental and spiritual vision. Some things hurt us; we hope they will not happen again; we call them bad. Some things please us; we hope they will happen again; we call them good. Our standard of value is the way things affect ourselves. So each of us takes his place in the center of his own world. But I am not the center of the world, nor do I determine what is good or bad. I am not the center; God is.”

This accurate description reveals some natural outworkings of our false perception of life. For example, we perceive ‘freedom’ as being able to do whatever it is we ‘want to do’. We tell ourselves we are ‘free’ as long as our desires are uninhibited.

We tell ourselves the lie - and we believe the lie we tell ourselves. In other words, we think we are what we are not. From that perspective listen again to Christ’s words, “. . .whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. . .If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (vs 34, 36)

How can we truly be free if our desire is to be something we can never be - something God is - the ‘center of the universe’? How tricky sin is. How subtle. How dangerous!

God help us to really see who we really are - and to repent and place God back on the throne of the universe as King of our lives.

“I wish thy way.

And when in me myself should rise,

and long for something otherwise,

Then Lord, take sword and spear

And slay.”

Amy Carmichael

Do you struggle with pride? If I’m honest with myself, I know I do. The funny thing is, I suspect, as Christians, this might be one of the most denied sins out there.

In an age when Christian beliefs and values are being attacked from every side, we need to be extra-sensitive to how we are living. The saddest commentary would be to come to the end of our race and look back at a sloppily lived life. While perfection is not attainable, we should be seeking to be unashamed workmen.

Our culture places high priority on self-esteem. According to 20^th century gurus, a lack of self-esteem is debilitating to our self-image and thus our ability to function in society. Have you ever noticed, however, self-esteem and self-image are never mentioned in the Bible?

We are told to die to the deeds of the flesh (Ro 8:13). We are told to humble ourselves in the sight of God (Ja 4:10). We are admonished to humble ourselves under God’s hand (1 Pe 5:6).

Scripture says God resists the proud by gives grace to the humble (Ja 4:6 and 1 Pe 5:5). I don’t know about you, but I need God’s grace. I need the strength to fight my pride and walk uprightly in every area of my life.

What does a humble person look like. We’ve all seen the caricatures. A hung down head, turned down mouth, hanging arms, brow-beaten look. Is this the picture of humility? Certainly not. How can it be? The Bible describes a Christian as a warrior, a conqueror, a worker, a saint - but never as a hang-dog defeated sack of air.

Humility then exists within strength. Humility exists within courage. Humility exists within ability and action. Humility is a matter of the heart.

A quick look at Webster’s Dictionary shows the error in modern thought. My 1958 edition defines humble as:

low in position or condition (sounds like the hang-dog look)

unimportant, weak, poor (sounds like the brow-beat look)

Looking at humility, however, we can pick out a more realistic definition: meekness, lowliness, humble spiritPaul admonishes us in Ro 12:3, “. . .not to think more highly of [ourselves] than [we] ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”

We are not to think more highly. The adjective more makes it clear humility is not dragging our butts in the dirt like worms, but not having an exalted view of ourselves either.

We are to think soberly. Soberly tells us to put a moderate (properly bounded) estimate upon our selves.Why? Because it is God who has made us who we are. Not only do we owe everything to Him, but He is the one who exalts or brings low. In other words, we cannot make ourselves better than we are. We cannot make ourselves worse than we are.This is not a license to laziness - it is an encouragement to excellence.

God has given us talents and abilities. He has told us to go forth and use them - to His glory. Thus He has given us the bounds in which to act and think: Work with all our might to the best of our ability knowing we cannot do anything without HIS grace nor accomplish anything without HIS blessing. Thus, in the end, not only are we His, but our feeble works are His as well.

God grant me the grace to examine my heart for pride. It is such a sticky, sneaky sin which lurks and hides in the dark corners and under the glittering praises for work well done. Purge my heart, dear Lord, of anything which seeks to rob You of the glory You deserve. Use me as You see fit, in small or great, but, Father, in all, guard my heart against this sin which can so easily take root in my life.

Lots of people read Revelation. I heard one guy argue for only reading Revelation because he wanted to know what was happening and relevant to now. I happen to believes the Bible is relevant to now. That is why God gave us the entire Scriptures. However, that also means Revelation is relevant.

Reading through Revelation in my yearly through the Bible reading, I was struck, recently, with the prevelant themes. Wrath. Salvation. Holiness.

Over and over we are brought into God’s throne room where the audience is reiterating His holiness. As we begin to grasp a tiny glimpse of God’s extreme holiness, the wrath we see displayed seems less offensive. In fact, it seems very in line with mankind’s response to God.

The third theme, salvation, is the most amazing. That a God that holy and that angry should deem to stoop to save any human is beyond comprehension. That He would do so at the cost of Calvary, even more so.

As we get a broader glimpse into God’s total otherness - total difference from us - we should wonder all the more at the price our Savior paid on Calvary. The wrath we see depicted in Revelation against man’s sinfulness, is just John’s best attempt to describe the undescribable.

Then consider: Christ took that wrath for me. Love so amazing, so devine!

Our modern mantra on right and wrong has several key elements.

One - man is born neutral. He is the product of his environment.

Two - I’m okay, you’re okay. Truth is relative so two opposing positions can both be right.

Three - Man has the potential to be perfect. Sin, if we even admit to the word’s existence, is just ‘human nature.’

Where do these premises lead us, and what is Scripture’s response.

One - man is born neutral. He is the product of his environment. This premise is disproved the moment an infant screams in anger. The driving force behind an infant is  ‘me’. Infants are not concerned, first and foremost, with the needs of another. Babies get hungry, they want to eat now. They get messy, they want cleaned up now. They get sleepy and cranky and look out. Obviously if a baby is not ‘neutral’, neither is a child, a teenager, an adult, or an old person. Nothing less than the very foundational principle with which we are born, the ‘me’ syndrome, continues to plague us all of our days.

Two - I’m okay, you’re okay. Truth is relative. Of course I’m okay and you’re okay. I certainly wouldn’t want to offend you by suggesting you were acting in any way contrary to what is ‘right’. After all, that would be narrow and judgemental on my part.

While we may be too quick to judge, this is no excuse for failing to judge between right and wrong. There is no neutral position. To demonstrate this, consider the following:

You know a woman who has just found out she is pregnant. The pregnancy is unwanted; she is planning an abortion. Since you believe it is her ‘right’, you do the politically correct thing and hold your tongue. After all, she is just as ‘right’ as you are (at least according to modern thought).

A few hours later, you are returning to your car after a late meeting. You hear a scuffle to your right and notice a couple of young men beating up an old woman. What is your response?

It is, after all their ‘right’, is it not. To them, what they are doing is not wrong. So, you climb in your car and drive away comforted by the thought that what you saw was not wrong? I would certainly hope not.

Sadly, however, this is how skewed our ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ meter has become. If there is no clear black and white, or if some things are ‘right’ because we have legislated them to be ‘right’ (abortion), the lines become very fuzzy. Worse yet, the standard has changed from God’s word and has come to rest on a ‘democratic’ determination of right and wrong.

Three - Man has the potential to be perfect. Sin, if we even admit to the word’s existence, is just ‘human nature.’ This goes back the point number one. Yes, the baby’s cry is human nature - but you cannot have it both ways. Either a baby acts according to its nature, which is influenced by sin, or we are back to square one with no basis from which to determine right and wrong because we have no right to call anything ‘wrong’.

Thank God, Scripture addresses this matter in a very clear and understandable manner. Although there are numerous passage to which we could turn for direction, 1 John 1:8-10 is the passage I will use.

In this passage we find John telling us, no holds barred, we are sinners. More important to this discussion, however, is his use of an ‘if. . . then’ layout. Basically he is giving us a clear cause and effect relationship.

John says, if we say:

One - we have no sin (denial of wrong doing)

then,

the truth is not in us.

Two if we,

confess our sins (admission and ownership of wrong doing)

then,

God forgives and cleanses us.

If we say,

we have not sinned (ultimate denial - never, ever sin - man is neutral, human nature, etc)

then,

we call God a liar (He says we are sinners), and we do not belong to Him.

Even Christians do not like to own their sin. No one likes to admit they are wrong. It is humiliating (even in private). It goes against our natural inclinations (which are sinful). However, John has made it very clear where we stand when we fall prey to modern thinking and stop thinking like a Christian.

Father, forgive our hard hearts. Forgive us for belittling our sin, calling it by ‘gentler’ names, and thus lowering Your holy standard. Give us the grace, dear Lord, to own our sin. To call it sin. To repent quickly and fervently. Show us our hearts, dear Lord, that we might live as pure, unadulterated lights in a confused world.

“No matter the depth of our sin, while we draw breath it is never too late to return to the Lord. He mercifully forgives all who mourn their transgression.” (Tabletalk Magazine - November 2008)

How many times has it happened? We make a decision we know we really shouldn’t make. It seems such a little thing. Will it really matter? Days or weeks or months later, like the prodigal son we wake wondering how we got so far from home.

We can learn much from Peter’s denial of our Lord as recorded in Matthew 26:33-75. In just 42 verses and a few hours Peter goes from close fellowship with Christ to outright denial of his Lord.

How does this happen?

1. Our slide down sin’s slippery slope so often begins like Peter’s. We become overconfident, we stop depending on our Savior’s strength and start walking in our own. Jesus had just predicted His disciples would turn away in His time of trial. However, in verse 33, Peter makes a bold claim, “. . .Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” (NKJV and in all following)

Our Lord knows us so much better than we know ourselves. We are commanded to flee temptation for a reason. God knows our hearts. Dare we tell Him He is mistaken?

2. Overconfidence puts us on a path away from God. In Peter’s case we see his independence growing as he assumed control of a situation he did not understand. “. . . [Peter] stretched out his hand and drew his sword, [and] struck the servant. . .and cut off his ear.” (vs 51)

We walk life’s path. This calls for decisions on our left and on our right. We are not to have a spirit of fear. Nonetheless, when we fail to listen for our Savior’s voice, we may be assured we are walking our path alone.

3. Like Peter we so often fail to see the direction our path is heading. Instead of recognizing the warning signs, Peter continues away from his Lord. Now we see Peter move away from Jesus’ side. “. . .Peter followed Him at a distance.” (vs 58a)

Have you ever noticed how quickly self-confidence leads us from our Savior’s side? It seems so logical at the time - that path we see ahead. Oh foolish heart!

4. The further our path wanders from Jesus’ side, the more our priorities begin to change. We see the same in Peter. Instead of seeking to reestablish his connection with his Lord, Peter goes “. . . in and [sits] with the servants to see the end.” (vs 58b)

Peter got close enough to watch, but refused to reestablish his loyalty. As we will see, the slope is getting very slippery at this point.

5. As our priorities change, we begin seeking new ‘friends’. Have you ever wondered where the other disciples were at this point? We know at least one other disciple was close by during Jesus trial. Why wasn’t Peter with him? Obviously Peter found it more ‘comfortable’ to associate with the world. In verse 69 we read, “Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. . .”

When we find ourselves in a situation where being a Christian is not very easy, which side of the ‘courtyard’ do we prefer? The inner, near Jesus’ side, or the outer with the rest of the world? If we choose the outer, the next step is automatic.

6. We cannot choose the easy road and expect to maintain our witness. As we see from Peter’s experience, attaching ourselves to the world destroys our testimony. “. . .[Peter] denied [he was with Jesus] before them all. . .”(vs 70)

Although we often see Peter’s denials of his Lord beginning here, a series of bad choices led to this point. So it is with us. Christians do no wake up in the morning and say, ‘Today I am going to deny my Lord in my . . . .’ (acts, words, choices, etc)

7. When we reach this point, we are heading full speed for a hard landing. We have committed ourselves, and we have not the strength of will nor clarity of mind to stop. Furthermore, we are now so associated with the world, we do not realize how far we have drifted from our moorings.

In Peter’s case, once he denied his testimony, conforming to the world’s standards was a simple step. The next time he denied Jesus, he used stronger (worldly) language. “. . .[Peter] denied [he was with Jesus] with an oath.”(vs 72)

8. This sad story has not yet reached bottom. Although Peter has now conformed his life to the world’s standards, sought their approval, and tried to fit in, he takes one more hard bump as he completes his fall. “. . .[Peter] began to curse and swear. . .” (vs 74)

There is only one way to get comfortable with the world. Only one way to really fit in. We have to not only look like the world, we have to act like them. It is not enough to say you are one of the crowd, you have to act and sound like the crowd.

9. Thankfully the story does not end here. If it did, Peter’s soul would be lost. However, our Lord has promised He will loose none of His own. The cock crows. Peter is shaken from his stupor to a sense of severe self-loathing. Verse 75 tells us “. . .[Peter] went out and wept bitterly.”

Even before we step from our Savior’s side, may our prayer always be, “Dear Lord, do not let me go. Keep me as the apple of Your eye. Hide me under the shadow of Your wing. And, should I ever stray, draw me by those cords of love. Bind me to Your side lest my foolish heart and blinded eyes lead me forever astray.”