Ephesians 3 -- Knowing the Love of Christ

Our house church is studying Ephesians. The following passage is from a prayer in chapter 3.

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 ESV)

Charles Hodge, the great Princeton theologian in the 19th century, writes in his commentary of Ephesians about this passage.

“It is the love of Christ, i. e. his love to us which passes knowledge. It is infinite; not only because it inheres in an infinite subject, but because the condescension and sufferings to which it led, and the blessings which it secures for its objects, are beyond our comprehension. This love of Christ, though it surpasses the power of our understanding to comprehend, is still a subject of experimental knowledge. We may know how excellent, how wonderful, how free, how disinterested, how long-suffering, how manifold and constant, it is, and that it is infinite. And this is the highest and most sanctifying of all knowledge. Those who thus know the love of Christ towards them, purify themselves even as he is pure.”

Experimental knowledge is tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8). It is having and keeping Christ's commands because we love Jesus and God the Father. Christ promises to manifest Himself to us, when we obey His commands (John 14:21). God reveals Himself not only in the spiritual disciplines (reading the Word, prayer, meditation, fellowship, etc), but also when we step out obedience. In our obedience, the love and manifold wisdom of God is revealed. God revealed His love and wisdom when we were in Haiti in miraculous ways. This is why I think we need power to comprehend the love of Christ. Not only does the subject of Christ's love have infinite scope, which will take an eternity to comprehend, but it is comprehended through faith in obedience. We need strength to faithfully obey Christ's commands so we can experimentally know Him better.

God gracefully gives us the power to obey. As Paul finishes the prayer in Ephesians chapter 3.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

We obey Christ because of what he has already done for us. We obey Christ because we seek Him in His promises to us because He fulfilled His promises to us in the past. We seek Christ because we have an infinitely powerful, loving and wise God who wants to sustain us and empower us. We seek Christ because God will glorify Himself through Christ's body, the Church. Charles Hodge encourages us to join Paul in praise to God, when Hodge comments on this doxology in Ephesians 3.

“Κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἡμῖν, according to the power that worketh in us. The infinite power of God from which so much may be expected, is the same of which we are now the subjects. It is that power which wrought in Christ when it raised him from the dead, and set him at the right hand of God, ch. 1, 19-20; and which has wrought an analogous change in the believer in raising him from the death of sin, and making him to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; and which still sustains and carries on the work of salvation in the soul. The past is a foretaste and pledge of the future. Those who have been raised from the dead, who have been transformed by the renewing of their minds, translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and in whom God himself dwells by his Spirit, having already experienced a change which nothing but omnipotence could effect, may well join in the doxology to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think.” ― Charles Hodge, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians

Haiti and Scripture Memory

Here are some verses that I wished I had memorized in Haiti. If I had the passages memorized with the exact reference then helping people to find the passages in the Creole Bible would have been much, much easier. I either paraphrased these and finally found them later. Dave K. used the 1 Peter 5 passage with leaders with good effect. I hope you can find these verses useful. Pray that I'll be diligent in memorizing these. I'll be adding to this page.

Sexual Purity

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5)

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. (1 Peter 4:1-6 ESV)

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.(Hebrews 13:4 ESV)

Humility

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:6-10 ESV)

Servant Leadership

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45 ESV)

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:1-11 ESV)

Victory in Christ

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 ESV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:10-13 ESV)

Haiti III

I struggled with my decision to go to Haiti. I knew a lot of theology, but I had struggles in communicating those truths verbally. However, through advice of fellow believers, the result of circumstances, and God's prompting, I decided to go. People, when they found out I was going, encouraged me that a person with my theological leanings and maturity would be helpful in Haiti. I was excited to go, but I was like Paul at Corinth, I approached this ministry with fear and trembling. Once we got to Haiti and started ministering, I struggled with finding the correct verses to apply to situations. I had my bible with me, but the verses eluded me. However, God did use me. Dave encouraged us to use our life experiences. I ministered in the following ways.

I met with Pastor Layans. We discussed our pride in our sons and our desires for our families. I think we really connected.

I asked forgiveness from a 15-year old boy. I did not believe him when he told me his age and motives. I later found out differently and had to ask forgiveness. He wanted to become a pastor, a powerful man in God. I told him how Jesus was humble and a servant of all. I told him it was through humility we become great in the kingdom of God. When the team was ready to leave for the day, he insisted that he carry a box I was carrying to the tap-tap.

I washed an elderly woman's feet. After talking about pride, the next day, Doc Nate asked me to wash a woman's feet. How cool was that?

I pleaded as a father to a 31-year-old woman that she would not sleep around. From talking to this school teacher, I found out she was a professing christian, but she was sleeping around. I gave her some verses on sexual purity, but she rolled her eyes. At the end of the conversation, I pleaded with her as a father would to his own daughter, that it hurts God her heavenly father when she sleeps around. I think that reached her. It also opened the door to some spiritual conversations with the female translator I was working with at the time.

On Thursday, one of the team members was involved with sharing the gospel with a man involved with Voodoo. Earlier that week, this same team member expressed his lack of confidence in his knowledge of scripture. However, he did great all week. I was called in to do some follow-up with the new believer, whose name was Ellinois. I gave him some scripture verses about assurance of salvation and fighting temptation. I asked him to come back on Friday and I would try to give him a bible. That evening the team member shared more about Ellinois. I was happy for the team member, but I realized I worked mostly with Christians all week. I was excited that God was using me, but I wanted to help with bringing someone to the Lord. I prayed that God would use me in that way. Friday went by. It was mostly young women with women-type problems who wanted a Creole bible. I gave what advice I could. It was a busy, but unexciting day. At 3:00 p.m. I didn't witness any conversions. Ellinois didn't show up. Disappointed, I gave Steve the Creole bible, which I kept back for Ellinois, to give away to another believer. I started to help pack up. I decided to use the facilities. When I came back, one of the interpreters said someone was looking for me. It was Ellinois. He came back. I prayed with him. I said I didn't have a bible but I told him to use a Piper book in Creole. If nothing else, focus on the verses at the start of each chapter. I told him to get plugged in at a church. I was very glad he came back. Please pray for Ellinois.

As I thought about this on the way home. God brought 1st Corinthians to mind. He used the least confident believer of the group to share His gospel. God did not use my supposed theological acumen or maturity, but God used my sinful pride and my experiences as a father to help people through me.

Here's the passage in 1st Corinthians.

And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5, ESV)

As a wise man wrote once, "It is not about me." It was not about what I thought my skills were, but how God could demonstrate His power through my weaknesses.

Haiti and Ephesians Part II

My last post was on how God used the Church's multicultural missions to display His manifold (intricate and artistic) wisdom not only to mankind, but to the "rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." The Haiti trip provided two more examples of this truth to me. The first example was on Sunday. The Worldwide Village team took us to a Haitian church that was outside of Port Au Prince. The church was an open structure with a roof. I could see the Caribbean sea and I could feel the breeze coming up the hill. It was beautiful. The pastors had a greet-and-meet session. I shook hands with members of the Haitian church, members of other U.S. mission teams, and mission teams from other countries. I was even greeted with a holy kiss by an elderly Haitian woman.

After the meet-and-greet, the worship team lead in worship. 2 small boys who were running loose around the church, sat down with me and held my hand. They wanted me to give them something, but they didn't go away when I said no. They sat quietly with me and leaned against me. I was then surprised when I recognized the words of the songs. The worship team was alternating between singing a verse in Haitian and then a verse in English. Towards the end of the song, everybody was singing and praising God in their own tongue. On the bus back to Port Au Prince, our whole team marveled and agreed that this was what heaven will be like.

The second example occurred to me after the first day. Monday night I was frustrated with working with the translators. I tried to keep my questions short, but the patients were often answering my questions with long drawn out stories from their lives. Their stories didn't answer my question. If only we were speaking in English, I thought I could cut their answers shorter and keep the conversation on target. I felt like I wasn't making progress and presenting the gospel clearly.

On Monday night, I volunteered to give the team devotional on Tuesday night. As I was organizing my thoughts on Tuesday morning about how to present the lessons I was learning from Ephesians 3, it occurred to me: God was using all of us: the doctors, the nurses, the d-team (discipleship team) members and the Haitian translators together to present the gospel in a beautiful, dynamic, intricate, and multicultural manner to the Haitian people. I was participating in a masterpiece being created by the master Artist of all artists. Instead of being frustrated, I should be glorifying God through this. Tuesday went much better. And yes, this made me smile.

Haiti and Ephesians Chapter 3

We have been studying Ephesians 3:1-13 in our house church and I have been thinking about how the passage applies to the Haiti mission trip I'll be leaving on shortly. Here's the passage from the ESV bible.

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. (Ephesians 3:8-13, ESV)

R. C. Sproul commented on the word "manifold" in his blog.

The Greek word translated “manifold” here was often used in the first century to describe the intricately embroidered patterns found on cloaks worn by the wealthy. Divine wisdom is incredibly rich, even colorful, similar to the patterns found on these cloaks. Yet God’s glory is even richer, and evidencing it to other creatures displays His magnificence more fully.

Charles Hodge, the great Princeton Theologian, has insightful comments on the passage.

The expression, ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία, "manifold wisdom," refers to the various aspects under which the wisdom of God is displayed in redemption; in reconciling justice and mercy; in exalting the unworthy while it effectually humbles them; in the person of the Redeemer, in his work; in the operations of the Holy Spirit; in the varied dispensations of the old and new economy, and in the whole conduct of the work of mercy and in its glorious consummation. It is by the church redeemed by the blood of Christ and sanctified by his Spirit, that to all orders of intelligent beings is to be made, through all coming ages, the brightest display of the divine perfections. It is ταῖς ἀρχαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐξουσίαις ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις that this exhibition of the manifold wisdom of God is to be made διὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας. This gives us our highest conception of the dignity of the church. The works of God manifest his glory by being what they are. It is because the universe is so vast, the heavens so glorious, the earth so beautiful and teeming, that they reveal the boundless affluence of their maker. If then it is through the church God designs specially to manifest to the highest order of intelligence, his infinite power, grace and wisdom, the church in her consummation must be the most glorious of his works. Hence preaching the Gospel, the appointed means to this consummate end, was regarded by Paul as so great a favour. To me, less than the least, was this grace given. (Charles Hodge's Commentary on Ephesians 3)

Wayne Grudem uses the Ephesians passage to explain how God is displaying his wisdom not only to our fellow man, but to the angels in the heavenly places in the universe at large.

When Paul preaches the gospel both to Jews and to Gentiles, and they become unified in the one body of Christ (Eph. 3:6), the incredible “mystery” that was “hidden for ages in God who created all things” (Eph. 3:9) is plain for all to see, namely, that in Christ such totally diverse people become united. When groups so different racially and culturally become members of the one body of Christ, then God’s purpose is fulfilled, “that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10).

Today this means that God’s wisdom is shown even to angels and demons (“principalities and powers”) when people from different racial and cultural backgrounds are united in Christ in the church. If the Christian church is faithful to God's wise plan, it will be always in the forefront in breaking down racial and social barriers in societies in the world, and will thus be a visible manifestation of God's amazingly wise plan to bring great unity out of great diversity and thereby to cause all creation to honor him. (p.193, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Grudem).

Think about this for a moment. God displays complexity, beauty and symmetry in his design of the universe even to the most basic subatomic particles. Physicists use the principle of symmetry to predict the properties of subatomic particles they expect to find in particle accelerators. Another example, God has made millions of galaxies. Each galaxy has millions of stars which have planets orbiting around them. All these planets have the same unique and breathtaking complexity that the earth has.

Here is my final example, the psalmist exclaims in Psalm 139 that "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." God designed man using complex and intricate structures in the brain, muscles, blood vessels, and cellular structures. There is an infinite number of examples of God's wisdom and complexity in the design of the universe. However, even with all this complexity and intricacy in the physical world, God has chosen how He uses the Church to unify mankind into the body of Christ as the method to display His manifold wisdom to the angels in the heavenly realms. To put it in another way, God has chosen how the Church does cross-cultural missions to exhibit His love and wisdom throughout the infinite universe. Please ponder, praise and pray about that idea while I'm in Haiti.

Grudem on the Sufficiency of Scripture.

A few of us at work are reading Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology: An Introduction. He has a chapter on the Sufficiency of Scripture that I enjoyed. Here are some quotes from the book. I'm book-ending his quotes with two key passages that teach this doctrine.

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (ESV)

The sufficiency of Scripture means that Scripture contained all the words of God he intended his people to have at each stage of redemptive history, and that it now contains everything we need God to tell us for salvation, for trusting him perfectly, and for obeying him perfectly. (p.127, Grudem)

If there is any “good work” that God wants a Christian to do, this passage indicates that God has made provision in his Word for training the Christian in it. Thus, there is no “good work” that God wants us to do other than those that are taught somewhere in Scripture: it can equip us for every good work. (p.127, Grudem)

Nowhere in church history outside of Scripture has God added anything that he requires us to believe or to do. Scripture is sufficient to equip us for “every good work,” and to walk in its ways is to be “blameless” in God’s sight. (p. 134, Grudem)

The sufficiency of Scripture reminds us that in our doctrinal and ethical teaching we should emphasize what Scripture emphasizes and be content with what God has told us in Scripture. There are some subjects about which God has told us little or nothing in the Bible. We must remember that “The secret things belong to the LORD our God” (Deut. 29:29) and that God has revealed to us in Scripture exactly what he deemed right for us. We must accept this and not think that Scripture is something less than it should be, or begin to wish that God had given us much more information about subjects on which there are very few scriptural references. (p. 134, Grudem)

Psalm 119:1
Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord! (ESV)

Genuine Christian Preaching: 1 Corinthians 2:5

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:5 about faith and preaching.

that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:5 ESV)

Calvin pointed out the Corinthians benefited by Paul's simple preaching of the gospel.

... His [Paul's] meaning, then, is, that the Corinthians derived this advantage from his having preached Christ among them without dependence on human wisdom, and relying solely on the Spirit’s influence, that their faith was founded not on men but on God. (Calvin’s Commentary on 1 Cor. 2:5)

Charles Hodge pointed out the benefits of a pure faith based on gospel preaching, rather than a so-called faith based on sophistic arguments.

The true foundation of faith, or rather, the foundation of true faith, is the power of God. This is explained by what he had before called “the demonstration of the Spirit.” That exercise of divine power, therefore, to which he [Paul] refers as the ground of faith, is the powerful operation of the Spirit, bearing witness with and by the truth in our hearts. A faith which is founded on the authority of the church, or upon arguments addressed to the understanding, or even on the moral power of the truth as it affects the natural conscience, such as Felix had, is unstable and inoperative. But a faith founded on the demonstration of the Spirit is abiding, infallible, and works by love and purifies the heart. (p. 32, Geneva Series of Commentaries: 1&2 Corinthians, Charles Hodge)

Finally, I copied two quotes by Gordon Fee from his commentary on 1 Corinthians 2:5.

In another context this might seem to suggest that faith rests on evidences; but that would scarcely make sense here. Throughout this passage the power of God has the cross as its paradigm. The true alternative to wisdom humanly conceived is not “signs” but the gospel, which the Spirit brings to bear on our lives in powerful ways. (p. 96, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Gordon Fee)

What he [Paul] is rejecting is not preaching, not even persuasive preaching; rather, it is the real danger in all preaching—self-reliance. The danger always lies in letting the form and content get in the way of what should be the single concern: the gospel proclaimed through human weakness but accompanied by the powerful work of the Spirit so that lives are changed through a divine-human encounter. That is hard to teach in a course in homiletics, but it still stands as the true need in genuinely Christian preaching. (p. 96, ibid)

What Preachers Should Preach

I am studying 1 Corinthians 2. One of the commentaries I am using is Calvin's Commentary on 1 Corinthians. He has a couple of nice practical observations about 1 Corinthians 2:2 which reads,

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Calvin translated the passage as follows:

No kind of knowledge was in my view of so much importance as to lead me to desire anything but Christ, crucified though he was.

Paul was mocking the Corinthians who were going after witty and powerful speakers, rather than the small, humble Paul, who spoke only of Jesus and the cross. Paul was saying Christ was not impressive either: He was killed like a criminal. Paul did not come with impressive, philosophical, powerful speeches, but rather Paul taught only Jesus. Powerful speeches are not what converted the Corinthians, but the power of God working through the preaching of the simple gospel by Paul. Calvin then pointed out the application for his readers. He encouraged preachers to preach only and learn only Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Here we have a beautiful passage, from which we learn what it is that faithful ministers ought to teach, what it is that we must, during our whole life, be learning, and in comparison with which everything else must be “counted as dung.” (Philippians 3:8.)

Our Wonderful Conversion -- Ephesians 1:19

Our faith family is studying Ephesians. Ephesians 1:15-19 is an amazing passage.

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23, ESV)

Paul compares our conversion, "the immeasurable greatness of his power to us who believe" to the resurrection of Christ, "he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead." Here's a few classic quotes from the church fathers to help us meditate on the power and mercy of God that he showed toward us through Christ.

"To raise us from spiritual death is an exercise of the same power that raised Christ from natural death." Oecumenious.

"The conversion of souls is more wonderful than the resurrection of the dead." Chrysostom

Luther, in reference to the parallel passage in Colossians, uses the following language:

"Faith is no such easy matter as our opposers imagine, when they say, ‘Believe, Believe, how easy is it to believe.’ Neither is it a mere human work, which I can perform for myself, but it is a divine power in the heart, by which we are new born, and whereby we are able to overcome the mighty power of the Devil and of death; as Paul says to the Colossians, ‘In whom ye are raised up again through the faith which God works."’ (Charles Hodge commenting on Ephesians 1:19 who quotes Luther commenting on Colossians).

Here's the parallel passage in Colossians.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,(Colossians 1:19-22)

Not a tame lion -- Ezekiel 14

I've been watching "Ken Burn's National Parks: America's Best Idea." They had a chapter on George Melendez Wright who was one of the National Parks first scientific naturalist. He stressed that the parks should provide a venue for the animals, especially predators, to be left alone. The parks in the 1920s and 1930s allowed tourists to feed the animals.

Year after year, bears—black and grizzly—were treated like pets and circus attractions in America’s national parks. They ate from the hands of camera-toting tourists, snared fish from artificially stocked streams, and were allowed to rummage through trash dumps while spectators gawked. “It takes time to teach the visitors to our national parks that they are the ones who are short-sighted in feeding candy to a bear,” Wright went on. “After all, the average citizen expects more intelligence from a bear than he, as an educated person, has any right to expect. He goes on the assumption that if he feeds a bear two sticks of candy and does not want to give it a third, he is the one to say, ‘No, no.’ And he believes that the bear is to be accused of an unforgivable breach of etiquette and lack of appreciation… if it takes all the candy out of his hand and takes the hand with it, perhaps.”(Mike Thomas writing about George Melendez Wright, Naturalist)

The problem is that bears are not tame, they are wild. They do not exist to please us and do our bidding. People make the same mistake about God. C. S. Lewis reflects this truth about Christ in his Narnian series of books. Lewis emphasizes that Aslan who is the embodiment of Christ in the series is wild and good, but not safe.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe).

Here is another quote from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe about Aslan being wild.

“He'll be coming and going" he had said. "One day you'll see him and another you won't. He doesn't like being tied down--and of course he has other countries to attend to. It's quite all right. He'll often drop in. Only you mustn't press him. He's wild, you know. Not like a tame lion.”

In Ezekiel, the exiled, elders of Israel forgot who God is.

Then certain of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols. (Ezekiel 14:1-5, ESV)

The nation of Israel had been exiled. The elders of Israel practiced syncretism: they practiced whatever religion or religions that were convenient or accessible in the city where they resided. They sought out Ezekiel, the prophet of Yahweh, as another option. They treated God as a vending machine. They worshiped idols, performed evil, and ignored God, but expected God to give them guidance in times of trouble. God was saying through Ezekiel that God required repentance from those who sought Him. The prophecy continued and God threatened to judge them. He wanted the whole man. One should not approach the living, holy, and omnipotent God by treating him as a trained puppy. God demands worship from those who seek Him.

Meditations on Murmuring

As I get older I notice I tend to complain and murmur. I excuse my behavior as just a symptom of getting old. However, I also notice that the bible has some rather strong teachings against murmuring so I decided to do some digging. A linguistic key gives definitions for words as they are found within a biblical passage. Renecker and Rodgers in their linguistic key defines "to murmur" as the following:

to murmur, to complain, to give audible expression to unwarranted dissatisfaction (Lenski). It contains the idea of a judgment and a condemnation of God by man who instead of giving God thanks and showing obedience sets himself up as a judge over God (s. TDNT; CBB) (A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, Renecker and Rodgers)

This definition is in reference to "grumble" as used by the apostle Paul in 1st Corinthians.

We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. (1 Corinthians 10:9-10, ESV)

Commentators differ on who the "Destroyer" is, but most commentators agree that Paul is referring to Numbers 14. The people Israel just heard the bad report from 10 out the 12 spies who were sent out to assess the land of Canaan as to its defenses and bounty. 12 spies spent 40 days in the land. 10 out of the 12 said the land would be hard to conquer: the current inhabitants of Canaan were large and their cities were well fortified. The people responded to this bad news in the following way.

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! (Numbers 14:1-2, ESV)

Notice murmuring is second guessing not only the leadership, but God who put those leaders in power. The people were also doubting God's ability to help them conquer the land, God's promises to their forefathers to give them the land, and God's sovereignty over the circumstances. God severely punished the people for murmuring. None of the adult Israelites were allowed to enter the land. Paul in the passage is illustrating for the Corinthians that doubting Paul's God-given authority and second-guessing God's commands and ordinances is wrong. Murmuring is blatant sin.

Paul also encouraged the church at Phillipi to not grumble.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, (Philippians 2:14-15, ESV)

The question that needs to be asked is how does "doing all things without grumbling" lead to being blameless and innocent? Paul is probably referring back to Leviticus as he did in 1 Corinthians. The Phillippians were not trusting his leadership or their elders' leadership. The next verse (Phillipians 2:16) encourages the Phillippians to "hold fast to word of life." Paul is pointing out that the purity of a group of Christians who hold fast to their common faith and core doctrines while loving each other would be a shining light in this dark world. Paul again addresses the content of our speech in his letter to the Ephesians.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29, ESV)

John Piper in one of his sermons on this passage poses some questions that we should ask ourselves about our speech.

The question for your mouth will not merely be the moral question: Am I avoiding dirty words? But the Christian question: Am I building the faith of others by what I say? Is my mouth a means of grace? Am I frightened and anxious and angry about my life, or am I filled and overflowing with hope that the Spirit of God will keep me safe for the day of redemption?

The apostle James also commands Christians to not grumble against one another.

Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (James 5:9, ESV)

The following tables shows how James refers back to Leviticus 19, which lays out the Ten Commandments.

James		Leviticus 19
v. 5:12	“Do not swear”	v. 12	“You shall not swear”
v. 5:4	“Behold, the wages of the laborers…which you kept back from fraud.	v. 13	“The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night”
2:1,9	“My brothers, show no partiality”	v. 15	“You shall not be partial.”
4:11	“Do not speak evil against one another.”	v. 16	“You shall not go around as a slanderer.”
v. 5:9	“Do not grumble against one another.”	v. 18a	“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge.”
2:8	“You shall love your neighbor as yourself”	v. 18b	“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

 

Notice how grumbling is tied with holding a grudge. If we murmur against leadership, are we not holding a grudge? If we grumble against one another, are we not trying to harm one another? Murmuring against leadership secular or ecclesiastical is wrong. It ultimately shows that we are not trusting God and we are handling the mistrust in harmful ways. If you question leadership, do not complain to others, but seek out that leader in a godly manner. We honor God through trusting the leadership. We can disagree with leadership, but complaining and murmuring among ourselves is not the correct means to handle the disagreement.

Our speech reflects our life. If God is giving us hope through Christ, then our speech should edify and give hope to others and not be filled with complaining and murmuring, even when we are suffering. The apostle Paul reflects this attitude we should have in 2 Corinthians.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, ESV)

Ephesians 1:4 -- God Chose Us

Our House Church is studying Ephesians. People dislike the ideas of predestination and election; however, in Ephesians, Paul sees those two ideas as reasons to glorify God.

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:4-5, ESV)

Charles Hodge, who was president of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878, noted two results of meditating on God's election of us in his commentary on Ephesians 1:4: first, confidence that God will not fail His adopted children, and second, humility that God saved us based on nothing in us or performed by us.

From eternity the whole scheme of redemption with all its details and in all its results lay matured in the divine mind. Hence every thing is certain. There is no possibility either of failure or of any change of purpose. The eternity of God’s purpose is, therefore, a strong ground of confidence and comfort. The other is, to express the sovereignty of the divine purpose. The grace was given to us before we existed, before the world began, and of course before we had done any good or evil. It was, therefore, not for works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us. If the one aspect of the truth that God chose us before the foundation of the world, is adapted to produce confidence; the other aspect is no less adapted to produce humility.

How the Monks Civilized Europe

Mark Noll in his excellent book, Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity outlined the expansion of Christianity into Eastern and Western Europe during the Middle Ages. He made the following observation at the end of the summary.

The missionary effectiveness of the monks usually depended as much upon their plain virtues as upon more highly visible exertions in preaching or teaching. For a monastery to be established in a pagan area allowed the local population to see the application of Christianity to daily existence, as monks tilled the soil, welcomed visitors, and carried out the offices of study and daily prayer. So arose the saying that the monks civilized Europe cruce, libro, et atro--with cross, book and plow. (p.100, Turning Points)

May the modern Evangelical Church be characterized in the same way.

Yellowstone National Park, Rudyard Kipling and Me

I was watching National Parks: America's Best Idea by Ken Burns. They had a story about Rudyard Kipling visiting Yellowstone. He was writing journal articles about the United States and poked fun at American culture and the tourists. He kept his cynical outlook throughout his travels through Yellowstone, but he was impressed by the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, especially by the Lower Great Falls. This reminded me of my own experience of the waterfall.

My brother and I were looking for work in the summer after our freshman year in college. A help-wanted ad in the Council Bluffs Nonpareil stated that Hamilton Stores Inc. was looking for grocery store clerks and some other miscellaneous positions I do not remember. The key attraction for the position for us was the fact the job was in Yellowstone National Park. After begging our dad and a few phone calls, my brother and I found ourselves on a greyhound bus headed out of Omaha headed toward Yellowstone.

We were placed by the HR department as clerks at the grocery store in Canyon Village. After a few preliminary orientation talks and a tour of the store, we were shown to our rooms in the dorm. After we were done unpacking, my brother and I were left to our own devices. Just off the parking lot outside the dorm, we saw an asphalt-covered trail that led into the woods so we decided to take it. After a mile or two, we heard a deep rumbling. We decided it had to be the waterfalls we've heard about. Encouraged, we kept going. However, the trail headed in a different direction from where the rumbling came. Being good scouts and Iowa farm boys, we unwisely decided to cut through the woods. After about 15 minutes we were second guessing ourselves. We were in the mountains, the woods were thick, and it was getting dark. However, we still heard the falls so we kept going. After a few more minutes, we saw more light coming through the woods indicating a clearing ahead. Eventually, we stumbled out of the woods and the brush onto a highway. A couple a hundred yards up the road, we saw a bunch of cars and RVs in a small parking lot. We headed toward them. It was the scenic outlook for Upper and Lower Great Falls. A sign indicated this was a trail-head of a path that led down to the top of the Lower Great Falls. The trail was asphalt-covered with a bunch of switch backs. It was less that 2 miles down so my brother and I decided to take it and raced down the trail. We passed old people complaining about their knees going down the path and met young families with fathers carrying their toddlers on the way up the trail. Everybody looked out of breath. When we we arrived at the top of the Lower Falls, a slight mist covered my face. The sound of thunderous, rushing water filled the air. The golden hues of the canyon walls mixed with the greens of the vegetation in the setting sun. My experience matched the scene described by Rudyard Kipling so many years before:

All that I can say is that without warning or preparation I looked into a gulf seventeen hundred feet deep, with eagles and fish-hawks circling far below. And the sides of that gulf were one wild welter of color--crimson, emerald, cobalt, ochre, amber, honey splashed with port wine, snow white, vermilion, lemon, and silver gray in wide washes. The sides did not fall sheer, but were graven by time, and water, and air into monstrous heads of kings, dead chiefs--men and women of the old time. So far below that no sound of its strife could reach us, the Yellowstone River ran a finger-wide strip of jade green. The sunlight took those wondrous walls and gave fresh hues to those that nature had already laid there. Evening crept through the pines that shadowed us, but the full glory of the day flamed in that canyon as we went out very cautiously to a jutting piece of rock--blood-red or pink it was--that overhung the deepest deeps of all.

This was my first and best real experience of Yellowstone. I hiked over two hundred miles that summer on the trails around the canyon. I saw the Lower Great Falls from several angles and it always moved me. Needless to say I am enjoying the Ken Burns DVD series and it pleases me to imagine that Kipling and I covered the same paths around 80 years apart.

March 2014 Haiti Mission Trip Prayer Requests

Ten of us are on the mission team for the March 2014 Haiti Mission trip. We met this morning (01/05/2014) for orientation. It is a Medical Soul Care trip. The mission is to care for the Haitian's body, mind and soul. The trip will be from 02/28/2014-03/07/2014. More information will be posted, but I am nervous about the trip so I thought I would post prayer requests. Here are the team's prayer requests:

• Pray for God to be working in the hearts of the Haitian people in preparation for our trip and the message that He desires for us to deliver.
• Pray for our team that we would be given His heart for the Haitian people and that we'd be able to deliver His message effectively and clearly.
• Pray for God's vision for this team and this overall endeavor to become more clear as a result of this trip.
• Pray that above all God will be glorified.

I don't have medical training so pray the following points for me: 

• I'll be useful to the team. 
• I'll have boldness and wisdom in ministering God's Word.
• God will protect me both physically and spiritually.
• God will help me in preparations for the trip both logistically, physically, and in bible study.

Let me know if you have any questions. 

Thank you,

Jeff

John Owen on Conquering Lust through Meditating on God.

John Owen comments in his essay, Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, about how although we do not have the capacity to fully understand His Word, we can compensate for this inability by meditating on God's greatness, limitless power, and holiness.

We are dull and slow of heart to receive the things that are in the word revealed; God, by our infirmity and weakness, keeping us in continual dependence on him for teachings and revelations of himself out of his word, never in this world bringing any soul to the utmost of what is from the word to be made out and discovered--so that although the way of revelation in the gospel be clear and evident, yet we know little of the things themselves that are revealed. Let us, then, revive the use and intention of this consideration: will not a due apprehension of this inconceivable greatness of God, and that infinite distance wherein we stand from him, fill the soul with a holy and awful fear of him, so as to keep it in a frame unsuited to the thriving of flourishing of any lust whatsoever Let the soul be continually wonted to reverential thoughts of God's greatness and omnipresence, and it will be much upon its watch as to any undue deportments. Consider him with whom you have to do--even "our God is a consuming fire" [Heb. 12:29]--and in your greatest abashments at his presence and eye, know that your very nature is too narrow to bear apprehensiins suitable to his essential glory.(pp. 117-118, Overcoming Sin & Temptation)

I have two thoughts about this paragraph. First, God's Word is a wonderful resource. We as evangelicals tend to read books about biblical themes (i.e. biblical counseling, daily living, the spiritual disciplines, etc.) without doing the hard work of studying and meditating on God's Word itself. Although, we have over two thousand years of Church scholarship and books being written every day on the Word, we have not even scratch the surface of understanding God's Word. We need to long for the pure spiritual milk of the Word at a very personal level. Second, our default position in our decision-making process for our day-to-day walk needs to be not "What Would Jesus Do?", but an informed decision about "Does this glorify Christ?"

John Owen on Knowing God

John Owen writes about "knowing" or at least the "not knowing" the being of God.

For the being of God; we are so far from a knowledge of it, so as to be able to instruct one another therein by words and expressions of it, as that to frame any conceptions in our mind, with such species and impressions of things as we receive the knowledge of all other things by, is to make an idol to ourselves, and so to worship a god of our own making, and not the God that made us. We may as well and as lawfully hew him out of wood or stone as form him a being in our minds, suited to our apprehensions. The utmost of the best of our thoughts of the being of God is that we can have no thoughts of it. Our knowledge of a being is but low when it mounts no higher but only to know that we know it not.

There [may] be some things of God which he himself has taught us to speak of, and to regulate our expressions of them; but when we have so done, we see not the things themselves; we know them not. To believe and admire is all that we attain to. We profess, as we are taught, that God is infinite, omnipotent, eternal; and we know what disputes and notions there are about omnipresence, immensity, infiniteness, and eternity. We have, I say, words and notions about these things; but as to the things themselves what do we know? What do we comprehend of them? Can the mind of man do any more but swallow itself up in an infinite abyss, which is as nothing; give itself up to what it cannot conceive, much less express? Is not our understanding "brutish" in the contemplation of such things, and is as if it were not? Yea, the perfection of our understanding is not to understand, and to rest there. They are but the back parts of eternity and infiniteness that we have a glimpse of. What shall I say of the Trinity, or the subsistence of distinct persons in the same individual essence--a mystery by many denied, because by none understood--a mystery whose every letter is mysterious? Who can declare the generation of the Son, the procession of the Spirit, or the difference of the one from the other? But I shall not further instance in particulars. That infinite and inconceivable distance that is between him and us keeps us in the dark as any sight of his face or clear apprehension of his perfections. (pp. 114-115, Overcoming Sin and Temptation)

Again, these paragraphs are taken out of context. Owen goes on and writes how faith is central to our knowing God truly and experientially, but this passage serves us well to contemplate God as Job did when God finally revealed some of His glory to Job at the end of the book.

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:2-6, ESV)

How Augustine Preached Sermons

Peter Brown in his magnificent biography of Augustine of Hippo wrote about Augustine's sermons.

For Augustine did not 'preach' sermons, in the sense of delivering fierce denunciations of the gods. Rather he gave his congregation what we could call a 'teach-in'. In a world where the overwhelming majority of the population was illiterate, Christian doctrine was not primarily communicated through books. It was communicated, in detail, by sermons. The sermons preached by Augustine in 404 were nothing less than a series of master classes on the nature of true relations between God and men. They were preserved as they were spoken by stenographers. In them, we hear the principal themes of the Confessions of De Trinitate and the City of God brought to life for us in the simple Latin of the streets of Carthage and of the small towns of the Medjerda valley. Ordinary congregations were to have their full share of Augustine's magnificent vision of the Christian religion (pp. 457-458)

I want to make a couple of observations. First, obviously being illiterate is not the same as being stupid. Scholars have many of Augustine's sermons and the sermons taught difficult concepts to the ordinary congregation of that day. Sermons went on for over 2 hours at times. The preachers at that time made the sermons cyclical and segmented so the audience could leave and come back and still pick up the sense of the sermon.

The second observation is I am reading 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. The 4th practice is "Teach Less for More." The authors make some good points teaching children, but I do not agree with all their points about teaching adults. The authors want the churches to teach what is helpful (p. 136). However, we as a congregation need to go deep into theology at times to plumb the depths of grace. Paul prays in Ephesians for the Ephesian church to have "strength to comprehend."

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19, ESV)

Knowing God is hard work and difficult. From reading this biography of Augustine, I would think Augustine would agree that Christians need to understand theology so they can understand the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ. Read the Pauline epistles and remember that Paul was not writing to theologians alone. He was writing to ordinary congregations. God wants us to use our hearts, minds and souls to worship him.

John Owen: Greatest Motivation for a Life of Purity

I am still reading John Owen's essay, "Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers." The following quote loses a bit of impact from being out of context, but it is still good.

Consider who and what you are; who the Spirit is that is grieved, what he has done for you, what he comes to your soul about, what he has already done in you; and be ashamed. Among those who walk with God, there is no greater motive and incentive unto universal holiness, and the preserving of their hearts and spirits in all purity and cleanness, than this, that the blessed Spirit, who has undertaken to dwell in them, is continually considering what they give entertainment in their hearts unto, and rejoices when his temple is kept undefiled. (p. 102, Overcoming Sin and Temptation)

Augustine's Views on Predestination

I am finishing up a very good biography called Augustine of Hippo by Peter Brown. Brown spent a whole chapter explaining Augustine's view of predestination towards the end of his life. I copied a few of the more striking passages.

For Augustine's doctrine of predestination, as he elaborated it, was a doctrine for fighting men. A monk might waste his leisure worrying about his utlimate identity: to Augustine, such an anxiety was misplaced. A doctrine of predestination divorced from action was inconceivable to him. He has never written to deny freedom, merely to make it more effective in the harsh environment of a fallen world. The world demanded, among other things, unremitting intellectual labour to gain truth, stern rebuke to move men. (p. 406)

The following quote is from an Augustinian commentary on Deuteronomy.

Say not in thy heart: My strength and the power of my hand has wrought this great wonder: but thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for He it is Who gives the strength to do great deeds.

Augustine consoled the victims of the sack of Rome by using the doctrine of predestination and reminding the victims that their future is secure in heaven with bodies that will be glorified.

What is more, such views made the world readily intelligible. The doctrine of predestination was developed by Augustine mainly as a doctrine, in which every event was charged with a precise meaning as a deliberate act of God, of mercy for the elect, of judgement for the damned...
Similarly, every tribulation of the elect was a calculated mercy. This alone was no small thing: for in the anthology of the works of Augustine, later compiled by Prosper, the opening book of the City of God, with the record of the still-distant news of unburied corpses, of nuns raped, of the enslavement of prisoners of war, will now appear as relevant to the every day experience of a man of the fifth century. (pp. 406-407)

Augustine at the end of his life wrote on perseverance. He tried to answer the question, what keeps a Christian on his walk throughout his life through pain and suffering?

What preoccupied Augustine, therefore, was no longer the mobilization of love that caused a man to act, but the mysterious resilience that would enable some men to maintain this love for the full course of their lives.(p. 408)

The 'gift of perseverance', as he [Augustine] had said , was the greatest of God's gifts to the individual. For it bestowed on frail human beings the same unshakeable stablility as the human nature in Christ had enjoyed: by this gift, a man was joined forever to the Divine, could be confident that the 'hand of God' would stretched above him to shield him, unfailingly, against the world. 'Human nature could not have been raised higher.' (p. 409)

Predestination, an abstract stumbling-block to the sheltered communities of Hadrumetum and Marseilles, as it would be to so many future Christians, had only one meaning for Augustine: it was a doctrine of survival, a fierce insistence that God alone could provide men with an irreducible inner core. (p. 410)

John Owen on the Deceitfulness of Sin

Here are two quotes by John Owen on the deceitfulness of sin. The first observation Owen makes is Christians minimize the full impact of sin.

Solomon tells you of him who was enticed by the lewd woman, that he was "among the simple ones," he was " a young man void of understanding" (Prov. 7:7). And wherein did his folly appear? Why, says he (v. 23), "he knew not that it was for his life," he considered not the guilt of the evil that he was involved in. (p. 97, Overcoming Sin and Temptation)

We should not toy with sin because sin deadens our pursuit and enjoyment of God. The second observation builds on the first observation. Owen solemnly encourages us to be careful and watchful to be not hardened by sin's deceitfulness

This the apostle sorely charges on the Hebrews (3:12-13), "Take heed, brethren, lest there be any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." "Take heed, " says he, "use all means, consider you temptations, watch diligently; there is a treachery, a deceit in sin, that tends to the hardening of your hearts from the fear of God." The hardening here mentioned is to the utmost --utter obduration; sin tends to it, and every distemper and lust will make at least some progress toward it. You that were tender, and used to melt under the word, under afflictions, will grow as some have profanely spoken, "sermon-proof and sickness-proof." You that did tremble at the presence of God, thoughts of death, and appearance before him, when you had more assurance of his love than now you have, shall have a stoutness upon your spirit not to be moved by these things. Your soul and your sin shall be spoken of and spoken to, and you shall not be all concerned, but shall be to pass over duties, praying, hearing, reading, and your heart not in the least affected. Sin will grow a light thing to you; you will pass it by as a thing of naught; this it will grow to. And what will be the end of such a condition? Can a sadder thing befall you? Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble, to think ob being brought into that estate wherein he should slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of grace, of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that [which] your lust is working toward--the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding of the mind, stupifying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole soul. (pp. 98-99, Overcoming Sin and Temptation)