Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Sometimes I read one of those most familiar of verses and find that it has grown in its beauty and meaning. I have no idea the first time I heard a church choir singing, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” I know that it was a long time ago.
But, I have to say that it is only over time and real life that this verse has truly grown in the beauty that it now holds for me. God is faithful. He does not fail to complete the work that he does in his people.
I think that it is only when I have found myself struggling, my heart hurting, my confidence shaken, my successes minimal that I have found this verse and its promise so sweet. God will complete the work he started in me. No matter how frustrated that I can get with myself with not being perfected, there is hope, real hope. Though I fail and fall short, God will not lose me. Though I have never accomplished all that my foolish self-confidence has told me would be easy, God is not shaking his head at me and wondering if he can make something of me. No, he will complete the work that he started.
Now, we need a little theology to make this beautiful. What is that work he began in his children? He began the work of ultimate redemption. This is the process from salvation, through sanctification, and to Ultimate glorification.
At the cross, Jesus paid for my sins. At my salvation, that payment was applied in full. Also, Christ has traded me his righteousness for my sin, thus crediting my eternal account with the reward of perfect righteousness, a righteous alien to me since I could never live it myself.
Then, from the moment of my salvation, God has been working on me. He changes me. I’m not good, not by far, but the work continues. From one degree to the next, God transforms me and conforms me to the image of his Son. There is still such a long way to go. This slow, step-by-step, 3-steps-forward-and-2-steps-back process is called sanctification. Sometimes it seems like it is working; sometimes it doesn’t. But God will not fail.
Eventually, at my death or Christ’s return, God will complete the work. He will not lose me. He will not turn me away. He will not give up on me. Eventually, I say, God will transform me into a new person. Yes, I will still be me, but a me without sin. I will face no temptation. I will not fail again. He will have driven from me every vestige of sin until I can live forever with him in the state he intended from the beginning.
All that theological stuff is great. It all is important. But it only becomes sweet when I realize just how much work he still has to do. Sometimes this process is wonderful. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it seems like it’s moving along swimmingly. Other times it seems like I’m not moving at all. This is simply true of the Christian life—it is not smooth or easy.
And thus, I go back to my original statement. The verse above is sweet, very sweet. God will not fail. No matter how many times I fail, he will not. He is faithful. O, I want to please him. I want to experience his glory. I will not use my weakness as an excuse to live in a way that God has called sin. I will not sit back and give up and just assume that he will take care of it. I will work. But I know that only he can actually sanctify me. If I came to faith by God’s grace, I will only be sanctified by that same grace. The sweetness lies in the fact that I can remember that God will accomplish what he set out to do. He never, not ever, fails to fulfill his ultimate will. He who began a good work in me will complete it. He will complete his work in all who are his children by grace through faith in Christ.
Learning from a Leadership Failure (Jeremiah 38:17-19)
Jeremiah 38:17-19
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.”
Here is a classic leadership dilemma. The king clearly has instructions given to him by God. At the same time, the king has every reason to expect that the people he rules will oppose his orders. What will he do?
If you know the history of this nation, you know that this king will not prevent the city from being burned with fire. Thus, you already know what the king did. He feared the people more than the word of God. He sought security in public opinion more so than in the revelation of the Lord.
I do not point this out to be cruel to King Zedekiah. Truly the position he was in was hard. And, were any of us in the same spot, I think we would be tempted too. It is so easy just to try to please everyone around you. It is easy to ignore the right for the sake of sparing conflict. “After all,” we rationalize, ”we are really trying to do what is good for the people as a whole.” WE do that while knowing that our goal is to save our own skin and to not lose the people in the process.
But there is a greater lesson for all of us. Whether your spine is made of iron or is undetectable, there is still this truth: God has spoken. If God has spoken, then obedience to his word and his ways is the only option. Anything less, any compromise, is something that is terribly sad. It will not lead to good.
Let me be honest. I know what it is like to fail to do what God says because of fear of man. I think we all do. I’m not claiming to be better than King Zedekiah. But I think we should learn from him. We should pray, asking God to fortify our character. We should plead with him to give us the inner strength to stand on his principles, regardless of the direction that our friends or our society would take us.
Also, this passage and the failure of King Zedekiah reminds me of our great need for the gospel. None of us stands perfectly with the Lord. We all fail. We fail to do what is commanded. We fail to not do what is forbidden. We need grace. WE cannot stand before God without being covered by the mercy of Christ.
Everyone’s a Theologian – A Review
R. C. Sproul. Everyone’s A Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust, 2014. 357 pp. $16.24.
R. C. Sproul is a name that is synonymous with rich doctrinal teaching that believers of all education levels can understand. For years, his teachings have tackled some of the most difficult doctrinal issues with grace, clarity, and often a fair bit of Latin. In his latest work, Sproul dives into a simple introduction to systematic theology.
From the outset, I have to say that I have always been fond of Sproul and his teachings. So, as you might expect, I am very pleased with this book. I will also say that I come from a different denominational and theological background than Sproul in a couple of areas, and I obviously find chapters where our beliefs differ to be the chapters that I like least. However, in all this work, Sproul is clear, simple, and gracious.
Everyone’s a Theologian is an outstanding work simply because of its breadth and brevity. The book includes 60 chapters, spanning the full range of important theological discussions. Sproul addresses the doctrine of God, of salvation, of last things, and a host of other teachings with a solid level of scholarship. Happily, none of these chapters is overly robust. Sproul’s book is only 357 pages, and thus the chapters are appropriately short and to-the-point.
As someone who embraces a reformed view of soteriology, I found Sproul’s discussion of God’s saving work from election to applied redemption to be well worth the read. In a short and clear way, Sproul addresses important topics that many believers may disagree on. It is certainly a good thing, in my opinion, for us to have access to these more brief treatments of difficult topics.
At the same time, I did not find myself agreeing with Sproul’s handling of the topic of baptism. Sproul comes from a Presbyterian position, while mine is Baptist. The fact that he believes that baptism is a sign of God’s covenant of grace that can be applied to children who have not yet believed while I believe that baptism is only for those who have already been converted by Christ is no surprise. Neither do I consider this to be a reason not to recommend this book. Rather, I find this chapter to be a very helpful way for me to again hear a position that is not my own, but which is still clearly and fairly presented.
I would highly recommend Everyone’s a Theologian to believers of all backgrounds and walks of life. Pastors or Bible study leaders might find this to be a worthwhile tool for studies or for discussions of individual doctrines. It is also a very helpful resources for reference that is not nearly as dense as a larger systematic theology book.
I received a free audio version of this book for review as part of the reviewers program for ChristianAudio.com. The book is extremely well-read by Grover Gardner. Since the chapters are each only around 10 to 12 minutes long, the audio version of this book is very digestible.
Calling Evil Good (Isaiah 5:20)
Isaiah 5:20 (ESV)
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Sometimes you read a verse that rings with relevance as you come across it. Above is just such a word from God.
We live in an age in which all sorts of moral questions are up for grabs in our society. Who has the power over life and death? What life is to be protected and what life is to be controlled by our volition? Who is to say what is right and wrong regarding our sexuality or our marriages?
God pronounces woe on those who would dare call evil good or good evil. Woe is an important biblical term. It is an opposite or contrast to the word blessed. To be blessed is to receive spiritual life, goodness, or even happiness from God. To have woe is to receive spiritual death, badness, or sadness from God. Woe is akin to being cursed.
God says that those who would flip-flop the distinctions between evil and good are under his curse. The same thing is clear in Romans 1 when Paul describes how the judgment of God arrives in his giving men over to their own evil desires. To determine our own morality apart from God is to find ourselves under his judgment.
What then shall we do? The obvious things are important for starters. We need to define marriage, sexuality, and life issues as God does. We need to not call evil behaviors and godless thinking good. Instead, we need to learn to value the things that God values.
But that is easy for many who are in the church. Most often we find ourselves feeling a little smug about how well our value systems line up with the things that God has said are good. And for that we need to go a little deeper. What has God called good? Do we really approve all that God approves? Do we really love all that God loves? Do we believe that God’s standards and God’s grace are the best? Or are we more the kind of people who get set in our traditions and add rules to God’s law in order to make things the way we are most comfortable?
Let us learn from God. Let us love his word. Let us believe his standards are best. Let us reject the influence of any culture, no matter how vocal, as we seek to determine what is good and what is evil. Let us hear from God, trust God, and obey God in all aspects of life. Let us never approve what God calls evil. Let us never disapprove what God has not disapproved. Instead, let us love God and become more like him as we grow in Christ.
Sovereignty in Suffering (Psalm 105:24-25)
Psalm 105 24-25
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
Here is a fascinating look at the way God works in his sovereignty. Psalm 105 recounts the mighty works of God through a part of Old Testament history. In it, we have a poetic look at the way God sent Joseph to Egypt and how God then rescued the people from Egypt.
In the midst of the discussion of Israel’s time in Egypt we read the passage above. Notice what God did. In verse 24, we see that God gave his people success. But verse 25 shows how God worked among the Egyptians. The Bible says, “He turned their hearts to hate his people, to deal craftily with his servants.” God, in his mighty and unsearchable plan, stirred up the Egyptians to hate his people in order that he might eventually bring about the salvation of the nation.
If you were an Israelite of that generation, you might not think that God was doing you a favor here. I wonder how many of the people cried out to God, asking him to change the hearts of the Egyptians, especially the officials over them, so that the Egyptians would see the people of Israel with favor. But God was always working out something bigger. God was working the Egyptians up to a place where the Israelites would cry out for rescue. God was making it so that the Israelites would eventually follow Moses out of the land of Egypt. God was shaping things for the ultimate move toward Sinai, the Promised Land, and the fulfillment of covenant promises.
The truth here is that God works things in much bigger ways than we might imagine and in stranger ways than we are wise enough to expect. God is wiser than us. He knows his plans His plans are good. Even if we do not understand them at the time, God is always on track. He will not fail. He will work through our circumstances, perhaps not to accomplish what we want, but always to accomplish his ultimate will for his greater glory. This is what is most important anyway.
So, as you face things you do not like, be it hardship, decisions you dislike, or ugly circumstances, remember the sovereignty of God. He is always moving us to accomplish his purposes. His purposes are far bigger and better than ours. We can trust him. We can follow him. He may let us walk through hardships, but not without something that will work toward the accomplishment of something greater, whether we see that greater thing in our lifetime or not.
God’s Glory in Judgment (Revelation 16:4-7)
Revelation 16:4-7 (ESV)
4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
God is glorified in his judgments. This is a truth that many of us fail to recognize as we talk about the mercy of God alongside is just wrath. Of course, we all want to see people saved from sin and judgment. We pray for, plan for, and work toward the salvation of the nations. We want to see people rescued.
However, we do not want to be so confused about our Lord as to somehow think that he is not glorified as he judges those who have rebelled against him and who do not repent. God’s justice is good. God’s justice is perfect. God’s justice brings honor to his name.
You might consider how God is glorified by judging those who oppose him. In fact, you might come up with many reasons this is true. God’s justice demonstrates that he will not let sin go unpunished. God’s justice shows that every crime that is ever committed against any person on earth will receive perfect justice—either in the judgment of the one who committed the crime or in the substitutionary atonement provided by Jesus on the cross. God’s judgment glorifies him as it displays his utter hatred for that which is evil.
But the truth is, whether we naturally come up with the ways that the judgment of God honors him, and, truly, whether or not we naturally like these truths, we must first recognize that the Scripture teaches that God is praised in heaven for how he rightly judges those who oppose him. There needs to be a place in our theology to allow this truth to live. While we will do all that we can to try to protect people from the judgment of God by introducing them to the Savior, we cannot believe that rescue is the only thing that honors our Lord. God is God. God is perfect. He will be honored.
One Vital Verse (Psalm 96:5 )
Psalm 96:5
For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.
Sometimes a statement is made that is absolutely vital to how we think and behave. If that statement is true, everything changes. If that statement is false, everything changes. And Psalm 96:5 is one of those central statements.
Consider that Psalm 96:5 declares 2 truths. First, it declares that all the gods worshipped by the nations who do not know the LORD are false. They are merely idols, powerless and false deifications of man’s imagination. Is this true? If it is, our entire worldview must fall in line with that fact.
Then, in the appropriate poetic contrast, the verse declares that our God made the heavens. While idols are false, the LORD is God. Is this true? If so, one’s entire worldview must shift to match it.
I know that we are covering elementary ground, but sometimes it helps to do so. If God is God, then all is his. If God is real, then all must come under his rule. If the gods of other nations are false, then no other religion is valid. This is not to say that we treat any with intolerance or violence, but it is to say that we know that these people are called by God to turn from their idolatry and to bow before the God who made them.
So, the challenge is simple. Today, do you see that God is real? Do you see that the gods of other religions are false? Yes, this sounds politically incorrect. But, if it is true, then it must sound so.
Lord, I believe that you are indeed God, the Maker of the heavens and earth. You are Lord, there is no other. All other gods are false. Only you are God. I pray that you will shift my world even this morning to help me to align myself with your purposes for your glory.
A Unified God (Jude 5)
Jude 5
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.
Have you ever heard a person say to you that they believe there is a difference in “the God of the Old Testament” and “the God of the New Testament?” Or, have you ever heard people try to distinguish between the judging God of Old Testament times and the loving ways of Jesus? This is a tempting way to think at times, but it is also a completely false dichotomy.
Jude, writing to the church about the love and the judgment of God, has something very interesting to say in verse 5 of his little one-chapter-book. Jude is clear that it was Jesus who rescued the nation of Israel from Egypt. Remember, of course, that Jesus has always been. God the Son has been a part of the Holy Trinity for eternity. And it was apparently the work of the Son to bring God’s people up out of Egypt.
“Yes,” you say, “but that proves to us that Jesus is loving and maybe the Father is the judge.” But no, look at the end of verse 5. Jesus is also the One who, after rescuing the nation, “ from Egypt, “destroyed those who did not believe.” Jesus showed us the same pattern of both mercy and judgment that we have come to understand is part of the character of God.
What are we to conclude? Jesus is God. And there is no division among the persons of the Godhead. God the Father is loving and just. God the Holy Spirit is loving and just. Jesus, God the Son, is loving and just. When you see the judgment of God on people in the Old Testament, know that this is the action of a completely unified God. When you see the mercy of Jesus in the New Testament, see that this is the action of a completely unified God. When you see Revelation picture the return of Jesus in power and judgment, know that this is the same God as we see in the Old Testament declaring himself to be the gracious and compassionate One who will not let the guilty go unpunished. God is God, perfect in his mercy and never failing in his righteous judgment.
Lord, as I see your work described here in Jude, I worship you. Jesus, you were active in rescuing Israel from Egypt. This reminds me that you are God, worthy of my praise and my life. You showed your mercy, and I am grateful. At the same time, Jesus, you judged those who tried to receive your benefits, but who had not truly trusted you. I see your justice, and I praise you for it. Help me to have a genuine trust in you so that I might always be under your mercy.
What Gives a Pastor Joy? (3 John 4)
3 John 4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
What gives a pastor joy? John, the last living apostle of Jesus, tells us in a tiny book in the New Testament. What gave John joy? He found joy when his people, God’s people under his care, were walking in the truth.
I understand this. I love, absolutely love, to find the people of God obeying his commands and following his word. This can happen as numbers increase or decrease. This can happen as ministries begin and end. This can happen as programs come and go. None of these things are at the heart of what gives me joy as a pastor. But ,to see the people of God dive into his word, begin to understand it, and even better, to begin to obey it, that gives me joy.
Lord, I am grateful for the calling you have placed on my life. I love to be a part of your plan. I cannot compel anyone to do what you say. I cannot convince anyone of your truth; that is the province of your Holy Spirit. However, I love to be a tool in your hand to help your people walk in truth. I pray, therefore, that you would help me to be used by you and give me the joy of seeing your people love and obey your word for your glory.
Overcoming the World (1 John 5:4-5)
1 John 5:4-5
4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
What is victory over the world? John tells us, and it is not at all as dramatic-seeming as we might think. John tells us that victory over the world is our faith, as the one who has put his or her trust in Christ has overcome the world.
I think that, a few years ago, these verses seemed a bit odd to me. How could something as simple as trusting Christ equal overcoming the world? In my world, faith in Christ was natural and well accepted by all. People celebrated your faith. Church going was a good thing, almost expected by the “good” people of the community.
But then, as time has passed, I have come to understand that true faith in Christ is a great victory over worldliness. I can remember being challenged by those who claimed Christ and those who did not that faith is all well and good, but let’s not take it too far. We certainly would not want to be thought of as fanatical toward Jesus after all.
And now, as time has gone by, I am seeing how faith is an even greater conquest over the world. You see, in the day we now live in the US, faith is not as acceptable. The moral landscape of the US has changed. What used to be good and moral is now considered by society as intolerant and backward. Faith in Christ stands in the way of social progress. To believe that Jesus is the Son of God is to also believe his words and his standards. Jesus spoke clearly about marriage, about sexual purity, and about his own exclusivity. All three of those areas are unacceptable to many in our modern culture. In truth, the day may come when believers in Christ find themselves castigated by the world around them, considered to be as backward, bigoted, and dangerous as the KKK.
Of course, the caricaturing of Christians as harsh, closed-minded, backward, and dangerous is an unfair depiction—at least for genuine Christianity. However, the world will not care. There is a social, moral, and political agenda at work that demands that all people not only allow the freedom to do what God has forbidden, but also embrace and approve of the immoral decisions of others as right.
Thus we see how faith in Christ is an overcoming of the world. To believe in Jesus as the Christ is to oppose the part of the world that rejects any concept of the supernatural. To trust Christ is to acknowledge his exclusivity, actually daring to believe that others who do not trust Christ are outside the grace of God. This is not to declare yourself better than such people—we are all sinners who deserve judgment—but it is to dare to believe that not all people on the planet are equally forgiven. To trust in Jesus is to accept his lordship, even over issues where society demands we progress. The follower of Jesus overcomes the world by refusing to walk in lockstep away from the standards of God inspired in his holy word.
The true beauty here is not what we turn from, however, but that to which we turn. God is beautiful and glorious, holy in every way. God receives us into his family. The world would turn us from God. To overcome the world is to turn from the ways of culture and to embrace as the Lord the One who made us, who loves us, and who sacrificed himself to rescue us from our own sin before him. May we overcome and continue to overcome, experiencing his comfort and joy even in the midst of an age that would demand our concession.
Lord, you know that my faith in you is truly your own gift to me. I know that you are sovereign and always good. Please help me, as your follower, to overcome the world. I have no desire to beat others or to win in a contest. My desire is to not be led astray. My desire is to be faithful to you. My desire is to honor you in the middle of an age that would demand I not do so. For this, I need your help. The beginning of this victory is faith, and so I thank you for your grace that has come to me through faith in Christ.
Pastor Travis Peterson 