Bible Reading & Legalism

Great word from John Piper...

From the "15 days in the Word with John Piper" youversion reading plan

Read Your Bible More and More

Don’t rest on past reading. Read your Bible more and more every year. Read it whether you feel like reading it or not. And pray without ceasing that the joy return and pleasures increase.

Three reasons this is not legalism:

1. You are confessing your lack of desire as sin, and pleading as a helpless child for the desire you long to have. Legalists don’t cry like that. They strut.

2. You are reading out of desperation for the effects of this heavenly medicine. Bible-reading is not a cure for a bad conscience; it’s chemo for your cancer. Legalists feel better because the box is checked. Saints feel better when their blindness lifts, and they see Jesus in the word. Let’s get real. We are desperately sick with worldliness, and only the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, can cure this terminal disease.

3. It is not legalism because only justified people can see the preciousness and power of the Word of God. Legalists trudge with their Bibles on the path toward justification. Saints sit down in the shade of the cross and plead for the blood-bought pleasures.

So lets give heed to Mr. Ryle and never grow weary of the slow, steady, growth that comes from the daily, disciplined, increasing, love affair with reading the Bible.

"Do not think you are getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are by no means those which make the most noise, and are most easily observed. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced.

"Think of the influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remember how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly the grass grows. There may be far more doing than you think in your soul by your Bible-reading." (J. C. Ryle, Practical Religion, 136)

The Child Who Was God

C.S. Lewis once said that the reason he believed Christianity is because it was a religion he could not have made up and that it had that same kind of queer twist that true things have. At the pinnacle of Christianity is the fact that God became a baby named Jesus, so that he might be murdered to redeem a people for Himself. Many skeptics and non-believers deny the incarnation of God. They believe Jesus was a great teacher, good man, but most certainly not God. I think this response comes from a desire for an easy answer, but as Lewis said, in reality the real answers are never easy.

The Necessity of Christ's Deity 

In order to understand the reality that Jesus was God, it's important to understand why it matters. Christians believe that Jesus took the punishment we deserved for our rebellion (disbelief & disobedience) against God, receiving the just wrath of God against mankind. A good way to understand this concept is to think of a courtroom analogy... You have broken the law and are standing before the judge. He says that in order for restitution to be made for your crime, you must pay a $10,000 fine or else go to jail. The only problem is you don't have $10,000, someone has to pay that fine. That's what Christian's believe Jesus did when he was crucified on that cross. He paid the price we could not.

Why does it matter if He was God or not? Because if He wasn't His death was pointless. You see the scripture tells us that God is good, that He is the ultimate reality of goodness. So an offense to an infinitely good God could not be overlooked because a man or an angel was killed. The value of the payment must equate the value of the offense. Only God could pay that debt, because the offense was infinite, the one who was our substitute had to be the infinitely good God of heaven.

But, Was He Really God?

Some people have a problem with the idea that Jesus is God because they say that Bible never says he is God, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Throughout scripture we see the deity of Christ declared again and again... The simplest answer is found in Matthew 1:23 where Jesus is called Immanuel (God with us) but better yet we see the declaration of deity from His own lips in John 8:56-59.

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

Here we see an interaction between the jewish leaders and Christ. Jesus tells the leaders that father Abraham rejoiced at seeing His day and they respond as anyone should, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”. You see Abraham lived nearly 2000 years before this encounter. But Jesus responds in an unexpected way, he says, "Before Abraham was, I AM!" Not only is this a claim of Christ that he was over 2000 years old, but I AM is the name God gave himself in exodus 3:15. During this time the greek translation of the Torah used the greek expression "Egō eimi" in exodus 15, the very same greek expression is used in John 8:58. And if that's not convincing enough, if you read the following verse, it appears the jewish leaders understood it as blasphemy and proceeded to try to stone him to death (the punishment for blasphemy according to Leviticus 24:16).

Additional verses that point to the deity of Jesus Christ: Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, John 1, John 20:27, Matthew 28:17, Romans 9:5, Philippians 2:6 , 2 Corinthians 4:4, Colossians 1:15-18, Titus 2:13-14, Revelation 4:11

What does this mean?

The infinite good God of heaven was born as a baby that he might pay a debt you couldn't pay. The infinite offense of disbelief and disobedience (that we are ALL guilty of) was absorbed on the cross of Christ, so that all who would gladly accept Him would be acquitted of their just punishment. And if that wasn't gracious enough, in that great transaction, he not only removes our guilt, but also gives us something we could never have on our own... right standing before Him. You see, he doesn't just forgive us our failings, he removes them and gives us His righteousness.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)


You can be made perfect in the sight of God. We are all by nature rebels against the Great King, but through faith in Jesus, we can become perfect, beloved children of God. Not that God merely tolerates you, but abundantly loves and rejoices over you.

How do you enter into this amazing relationship?

Faith. It's only by faith alone that you can become a partaker in this amazing grace (Ephesians 2:8). Not just cognitive assent to a belief in God, but a sturdy unshakable trust in Jesus alone for salvation. Jesus described what this kind of faith looks like in a parable in Matthew 13:44.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

This man saw the value in the treasure that was hidden, so much so that he realized that it was worth more than everything he had. Having faith in Jesus means that you value Him, that you treasure Him. Upon finding Him you realize that by comparison, all else is rubbish. That's why the Bible uses language like Colossians 3:4, "Christ, who is your life". The bible assumes that those who are partakers in this great exchange so rocked to their core that He becomes their life. Is He your life?

God Wants Me to do Something Big!

We often think there is some grand thing we are supposed to be doing with our lives. When opportunities arise we automatically sometimes fixate on such things, constantly running scenarios through our head. Telling ourselves, "God wants to do something big with our lives.". Maybe that's true, but maybe it isn't... 

Center of the Universe

When we look at it like God is going to do something big with our lives, I'm afraid that the motivation behind that thought is not God's glory, but rather our own. Due to our sinful nature, our thoughts tend to be centered around ourselves. That's is why we get so angry when treated unfair and why shake our fists at God when we experience pain. It's because we are what is central to us. We are what is in the forefront of our minds. We fail to see past ourselves to infinite value of Christ.

Dying to self, God's glory and Joy

Seeking pleasure is what we were created for... We were made to look long

upon God and marvel at His greatness. Fountains of joy overflow to us, through deep fellowship with our Great King. Sin sells us a lie... It tells us that we can experience real pleasure by indulging with such and such a thing. To take up a new hobby or make more money, but the only way to experience the fullness of joy is to die. To die to our own glory seeking and live for the glory and renown of God.

God Does Want to do Something Big in Your Life

If you are a believer, God has already done something amazing in your life, He has breathed new life into your soul and made your heart able to love and adore Him. The focus on a need for something big to happen in our lives, takes the focus off the biggest thing that has ever happened to you... God! How cheap is the thrill of self when compared to immeasurable riches of a life in Christ. To know joy… true joy in the risen Savior. Not only a hope in eternal life, but to realize that eternal life with everything we have ever craved, yet without fellowship with our God would be hell. Don’t settle for cheap glories. 

The Root of Bad Thinking

Maybe this sounds foreign to you and perhaps this is something you have never heard (even from your pastor), but if you read the pages of scripture you will find that it is true. Yet, where does this false idea come from? Where do we get this notion that we must live a glorious life? Partly it’s inherent in our own sinfulness, we naturally gravitate toward what makes much of ourselves and not God. But, partly it’s due to the prevailing false teaching in the church today. Don’t buy into the popular, emotion driven preaching of the pastors on your television (and in some churches) and don’t trust them just because they are on the NY Times best sellers list. If the preaching is centered around you, your empowerment and your prosperity; it is not centered around God and His beautiful Gospel. The one thing that preaching is supposed to be about.

everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:7, ESV)

Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
that he might make known his mighty power. (Psalm 106:8, ESV)

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11, ESV)

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth ofknowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8, ESV)

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21, ESV)

For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.(Jude 1:4, ESV)

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:2-3, ESV)

Joy and Tears

Throughout my life before Christ I have had few times that tears of joy have filled my eyes. Tears were a sign of weakness to me. Something that happened when you were being unmanly. And, tearing up at something that made me happy was a silly, ridiculous thing. I didn't have a framework for Joy. I didn't know what it was. I thought it was mere happiness, maybe even happiness to it's maximum height. No, it's something much more. 

When Joy overcomes the heart, all else fades from sight and mind, but the object your Joy. Your emotions become so overwhelming that there is no bridling them. You have never tasted such sweet ecstasy as this. Tears roll down cheeks unimpaired by our normal faculties, our emotional defenses are useless. Joy, and it's outworking, refuses to be hindered by our will. 

Never has this experience been more tangible than when I have sensed the overwhelming presence of God. Something theologians call "Special Presence". God being omnipresent, is always in our presence, but at times he manifests himself in a special way to His people. 

Often these times of peculiar delight come when engaged in corporate worship with a group of believers, in corporate prayer or during scripture reading. Most times I have experienced this when retiring to private prayer, though not in every time of personal prayer. Without warning and without any particular action on my part, I would feel the most intense feeling of Joy. My prayer may turn into just sobs, only consisting of thinking through His goodness or it may be filled with words that don't seem to originate from me. As if God was inhabiting my prayer, filling me with the words that I offered back to him. Irregardless of the setting or my response, intense worship flows from my heart and unbelievable joy is had. 

I can honestly say that before I met Christ I have never felt such a thing. Sure there have been times of intense happiness and some may even argue that it was Joy. Perhaps to some degree is was, but never has anything compared to this feeling of Joy during times of God's special presence. Never has a song created joy in my heart and brought me to tears. Never have words printed on a page caused me to break down. Never have I sobbed alone in my bedroom at the goodness of something or someone. This is not something I could manufacture even if I wanted to. No, there is something peculiar about this Christianity. 

Night Watches

I remember you in the night watches,

My Love, My Life, My All.

As yet another day slips away,

Keep hold of me, lest I fall. 

Darkness seeks to take my joy,

To steal my soul's delight,

To rob me of my treasure,

And steal away Your light. 

The thought of it yields 

sorrow upon sorrow.

Oh Father! Be not gone 

From my tomorrow. 

Then I remember your promise. 

A good work you began,

A good work you will accomplish. 

So rest now, my weary soul. 

Darkness will not deceive us.

Tomorrow is sealed.

You belong to Jesus. 

God isn't subject to what we think

I don't understand Christians who say they don't take the Bible seriously. That's like saying on one hand that you do believe and on the other you don't. For the entire Christian message is from the Bible. The gospel is not the gospel without the Bible. Jesus dying for your sins is not an idea that can exist without the Bible. Where else would you get such an idea?

No story in the history of man has ever brought for such a fantastic idea as this... That We all have betrayed the great king, are guilty of treason and each of us are deserving of death. But, the King offers another way... He laid the punishment, that the we traitors rightly deserve, onto His Son. And by so doing, offering a full pardon to all who bend their knee to His now resurrected Son. As if forgiveness wasnt enough, He offers adoption to the traitor. Some will gladly embrace this great offer, and partake in a rich inheritance as a Son or Daughter of the Great King. Yet, others remain traitorous and rebellious to the very end. Unwilling to ever acknowledge their rightful King.

So why accept this extravagant story, and claim it for yourself, when you refuse a place at the table of truth for the other doctrines of the bible? Could it be that the parts we reject are merely the ones we don't personally like, that we are trying to make God subject to what we think? And if we are only following what personally appeals to us, how is it that we can claim to be Christian? The call of Christ is "Come and die". Does that sound like there is a lot of room for personal opinion? But then again that's probably another part of the bible that is denied.

Wondering Way

Wearying and wondrous, this wondering way.
I have heard of a place of rest,
Where beggars become princes
And ever-deepening joys are endless

A kingdom that welcomes all who seek it,
All who long to know it's King,
He who beckons us, "come and see".
The one who makes a heart to sing.

My eye sees many paths twisting and turning,
Over the mountains, Across the great divide,
Only one will take me there,
That place where my heart resides.

There come traps, dangers and lost companions.
Pains, sorrows and joys... every kind.
There! I see that sweet, sweet bastion
At the end of this path, this narrow line.

Bruised and broken I trod this difficult track
Bleeding but not beaten, Hoping in my hope secure.
Though it be painful and my hardships many,
I have fountains of joy forever more.

Yet, there is a snare, much worse than the pain,
The wonders of this world can easily distract,
Making my heart grow lame.

Be careful, my eyes, to see the wonders for what they are...
Merely signs the Great King has posted,
To bring His sons and daughters from afar

My heart be heavy and my soul laden
With just enough hope for today...
Knowing that this is not my home,
Only a wearying and wondrous, wondering way.

A Dog and the Gospel

My dog, Buddy has been such a wonderful companion to me over the last 11 years. I found out today that he has Pancreatic cancer and wont live much longer. I wept harder than i have in a long time for my companion and my friend. Many people think its crazy to love a dog so much. Some may even think they are just animals and they don't really matter. I don't think God sees it that way though.

Proverbs 12:10 says that a righteous man cares for the life of his beast. This doesn't mean that because you care for the life of your beast that you are righteous, but that this is a characteristic of a righteous man. Righteous, meaning that which is pleasing to God and is seen as good in His sight. So it seems that God does care for the animals of this world and wants us to as well.

Also in 2 Samuel, chapter 12, David ("a man after God's own heart") became enraged when the prophet Nathan told him of a wealthy man who stole a poor mans lamb (one that he loved) and killed it to feed a guest that came to his home. Both David's rage and the prophets appeal do not indicate that they thought it was stupid of this man to love his lamb. On the contrary, they both feel the weight of the travesty of the crime told in this parable and David feels this conviction of his own offense through it.

There seems to be a magnetism between man and animal. Unless we are on our guard not to, we tend to love them. Why is there such a strong draw between man and beast to form such a bond? Perhaps it's to paint a picture of the Gospel... C.S. Lewis said once that we love dogs so much that they become almost human... in the same way, God loves a man so much he becomes like a son. Maybe the God of the universe put this ability in our hearts, so that we might feel as He feels. To know what it is to bestow grace on the undeserving, to give them unmerited love. To see their feeble attempts at obedience as evidence of their affection for you. To do what's best for them, even if it's not pleasant at the time. To find joy in the animal being joyous over you. To feel pain when they are in pain.

My relationship with Buddy has been an imperfect picture of the Gospel, but a picture no less. I am thankful for every moment God has given me with him, and for bringing him back from the edge of death last week to spend a little more time with us. I hold out hope that God would be so good as to give us eternity with our beloved pets, that the resurrection would look like the picture John Piper paints in his beautiful poem, "Glorification"...

"...And in the twinkling of an eye
The saints descended from the sky.

And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come.
She leaped the stream-
Almost-and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye.
I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy."
-John Piper

Oh, what a wonderful day that will be... to stand on the brink of endless joy in Christ Jesus. Come Lord Jesus, Come!

"Christians Are All Hypocrites!"

That statement would be very true if all Christians believe they lived up perfectly to any code of morality. The fundamental tenet of Christianity is that we are not able to keep the law, unable to keep the code of morality perfectly. That's why God sent his son to bear the punishment that we rightly deserved. In doing so, the standard for righteousness became not about being able to keep the law perfectly, but about whether you have faith in Christ.

And here's where it gets confusing... "Then, why do Christians try to be moral?" Because that is what is pleasing to God. So Christians seek to be obedient, not that they may gain right standing before God, but that they might do what's pleasing to him. It's a well know fact that a heart that adores someone, seeks to do what pleases that person.

To that you might say, "Why then to so many Christians fail at morality?". The Christian life is one of struggle and war. War against the natural inclination to selfishness, of satisfying self at all costs. Just like any war, battles are won and lost, and many times they leave destruction in their wake. Maybe a lost battle is what you are referring to, or perhaps you are a victim of the destruction that ensued after a tragic defeat. Their failure shouldn't push you away, rather it should draw you nigh. You see we Christians are a band of broken, dirty people... just like you. We have flung ourselves at the foot of the cross and there's room here for everyone.

Perhaps you have had the misfortune of coming across those christians who don't even seem to be fighting the battle. They care very little about breaking God's law. They might have said things like, "Jesus died for my sins and now I can do whatever I want." or "It doesn't matter if I sin, I'm going to heaven". I would dare to say the reason why those christians do not care about pursuing obedience to God and their religious concerns stop at getting into heaven, is because they don't love God at all.




For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. (Romans 7:18-21 ESV)

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9 ESV)

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! (Romans 6:15 ESV)

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. (1 Corinthians 5:11 ESV)

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Philippians 3:12 ESV)

People Let You Down

It seems like no matter how wonderful or how perfect you think the person is, people always tend to let you down. Friends and loved ones will hurt you, spouses will fail you, your church will let you down and co-workers will betray you. Even pastors and the people you look up to will often times let you down just as much. I don't think people set out to be bad or intentionally work to do you wrong. It seems people naturally drift toward the wrong thing, people naturally tend to think of self before others. People make bad decisions that hurt those around us and if we are honest we're not the only ones being let down, we are doing some of the letting down ourselves. We are all very broken people...

All of us crave that person who can be relied on no matter what and never disappoint. Through pain and heartache we look for someone who will always be there. I'm reminded of a quote from Jonathan Edwards. On his deathbed, he told his children that he hoped his absence would cause them to look to a Father that they would never have to worry about losing. Maybe God brings these moments in our lives where we feel alone, hurt or like people have let us down, so we might look to the one who will never let us down. The deep longing for fellowship, that our hearts were made for, could only be satisfied in Jesus.

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:5

"I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:20

"Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me."
-Micah 7:8

"Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you."
-Psalm 139:7-12

Jesus dying for the sins of the world may damn u to hell.

Growing up i had a very skewed understanding of what "Jesus died for the sins of the world" meant. I think a lot of the confusion comes in with the wording. Jesus died for the sins of the world sounds like Jesus died so everyone could go to heaven. The only problem with that is the bible…

The bible tells us that Jesus died for the sins of the world so that you COULD obtain right standing with God, because based on your own righteousness no one can stand before God. Here's where i was confused (where many people get confused)... there is something that must happen before that right standing can be applied to your life. We have to have faith.

Faith, not just cognitive assent to a belief in God. Or even actual faith in an "all religions lead to God" kind of god. Faith (by grace) in Christ Jesus as The Way, The Truth & The Life. A consistent hope that resides deep down in the sufficient sacrifice of Jesus alone for redemption of our trespass against God. That is the only way we can benefit from this great work of redemption.

Possibility

I can appreciate an honest Athiest who acknowledge that Gods existence is possible, but they aren't completely convinced themselves.

Something has gone wrong in the mind of many when presuppositions dictate possibility. Ones own knowledge is the extent in which we allow ourselves to learn. Repeating a cycle of evaluating the validity of any claim by our existing definition of what's valid.

It sounds so asinine when you think about it like that, but most of us grab ahold of a position in religion, politics or society, and hold on for dear life. Never questioning, never learning, never moving past elementary principals of our existing belief. I wonder how many of us would change sides on an issue we would otherwise stake our lives on, if only we could see past our own selves and really begin to think.

How many "Christians" would find that they don't actually follow the God of the bible? How many Deists and Agnostics would sense the urgency of determining who God is? How many eyes would be opened to the Glory of Christ Jesus, if only we would think...