Romans 2:1-11 Chapel Message
Category: Gospel
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5 Reformations
Charles Spurgeon saw the effects of the plague during his ministry in London. Reflecting on the ninety-first Psalm he noted the comfort and security of the words:
no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
(Ps 91:10)
He told a story about seeing these verses in a shop window. My friend Paul Martin wrote about this incident recently.
With the COVID-19 virus pandemic requiring people to be “socially distant” it is a good time to consider where our security lies.In Spurgeon’s commentary on Psalm 91, he addressed the question:
Get into God and you dwell in all good, and ill is banished far away. It is not because we are perfect or highly esteemed among men that we can hope for shelter in the day of evil, but because our refuge is the Eternal God, and our faith has learned to hide beneath his sheltering wing.
Treasury of David, Psalm 91.
This is the response of anyone in calamity. They get into God. They seek him, pursue him, and find refuge in him. Although they may be socially distant from others, they are secure “in Christ”.
As Spurgeon explained, there is a beautiful way that God gives comfort in calamities and security for those who are sick. Spurgeon said:
It is impossible that any ill should happen to the man who is beloved of the Lord; the most crushing calamities can only shorten his journey and hasten him to his reward. Ill to him is no ill, but only good in a mysterious form. Losses enrich him, sickness is his medicine, reproach is his honour, death is his gain. No evil in the strict sense of the word can happen to him, for everything is overruled for good. Happy is he who is in such a case. He is secure where others are in peril, he lives where others die.
Treasury of David, Psalm 91.
If you are home from work, self-quarantined, or otherwise unable to fellowship with other believers, then take this opportunity to get into God.
I drove through the Siksika Nation recently and saw the cemetery named after Paul Little Walker. He was a Christian believer whose testimony of coming to faith in Christ showed the power of the gospel to save and transform a life. I wrote about this transformation before in An Indigenous Testimony to Gospel Transformation.
As I saw the cemetary, I was reminded of Paul Little Walker, or Pokopi’ni’s testimony to the gospel. One of the evidences of Little Walker’s conversion was the way that he discarded the sacred objects, and identifiers that connected him to the false worship he had been immersed in before his conversion. Hugh Dempsey, the historian, writes about Little Walker:
And just as Small Eyes–Paul Little Walker– had turned away from his old religion, so did he now reject the objects that went with it. He quit the Horns and the warrior socieities, gave the marten flag to Bishop Pinkham, and turned the thunder arrow, painted staff and the other holy objects over to his wife.
Pretty Nose (Little Walker’s wife) was aghast at the reactions of her husband. She had joined the Horn Society with him and had taken part in many of the ceremonies. She became angry when he started to give things away, but no amount of arguing would change his mind. She reminded him of the power of the holy objects and the misfortune that had come to others who had desecrated them. But he remained steadfast in his devotion to the new religion.
The Amazing Death of Calf Shirt and Other Blackfoot Stories, 229.
Although many calamities fell on the new Christian, Little Walker did not forsake the Christian faith. When his wife died and his painted tepee was hit by lightning, others interpreted these disasters as signs that Little Walker should return to the native spiritualities. But he refused and continued on zealously as a Christian.
Later, as an older man, respected as a churchman, but also for his growth in graciousness (in contrast to his naturally harsh temperament), he showed that his faith in Christ was a true conversion as he persevered to the end. Dempsey wrote:
His chest still bore the scars of the self-torture ritual [i.e. Sun Dance], and the joint of his finger was missing because of his Native religion, but ever since that night in 1898 when his vision had taken him to God, Little Walker had pursued only two goals in life– to be a Christian, and to bring others to his church.
Ibid, 233.
Like any Christian convert, Little Walker was not instantly sanctified but needed to grow and change. His natural pride, combined with his single-mindedness meant that he could lack grace in dealing with others, even as he was passionate about the truth of God’s word in the midst of his people’s need. But God progressively refined Little Walker to hold fast to truth while at the same time, extending grace to sinners.
There is much to learn from the Christian testimonies of Indigenous people, but what is clear is that Christ’s power to save in the gospel is always the same— a miracle.
Tim Keller on Legalism and Antinomianism
In his foreword to Sinclair Ferguson’s book, The Whole Christ, Tim Keller writes:
I learned …that to think the main problem out there is one particular error is to virtually put one foot into the other error.
The Whole Christ, Foreword, 14
Keller’s lesson learned from Ferguson is useful on many fronts. We can often think that there is only one error when there might be more than one. An example of this is how the desire to avoid one trinitarian error can easily lead a person to fall into a different error. It is not a matter of falling into a ditch on one side or another, the whole doctrine of the trinity is surrounded by a moat. We must pay attention or else we’ll slip and fall in.
The specific issues that Sinclair Ferguson’s book are dealing with are the topics of legalism and antinomianism. Keller goes on to expand on what he learned from Ferguson’s book:
If you fail to see what Sinclair is saying—that both legalism and antinomianism stem from a failure to grasp the goodness and graciousness of God’s character— it will lead you to think that what each mind-set really needs for a remedy is a little dose of the other. In this view, it would mean that the remedy for legalism is just less emphasis on the law and obedience, and the the remedy for antinomianism is more.
Ibid, 14
How often in ministry have we seen or practiced this idea of giving “a little dose of the other”. Discipleship is relaxed. Consciences can be bound tighter. Sin is winked at. Or leadership can tightly control behaviour. In the end, we should be able to see the tendencies and temptations toward applying “a little dose of the other” in our lives and ministry.
Keller warns about this strategy of “a little dose of the other” when he writes:
This is dangerous. If you tell those tending toward legalism that they shouldn’t talk so much about obedience and the law, you are pushing them toward the antinomian spirit that annot see the law as a wonderful gift of God. If you tell those tending toward antinomianism that they should point people more to divine threats and talk more about the dangers of disobedience, you are pushing them toward the legal spirit that sees the law as a covenant of works rather than as a way to honor and give pleasure to the one who saved them by grace.
Ibid, 14.
So there is a great danger in putting your foot into the other error, simply by thinking that there is only one. This is the confusing thing for new Christians, and it can be very limiting to the growth of those who have been believers for many years. It is how a person can start to lose their first love (Rev 2:4).
Keller points to the solution or remedy which Sinclair Ferguson offers in this excellent book. Ferguson says clearly:
The gospel is designed to deliver us from this lie [of the Serpent], for it reveals that behind and manifested in the coming of Christ and his death for us is the love of a Father who gives us everything he has: first his Son to die for us, and then his Spirit to live within us… There is only one genuine cure for legalism. It is the same medicine the gospel prescribes for antinomianism: understanding and tasting union with Jesus Christ himself. This leads to a new love for and obedience to the law of God.
Ibid, 15.
This is such good news! The gospel is what we all need, and it is the remedy to our propensities, trajectories, personalities, and most of all, to our sin. We can sin in legalistic ways and antinomian ways, but the gospel cures all.
And if you are worried that “gospel-centered everything” is an error in itself, simply read Ferguson’s book, The Whole Christ. You’ll regain clarity about the gospel and how it remedies legalism and antinomianism, which places the gospel at the center of everything, not in a superficial way, but a God-glorifying way.
There is a growing disdain for the term ‘evangelical’. This is not merely because evangelical is a pejorative term used by non-Christians. Nor is it merely because there are people who used to identify as evangelicals, but now call themselves exangelicals. But the term ‘evangelical’ has become associated with a political lobby group that is viewed as supporting the Trump presidency, which support is seen as unethical.
The problem with the label ‘evangelical’ is that it’s pretty elastic depending on who is doing the stretching. On the one hand, there is the scholarly study of evangelicals which trace them back to the Enlightenment (Bebbington), or beyond (Haykin and Stewart). On the other hand, ‘evangelical’ has come to be defined in modern journalism as anyone who is non- Catholic and non-mainline Protestant. Even this latter elasticity can be stretched further to include evangelical Catholics and evangelical renewal movements in liberal mainline denominations.
So what do we do with this elastic label? Some are ceasing to call themselves evangelical. Others are at least questioning what it means to be self-identified by the label. What is an evangelical to do? Let me offer three ways that over-stretched evangelicals can recover their integrity.
Pick Theology over Sociology
Nobody would care if evangelicals had no social influence. But in the US evangelicals still have a large, if waning voice in society. So it is tempting to adopt a sociological approach to being an evangelical. This may mean that following social practices but doesn’t require you to confess anything definitive regarding theology.
Picking theology over sociology is the better move. ‘Prosperity Gospel’preachers have false understandings of the doctrine of salvation, so their ‘gospel’ is not the same as the historic Christian gospel. Therefore, on a theological basis, prosperity gospel preachers are not “evangelicals”, even if the media mislabels them as such.
Picking theology over sociology works in a different way as well. For those with a distaste for the American (and therefore McDonaldized) evangelical sub-culture, they may be tempted to jettison the evangelical label. Their distaste for middle-America Jesus culture may make them want to be affiliated somewhere else.
But this is where high church Presbyterians, Anglicans, or others are in danger of denying their brothers and sisters who believe the essential bulk of what they confess. As well, they can deny their own history, or at least be selective about it. For example, the catholicity of Scottish Presbyterians like Chalmers, M’Cheyne and the Bonar brothers was matched with the mission-sending efforts of Calvinistic Baptists, William Carey and Andrew Fuller. The history of revived Calvinism saw the advance of evangelicals from Anglican, Presbyterian and Baptist denominations
Pick the Rabble Outside the Camp
The tough part about belonging to a local church or to a denomination or movement is feeling the crushing reality that your crowd is populated with fools, idiots and goofballs. Such associations are not great for winning friends and influencing people. In fact, the wisdom of today says that you should drop anyone who isn’t advancing you and your interests.
But when you start pointing fingers at the folly of others it’s easy to have the fingers pointing back at you. Being associated with true-believing evangelicals means that you are in the company of the foolish, among whom you likely are chief. In fact, God “chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1 Cor 1:27).
So we have to be careful lest we disdain the not-yet sanctified fools who we will spend eternity with. Even in this life, we choose to metaphorically leave the inner ring (CS Lewis) and suffer outside the camp (Heb 13:13). It is in this refuse heap (Ex 29:14) that all of the fools for Christ’s sake congregate. Believers are saved by faith alone, yet such a faith that never remains alone. Therefore we can confidently speak of right doctrine and right practice as indicators for who is suffering outside the camp with Jesus.
Choosing to Give Grace to Evangelical Folly
When Christians can cherish biblical truths that have been confessed through the ages, they can have the confidence to discuss and debate with each other about the issues that Christians have always been less clear about. This means we have to do something like a theological triage (Mohler), but it means more. It also means that as evangelicals get caught up in temporary manias (from Napoleon as Antichrist, to pro-Trump/never-Trump), we need to extend each other the grace— the undeserved favour, that will esteem the important confessions of faith which we know others possess, while lovingly critiquing their errors as we see them, and welcoming their watchfulness over our own.
So should we abandon the label ‘evangelical’? I don’t think so. It’s a good term when it is well defined. As we strive for that definition in each generation, we have the opportunity to remember that there are many people going to heaven with whom we disagree. We also know that there are many people who think they are going to heaven, whose gospel is not sufficient to save them. It is for these confused people we must strive to bring true gospel clarity.
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2019 in Review at Calvary Grace Church
It is hard to believe the amount of change that has occurred in the life of Calvary Grace Church since last December.
Yet through all of the changes, there has been an underlying principle. That principle was described by the apostle Luke in his history of the early church when he recorded:
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Ac 9:31)
“Walking in the fear of the Lord”
Calvary Grace has had a season of ‘walking in the fear of the Lord’ in 2019. Many of us have had to count the cost of following Jesus in the midst of a culture that has grown rapidly hostile to our Lord’s truth. In living according to the truth and confessing the truth, we’ve had to have some difficult conversations with friends and fellow church members, in order to hold fast to the truth. We have been tested in 2019 with whether we would walk in the fear of the Lord or the fear of man. Happily, Calvary Grace has continued to walk in the fear of God, even when times have been hard.
“The comfort of the Holy Spirit”
But we’ve also been walking in ‘the comfort of the Holy Spirit’ too. Palm Sunday of 2019 saw us bid a tearful goodbye to members joining together to plant Grace Cochrane Church. As we sent them off, we trusted that the Holy Spirit would be their comfort in their new work, as we seek his comfort in ours.
Nobody could ignore the way that God galvanized the congregation of CGC in God-fearing prayer as we interceded for a church member during her hospitalization. Seeing God’s hand of mercy moving dramatically was a profound answer to our prayers. Such comfort from the Holy Spirit reminded us of the supernatural power of God to change things in our created world in ways that defy explanation.
“It Multiplied”
After the planting of Grace Cochrane Church at Easter, Calvary Grace felt reduced, although we all were surprised that we didn’t feel empty. The number of people who have come to Calvary Grace has begun to fill the sanctuary once again.
What is even more encouraging than increased attendance, are the ways in which newer members have become integrated into the life of the church. Among these newer members has been a notable spirit of gratitude to God for Calvary Grace, and a thankfulness toward the members who had a hand along the way in helping CGC get established.
Looking Ahead to 2020
We praise God for the generosity of church members to partner together in the ministry through the giving of their time, talents and treasure. As we look ahead to 2020, we prayerfully anticipate the path before us, as God wills.
Stewardship
- To continue to improve our financial position and pay down our mortgage. This will open up many more opportunities for local and global impact.
- To continue to ‘fix’ the remaining building needs now that the roof projects have been completed successfully (!).
- To continue the retooling of our ministry structure, giving more delegation to deacons and ministry leads, and improving the processes that assist people to become healthy gospel partners, not merely attenders.
- To continue to support the Grace Cochrane Church, but also anticipating our next steps as Grace Cochrane becomes gradually self-sustaining.
Spirituality
- To get grounded in the gospel and the heart of the gospel, namely union with Christ. This is the theme of our January 24-25 conference featuring Stephen Yuille, Gavin Peacock and Clint Humfrey.
- To be equipped to live as exiles in our own land, yet with a heavenly destiny.
- Pastor Josh will begin January with a short series in 2 Peter
- Pastor Clint will resume his Daniel series on the prophetic visions.
- We will seek to grow in our Sunday School electives in the new year, with applied teaching, thoughtful questions and a culture of godly learning.
- We will aim to support the teachers who are working with our children in Sunday School, and offering to volunteer as needed.
- We will keep praying together monthly, and having that prayer time as a high priority for our schedules, to seek the Lord– together.
- To attend and support men’s and women’s bible studies, youth ministry, Oasis/Seniors outreach, mercy ministries, and much, much more.
Remember that as the early church walked in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
We continue to look with expectancy for God to bring revival to Calgary. As we look to God for a special and intense work, we also trust him that he is working in ordinary and regular ways in our midst. All his ways are good and wise!
As 2019 enters its last days, we will celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God together. Let us remember how great a salvation we enjoy. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good works as we enter 2020. (Heb 10:24).
This was a post I had up at The Gospel Coalition Canada. It is a relatively new network that resources Canadian Christians for gospel-centred ministry. If you would like to support this work, donate here.
Could we be any more stressed out? Probably. In the long view, we can’t be more troubled by crises in society than in Germany’s Weimar Republic, Quebec’s FLQ crisis, or the morning of September 11th in New York. There is no ‘turning back time to the good old days.’ But there is room for a lot more expectancy. We’re all looking for some hope, life, and light to dispel the gloom.
No doubt our situation is like the ancient lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, the land beyond the Jordan and even Galilee. They were described by the eighth century (BC) prophet Isaiah as “her who was in anguish” (Isaiah 9:1). There was even a sense of ‘gloom’ that had cast a shroud over the people. Isaiah had recorded that “they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness” (8:22). This is how you might feel after following a Twitter thread, reading a Facebook feed, or after a hard day’s work. Or worse: after a diagnosis, a death, or a disaster.
Gloom
No gloomy life lost in confusing times and a confusing mind can contemplate a life of light. That is why depression and melancholy can be so debilitating. The idea of a life of clarity, purpose, joy, and laughter remains unimaginable to the one stuck in the anguish of gloom. Gloom and anguish choke our desires for truth, beauty and goodness. Our sin-collapsed nature makes our desires for God crumble to dust. None seeks for God—not one (Romans 3:10-11; Psalm 14:1-3).
Only the inbreaking of dawn gives hope to the gloomy who walk in darkness. That kind of inbreaking is what Isaiah prophesied would come to “the nations” (9:1). If the wonder of conversion is inexplicable, then the description of this ‘dawn’ is close to it:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone; You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with the joy of the harvest, they are glad when they divide the spoil” (Isaiah 9:2-3).
Dawn
The great thing about the early light of dawn is its promise. Even though it can still be relatively dark out (especially on Canadian winter mornings), the inbreaking dawn assures us that the brightness of the day is coming.
Just as the Gentile nations were lifted from their gloom with the ministry of Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:15-16), we see God’s initiative to bring dawn to the darkened.
That is what our Advent celebrations should remind us about—the expectancy of the Light. John testified that “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:9).
From that first dawning of the incarnation of the Son, adding to himself a human nature, he brought the light of the gospel to be witnessed by those in anguish and gloom.
In our stressed-out society and harried holiday confusion, we can relish the fact that Christ’s brilliance and warmth bring infinite lumens to sinners’ shroud of darkness. His inbreaking kingdom—the already of the not-yet—is pushing back the darkness, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
This Christmas we don’t have to let the presence of darkness, smother our expectancy of Christ’s radiance. Instead let us luxuriate in his light, knowing our joy is to look upon him by faith now, and ultimately by sight. For it was truly said, “Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”
This article is published at 9Marks.org
The key takeaways are:
1) GALATIANS TEACHES US TO BUILD OUR LIVES ON A RIGHT UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL
2) GALATIANS CONFRONTS OUR DRIVE TO COMPARE OURSELVES TO OTHERS
3) GALATIANS TEACHES US THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
9 Marks is a great ministry that has helped me immensely. I highly recommend their massive journal on Complementarianism.