Questioning God?

We cannot remain faithful and question God’s own faithfulness. His love for those who are in Christ is beyond question. His character is a constant and his love never fails. He is not loving and gracious toward believers at one moment, only to turn into a malevolent deity the next. He never changes.

In this light, it would be sin to question . . . whether God really loves us, or if He is really faithful to his promises. This is not the questioning worthy of a believer, but of an unbeliever.”

- Albert Mohler, “Is it Legitimate to Question God?“

Grace is Jesus!

Grace is Jesus

“There is no such ‘thing’ as grace! Grace is not some appendage to Christ’s being. All there is is the Lord Jesus Himself. And so when Jesus speaks about us abiding in Him and He abiding in us – however mysterious it may be, mystical in that sense – it is a personal union.

Christianity is Christ because there isn’t anything else. There is no atonement that somehow can be detached from who the Lord Jesus is. There is no grace that can be attached to you transferred from Him. All there is is Christ and your soul.”

- Sinclair Ferguson on John 15 at the 2007 Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference in Grantham, PA.

“Rest in the glorious fact that we are loved”

“If we are to change we must be regularly preaching the gospel to ourselves and believing it. We must be continually showing ourselves, and those we counsel, the depths and greatness of God’s love for them. We must stop wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we are lovable, and instead rest in the glorious fact that we are loved. It is this message which God uses to change us at the motivational level.”

—Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Fellowship Group Handbook, 9

Chapter 11 Responding Humility to trials

This chapter raises several provoking questions to all Christians when faced with battle of sufferings:

“When you encounter trial and suffering, what’s the content of your prayer?” And in turn, how do you respond?

CJ insightfully points to Habakkuk’s experience with suffering through his bleak circumstances to his transformation from despair to rejoicing in the Lord. But how does this happen?

The book of Habakkuk is relatively short (only 3 chapters) yet there is a clear view of the sanctification of a man who was absolutely disheartened by his dark situation, where he doubted God’s goodness and had forgotten about His salvation. The story continues to unfold as Habakkuk’s man-centered approach turns to God-centered approach through remembering and acknowledging what God has ALREADY done and what He will continue to do through His promises and faithfulness, and ultimately placing his trust in God and rejoicing in Him. That is the nutshell of it.

But this chapter had things that provoked my thoughts and my sinful patterns when facing difficult circumstances: do I ultimately want God to remove my sufferings for the sake of relief or is it to earnestly seek God in patience and humility? In other words, is my greatest desire God Himself or my well-being? While it is NOT unbiblical to pray for relief during sufferings or times of trouble, often times my initial reaction and greatest desire are relief from these tough circumstances. Outwardly, this may look somewhat spiritual because I may be praying to God and that is a good thing. However, my attitude is often filled with entitlement and pride as though God is not doing His job of making my life easier. There is no sense of remembering what He has done for His continual provision for me. Thus, in many ways, there is this false implication that God is ignoring me and He isn’t good anymore, and He simply cannot execute His sovereignty over my situations. Thus, not only am I forgetting God’s great salvation in Christ, there is also the deceiving heart that is ultimately man-centered prayer.

BUT thank God it doesn’t end there. I love what CJ says about what Habakkuk learned through his trials:

“Those who know true joy in the midst of suffering are those who recognize that, in this life, our suffering is never as great or as serious as our sins.”

And the quote from J. Edwards:

“How far less [are] the greatest afflictions that we meet with in this world…than we have deserved!”

Indeed, that is the divine and Biblical perspective of suffering that I need to remind myself daily. So practically what can we do?

1) We need to remember what Christ has accomplished through the Cross. We need to go here again and again to explore how great our sins are and how great His mercies and grace is to us in Christ!

2) Actively waiting in patience. CJ says waiting is NOT resignation but an active trust in God to provide fulfillment in His perfect timing. Remembering that God is indeed sovereign over every path that I take on earth and He will forever be in heaven! (Phil. 1:5-6)

3) That I may find comfort and rest in that sovereignty and in turn, leading to rejoicing. We should all read Habakkuk 3:17-18 and pray through this Scripture together because it is amazing that one can actually and genuinely rejoice when he is about to face great desolation. Habakkuk isn’t insane nor was he part of the Moonies. God was so gracious to Him as Habakkuk remembered God’s promises and thus engaged in God-centered faith (which I really believe that it is the only way to battle through).

Sorry folks, once again I’m too verbose here but I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter. So please share! God bless.

A great blog regarding suffering...

by Tim Challies. I highly recommend reading this post.

I was recommended by a friend to read Tim's blogsite and I've been blessed and encouraged through his writings and posts.

I also recommend Sam Shin's site (if you don't have it linked). Another great resource for your soul!

Justification and Sanctification

From "Of First Importance"

Justification and Sanctification

Posted: 16 Jul 2008 12:32 AM CDT

“But now there are two special branches of salvation, namely, justification and sanctification; and these being two differnet things, faith acts upon Christ for them in a different manner. Faith acts upon Christ for justification, as he is a Jesus, or by receiving him as a Jesus; faith acts up Christ for sanctification, as he is a Lord, or be receiving him as Lord.

In justification we receive him as a Jesus, to be saved from the guilt of sin; in sanctification we receive him as a Lord, to be delivered from the power of sin. Now, though both these acts of faith go together, to make up saving faith, though they be inseparable from one another in the same faith, yet they differ, as the eye and the ear in the same head; for, as we do not see with the ear, nor hear with the eye, so neither are we justified by that act of faith that receives Christ as a Lord, for sanctification, but by that act of faith that receives him as a Jesus, for justification; we are not justified by that act of faith that receives Christ as a King, but by that act of faith that receives Christ as Priest.”

- Ralph Erskine, “And Walking in Him, Opened,” in The Works of Ralph Erskine, p. 243, vol. 24

One Appeal: His Mercy

From subscription "Of First Importance"

“When I come to the Lord after I’ve blown it, I’ve only one argument to make. It’s not the argument of the difficulty of the environment that I am in. It’s not the argument of the difficult people that I’m near. It’s not the argument of good intentions that were thwarted in some way.

I come to the Lord with only one appeal; his mercy. I’ve no other defense. I’ve no other standing. I’ve no other hope. I can’t escape the reality of my biggest problem; me! So I appeal to the one thing in my life that’s sure and will never fail. I appeal to the one thing that guaranteed not only my acceptance with God, but the hope of new beginnings and fresh starts. I appeal on the basis of the greatest gift I ever have or ever will be given.

I leave the courtroom of my own defense, I come out of hiding and I admit who I am. But I’m not afraid, because I’ve been personally and eternally blessed. Because of what Jesus has done, God looks on me with mercy. It’s my only appeal, it’s the source of my hope, it’s my life. Mercy, mercy me!”

—Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2008), 22

Vigilance

One of the common but serious mistake that I'm seeing more and more as of late is that I'm not vigilant about protecting myself from the pitfall of sins and temptations, and primarily in the issue of pride. For example, in my workplace where I see so many patients a day, I can easily become so self-dependent on my ability to treat through all that knowledge that I have, and training that I received from school and such. But when I face a difficult patient and when my knowledge base becomes a shriveled prune, I become frustrated and more prideful.

So how does that related to being a vigilant person? For one, because I'm so prone to be self-righteous and my sinful nature loves to boast in myself, even in good things in life that God bestows in us such as my ability to work can certainly become a place to breed my pride. So I would have to approach work with the expectations that WHEN I WILL be tempted to self-justify, I would need to preach the Gospel to myself.

By definition, vigilant means being "alertly watchful especially to avoid danger." (according m-w.com). That means one would have to expect that there WILL be danger, and not foolishly thinking that everything is alright just because you had a good quiet time or was inspired through a good book reading and such. While those things could definitely affect the person to grow, it would be foolish to think that rest of day is "a piece of cake" because of one had done those things that I mentioned.

So how does one become Biblically vigilant? I'm still finding out. But I do know this. It must start from God. I cannot will myself into thinking that I can change or grow in maturity simply by working harder. If not careful, it could become self-righteousness. But a great way to start is to survey the Cross. Look at what Christ has done for you and I on the Cross. Our sins have caused Him to bear the Holy and Rightful wrath of God. There we see that our sins were So great and so horrific that it took Christ, perfect Son of God to be crucified.

But it does not stop there. We must continue in storing up His Word (and I believe Jerry Bridges have already shared with us regarding how he prepares himself everyday in preaching the Gospel).

Some other practical applications for all of us. (no specific order of importance)

1) Memorize and dwell and meditate the Word of God throughout the day.
2) Pray throughout the day. It's ironic because I tell my patients to do certain exercises for better posture and such, throughout the day! Yet the same application is true for being a vigilant person. Asking God to write His Word in our hearts.
3) Share it with others with intention of encouragement in the Gospel!

I'm sure there are other ways, but Ephesians 6:10-20 is clear about the need for vigilance:


10Finally,^(M) be strong in the Lord and in^(N) the strength of his might. 11^(O) Put on^(P) the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against^(Q) the schemes of the devil. 12For^(R) we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against^(S) the rulers, against the authorities, against^(T) the cosmic powers over^(U) this present darkness, against^(V) the spiritual forces of evil^(W) in the heavenly places. 13Therefore^(X) take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in^(Y) the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14Stand therefore,^(Z) having fastened on the belt of truth, and^(AA) having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15and,^(AB) as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16In all circumstances take up^(AC) the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all^(AD) the flaming darts of^(AE) the evil one; 17and take^(AF) the helmet of salvation, and^(AG) the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18praying^(AH) at all times^(AI) in the Spirit,^(AJ) with all prayer and supplication. To that end^(AK) keep alert with all perseverance, making^(AL) supplication for all the saints, 19and^(AM) also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth^(AN) boldly to proclaim^(AO) the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I^(AP) am an ambassador^(AQ) in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak."


Have a great day in the Lord!

Pride and Contempt

“He also told his parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” Luke 18:9

J.Bridges reminds us that seeing pride in others is so much clearer and easier than to see it in oneself. The outworking of pride can be very obvious at times – i.e. boasting in your abilities to others that one will continuously desires to draws attention to one’s self. Sometimes it is not so obvious as the outworking of pride may not be so threatening to others. For example, something that I battle frequently is receiving complements from others at work (as well as other areas). When others encourage or thank me for something that I did for them, I often try to downplay it and respond quickly with an encouragement of my own (which sadly enough it may not be so genuine or well-thought out) as though I must return the favor. This is a hidden form of pride – false humility.

But what about those prideful lies inside of us that entice us to think we are better than others in _____ (you fill’n the blanks). In the book of Luke, Jesus warns us through the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14), that our self-righteousness blinds us from the reality of our sins, and therefore relying on own merit of being justified before God. But the shocking word here is ‘contempt.’ In verse 9, those people (most likely the Pharisees) “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” (Luke 18:9)

The definitions of the word contempt are listed below:

–noun

1.	the feeling with which a person regards anything considered mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn.

2.	the state of being despised; dishonor; disgrace.

3.	Law. a. willful disobedience to or open disrespect for the rules or orders of a court (contempt of court) or legislative body. b. an act showing such disrespect.

Now I’m no lawyer but I know that in court, showing contempt in front of a judge can have severe consequences since it implies that you are in total disrespect to the judge and to the legal system. In the same way, those are the implications of self-righteous ones; it is not only executing one’s self-justification before God, it is taking an offense to God with a defiant fist held up in the air shouting, “I’m good enough for my own salvation and I don’t need a Savior to depend on!” And yes, it is also contempt to others as well, which is to disdain or despising everyone else. But we must foremost understand that self-righteous heart in form of pride offends God and bruises His love for us in Christ. And as one of many consequences of it, we turn out often hating others because of it. It’s THAT subtle and deadly.

Pride. No wonder God hates it (Proverbs 16:5).

Road Rage

Yesterday afternoon I noticed a lady with a baby stroller was beginning to walk across on a busy intersection. The pedestrian light was turning red as the light to turned green for the cars and myself. Yet I noticed she was still walking extremely slow as not hesitating about incoming traffic (she was about little over 1/2 way to the other sidewalk) which forced me and others cars to stop middle of the intersection. She immediately became furious because of this and started directly pointing fingers at me saying, "I have a baby! Stop!" with possibly mixture of some not-so-nice words (though I can't confirm because we had windows up). Now I must tell you I was nowhere near hitting her or her baby as I just accelerated off the intersection line and stopped. While I remained in position I also pointed the finger towards my green intersection lights to prove that I had done nothing wrong because I HAD the RIGHT away. To my mind she was the one did wrong for not crossing the sidewalk on time and not only that, being negligent about protecting her little one especially from all other dangerous incoming cars. Now, she did not appeared to be insane or a crazy person, only typical mother with a nice red stroller.

She eventually walked across and I drove past her. I was amazed and perplexed by her reaction and my conscious was not settling well within me. Because for one, I thought I had obeyed the law. Two, she clearly felt like she OWNED the road and it didn't matter whether the pedestrian light is red or green, she was going to have her way and everyone else is going to follow and adapt to her. But there was something in me, just didn't feel right. I know that I needed to show grace but I just kept thinking, 'that lady is lucky that I'm not a gangster."

Last night I was reminded of Jeremiah 17:9 which was the devotional for that morning. It says:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?

I realized that even if I was right in that I had the right away, (which may not be correct because I believe all pedestrians have the right away, right?) I couldn't get past the fact that being right was all that it mattered because I had obeyed the law in my own terms. What really shook me was her response to it. Imagine you did something right and you clearly knew that other person was wrong yet that person is telling you that you are wrong. How would you respond to that?

Perhaps the Pharisees felt the same way. All their life, they thought they've obeyed the law and that to them, that was their righteousness. So imagine this person called Jesus who totally turned their life upside down by revealing to them, they've not only been ever so wrong but they are not even close to being right. To the Pharisees in their narrowed minded man-centered view, they became furious just like I became furious, because they could not see beyond their hopeless view of self-righteousness. It is one thing to be prideful that you had obeyed the law, but it's another thing when someone else telling you that you are actually still wrong despite your feeble obedience to the laws.

I was shocked. This time, not so such with the road rage incident but the realization of my sinful heart because it resembled so closely to the Pharisees. Am I that right? What a fool I was that moment. But should I be all that shocked? Someone once said, "you are FAR FAR worse than what you appear to be." I am! I am! I am far worse but the sobering thing about this incident is that, it's just a scratch from the surface of my sinful heart. It's true, our hearts, and my sinful nature of my heart is particularly desperately sick and needs continual and daily mortification of sin by the power the WORD and His Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13). Thank You LORD for saving a wretch like me!

Lesson 3: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”

To recap, the last two parts of the Beatitudes spoke of the realization of our need for a Savior because we have absolutely nothing to offer before God to appease His rightful wrath. This is due to our sins that separated us from God as in His nature He cannot co-exist with sin. While the first command by Jesus, “Bless are the poor in spirit” spoke of our deepest need for a Savior and in turn humility, the second command, “Blessed are they that mourn” is in nutshell, a response to our utter hopelessness outside of Christ. One may also say that it is to mourn over sinful nature of ourselves as well as others that causes us to mourn. It is to survey his/her own heart and say, “Woe is me! What a wretched man I am!” as to get a deeper and more realistic realization of how sinful our hearts are before God.

Now we turn to the third command by Christ, the meekness. So what is meekness? Before exploring that, we should discover what meekness isn’t. It is not prideful or related to a natural quality of mankind. In other words, it’s innate or something that is inherent to natural man. Nor does it mean being nice as I prone to think. It does not also mean “weakness in personality or character.” MLJ says that it doesn’t mean “a spirit of compromise or ‘peace at any price.’ We know this to be true as nowhere in the Bible says, “Blessed are the ones who are peacekeepers.”

Sonship (http://www.whm.org/grow/sonship) speaks briefly about this topic. One topic was about being peacekeeper vs. peacemakers. I confess that prior to that lesson, I couldn’t make a clear distinction between peacemaker and peacekeeper. I just thought as long as there is ‘peace,’ everything must be fine and God is happy with it. The dangerous part of that thought process is the driving force behind peacekeeping. Why? Because often times, I would try to be the mediator or be passive for the sake of avoiding potential conflicts due to fear of men. But sometimes more than that, defending my reputation which I considered more important than the love of Christ or the opportunity of repentance and faith in Christ. Yet this is still and will always be a daily battle for me on earth. Nevertheless, the hearts of peacekeepers are unbelief and often self-righteousness as they rarely see the magnitude of their own sins and yet so quickly see other’s flaws:

(Luke 6:42)

How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

But what’s more saddening about peacekeepers is that it often results in alienation to others and God, because of the overwhelming desire to self-protect their reputation. So how are peacemakers different? That is to be explored later but in a nutshell, it is to humbly and willingly to be trustful and honest and “to boldly pursue others for their reconciliation with God and ourselves.” So it is also the desire for sanctification of self and others. The goal for them is ultimately God’s glory and other person’s good. So again, it’s self-centeredness vs. God-centeredness.

Now going back to what IS meekness, MLJ says it is “essentially a true view of oneself, expressing itself in attitude and conduct with respect to others.” So it requires two main things:

1) My attitude towards myself

2) Expression of that in my relationship to others.

So how does my attitude towards self-look like? We already spoke of “Being poor in spirit.” Thus, a “man can never be meek unless he is poor in spirit. A man can never be meek unless he has seen himself as a vile sinner.” MLJ urges that there must be ABSENCE of pride since it would be contradictory to have pride and to be meek. It also means, “he does not assert himself” like being nice or friendly or warm that may be related to one’s personality rather than from the Spirit. For example, one can be more prone to be nicer than others in subjective sense but this does not determine meekness. Lastly, MLJ states that truly meek also means “we no longer protect ourselves (from what others think of us), because we see there is nothing worth defending.”

Wow. We need to pulse here. Can you really say that about yourself? Can you honestly confess that you really are not that important or worth defending? From Biblical sense it’s pretty clear isn’t it?

“When a man truly sees himself, he knows nobody can say anything about him that is too bad…The man who is truly meek is the one who is amazed that God and man can think of him as well as they do and treat him as well as they do.”

So if one understands that there is nothing inherently valuable of himself, then inevitably his heart will be teachable and readily available to learn from a higher being, namely our God Jesus Christ. MLJ references the ideal model who is ultimately and always Christ. He does in reference to 1^st Peter chapter 2. It is to follow God’s step even when we are unjustly accused or wronged. More specifically see verses 18-25.

Once we are able to see that we are completely nothing on our own but are saved by God’s grace alone, then we are able to take heed to other people’s corrections, rebuke, or encouragements rather than being offended and playing defensive tackle. That is the gist of the expression of the relationships in a Gospel centered community that understands grace and expresses itself in love because it is readily available to serve and encourage each other and learn, and considers others better themselves. Thus, HUMILTY and MEEKNESS!

Lastly, the “meek already inherit the earth in this life…A man who is truly meek is a man who is always satisfied, he is a man who is already CONTENT.”

Because if a person has the best thing in the whole world why would he be discontent? Yet this is a daily battle and not a one-time event. The Spirit of God and never produced by a natural man, also solely drives it. Even a monk cannot make himself truly meek that satisfies God unless the Gospel, namely the Triune God, transforms him.

Someone once said, “we are far worse than we really think” when surveying our hearts. This is not to condemn ourselves but rather to strive for “poor in spirit.”

So I leave you with some application questions:

1) How do you view yourself before man?

2) How do you view yourself before God and His infinite holiness?

3) Are there things in your life that hinders you from being truly meek? If so, how are they dealt with? Do you preach the Gospel to yourself daily?

4) Is your goal in life ultimately serving yourself with keeping-up with your reputation or yearning for God’s glory for your lasting joy?

5) How do you receive criticisms from others? Do you fear other’s rejection of you if you would share your deepest struggles or sins?

6) Are you content and fully satisfied with God? If not, why not? If so, do you pray and reflect on the wrath and justice of God laid on Cross of Christ?

Lesson 2: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted

In continuation of the Beatitudes, we will go over the second statement by Christ, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

To recap, in order to be ‘poor in spirit’ means simply deny oneself from self-centeredness and self-dependent attitudes primary in the presence of God. One cannot do this by his/her own volition or self-will because God initiates it – much like our worship and salvation and God’s election. We also discussed that it’s not about literally being poor or giving false impression that you are humble before God.

So we turn to the second statement. MLJ states that this type of ‘mourning’ is entirely spiritual, therefore, it’s not so much the sadness of natural mankind just as “poverty of spirit” isn’t something that is related to financial matters. So why would anyone would want to mourn? And to what?

MLJ states that we “have to be poor in spirit before we can be filled with the Holy Spirit” Remember, emphasizing the negative or the bad news before intake of the good news. But here conviction precedes conversion where there is a “real sense of sin” that must come before “true joy of salvation.” But one must inevitably look the doctrine of sin seriously and copiously. So to mourn is “something that follows of necessity from being ‘poor in spirit’…As I confront God and His holiness, and contemplate the life that I am meant to live, I see myself, my utter helplessness and hopelessness. I must mourn about the fact that I am like that…A man who truly faces himself, and examines himself and his life, is a man who must necessity mourn for his sins also…” So it is to mourn over sin in reflection of self since we are terribly tainted with sinful nature before God, and we join with Isaiah saying, “woe is me!” as well as Apostle Paul who rhetorically says, “O wretch man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24).

Additionally, a man who truly mourns also grieves because of “sins of others.” Such man/woman is “concerned about the state of society, and the state of the world, and as he (and she) reads newspaper he/she does not stop at what he/she sees or simply express disgust at it…” They mourn because they go beyond self-evaluation AND “mourns over the state of the whole world as he/she sees the moral muddle and unhappiness and suffering of mankind, and reads of wars and rumours of wars.” But most importantly, they mourn because they “know that it is all due to sin…”

Let’s stop here and reflect. This is a tough material to digest because it convicts me of ignorance to sins and the lack of “mourning” over the sins of others around me. I realize that for me, to mourn is not about venting or complaining over my tough and unlikable patients or difficult schedule for the day. It’s not even a matter of feeling sorry for myself because I’ve been wronged by others. Rather, it should be the deep realization of the effect my sinful nature and fallen world that once separated me from the Father God. Also, the effect of sin in this world that brings so much unhappiness and false joy that even the Joel Osteens of the world would inevitably lose hope in the face of sins around them.

However, this does not mean that we should remain in that state of mourning to falsely believe that would draw closer to God or we have inherent ability to fight sin through our act of mourning. We shall see later that the bad news is replaced by good news.

So what do we do? How can we mourn in the light of the Gospel? How does one really ‘mourn’ in the spirit and be comforted? The answer is really to reflect on the our Lord, Jesus Christ. He has mourned over the sins of this world while living on earth 2000 years ago and He still does now. The famous verses from Isaiah 53 paints a picture of our God – “the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He wept over our sins because he has understood what sin meant to God and of God’s utter abhorrence and hatred of it, “this terrible thing that would stab, as it were, into the heart of God, if it could, this rebelliousness and arrogance of man, the result of listening to Satan. It grieves him and he mourns because of it…” Jesus mourns because it affects directly to the Father’s heart, and therefore His heart. It grieves him most severely, enough so that Jesus had to be completely separated from the perfect, I mean PERFECT relationship with the Father on the Calvary. Sin is that serious and deadly in view of God.

So who does that look like practically? MLJ encourages us that someone who mourns is someone who is going to repent regularly as result of the work of the Holy Spirit upon him/her. But that great sorrow eventually leading to great joy! But without great sorrow, there would not be great joy. We have that joy as Christians because our sins are forgiven and that joy of reconciliation (as we heard from past Sunday’s sermon) “knowing that God takes us back when we have fallen away from Him; the joy and contemplation of the glory that is set before us; the joy that comes from anticipation of the eternal state.” This is why someone who mourns is truly comforted because of that covenantal promise by God, that we are no longer a slave but a Son and an heir of God! (Galatians 4:4-7).

MLJ does list those application questions but here are just few to start:

1. Are you mourning over your sins?
2. How about mourning over other people’s sins and sins of this world?
3. Do you repent regularly in the light of the Gospel AND experiencing JOY?
4. Is there any particular sins in your life that you have not repented of because of fear of rejection by God?
5. Do you joy in the Cross and look forward to experiencing Sonship? If not why not?
   
   

Lession 1: Blessed are the poor in spirit

(WARNING/DISCLOSURE: There will be some (or many!) grammatical mistakes within the content of this site. I apologize in advance for my inadequacy in my writing ability and undisciplined action to correct it. I will try my best to convey the message as clearly as I possible can)

The first statement of the Beatitudes starts with “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

Before I discuss the importance of this first statement, MLJ points to the readers that understanding the Good News of the Gospel necessitates digesting the BAD news, which is our sinful state before God. We hear this fairly often in our Christian community; that if the bad news isn’t all that bad, then the Good News which is the work of Christ on earth and death on the Cross and resurrection and having eternal fellowship with the Father is not all the great either. So if our view of sin were small, then inevitability our view of God would also be small.

MLJ states “it is an essential part of the gospel that conviction must always precede conversion; the gospel of Christ condemns before it releases.” Remember, the Good News is offensive and defensive. First, it is offensive because it exposes our sins and our true state of our weakness in the flesh. Who would happy to volunteer in front of thousands of people and say, “I’m a great great sinner because I did XYZ…” Our sinful nature does not want to admit to our weakness, let alone our sins. But it is also defensive to us because we as Christians do not have to bear the wrath of God since Christ did that on the Cross. But I would say it’s much more than defensive because we have the Righteousness of Christ, which freely allows us to have fellowship the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. But the point here is that there is a sense of confession to the ‘poor in spirit’ as though one who utter those words cannot save him/herself from the presence of Holy and perfect God.

However, before I keep going with what ‘poor in spirit’ may indicate for believers, let’s first discuss what it DOES not mean.

It does not mean that we must strive to be literally poor. The Lord did not say, “blessed be ye poor” nor the Bible states that poverty is a good thing. We must understand that poor man is not anymore closer to God than the rich man. MLJ says, “there is no merit or advantage in being poor” and “poverty does not guarantee spirituality.” We see this in many of the poor countries (i.e. S. Africa). If that were the case than North Korea would be flourished with vibrant spiritual life. Thus, it does not mean to be the literal sense but rather “poverty in spirit.” In nutshell, MKJ says, “it is ultimately a man’s attitude towards himself.” There are two general ways to look at one’s self. One, from the worldly perspective, she/he can believe in themselves, trust in their own powers, works and even overcoming sins all before the Lord. We hear these phrases a lot: “try harder,” “you can do it”, “trust in your heart or yourself,” “it’s in your heart that all that matters,” etc. Essentially, it is the man’s (and woman’s) innate will power and its dependency to ignore his/her total depraved nature before the Lord on this earth. But more than that, it is to say in front of God, “hey God, I can trust my own abilities to be good and overcome this sin and I have no need for you!”

Now, the other way of seeing this is through humility. It is say, I’m a “vile and full of sin!” MLJ gave several examples from the Scripture. For example, Isaiah got a glimpse of the Lord and his response was “woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.” There was a sense of absolute inadequacy in his heart as he realized how holy and pure God is and how far and sinful and wretched his heart was in comparison! Humility was his initial response. But more than that, Isaiah’s utter hopeless in his ability to save himself from God. Yes, there was no way to save himself from the Holy God because sin cannot co-exist with God. So what does God do? He sends seraphim to touch his lip and remove Isaiah’s guilt away, as his sin was atoned for.

MLJ tells it how it really is. Also being poor in spirit does not mean that we beat ourselves up as though we walk around like zombies nor “falsely crucify yourself or assume another character and personality in life.” I think of the Pharisees who were fasting and making sure that the public knew about it. It also does not mean that we put ourselves down with “false” humility. This is tricky because it could go very subtle. I don’t time to go on details but this is something that I have struggled (and still struggling) with it. Lastly but not least, it does not mean that we become people with certain personality that is well liked by people or appear to be popular. A nice person does not make him/her to be humble and therefore, “poor in spirit.” MLJ gave a great example in the Bible; namely Peter who was “naturally aggressive, self-assertive and self-confident.” While those were nevertheless traits of “a typical modern man of the world,” he still remained bold for the Gospel. Thus, his Peter-like personality did not change but his attitude toward God did. I mean, look at Apostle Paul. He was a stud in the eyes of the world yet after his conversion, his confidence was in Christ and he still remained bold and just as intense (if not more) for the Gospel! Yet, “he felt insufficient because he was ‘poor in spirit.’ Nuff said.

So, what does it really mean by ‘poor in spirit?” It is “a complete absence of pride, a complete absence of self-assurance and of self-reliance. It means a consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God. It is nothing, then that we can produce; it is nothing that we can do in ourselves. It is just this tremendous awareness of our utter nothingness as we come face to face with God.”

It’s saying this to yourself (and genuinely meaning it, quote by Jeremiah Burroughs)

“Lord I am nothing. Lord, I deserve nothing, Lord, I can do nothing, I can receive nothing, and can make use of nothing, I am worse than nothing, and if I come to nothing and perish I will be no loss at all, and therefore is it such a great thing for me to be cut short here?”

So the natural man/woman cannot do this without the Lord’s initiative. One cannot make himself ‘poor in spirit,’ unless God is convicting him/her of such great inadequacy of self before God. That is mercy!

So how does not become ‘poor in spirit?’ MLJ says, “you do not look at yourself or being by trying to do thing to yourself. The answer is to look at God, read His Word, (Bible) and ultimately the Cross of our Savior, Jesus Christ!

Finally, MLJ leaves us with few application questions for you and I.

• Am I like that, am I poor in spirit?
• How do I really feel about myself as I think of myself in terms of God and in the presence of God?
• And as I live my life, what are the things I am saying, what are the things I am praying about, what are the things I like to think of with regard to myself?

Introduction: The Beatitudes Matthew 5:3-16

This is the first chapter of Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Martyn L-Jones. While I will not be attempting to systematically analyze the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11) (because DML-Jones had already done a great job of it) but I will merely share some of key and insightful work that really speaks of the Gospel and how we shall live despite our sins and His glorious attributes and character in Jesus Christ.

Before I dive in to the text, there are few things that we must consider.

FIRST, DML-Jones encourages the reader to look at the importance of the order in the Beatitudes. More specifically, he warns us not take one statement and ignores other(s) since they are (as we shall see) all interlinked and depend on each characteristic which also implies another.

SECOND, the Beatitudes are written specifically for born-again Christians and it would be impossible for a non-believer to practice or live out these statements made by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount.

THIRD, because it is addressed to the Christians, it must be concerned with his/her relationship to the Father. It relates to how a Christian would live in the presence of God.

FORTH, it is important to note “Sermon on the Mount is a description of character and not a code of ethics or of morals.” Thus, it is NOT bunch of new rules or refined 10 commandments but rather a truthful descriptor of how a Christian meant to look in the light of the Gospel. Hence, it deals with his/her characteristics in Christ our Lord. This also includes the attitude and the “general principle” of such believer – which is to be more like Christ Himself.

FIFTH, the Beatitudes does not only pertain to just super-duper Christians or pastors or elders, but to EVERY Christian. One does not get a Beatitude-exempt pass just because he/she is not a full-time ministry worker.

SIXTH, “all Christians are meant to manifest all of these characteristics.” Yes, all of them. Stop for a minute and ponder that statement. All Christians are meant to live this out. Does it sound like a huge burden to you? If so, I’m with you there. But remember the Beatitudes were not meant for us to simply obey with our man-centered strengths as though they are some sorts of law as I mentioned above (this will be expounded in later time), but rather it must always be centered in the Gospel (as we shall see soon). Thus, the key thing is that these characteristics are not our “natural” tendencies; therefore, not something that our sinful flesh (apart from Christ) would ever produce or present. “Each one of them is wholly a disposition which is produced by grace alone and the operation of the Holy Spirit upon us.” So this leads us to truly explore and dichotomize between two different life-styles; one with Christ and one without Christ. But more than that, it challenges us to grow and enjoy our new born again life in Christ Jesus!

I will go over the first statement of Beatitudes in few days:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

What I hope to get out of this series is not just some theological discussions for the sake of knowledge but the application of the Word in our hearts and transforming into our lives! You can either participate by asking questions or comments. If you don’t have the book and would like to purchase one, you can find one here:

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=0036&event=CFN

only like 12 bucks.

I hope that it would encourage us to draw closer to Christ rather than beating yourself up because you don’t have these traits. Remember, all of us have fallen well short of the glory of God, but Christ has claimed us to be our prefer righteousness! Let us celebrate that truth!