The Gospel Coalition

Over the last four months I have learned a lot about prayer, burdens, and fears. The current contractions of our one new church have me feeling more desperate than I’ve ever felt. I have a thousand questions and not nearly as many answers as I’d like. I have concerns, fears, and doubts. I hate “the unknown.” People who don’t know me (and haven’t taken the time to try) have said things about me that are untrue and cruel, calling into question my character, my leadership, my theological credibility, and my motives. At times, the weight of this burden has made me want to give up and give in. After all, I didn’t go looking for this merger and I didn’t need it. Before God brought this around, I was enjoying the thrill of pastoring a thriving 5 1/2 year old church that I had the privilege of planting. It was strong. It was healthy. I was happy. Therefore, in my weaker moments I have been tempted to relieve myself of this burden and go back to the way things were. But God won’t let me. There is no going back–only onward and upward!

God is clearly up to something big. A friend wrote to me the other day telling me that God must be doing something huge if the enemy is attaking so voraciously. I agree. He’s moving in a profoundly tangible and unexplainable way. He is doing things. He is working. We know it. We feel the pruning process. We feel God stripping us of everything but Him–it hurts, but it’s good.

Yes, the contractions are painful. But each painful contraction carries with it a promise that new life is on the way. The reason I am able to bear the discomfort of these contractions is because the promise of something new and beautiful deeply grips me in transcendent ways. God is giving birth to a “new church.” 

So, as we continue to “follow the cloud” with fear and trembling, I have had to learn in new ways what it means to pray. I’ve had to learn afresh “not to be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” I’ve learned the hard way that the primary thing which separates the spiritually mature from the spiritually immature is what one does with his/her burdens and fears and frustrations and doubts and unanswered questions. The late, great Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said in a sermon from Genesis 26:17-18:

The man who is really feeling the burden is a man pressed to his knees and pressed into the presence of God. His supreme activity is prayer. For he realizes that this is a province that God alone can deal with. He knows the burden. And a man who is burdened is a man who prays.

Throughout this process, I’ve learned the difference between responding to my burden in a self-centered way and responding to my burden in a God-centered way. A self-centered response reveals itself through gossip, vain speculation, taking matters into your own hands, Bible-ignoring impatience, and an unruly demand for answers. A God-centered response reveals itself in prayer. All too often my fears and lack of answers have made me want to demand from God and others an explanation for what is going on. “After all, I’m a paying customer”, I conclude. “I have a right to an explanation for what you’re doing, God.” And in the process, God has revealed my own spiritual immaturity. What about you? Alan Redpath once said that the flavor of a teabag comes out when put in hot water. What flavor comes out of you when in the midst of trials? 

The words of the great hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” have been a source of great comfort and correction for me. May they be a source of great comfort and correction for you as well:

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bear, May we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.
Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayer
Rapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

Once again, my friend Scotty has penned a prayer at just the right time for me–a prayer about fear. It’s so natural to be afraid even though the Bible tells us over 300 times ”be not afraid.” Scotty’s prayer gets to the heart of why Christians can live fearlessly. He quotes Revelation 1:17-18:

He placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”

Based on these two verses he writes:   

Lord Jesus, how timely, stunning and encouraging to know that the most repeated command throughout the whole Bible is “Do not be afraid”. The angels spoke these words to startled shepherds at your birth, and you repeated the command to a devastated Mary on the morning of your resurrection, and now you speak these liberating words to my heart and conscience, “Do not be afraid!”

Because you are the First and the Last, Jesus, I don’t have to be afraid of anything in between. You are God, and I am not. You will never say “Oops” about anything in world history or in my own life. You never “try” to do anything. You never have to scratch your head in confusion. You never have to resort to plan B. You are perfectly executing your sovereign will, from naming the stars to numbering my hairs. Glory!

Because you are the Living One, who was dead and who is now alive forever, I don’t have to be afraid of judgment Day or this day. For your death on the cross is my judgment Day and your resurrection from the dead is my assurance of being eternally and fully accepted by God. Constantly sung over me by my Father, and all my brothers and sisters in you, is the most liberating of all lyrics, “There is now and forevermore NO condemnation for those who are in Christ!” Not only is there no condemnation, there is only full delight! Oh my goodness!

Because you hold the keys of death and Hades, Jesus, and to everything else, I don’t have to be afraid to die, or to live. You have robbed the grave of its victory, you have removed the sting of death, and you have defeated the devil and all the powers of darkness! I don’t have to be afraid of people. I don’t have to be afraid of failing. I don’t have to be afraid of getting old. Yes, yes, yes!

Place your right hand on me today in the gospel, that I might be freed more fully from my fears and live more fully to the praise of your glorious Name. Amen and Amen forever!

To live is Christ, to die is gain!

Believe it or not, Calvinism is making a comeback. Due in part, I’m sure, to the fact that this year marks the 500th birthday of John Calvin, the secular media has taken notice that there is a resurgence of interest in Calvinism specifically amongst younger Evangelicals. In fact, a couple months ago Time Magazine listed Calvinism as one of the top 10 ideas changing the world in 2009.

The latest article on Calvinism’s comeback comes from Lakeland, Florida:

This month, followers of Calvin are celebrating the 500th anniversary of his birth and hope that his theology, which may be growing in popularity among a new generation of evangelical pastors, can be rescued from its bad reputation.

Calvin’s influence is more widely felt than is generally realized, both in churches and in American life. Portions of our ideas about democracy and capitalism can be traced to him, and even his ideas about human nature, which run counter to optimistic self-help trends, may make more sense in a period of economic and political turmoil.

You can read the rest of this article here (notice that Coral Ridge gets a mention).

My friend Scotty Smith, Pastor for Preaching, Teaching, and Worship at Christ Community Church (PCA) in Franklin, Tennessee penned the prayer below on his blog yesterday. In light of the trials and difficulties we face as a church, I cannot think of a prayer that is more fitting, more comforting, more convicting. This prayer is a great reminder that in the end, those who love and live the gospel will succeed. It is those who trust God even when they cannot trace him–those who humbly leave all things up to him and who refuse to avenge themselves–that will remain standing. Those who take matters into their own hands, seeking to avenge themselves will be opposed by God. O how we all need to remember these things.

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:17-21:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Here is Scotty’s prayer based on Romans 12:17-21:

Dear Lord Jesus, Prince of Peace, apart from you, the admonitions in this passage mock our sensibilities. Everything within us instinctively wants to get even when we are hurt by others. Whether it’s a “light-hearted” insult or an outright assault; whether it’s our forgotten birthday or a remembered failure; whether we’re excluded from a party or included in someone’s madness… so often, too often, the pain we feel get’s recycled and redistributed to others.

We ask you for thick skin and a big heart, Jesus. We want to love well in the presence of everything from non-intended slights to full bore evil. Where evil has already deeply wounded us or is presently lurking, Jesus, let us remember, even deeper in our hearts, that you will repay, you will avenge. Because you have already overcome evil on the cross and have secured its utter annihilation, we can dare to imagine overcoming evil with good. We are clueless about feeding hungry, thirsty enemies, Jesus. Take our hand and show us the way.

And where we are just too sensitive, Jesus, too easily offended, too ready to keep record of wrongs done to us… may the gospel bring us much greater freedom. May this be a week, Jesus, of overlooking everything that should be overlooked, of dealing wisely as peacemakers with the situations we must confront, and a week of revoking all revenge in light of the Day you return to make all things new. All for your glory we ask these things, Jesus. Amen

In April 2010, Michael Horton’s long-awaited one-volume systematic theology entitled The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Zondervan) will hit bookstores everywhere. 

Here is the publishers description:

Michael Horton’s highly anticipated The Christian Faith represents his magnum opus and will be viewed as one of—if not the—most important systematic theologies since Louis Berkhof wrote his in 1932.
 
A prolific, award-winning author and theologian, Professor Horton views this volume as “doctrine that can be preached, experienced, and lived, as well as understood, clarified, and articulated.” It is written for a growing cast of pilgrims making their way together and will be especially welcomed by professors, pastors, students, and armchair theologians.
 
Features of this volume include: (1) a brief synopsis of biblical passages that inform a particular doctrine; (2) surveys of past and current theologies with contemporary emphasis on exegetical, philosophical, practical, and theological questions; (3) substantial interaction with various Christian movements within the Protestant, Catholic and Orthodoxy traditions, as well as the hermeneutical issues raised by postmodernity; and (4) charts, sidebars, questions for discussion, and an extensive bibliography, divided into different entry levels and topics. 

Dr. Horton is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary in California. I know that Mike has worked real hard for a long time on this and I fully expect that the church worldwide, for years and years to come, will benefit greatly from his God-honoring labors. 

In the early 1960′s, from the pulpit at Westminster Chapel in London, the late Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached a series of twenty-one sermons on consecutive Sunday mornings entitled Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures. Those sermons were transcribed, edited and put into book form in 1964. It’s an excellent and very helpful book. I have read portions of it many times over the years. 

Lloyd-Jones believed very much that a “revived and joyful Church” is the greatest need of our time. He wrote, ”Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exhuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity.” To be joyless, according to Lloyd-Jones, is to be a bad evangelist–a poor advertisement for the grace and mercy of God. John Piper echoed this sentiment recently when he wrote: “The one who knows and rests in the sovereign grace of God should be the happiest saint. Don’t be a sour or glum or hostile false advertisement for the glory of God’s grace. Praise it. Rejoice in it.”

Lloyd-Jones continues:

Christian people too often seem to be perpetually in the doldrums and too often give the appearance of unhappiness and lack of freedom and absence of joy. There is no question at all but that this is the main reason why large numbers of people have ceased to be interested in Christianity.

God used these convicting lines from Lloyd-Jones to remind me that regardless of how difficult life becomes, Christians are to “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say Rejoice” (Phil. 4:4). The Gospel makes it possible to suffer with a smile because in Christ, all that we need we have.

We may endure the difficulty and pain and loss that accompanies life in this broken world with joy and thanksgiving because the Father “has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgivenss of sins” (Col. 1:12-14). God plus nothing equals everything; everything minus God equals nothing.   

Praise God!   

This past Spring, Pam Glass and Stacy Oliver from Christian Book Previews interviewed me about my book Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different while I was in Dallas at the Christian Book Expo. Their 20 minute interview with me is now online and you can listen to it here.

On this day 500 years ago John Calvin was born.

There is perhaps no one in church history who has had a deeper impact on my thinking when it comes to my great sin and God’s great salvation than John Calvin. My friend Kevin wrote this today and I think he’s right on:

Whatever lasting impact John Calvin has had on the church of Jesus Christ, and on the whole world for that matter, is owing to his commitment to understanding and explaining the word of God. From sermons to lectures to letters to tracts to treatises to confessions to catechisms to books, his adult life was consumed with one thing: the word of God–the word as a summons to obedience, the word as a blueprint for reform, the word as the foundation for all truth.

Amen.

I know that Calvin has been a controversial figure throughout church history which is why I think this message from Frank James (former President of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and a first rate historian) is so helpful. In this 1 hour and 45 minute seminar he deals with many popular misconceptions about John Calvin. He shows that, far from being a theological tyrant, Calvin was wholeheartedly committed to reaching the lost and planting churches. In fact, apart from the apostle Paul, Calvin was arguably the most successful church planter in history.

Dr. James’ message is easy to understand and well researched. Anybody who cares about church planting and evangelism will find this seminar stimulating and motivating.

Also, this article from Bob Godfrey (President of Westminster Seminary in California) entitled Calvin: Why He Still Matters is both informative and inspirational.

My hope and prayer is that you will grow in your appreciation for John Calvin and the way he spent his life pointing others to the majesty of God as he is revealed in his Word by his Spirit.

I am thanking God today for John Calvin.

Check out this excellent little statement on Reformed Theology written by Dr. Richard Pratt in answer to the question, “What is Reformed about Reformed Theological Seminary?” Reformed Theological Seminary is where I went to seminary and was taught by Dr. Pratt. Of course, Dr. Pratt’s answer is applicable across the board, not simply to Reformed Theological Seminary. So, for insatnce, if someone asked me what is Reformed about Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Pratt’s answer is the answer I would give them.

I especially like this section on the need to communally embody the doctrine of “grace alone”:

At RTS, we also teach our students the importance of letting grace saturate our community. We work hard to have a caring, friendly atmosphere that reflects the mercy of God. There isn’t one of us who is not in need of a lot of patience and mercy – both human and divine. God stooped low, really low, to scoop us up. He went to immeasurable lengths to give and forgive. How then can we not respond with grace toward the others in our seminary community? Indeed, freely we have received; freely we must give (Matt. 10:8).

Can you imagine if every home, church, and seminary were able to embody the Reformed doctrine of “grace alone” in these ways? It would revolutionize our witness to one another and to the watching world.

Francis Schaeffer once noted that bitter divisions among Christians give the world the justification they’re looking for to disbelieve the gospel. But when reconciliation, peacemaking, and unity are on display inside the church, that becomes a powerful witness to this fractured world. “Just as I have loved you,” Jesus commanded, “you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

You can read Pratt’s full statement here.

I’m almost done with a book based on my Jonah sermons entitled Surprised by Grace: God’s Relentless Pursuit of Rebels. My good friends at Crossway publishers will be publishing it in Spring 2010. I just sent the manuscript off this morning. Working on the book has whet my appetite for a bigger, better, deeper, and brighter understanding of God’s grace and the riches of the gospel. So, while I’ve been away with my family on vacation I’ve been re-reading Jerry Bridges’ excellent book The Discipline of Grace.  A little while ago I read his comments on 2 Corinthians 3:18 where the apostle Paul writes:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed.

Bridges reminded me of just how important it is to “preach the gospel to ourselves everyday” if we are going to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. He writes:

The glory that has a transforming effect on us is the glory of Christ revealed in the gospel, the good news that Jesus died in our place as our representative to free us not only from the penalty of sin but also from its dominion. A clear understanding and appropriation of the gospel, which gives freedom from sin’s guilt and sin’s grip, is, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, a chief means of sanctification…Our specific responsibility in the pursuit of holiness as seen in 2 Corinthians 3:18, then, is to behold the glory of the Lord as it is displayed in the gospel. The gospel is the mirror through which we now behold His beauty. One day we shall see Christ, not as in a mirror, but face to face. Then, “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Until then we must preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.