Seek consciously the lowest place

From Francis Schaeffer, No Little People in The Complete Works of Francis A Schaeffer, vol. 3, pp.12-13

Jesus commands Christians to seek consciously the lowest room. All of us – pastors, teachers, professional religious workers and nonprofessional included – are tempted to say, “I will take the larger place because it will give me more influence for Jesus Christ.” Both individual Christians and Christian organizations fall prey to the temptation of rationalizing this way as we build bigger and bigger empires. But according to the Scripture this is backwards: we should consciously take the lowest place unless the Lord Himself extrudes us into a greater one.

The word extrude is important here. To be extruded is to be forced under pressure into a desired shape. Picture a huge press jamming soft metal at high pressure through a die, so that the metal comes out in a certain shape. This is the way of the Christian: he should choose the lesser place until God extrudes him into a position of more responsibility and authority.

Let me suggest two reasons why we ought not grasp the larger place. First, we should seek the lowest place because there it is easier to be quiet before the face of the Lord. I did not say easy; in no place, no matter how small or humble, is it easy to be quiet before God. But it is certainly easier in some places than in others. And the little places, where I can more easily be close to God, should be my preference. I am not saying that it is impossible to be quiet before God in a greater place, but God must be allowed to choose when a Christian is ready to be extruded into such a place, for only He knows when a person will be able to have some quietness before Him in the midst of increased pressure and responsibility.

Quietness and peace before God are more important than any influence a position may seem to give, for we must stay in step with God to have the power of the Holy Spirit. If by taking a bigger place our quietness with God is lost, then to that extent our fellowship with Him is broken and we are living in the flesh, and the final result will not be as great, no matter how important the larger place may look in the eyes of other men or in our own eyes. Always there will be a battle, always we will be less than perfect, but if a place is too big and too active for our present spiritual condition, then it is too big….

The second reason why we should not seek the larger place is that if we deliberately and egotistically lay hold on leadership, wanting the drums to beat and the trumpets to blow, then we are not qualified for Christian leadership. Why? Because we have forgotten that we are brothers and sisters in Christ with other Christians. I have said on occasion that there is only one good kind of fighter for Jesus Christ – the man who does not like to fight. The belligerent man is never the one to be belligerent for Jesus. And it is exactly the same with leadership. The Christian leader should be a quiet man of God who is extruded by God’s grace into some place of leadership.

Tim Chester on power and weakness in the Christian life

The Christian life is not a life of victory and power, nor a is it a life of weakness. It's a life of power in weakness. Through the Holy Spirit we experience the power of resurrection from the coming age, so that we might follow the way of the cross in the present age. We must never separate the power of the resurrection from the way of the cross. We live in the power of the Spirit, but the Spirit-empowered life is characterized by service, love and submission....

This is how we steer between hopelessness on the one hand and triumphalism on the other. Triumphalism suggests we can experience now that which truly belongs to the renewal of creation. It trumpets 'victorious Christian living' in which stress is placed upon Christian victory and joy at the expense of the needs of the world and the ongoing power of sin in our lives. But discipleship now is always to follow the way of the cross, sustained by hope through the Spirit.

Yet the alternative to triumphalism is not hopelessness and inactivity. By the Holy Spirit, the power of the resurrection is at work in the life of the Christian community. The coming kingdom has already entered history through Christ the King, and his presence continues to be mediated by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit creates the life of the future kingdom now in the Christian community. We live in the power of the future through the Holy Spirit and in that power we serve the needs of the world.

Tim Chester, The Ordinary Hero, pp.170-171

Review of Concerning Christian Liberty by Martin Luther

I wrote these reflections on Luther's famous work about year ago, and since then have found myself constantly going back it, in particular the section I highlight below on union with Christ. The edition I read is from CCEL and can be found here.

Summary

Concerning Christian Liberty is a great statement of the Reformation doctrine of justification by faith alone. In two main sections, Luther expounds his paradoxical opening statement that “a Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to everyone.” The two sections correspond to faith and works respectively.

Luther first asks what can make a man a “justified, free, and a true Christian; that is, a spiritual, new, and inward man.” Only the Word of God, the Gospel of Christ can do that, the gospel “concerning His Son, incarnate, suffering, risen, and glorified through the Spirit, the sanctifier.” In the gospel we are offered salvation, and only faith – not works – can grasp hold of this word. To be sure we are commanded to do works in the Scriptures, but the purpose of the commands is to show us what we cannot do, thus preparing us to receive the promise of God in the gospel.

Luther discusses three great “virtues” of faith.  Firstly, faith gives us true Christian liberty: we are free from the law and works as regards our justification and salvation. Secondly, faith honours God because in believing His promise it ascribes truth and righteousness to Him. Thus to not believe the word of the gospel would be to make God a liar. Thirdly, faith unites the soul to Christ. Believing in Christ is compared simply and stunningly to the marriage of a king and a prostitute, where both share equally what each brings to the union, for example: “Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation; the soul is full of sin, death, and condemnation. Let faith step in, and then sin, death and hell will belong to Christ, and grace, life, and salvation to the soul.”

In the second section, Luther argues for the place of works in the life of the Christian. Never a means to justification before God, works are, firstly, for the purpose of subduing “the lusts of the body” and secondly, the outworking of love to others. It is necessary that the person be made good before they are able to do good works, and not the other way round.

Evaluation and Questions

The great strength of Concerning Christian Liberty is of course its brilliant articulation of justification by faith alone. It is important that Luther begins with the Word: strictly speaking, we are justified not through faith alone, but through the word of the gospel, received by faith alone. This avoids the danger of treating faith as a “work” that we need to do, and hence we look inside us to see how much faith we have rather than look outside ourselves to Christ and His work. The central section about union with Christ is deeply moving in the assurance it gives to the person who trusts in Christ. I found the following paragraph particularly striking in the way it makes me look out of myself to what Christ has done on my behalf:

…Who can comprehend the riches of the glory of this grace? Christ, that rich and pious husband, takes as a wife a needy and impious harlot, redeeming her from all her evils, and supplying her with all His good things. It is impossible now that her sins should destroy her, since they have been laid upon Christ and swallowed up in Him, and since she has in her husband Christ a righteousness which she may claim as her own, and which she can set up with confidence against all her sins, against death and hell, saying: “If I have sinned, my Christ, in whom I believe, has not sinned; all mine is His, and all His is mine.”

This section on union with Christ does raise one question, though, which is the relationship between the union of the individual believer with Christ and the marriage of Christ and the church. Does Scripture actually use the marriage analogy for the individual believer’s relationship to Christ?

I am not certain that Luther has done the best job he could have done on the place of works in the Christian life. At one point, he suggests that God commands Adam (and by analogy the Christian) works to give him something to do, otherwise he’d be idle! The emphases on battling against the lusts of the flesh and working out of love for neighbour are really good, and he clearly shows that Christian liberty does not lead to licence, but he does not really articulate God’s purpose in saving us for good works; works being God’s purpose in creation and re-creation.

Connections

I have recently found the Gospel Coalition’s discussion of two ways of summarising the gospel very helpful (see their 'Theological Vision for Ministry' statement, section II 'How should we read the Bible?): on the one hand, creation - fall - redemption - restoration (in biblical theological categories) gives the big picture and emphasises the purpose of creating a new humanity and renewing creation for God’s glory. On the other hand, God-sin-Christ-faith (in systematic theological categories) focuses on the detailed means of individual salvation, namely substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone. Both ‘axes’ work together to articulate the gospel comprehensively, but the tendency is to emphasise one at the expense of the other.

What strikes as me as particularly important about Concerning Christian Liberty is that it is a deep and brilliant exposition of one of those central aspects of the gospel, namely, justification by faith. It can only help to go deeper; not that justification is all the gospel, as I have just said, but it is at the heart of the gospel. My suspicion, from experience, is that the gospel is often reduced to something very minimal, or assumed as merely the entry point to the Christian faith, before passing on to other things. We need to be able to articulate more clearly and more deeply this central doctrine, and Luther can only help in this regard. Studying Luther on this has brought me greater clarity on what Scripture teaches about the gospel.

Concerning Christian Liberty also shows that it is not sufficient to emphasise grace as being central to the gospel if you are not simultaneously showing how that grace is worked out in justification by the gospel word received by faith alone. The Roman Catholic gospel, for example, also includes grace.

On a personal note, Concerning Christian Liberty has helped me to understand more clearly what it means to trust in Christ, that is, to look outside of myself to the finished work of Christ in the Gospel Word, and not at how much faith or how little faith I have. As justification by faith alone is a doctrine with great practical application in many areas of the Christian life, I trust that the Lord will help me to continue to grow in applying this truth to my life.

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Our need for imagination

People struggling with life in a fallen world often want explanation when what they really need is imagination. They want strategies, techniques, and principles because they simply want things to be better. But God offers much more. People need to look at their families, neighbours, cities, jobs, history and churches, and see the kingdom. They need imagination - the ability to see what is real but unseen. This is what Paul fixed his gaze on (2 Cor 4). They need to look at a city and see the glorious company of the redeemed being gathered, amidst a brutal spiritual battle, to live in union with God. They need to look at their children and see a Redeemer pursuing their hearts for his own. They need to scan history and see God accomplishing his purpose. People need to see the shining hope of human existence: people can know, love, and serve God. They can commune with him forever and form a community of love that is possible no other way. All of this possible because the King has placed his love and grace on them.

from Paul David Tripp, Instruments in an Redeemer's Hands (P&R)pp.7-8

John Piper on risk

"If we walk away from risk to keep ourselves safe and solvent, we will waste our lives.

"If Christ is an all-satisfying treasure and promises to provide all our needs, even through famine and nakedness, then to live as though we had all the same values of the world would betray him." (p.107)

"my sense is that in the prosperous West, the danger in the church is not that there are too many overly zealous people who care too deeply about the lost, and invest hazardously in the cause of the Gospel, and ruin their lives with excessive mercy to the poor. For every careless saint who burns himself out and breaks up his family with misdirected zeal, I venture, there are a thousand who coast with the world, treating Jesus like a helpful add-on, but not as an all-satisfying, all-authoritative King in the cause of love." (p.118)

"One of the marks of this peacetime mind-set is what I call an avoidance ethic. In wartime we ask different questions about what to do with our lives than we do in peacetime. We ask: What can I do to advance the cause? What can I do to bring the victory? What sacrifice can I make or what risk can I take to insure the joy of triumph? In peacetime we tend to ask, What can I do to be more comfortable? To have more fun? To avoid trouble and, possibly, avoid sin?" (p.118)

"Since we all live in a world created by television, it is almost impossible to see what has happened to us. The only hope is to read what people were like in previous centuries. Biographies are a great antidote to cultural myopia and chronological snobbery. We have become almost incapable of handling any great truth reverently and deeply. Magnificent things, especially the glory of God, as David Wells says, rest with a kind of “weightlessness” even on the church." (p.121)

"At these moments, when the trifling fog of life clears and I see what I am really on earth to do, I groan over the petty pursuits that waste so many lives—and so much of mine. Just think of the magnitude of sports—a whole section of the daily newspaper. But there is no section on God. Think of the endless resources for making your home and garden more comfortable and impressive. Think of how many tens of thousands of dollars you can spend to buy more car than you need. Think of the time and energy and conversation that go into entertainment and leisure and what we call “fun stuff.” And add to that now the computer that artificially recreates the very games that are already so distant from reality; it is like a multi-layered dreamworld of insignificance expanding into nothingness." (p.125)

Quotes from John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life

Two quotes on sin from Sinclair Ferguson

Two interesting quotes from The Holy Spirit by Sinclair Ferguson, both on sin.

On Psalm 51 - different perspectives on sin (words in italics are transliterated Hebrew, but without the accents)

The psalm begins (51.1-6) with a comprehensive analysis of the nature of sin as rebellion (pesa, transgression); as distortion (awon, iniquity); as failure (hattat, sin); as contrareity (against you, you only, have I sinned); as filth that needs to be cleansed (cleanse me... wash me); as falsehood and lack of authenticity and integrity (you desire truth [emet] in the inner parts) (p.137)

On 1 John 3.9; 5.18, that anyone born of God does not sin - here Ferguson offers a different view to that which I have been used to. Worth evaluating, I think.

Many commentators and versions understand John to be speaking here of sin as a prevailing habit. But the pointed language he uses (the Christian 'does not do sin') probably refers to the critical and radical deliverance from specific manifestations of the reign of sin which takes place at the point of union with Christ. Instead of remaining captive in concrete ways to the dominance of sin, the Christian becomes righteous precisely in those areas (cf. 1 Jn 2.29; 3.10). Thus the regenerate Saul seeks the fellowship, not the slaughter, of believers; the new man Zacchaeus gives money away rather than steals it; the transformed Philippian jailer cares for his prisoners rather than mistreats them; the runaway Onesimus, 'useless' in his old life, becomes a faithful servant and is 'useful' to Paul. (pp.129-130)

John Owen on the importance of engaging the mind in the struggle against sin

Two quotes from Indwelling Sin chapter 9; worth chewing over.

The steadfastness of the minds abiding in their duty is the cause of all our unmovableness and fruitfulness in obedience;... For if the soul be safe, unless the mind be drawn off from its duty, the soundness and steadfastness of the mind is its great preservative. And there are three parts of this steadfastness of the mind: - First, a full purpose of cleaving to God in all things; secondly, A daily renovation and quickening of the heart unto a discharge of this purpose; thirdly, Resolutions against all the dalliances or parleys about negligences in that discharge.

there are some duties which, in their own nature and by God's appointment, have a peculiar influence into the weakening and subduing the whole law of sin in its very principles and chiefest strengths; and these the mind of a believer ought principally in his whole course to attend unto; and these doth sin in its deceit endeavor principally to draw off the mind from... Now, these duties are - first, Prayer, especially private prayer; and, secondly, Meditation.

For a brilliant book about fighting against sin that is much simpler than Owen, I highly recommend Kris Lungaard: The Enemy Within.

Jonathan Edwards on the Importance of Calmness for Service

Frustration, worry, anxiety, fears are all part of human experience, and often part of Christian experience - or am I alone? And a troubled state of mind, in whatever guise, can often inhibit our ability to serve others, to pray, to know God. In my experience, worry and frustration all too often are self-inflicted and self-centred. There may indeed be times of genuine inner struggle and turmoil that do not spring from that selfishishness - compare the psalmist's cry of despair to God, Paul's 'fears within', the Lord Jesus: 'my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.' Yet more often than not inner turmoil springs from frustration and anxiety fueled by pride and unbelief. There is much more to be said, but I found the following quote from Jonathan Edwards stimulating. He is considering the specific issue of the Christian's response to insults and injuries received from others, but his comments surely have a wider application. They do not teach that the Christian should expect perpetual serenity and calmness of mind. But they do warn against that agitation of spirit which springs from our sinful attitudes and thoughts in reaction to the way others' treat us or, extending the application, to the circumstances we find ourselves in etc. This too calls for vigilant self-control.

That injuries be borne without losing the quietness and repose of our own minds and hearts. - They should not only be borne without a rough behaviour, but with a continuance of inward calmness and repose of spirit. When the injuries we suffer are allowed to disturb our calmness of mind, and put us into an excitement and tumult, then we cease to bear them in the true spirit of long-suffering. If the injury is permitted to discompose and disquiet us, and to break up our inward rest, we cannot enjoy ourselves, and are not in a state to engage properly in our various duties; and especially we are not in a state for religious duties - for prayer and meditation. And such a state of mind is the contrary of the spirit of long-suffering and meekly bearing of injuries that is spoken of in the text. Christians ought still to keep the calmness and serenity of their minds undisturbed, whatever injuries they may suffer. Their souls should be serene, and not like the unstable surface of the water, disturbed by every wind that blows.

Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits pp.73-74

Do not relax!

This paragraph from Edwards speaks to me of the urgency and necessity of self-control and discipline - not just in relation to the specific sins that Edwards is discussing, but as an overall attitude of mind and heart as we walk through life.

Hence, then, what a watch and guard should Christians keep against envy, and malice, and every kind of bitterness of spirit towards their neighbours! For these things are the very reverse of the real essence of Christianity. And it behoves Christians, as they would not, by their practice, directly contradict their profession, to take heed to themselves in this matter. They should suppress the first beginnings of ill-will and bitterness and envy; watch strictly against all occasions of such a spirit; strive and fight to the utmost against such a temper as tends that way; and avoid, as much as possible, all temptations that may lead to it. A Christian should at all times keep a strong guard against everything that tends to overthrow or corrupt or undermine a spirit of love...

Jonathan Edwards, Charity and Its Fruits p.23

Embrace hardship

Two helpful quotes on the place of weakness and hardship in the Christian life:

I’ve learned to embrace the suffering, the criticism, the failure and the pain as probably the most productive work of God in my life… What I can’t do is refine myself, I can’t break myself, I can’t crush my own pride, I can’t bring failure into my life… In a sense, the best things that have ever happened to me are the mutinies that have occurred in my church, the disappointments, the misrepresentations.

(John MacArthur, in an interview with Mark Dever here)

Do not fear weakness, illness, or a sense of being overwhelmed. The truth of the matter is that such experiences are often the occasions when God most greatly displays his power. As long as people are impressed by your powerful personality and impressive gifts, there is very little room for you to impress them with a crucified Saviour. ‘I came to you,’ Paul confesses, ‘in weakness and fear, and with much trembling’ (1 Cor 2:3) – so much so that he needed special encouragement from God Himself (Acts 18:9-10). But Paul knew that God’s strength is mostly greatly displayed in connection with our weakness (2 Cor 12.1-10). Although he suffered fears, illness, weakness and a tremendous sense of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the task, he did not fear the fear; his weakness was not compounded by focusing on his weakness. Far from it! He could write, ‘That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor 12.10). That is the testimony of a man who has learned to minister under the cross.

(Carson, D.A. on 1 Corinthians 2:3, in (1993) The Cross and Christian Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker), p.39)

Pride

I have been reminded recently of the awful extent of pride in my heart; how easily I gravitate towards thinking of myself more highly than I ought (Rom 12.3). And in this regard, I was deeply struck by the following thoughts:

When Solomon utters his prayer of dedication of the temple (2 Chronicles 6.12-42), there is a notable absence of pride. How easy it might have been to take pride in the construction of such a magnificent building; how easy to glory in what he and the people had done for their God, what a wonderful example of devotion to the Lord! But Solomon’s prayer does not glory in their work, but recognises their utter sinfulness before the God of heaven and their need for His forgiveness.

Carson writes:
The principal burden of what Solomon asks may be summarized quite simply. In the future, when either individual Israelites sin or the entire nation sinks into one sin or another, if they then turn away from their sin and pray toward the temple, Solomon asks that God himself will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin (6:21-39). There are [several] remarkable elements to these petitions.

First, there is an astonishingly realistic assessment of the propensity of the people to sin…

Second, however central the temple is to be as a focus for the prayers of the people (not least when they sin), God will hear their prayers not from the temple but from heaven, his dwelling-place…

Third, insofar as the temple is critical, it is seen as the center of religion and worship that deals with the forgiveness of sin and thus restores sinners to God. The heart of the temple is not the choirs and the ceremonies, but the forgiveness of sin. In this day of ill-defined spirituality, it is vital that we remember this point.[1]

How easy it is to take pride in one’s abilities, one’s achievements, one’s knowledge. Yet at the heart of true religion – of Christianity – is the stark reality of our shameful naked sinfulness before a holy God, and our sheer need of his pardon. That third point made by Carson above is thus translated into the centrality of the cross of Jesus Christ in our Christian lives. All my human pride, my pretensions, my thinking highly of myself, is stripped bare and shown to be utter filth by the cross.


[1] Carson, D.A. (1998) For the Love of God (Volume One) (Leicester: IVP), meditation for December 6th