Justification, Part 3

May 30, 2006

Last week we focused on justification and how the Gospel of God is all about the glory of God. The Gospel is how He has manifested Himself and His glory. In fact, the Gospel is about the glory of God and how He has put that glory on display in bringing sinners to Himself. This brings to mind a very important question which is stated in differing ways. One, if a person has an intellectual belief in justification by faith alone, is that person saved? Another way to state the question would be that if a person is able to state the doctrine of justification by faith alone and profess belief in it, is that person saved? Two, if a person states adherence to a confession of faith that states the doctrine of justification well, does that mean that the person is converted?Underlying that type of question in light of the glory of God in the Gospel is an issue that people need to take a hard look at. While this issue may not seem to be related to justification, it is really at the heart of it. There is an elitism that is going on in the Reformed world today. While “elitism” may not be the best term, perhaps “arrogant” and “proud” are the best descriptive terms. Justification by grace alone through faith alone is to give God all the glory. Man has no room to boast in anything but the cross alone. The true teaching on justification should deliver man from pride and boasting and deliver him into the arms of Christ where he glories in nothing but Christ and the cross. So what are we to think when we see people who hold to the doctrine of justification by faith alone and yet seem so proud that they do? What are we to think when we see people proud of their creed and doctrines?

There are many who are Reformed in some way and yet seem to be proud of what they are. If one is proud of being Reformed, then one is not really Reformed. It seems as if there is an intellectual elitism within some in the Reformed ranks and that should be repugnant to all. Some seem pleased with themselves that they are in the line of certain men of history. Some seem to look down on others who do not know as much history and theology of certain men as themselves. Others are proud that they play certain kinds of music and look down on others who do not, whether this is hymns or contemporary music. How can one hold to such elitism and justification by faith alone at the same time?

Let me cut to the core of the issue. The Gospel of the glory of God in Christ deals a severe blow to the pride of man. If a man sees the glory of God in the Gospel and believes, then that person has been saved. If a person has seen the glory of God in Christ and has truly repented, then that person has repented of pride and self-glorying. What are Christians supposed to think when they see men full of themselves about their theology or music? What are we to think when we see men looking down on others because they are not as Reformed or as contemporary or as historical as themselves? What are we to think of this elitist mentality? The very least that we can think is that these people have forgotten what the Gospel of glory is all about and that they have forgotten what the sovereignty of God in His grace and mercy are all about.

While the Gospel saves sinners, it is really about the manifested glory of God. As long as the Gospel is dealt with as doctrine alone, the Gospel that humbles man will not be seen. The Gospel is full of doctrine, yes, but the purpose of doctrine is to set out teachings of Scripture that exalt God and distinguish between those truths and error that does not exalt God. “Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” (I Cor 8:1). The doctrines of the Gospel can also lead to a knowledge that makes arrogant. It would seem that those who have knowledge of the facts of the Gospel without true love will indeed be led to pride. In other words, a person can be as orthodox as a human can possibly be concerning the facts of the Gospel and still be dead in his sins and pride.

The world and the Church have enough of the proud doctrinaires. What the Church needs is to get back to the Gospel as it is taught in Scripture. “Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Romans 3:27). The Gospel as taught in Scripture does not leave man any room for boasting, but excludes it altogether. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast (Eph 2:8-9). Again, it is crystal clear that the Gospel delivers men from anything to boast in. So when we see proud men boasting of doctrine or music, whether by life or attitude, what are we to think? They need to be confronted with the Gospel that destroys boasting again.

The doctrines of the Gospel should destroy pride when it comes and shows man at least the following things:

  1. The Gospel comes to man as a wretched and filthy sinner.
  2. The Gospel comes to man who is worthy of hell and hell only.
  3. The Gospel comes to man who is without power in the bondage to sin.
  4. The Gospel comes to man who is dead in sin.
  5. The Gospel comes to man who is at enmity with God.
  6. The Gospel comes to man at the initiation of God.
  7. The Gospel comes to man because Christ humbled Himself to take the form of a servant (human flesh).
  8. The Gospel comes to man who is under the wrath of an infinite God.
  9. The Gospel comes to man who must have grace if he is to be saved.
  10. There is nothing that man can do to save himself.
  11. There is nothing that man can do to pay for one sin much less all of his sin.
  12. There is nothing that man can do to change his own heart.
  13. There is nothing that man can do to earn one shred of righteousness.
  14. Yet God saves sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace and according to His mercy.
  15. Yet God saves sinners to magnify the glory of His own name.

What is there for man to boast of in accordance with who he is and what he has done? Surely, then, it is obvious that if there are so many proud pastors and people in the churches who adhere to the doctrines of the Gospel, there is something wrong. “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (I Peter 5:5-6). Younger men who are being taught in doctrine whether at church or seminary need to see these things. God is opposed to the proud no matter who they are and how much they know. Any system of doctrine that claims to have a high view of God must also teach that men who see God must be humble in heart. It is impossible for a man to see the glory of God in truth and be proud. It is impossible for men who have such high feelings when singing certain types of music to have true spiritual affections if they are proud of what they are doing and it leads them to look down on others. As Jonathan Edwards shows, a true sign of religious affections is a deep humility where men lay in the dust before God in a form of self-annihilation (self as in selfcenteredness).

A theology and a Gospel that is focused on the glory of God in truth and from the heart is not one that a man can feel proud of and try to honor himself with. So do we need more theology? Yes, but a theology that includes the whole of man. We need to learn the depths of the Gospel from the heart so we can teach the Gospel to people in a way where God’s glory is seen and the pride of man is humbled. The doctrine of justification, as we have seen from Scripture, is that which tears pride from men and leaves him no room to boast at all. At the end of Galatians where Paul set out a long argument with the Gospel, he said this: “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). If man has anything of self to boast of or be proud of, perhaps he needs to visit the Gospel again.

It is to be lamented that the doctrine of justification is under attack in our day. However, one reason for that is because men have not been delivered from pride. The true Gospel delivers men from pride and any basis to boast. But where it is not taught and delivered in a way where it goes to the heart, the Gospel can even be used to build pride. As long as the Gospel is not taught in a way that delivers men from pride, there will be many adherents to various forms of false gospels as they continually spring from the proud hearts of men in an effort to maintain their pride. If Reformed theology wishes to stand firm on the Gospel, it must teach the Gospel in a way that destroys the pride of men. As long as a doctrinal form of the Gospel is taught where men may accept it by believing the facts alone, there will be much pride in the Church. Men who are full of themselves and correct doctrine will teach correct doctrine to the glory of their own names. Men who are full of themselves will sing songs only because they are old or because they are new rather than worship the God of all glory. How desperately we need to get back to the Gospel as it is taught in Scripture so men will be delivered from pride and live to the glory of God rather than their own. Men who are full of their own honor and glory have no room or delight in the glory of God other than how it honors them whether it is in the Gospel or elsewhere. The true Gospel must be proclaimed from those delivered from pride so that God would be glorified in lives and hearts.

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Infinity and the Attributes of God

May 24, 2006

If God is infinite in all of His Being and ways, then He is infinite in all of His attributes. The meaning for this is enormous. Man wants to think that he has something nailed down and perhaps under his control if he has something defined and perhaps figured out. But this (infinity of God) teaches man that all of God’s attributes are beyond his comprehension so that the glory of God is far more than man can grasp with his mind.

God’s infinity in reference to time is His eternity. His infinity in reference to space is His omnipresence. His infinity in reference to His power or ability to act is His omnipotence. His infinity in reference to knowledge or the extent of His knowledge is His omniscience. All of these attributes show His infinity and yet His infinity shows the extent of those attributes. In reference to His moral or communicable attributes, God is unlimited in those too. This means that every moral or communicable attribute is present in God in an absolute and unlimited degree as well.

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph 3:20). This verse shows some of the practical aspects for man of God’s infinity. No matter what man can ask of God and think about God, He can do abundantly beyond what man can ask or think. How absurd for man to think that he can ask God something that He cannot do. How absurd it is for man to think that he can even ask something in prayer that is even hard for God. The issue of prayer is to worship God and to be conformed to His will so that in prayer man asks according to that which glorifies God and is in line with what God is doing. But man should never think for a moment that his prayers are putting God to the test in terms of what God can and cannot do.

“‘Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You (Jer 32:17). “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?” (Jer 32:27). Here is the God that man is to worship and be amazed at. Nothing, simply nothing is too difficult for God to do. The infinity of God should bolster the faith of man in God since God can do all He wants to do. “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psa 115:3). What a God of majesty and glory when nothing and no one can prevent Him from doing what He pleases! It will take eternity to even begin to make a scratch on the understanding of a God like this. If God wants to do something, then He is infinite in power and ability to do as He pleases. If God desires to be somewhere, then His infinity in presence means that He is there at all times. If God wants to know something, then He is infinite in knowledge and knows all things. Who or what can hinder a God like this?

When God desires to set His love on a molecule sized being (in relation to the universe) on earth called man, who are what will stop Him? If God desires to show grace to a sinner, what amount of sin will stop the God who is infinite in grace? Grace can cover more sin than man can even imagine. When we think of the verses that speak of God showing mercy to whom He will show mercy (Exodus 34; Romans 9), do we think that these texts just mean that God only has to show mercy on those He wishes to? No, this also shows that if He wants to show mercy on certain people He can and will show mercy on those people if He pleases. Who will stop Him from showing mercy to the Gentiles? Who will stop Him from showing mercy on the worst of sinners? No one can, not even the worst of sinners can thwart God.

When Scripture speaks of God’s holiness in terms of His being “holy, holy, holy,” can we imagine that as being anything less than an infinite holiness? If God is infinite in reference to His being, then He must be infinitely holy or He would not be holy in all of His being. No matter the degree that we think God’s blazing holiness reaches, it is far beyond that. No matter how great we see the beauty of His holiness, He is far more beautiful than man can imagine. “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple” (Psa 27:4). We can think of this as on earth or that which will be fulfilled in heaven. Man will never have to worry about this great desire of just beholding the beauty of the LORD coming to an end. There is an infinite beauty to behold. Finite man will be able to do this for his whole life on earth and then for all eternity. Not only will he be able to do this, but there will be no end to the glory of this beauty because of the infinite beauty of God.

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Infinity and Doctrine

May 21, 2006

Doctrine is simply a teaching of the Bible. The Bible is the revelation of God. Therefore, the Bible is the revelation of God in all He is through certain doctrines or teachings. The infinity of God, then, would have weight on each doctrine taught. Each doctrine of Scripture reflects something of the glory of God. If God is infinite in all of His attributes, then to understand God means that we must come to grips with the infinity of God. If it is thought that a doctrine is perfectly understood in all of its lines and trains of thought, which shows how ignorant one really is of God. Doctrine is a glorious thing and men can know particular doctrines well and thoroughly in one sense. However, each doctrine reflects the character of God and one can always grow in understanding God and so one can always grow in terms of the doctrine and how it reveals the character of God.

When we think of the doctrine of heaven, for example, the infinity of God helps us to understand God as inexhaustible in glory. Heaven will never be less than the fullness of joy since finite beings can never empty God. Hell is the same but in reverse. Believers cannot imagine the degree of love and joy they will have, but those in hell cannot imagine the degree of torment that they will have either. We can know that we can never reach the end of the knowledge of God on earth or in eternity. Since there is no end to the glory of God, man can always learn more and more of the glory of God and of how doctrines reflect His glory and tie in with each other.

If God is infinite, then doctrine must be understood in different ways. The mind cannot understand or hardly even apprehend what infinity is, so to know God is not just the providence of the brain. God must be seen by the eye of faith in order to see God in the doctrine. God must be understood as infinite with the eye of faith that beholds His glory in ways that academics cannot teach one to do. Eternal life is to know God (John 17:3). In fact, Christ came to give us understanding so that we could know Him and that is eternal life. “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (I John 5:20). Jesus also gives us another reason for why He came to make the Father known: “and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26).

As we think about the verses above, we can see that eternal life (life for an infinite amount of time as in eternity and sharing in the life of the infinite God) rests upon knowing God. So what man can know is true about God, that is, what man can know about God is in fact the way God really is. But can man know all about God in all ways? “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9). Even though man can know God, he cannot discover the full depths of God. Neither, then, should man be surprised when he finds that he continues to grow in understanding of the teachings or doctrines that are meant to reveal God to man.

Many seem to think of seminary as a place to go and learn some truth and then spend the rest of their lives teaching that same truth. If people only teach what they learn at seminary, then they will never grow in their knowledge of God and will always be teaching the same old dry and dusty teaching. The infinity of God delivers the Church (or should) from dry and dusty teaching. Men should constantly strive to understand more and more of the glory of God through Scripture and its doctrines. There is always more to understand and love. How man must learn to worship as he studies the glory of God in doctrine and in all of life. Preachers must learn to look for more of the glory of God in the text because it is there and it must be brought out and displayed. The infinity of God should drive the soul to greater and greater expansion as it reaches and longs for Him knowing that it will always have the hunger for more and yet the hunger itself as well as the filling is pleasure.

If God is but a bigger way of being finite, then man has no hope. Man will eventually reach the end of knowledge and will grow stagnate. That sounds like a lot of churches and a lot of preaching. Man must never forget the infinity of God and so be caught up in worship and perhaps rapturous desire for His glory. To teach a God that the brain alone can comprehend and is just a lot bigger than man is the way to dead preaching and churches. We must recover this glorious teaching of God that permeates all of doctrine and of life.

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Infinity & Non-Meaning in Life

May 21, 2006

I would like to make one more post on the issue of infinity and meaning. However, I would like to give the other side a hearing. The idea of infinity from a non-theistic position leads to great despair. Perhaps, then, this is also an apologetic when we think of what the idea of infinity does to people. The quotations are from a book entitled On The Heights of Despair written by E.M. Cioran.

“I cannot speak of infinity without experiencing a double vertigo, both external and internal-as if, suddenly abandoning a well-ordered existence, I threw myself into a whirlwind and began to move through space at the speed of thought…This is the paradox of infinity: it makes the sensation of the end more real while at the same time making it ever more impossible, for infinity, both in time and space, leads to nothing. How can we accomplish anything in the future when we have behind us an eternity in which nothing was accomplished? If the world had had any meaning, it would have been revealed to us by now and we would know it. How can I continue to believe that it will be disclosed in the future when it has not been made manifest yet? But the world has no meaning; irrational at the core, it is, moreover, infinite. Meaning is conceivable only in a finite world, where one can reach something, where there are limits to stop our regression, clear points of reference, where history moves toward a goal envisioned by the theory of progress. Infinity leads to nothing, for it is totally provisional. “Everything” is too little when compared with infinity. Nobody can have the experience of infinity without spells of dizziness, a profound and unforgettable anxiety. How can one help being anxious when all is equally infinite?

Infinity renders impossible any solution to the problem of meaning. It gives me demonic pleasure to think that the world lacks meaning because of infinity. What’s the use of ‘meaning,’ after all? Can’t we live without it? Universal meaninglessness gives way to ecstatic inebriation, an orgy of irrationality. Since the world has no meaning, let us live! Without definite aims or accessible ideas, let us throw ourselves into the roaring whirlwind of infinity, follow its tortuous path in space, burn in its flames, love its cosmic madness and total anarchy!… Infinity shakes you to the roots of your being, disorganizes you, but it also makes you forget the petty, the contingent, and the insignificant…

The penchant for form comes from love of finitude, the seduction of boundaries which will never engender metaphysical revelations. Metaphysics, like music, springs from the experience of infinity. They grow on heights and cause vertigo. I have always wondered why those who have produced great masterpieces in these domains have not all gone mad. Music, more than any other art requires so much concentration that one could easily, after creative moments, lose one’s mind. All great composers ought to either commit suicide or become insane at the height of their creative powers. Are not all those aspiring infinity on the road to madness? Normality, abnormality, are notions that no longer mean anything. Let us live in the ecstasy of infinity, let us love that which is boundless, let us destroy forms and institute the only cult without forms: the cult of infinity.”

People do experience infinity every day if they would recognize it. Infinity is true, but we either see it as impersonal or Personal. If we see infinity as impersonal, then there is no meaning and all thought is simply irrational since there is no boundary or limit or definition of rationality that will work. In the impersonal view life is without meaning as there can be no meaning drawn within an infinite world that is not Personal infinity. The very teaching that God is infinite should give us an ecstasy that goes beyond what the writer spoke of. We must drive people to think beyond false boundaries and confront infinity. People must confront infinity to taste reality. When they do, they will be driven to one of two logical positions; that of the author that I quoted from or the Personal God who has revealed Himself in the Bible. The infinite God shakes people to the roots of their beings and makes them forget the petty, the contingent, and the insignificant. It is the God of the Bible who is infinite and gives life its meaning. God is the One who gives us boundaries within a boundless love and wisdom. We all will deal with infinity at some point and in some way. Let us be prepared to speak of the infinite God who brings meaning and order into a world of sin that wants infinity apart from God.

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Justification, Part 2

May 19, 2006

The next thing to note in justification after just how vital this doctrine really is is to note what it is all about. The doctrine of justification is the heart of the Gospel. Okay, some one might say, but what does that mean? When one is trying to start at the starting place, it could be debated what the starting place is. Without arguing too much, I believe the starting place for the Gospel is with God. After all, the Gospel is the Gospel of God. But isn’t it the Gospel of Christ? Yes, but that is still the Gospel of God. “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15). The Gospel that a person is to repent of is indeed the Gospel that is all about God, of God, and declares the glory of God. “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). The Gospel that Paul preached was all about the grace of God and so is called “gospel of the grace of God” and, in the short version, is simply the “gospel of God” (Rom 1:1).But why, it might be asked, is the starting place here? Admittedly the starting place is usually with man and his need. However, man would have no need and no remedy without God. Man’s need is defined by the nature of God and the remedy for man’s sin and hell is also God. What man needs is not a salvation that delivers him from the guilt of sin to some objective pleasantries, but he needs to be delivered from the wrath of God in this life and in the one to come and be reconciled to the living God. The Gospel is not just a message that man may be delivered from a place called hell, but it is also a message of how man may have what is best in this life and in the life to come. It is, most truly, the Gospel of God. The Gospel is all about how man may taste and enjoy the glory of God in his soul and life. In fact, the Gospel is how the life of God comes into the soul of man and that life is what lives in man and man is enabled to enjoy a participation in the divine life. No, man does not become divine, but the love and joy of God lives in man and man is enabled to share in the activity of that life on earth.

“Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith” (Rom 3:24-27). This text points out one point that is often missed. Why does God demonstrate His righteousness? Is it just so that man can be saved? Is the only purpose for salvation so that man could escape hell and God could feel good about saving man? Clearly, from the text, God is righteous in giving the gift of righteous and so He is just and the justifier. The justice of God is vital to the Gospel and God will not save apart from a perfect justice because He is perfectly just. God saves to His own glory and there is no boasting on man’s part? Why? Because man has nothing to do with saving himself. It is all of God.

As we look back at the text in the previous paragraph, man is hardly even mentioned. Romans 1:18-3:20 talks a lot about sin, but interestingly enough sin is seen as the judgment of God even now. God turns people over to sin as punishment for sin. God turns people over to hard hearts which leads to even more sin as punishment for sin. Who can deliver from God’s hand and the hearts that He hardens? God is the only One who can deliver from His own hand. Where can a Savior come from who will be able to deliver man in a way that is according to perfect justice from the hand of an almighty and wrathful God? Where will the righteousness come from that is needed so that man can be declared perfectly righteous? All of this is only something that God can do. This is why once Paul gets to the Gospel he talks about God. Man is helpless and cannot do anything for himself at this point. Man needs to see the glory of God in the Gospel and turn from all self-effort.

If it is once agreed upon that man has been created to glorify God, and that sin is man doing something that falls short of the glory of God, then it is easily seen that salvation is the way that God glorifies Himself in saving man. So God’s purpose in saving man is to manifest His own glory in the salvation of man and in restoring man in a way that man will now live to the glory of God. So the Fall sent man into sin which is man not living to the glory of God. Salvation is God bringing man back to where man lives to the glory of God. Clearly, then, the Gospel is all about the glory of God. To focus the Gospel on man is to miss the real point of the Gospel. Man must be returned to God so that he can fulfill his created purpose of living to the glory of God.

In going back to Romans 3, we can see in v. 24 that justification has several aspects. One, justification is a gift by grace. In reality, the word “gift” simply means uncaused. For another use of this term in Scripture, we can see from this example what it really means: “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE'” (John 15:25). “Without cause” comes from the same Greek word as in used in Romans 3:24 for “gift.” In other words, justification is not caused by man in any way. The causal part of justification is with God and with God only. So man is justified without cause in himself by His grace. To put it still another way, the only causal part in justification is the grace of God. God causes salvation by grace and there is nothing in man that causes salvation in any way. It is all of grace. If something is all of grace, then it is all of God. We know that God saves to “the praise of the glory of His grace” because that is what He says in Ephesians 1:6. Romans 3:24 is simply another way to stress the same glorious truth.

Second, the way that God saves by grace alone is through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. We must be careful at this point. When the Gospel is spoken of today, Christ is spoken of a lot. But He is usually spoken of in the context of man and his need. Without arguing that man has a need, we must remember that man’s need is not just to be delivered from hell. Man must be delivered from the wrath of God in this life and the next. Man must be reconciled to God in this life and the next. Jesus Christ did not center on man in the Gospel, He centered on the glory of God. For man to repent of sin, which is falling short of the glory of God, man must turn from living to the glory of self to living for the glory of God. So whatever redemption may be, it is the paying of a price and a ransom made to One for another. But we must always keep in mind that God saves by grace alone which is a focus on His glory. Redemption through Christ alone is to put His grace on display in a way that magnifies His glory.

Verse 25 tells us that God displayed Christ publicly as propitiation in His blood. Why did He do that? The text tells us that He did this to demonstrate His own righteousness. The text does not tell us that He did this in order to declare His love for man or because man is so worthy. It says that He did this to demonstrate His own righteousness. What we see, then, is a Gospel that is all about God. The Gospel is about the actions of God and it is about the glory of God that shines through His actions. One text that brings this thought to light is found in II Corinthians 4:4 and 6: “in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” This verse tells us what the god of this world does in order to keep people from being saved. He blinds their minds so that they do “not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (v. 4). Satan does not need to convince people to be evil; they do that from their own hearts. He does not need to keep people from hearing the bare words of the Gospel message. People are not saved from simply believing the intellectual facts of the Gospel. He blinds their minds so that they will not see the glory of it.

II Corinthians 4 goes on to say what has to happen for people to be saved: “For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (v. 6). What must happen is for people to see and understand (and therefore believe) the glory of God in the face and facts of Christ. God must shine Himself in their hearts in order for them to have the light of the knowledge of this glory. Notice that the text says that He “is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light.” Preachers must preach Christ in such a way that the glory of God is seen in His face and the Gospel.

In light of what the Gospel is and its purposes, I believe it to be clear that evangelism must be done differently than it is being done. In light of what the Gospel is and its purposes, I believe that preaching must be done differently than it is being done. We must be those who declare the glory of God in evangelism and in the Gospel in order to set the Gospel out in its beauty and power. While we never get beyond the facts of the Gospel, we must also declare the glory of God in those facts. Many saw Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, but only those who believed saw the glory of it (John 11:40). Many see the facts of the Gospel, but how many really see the glory of God in the face of Christ? Many love the Gospel only for what it does for them and so they have never been delivered from self-love. We must teach and preach the Gospel in a way where the glory of God shines in the face of Christ. After all, Christ came and tabernacled among men and His glory of grace and truth was seen. The Gospel is only truly preached when God’s glory of grace and truth is seen in Christ. The Gospel of glory must be seen as glorious.

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Infinity & the Meaning of Life

May 18, 2006

The infinity of God removes man from the center of the universe in man’s own conception. In other words, God is infinite and all that there is in the universe came into being through Him (John 1:1-3). When God breathed these words in John, He meant far more by them than they or we could or can imagine. This should humble man in the dust. The universe is not just the result of some inanimate causative force or big bang, it is the very handiwork of the living and infinite God. Because God is infinite, the universe may very well be infinite in relation to man. All that there is declares the glory of God. We should be thankful to scientists that in their work, whether knowingly or not, tell us of the glory of God. This should teach us that if God is infinite, then there is nothing in any location that is apart from Him and in some way derives existence and meaning from Him. This means that all is about God.

Infinity and Self-Centeredness
This attribute of God should teach us to see that life is all about the infinite God and that we relate to Him as our source and meaning. Man cannot find real meaning in and of himself as alone he is a speck of dust. When man lives for himself in self-love and self-centeredness, it is sin but also the ultimate blindness and absurdity.
What meaning can a speck of dust find in the vastness of this universe? This is something like a cartoon a few years ago. Calvin (not John Calvin, but of Calvin and Hobbes fame) is screaming into the vast sky with stars all over that “I am significant.” In the next frame it says: “screams the speck of dust.” That is really what modern man is doing. He is nothing but a speck of dust living on a planet which itself is a speck of dust in the universe and yet he is screaming that he is significant. How absurd that man thinks that he has meaning in and of himself in the face of such a universe and even more in the presence of God. How absurd is self-centeredness in the face of the universe and even more in light of the almighty God who created the universe and upholds it every moment. Man is indeed but an absurd and meaningless accident in a massive universe unless God is.

Infinity, God and Meaning
It is only when man is linked to the infinite God that he can find real meaning. It tells man to look for the purpose of life and of the universe in God. It tells man what the void within in him is that continues to scream for something far bigger than itself. Indeed, as has been said, longing for infinity is built into the heart of man. When one begins to understand just how absurdly small and meaningless he is apart from living to the glory of God, this removes the meaning of life in living and finding meaning in and for self. Now man can see that he must live in union with this infinite God in order to obtain any meaning in life at all. Now the Great Commandments make sense. It is only when man loves God that man is able to love another human being or anything at all. When man begins to see that all other human beings are linked to God, he realizes that he cannot love anything or anyone unless he loves the One who created them. One can have feelings for things and other people, but if not for God the feelings are really for self in that man looks to other people and things only for self. But in loving the infinite God man is freed from self-love and can now really love. I John 4:7-8 teaches that no one loves but those who know and are born of God. True love as it flows from God and back to God through all things gives life meaning.

Infinity and Glory
Isa 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.16 Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough for a burnt offering.17 All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.18 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him?

These verses declare what glory the infinite God has. There is no way to measure Him or calculate His greatness and glory. Let us put our hands over our mouths and bow in worship of this glorious God. In this way our theology will be worship and our churches will have less strife because of self-centeredness. It really is all about Him. Let this teach us that we can spend the rest of our lives and eternity delighting and satisfying our souls in the limitless and immeasurable God. We can’t drink the ocean dry, and far less can we empty the glory of the infinite God.

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Infinity: Glory and Meaning

May 16, 2006

The term “infinite” simply has the idea of being without bounds or limitations. In other words, there are no boundaries to the nature of God outside of the boundaries of His character. There are no boundaries that anyone can set to God and limit Him in any way. No one can limit God, thwart Him, or ward off His hand in whatever He wants to do. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?'” (Dan 4:35). God does what He wants and no one in heaven or earth can stop Him, call Him to account, or even question what He has done. He is fully God and He is a real God and infinite in all of His being.

The term “infinite” simply has the idea of being without bounds or limitations. In other words, there are no boundaries to the nature of God outside of the boundaries of His character. There are no boundaries that anyone can set to God and limit Him in any way. No one can limit God, thwart Him, or ward off His hand in whatever He wants to do. “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?'” (Dan 4:35). God does what He wants and no one in heaven or earth can stop Him, call Him to account, or even question what He has done. He is fully God and He is a real God and infinite in all of His being.

All the attributes of God are infinite and beyond measure of any being in heaven or on earth. This attribute means that man cannot understand the depths of anything but must rely on God for understanding. “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count” (Psa 40:5). How can man even begin to comprehend all the wonders that God has done? Scientists and philosophers are barely scratching the surface in terms of understanding the physical realm on earth and they have barely even started studying space and other planets. Theologians are barely touching the hem of His garments as they study this majestic God in reference to the spiritual realm. What can we compare God with? We can attempt certain analogies, but they remain only poor analogies at best. If we try to speak and declare what God has done, who can even count them much less preach or teach all of the glory of God. Man has not grasped the meaning of the cross with a full comprehension much less all of Scripture and even less the whole glory of God. Ah, the sweetness of beginning the study of God in awe and wonder. “When I behold, in awesome wonder.”

Great is our Lord and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite (Psa 147:5). There are great athletes in our day and great politicians from the past (implication intended). But what does that term (great) mean in reference to God? How the heart and mind must struggle to even begin to imagine what greatness is in terms of God. His understanding is infinite? What can that possibly mean? Analytical philosophy simply must put a hand over its mouth at this point. Theologians must put hands over their mouths as well and just stand back in wonder at a God so great in glory. We can never even begin to understand what God really is. He understands everything that there is and all that could possibly be. He understands the depths of everything and what everything is linked and tied to. He understands how all things are linked together in some mysterious way, though the mystery is ours and not His. How man indeed should trust in the Lord with all of his heart and not lean on his own understanding. Trusting in God’s understanding is true wisdom. Trusting in man’s understanding is true foolishness and folly.

“How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand” (Psa 139:17-18). This is yet another attempt at describing the thoughts and infinity of God. How precious it is to know the thoughts of God as they are revealed in Scripture, but to know the sum of all of them is vastly beyond the capacities of all finite beings put together. Who can gain an exact count of all the grains of sand on earth? Who can know the grains of sand in this vast universe? Yet God’s thoughts outnumber them. This is an expression that denotes infinity. God’s thoughts, that is, His understanding and wisdom are far beyond the capacity of man. How utterly glorious it is to bow before such wisdom and understanding and see how God plans to exalt and glorify His name in all things.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable” (Isa 40:28). One begins to wonder why all these verses refer to the understanding of God. However, we must be careful in how we think of God’s understanding. For example, “as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Prov 23:7). Here, at the very least, we see the link between understanding and what a person is. So a reference to the vastness and infinity of the understanding of God is really a reference to all that God is. The catechism tells us that God is Spirit has not a body like men. God is pure understanding and pure thought, so if He is infinite in understanding He is infinite in all of His being and ways.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How gloriously unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways (Rom 11:33). His wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways cannot be separated. He is infinite and glorious in all His being. How this should draw finite beings to utter awe, humility, and reverent worship. If we once gain a glimpse of His glory as it shines in infinity, we will never be the same.

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The Beauty of God’s Self-Existence

May 13, 2006

As the last entry on the self-existence of God I would like to look at the beauty and loveliness of this attribute. It is really the beauty and loveliness of an attribute that draws the heart out to wonder and admire the glory of God. For example, when Scripture says that God saves to “the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6), we can see that the purpose of salvation is so that the beauty of grace would be admired and delighted in. However, this is not that man can do this on his own power, but that God would save sinners and then open their eyes and hearts so that His glory would be in them in order to rejoice in His glory displayed. I believe that all attributes are to be delighted over in this manner. So we really glorify or manifest who God really is when He gives us an understanding of the beauty of an attribute through an action displayed in Christ and then we admire and praise it. In this way the glory of God is seen in and through man.

As the last entry on the self-existence of God I would like to look at the beauty and loveliness of this attribute. It is really the beauty and loveliness of an attribute that draws the heart out to wonder and admire the glory of God. For example, when Scripture says that God saves to “the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6), we can see that the purpose of salvation is so that the beauty of grace would be admired and delighted in. However, this is not that man can do this on his own power, but that God would save sinners and then open their eyes and hearts so that His glory would be in them in order to rejoice in His glory displayed. I believe that all attributes are to be delighted over in this manner. So we really glorify or manifest who God really is when He gives us an understanding of the beauty of an attribute through an action displayed in Christ and then we admire and praise it. In this way the glory of God is seen in and through man.

While we may not often think of things in particular ways, it does not deny that they are true. Genesis chapter one has become a battle ground between liberals and conservatives and between old earth versus young earth devotees. I would assert that those issues are important, but there is something far more important going on. God is displaying His self-existence and self-sufficiency through the text of Scripture. In one sense if the glory of God is seen in the text then liberalism is not even a possibility and the age of the earth takes on less importance. In Genesis chapter one we read the words “in the beginning.” Chills should flow up and down our spine as we meditate on the significance of this. There was a time when there was nothing but God. What kind of God was He? He was a God who could bring things from non-existence to existence or as Romans 4:17 puts it, “even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.” God simply calls into being things which formerly did not exist. How is that for self-existence and self-sufficiency with a vengeance? This is what is meant by the words, “then God said.” Several times the text uses those words. What it means, however, is that God was calling things into being. When God calls, even things without existence spring into being.

When man walks outside, he can look up into the sky and behold the sun, moon, and stars which God called into existence. How did all that happen? Simply because God is self-existent and sufficient within Himself as life itself and He can call whatever He desires into existence. God called all the planets into existence. God called the trees and all plants into existence. God called all the animals into existence. Only He who called them into existence can uphold them in existence. In one sense, everything that has existence is declaring the self-existence of God every moment. This is an utterly beautiful and glorious aspect of God. The sun rises (so to speak) because of His faithfulness every morning. What is He faithful to? He is being faithful to His own glory and to His Son. The world cannot fail to end until King Jesus reigns over all of His enemies. So every morning the believer can know that the sun rises in one sense because of the self-sufficiency of God and the love God has for His own glory.

So the sun has been called into existence to shine forth the glory of God. Man can look at the sun and be amazed at how beautiful the sun is and how through the light of the sun all the other physical beauties of God can be seen. This is simply God calling into being one thing (sun) to give light so that His glory in other physical things could be seen. Look at how God has supplied animals and men with food. His self-sufficiency displays that He is sufficient to supply animals and men with what they need to live. The sun also teaches us of the spiritual light which Christ the Son gives us. Men must have Christ in order to see the glory of God in the spiritual realm.

Chapter one of Genesis and the rest of Scripture are all demonstrations of how God calls things into existence and sustains them each moment. He does this to display His glory and the love He has for His own glory. Therein is the true beauty of God and of true beauty in the world. Beauty is seen by symmetry, order, and delightfulness to the eyes of the mind and heart. In seeing how the whole world exhibits the glory of God in calling it into existence, man is to see true beauty in the self-existence of God. How lovely the symmetry and order are that He displays in creation. How truly beautiful it is to see the love He has for His own glory. How marvelously lovely it is to see God’s love for his Son in that the Father has given to the Son to have life in Himself and then come to earth and display and share that life with men. Remember, the Gospel is all about God giving eternal life to men which is really a sharing in His life which is all about living in joy and love within the Trinity. Will that life and love ever cease? No, the self-existent God lives in joy and love within Himself because that is life, even eternal life. This is far more beautiful than words can describe, but let our hearts delight in Him which is why we were created.

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Self-Existence: What Difference Does it Make?

May 13, 2006

Fundamentally people want to know what difference something makes. What difference does the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God make in everyday life? In one sense, it makes all the difference that there can be. We can know that every breath we take is a gift of God and it is not because of ourselves. We can know that every breath is a gift of His grace. I am to live by His strength and grace instead of self-effort. I am to try hard things and endure hard things because of His grace which strengthens and upholds me, not because of any other reason. I can know that no matter what God calls me to do there is an inexhaustible supply of grace. No matter what happens to me during a particular day, I can know that God has grace enough to uphold me in that situation. So man must take his eyes off of himself and rest in God who has all the reservoirs of strength and grace within Himself.

Fundamentally people want to know what difference something makes. What difference does the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God make in everyday life? In one sense, it makes all the difference that there can be. We can know that every breath we take is a gift of God and it is not because of ourselves. We can know that every breath is a gift of His grace. I am to live by His strength and grace instead of self-effort. I am to try hard things and endure hard things because of His grace which strengthens and upholds me, not because of any other reason. I can know that no matter what God calls me to do there is an inexhaustible supply of grace. No matter what happens to me during a particular day, I can know that God has grace enough to uphold me in that situation. So man must take his eyes off of himself and rest in God who has all the reservoirs of strength and grace within Himself.

I can know that God is not a God to be bought off by good behavior. He is not a God who can be manipulated in any way. All that He does comes from Himself. When God saves according to His grace and all for His pleasure and glory, He does not do this in order to create a people who will repay Him. Man was not created to do things for God, man was created for God to glorify Himself through. Man can never do one thing for God since all things come from God. What will man give to God? Will man love God as if love came from man? No, man can only love God with the love that God has in man. Will man give money to God as if God needs money? No, God gives all things so when man gives he is simply giving back to God what is His anyway.

Can man serve God? Jesus said that He “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mat 20:28). Paul taught that it is impossible to serve God: “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things” (Acts 17:24-25). On the other hand, men are servants of God. What are we to make of this? We can know that we can do nothing for God that He needs. God has no need and all things come from Him, including the life, breath, and all things of all people. God does not need us and has no need of what we can do. However, God has created man to glorify Himself. Man glorifies God when God is living in the man and shining forth His glory in the world. So man does not do things for God, but serves God when God does things through man. A servant in the Christian sense is one who goes about His master’s work being strengthened by God and doing all in such a way that God is glorified in them (Mat 5:16). It is God glorifying Himself through man. This is being a servant.

So it can be seen that the self-existence and self-sufficiency of God have enormous ramifications in the Christian life. It makes a huge difference in how man is to approach a life that is lived to the glory of God. It seems that many think that because they do good things that they are living to the glory of God, but that is mistaken. The glory of God is actually internal within Himself and can only become external by His actions. It must be God who shines His glory or it will not really be seen. The actions of man do not glorify God unless it is God in the man moving the man’s affections and actions for Himself. Man is not sufficient to glorify God of himself, He must simply be an empty vessel that God exalts Himself through. That is one huge impact that the self-sufficiency of God has for man in his everyday life.

The person in whom God has placed His love (Rom 5:5) can know that he is loved of God despite his many failures and imperfections. Why is that? Surely God loves because He is love. God’s love does not come to man based on the worth of man, but because of the self-sufficiency and self-existence of God who is love itself. God’s love is moved by God and not by sinful man. The one who is loved of God is loved because God is love. How this should ease a person’s mind to rest in that love. This should motivate man to pursue the glory of God in himself and therefore through himself. It should also move man to see how he can love his enemy since the love in him is from God and is moved by God. Throughout each day the believer has resources of inexhaustible love since his resource of love is God’s love for Himself. Does this make a difference? It is a difference far beyond what the human mind can really comprehend. Man has the resources to love all day in all circumstances because it is the love of God in him. However, man only has that love to the degree that self has been denied and that man has been humbled. Man is only full of God to the degree that he is empty of self and pride. God will not allow man to use His glory for the honor of man. All that man does as his chief desire for his own honor is simply false spirituality.

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Justification, Part 1

May 12, 2006

In light of the crime against God that preaching a false Gospel is, we need to examine what justification by faith alone means. Remember the words of Paul: “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal.1:6-9).Many words have been written and many more have been preached on this issue. However, it should make every preacher and every person who evangelizes tremble when they read the words of Paul. Even in his day while he was still alive, even people who heard Paul preach the Gospel were turning away to a different gospel. Paul was simply amazed, and yet he knew the doctrines of depravity better than we do. Let us face up to the grim reality of this. It is likely that many people within the walls of the church each Sunday do not know and believe the true Gospel. It is also highly likely that many people that have come to faith (we thought) have turned away from the Gospel at some point. If they turned away from the Gospel when Paul preached it, who are we to think that people will not do it under our ministries?

We should also notice another point from verse 6. Paul said that the people were “deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different Gospel.” When people leave for a different gospel, which is really not another true Gospel, they are deserting God. Let us read and hear the words of Paul, which are really the God-breathed words of Scripture. When people leave the Gospel, they are deserting God. A false Gospel is all about a false god. The Gospel itself is about the true God and it is only through the true Gospel that we adhere to the true God. It is the true Gospel that sets out the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Cor. 4:4, 6). The true Gospel puts the glory of God on display and all who come to God through the Gospel see His glory in it. But those who reject the true Gospel not only reject the true Gospel, but they reject the glory of God as seen in the Gospel of glory. The Gospel is called, after all, the Gospel of God.

The Gospel of the glory of God is a Gospel of grace. Note that Paul wrote that God “called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel.” Any Gospel that is not all about the grace of Christ is a different Gospel. Notice also that the grace of Christ is how God calls sinners. God saves “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph 1:6).

He saves so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:7-9). The Gospel of grace is so that God should show off the riches of His grace and so that no one can or may boast. There is no boasting allowed in the Gospel because it is all of the grace of God in order that all the glory would be His. Any other gospel detracts from this grace and the glory of God in allowing man some degree of boasting.

When you see some deserting the Gospel of grace “for a different gospel; which is really not another,” you can know that they are going to what they think is good news and yet is not a real Gospel. Instead of being angry with the people, let us learn to be amazed that they would leave such amazing grace. We should learn to pity people who have been and are being deceived. Let us learn to look at people in our churches and towns in a different way. We usually take people leaving as an insult toward ourselves and that may be true in some cases. However, if it is toward us, we should learn humility and meekness. Perhaps, gasp, we may need to repent of something ourselves. But if we are looking at the people apart from selfinterests, let us know that they are turning from God for a false gospel. Their souls are in danger of eternal damnation and that is far more important than our own feelings of importance. Ministers are to be shepherds of the sheep, but wolves are after the sheep of your Master. Those people at the very least are being deceived (Satan is the deceiver) and at worst are deserting God. The privilege and duty of ministers is to take the true Gospel of Christ to people again and again. Let us not grow weary of trying to snatch sheep from the jaws of wolves and lions. Can our work for the Master demand anything less of us?

A main reason that people leave is because “there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” This is why ministers must be clear about the Gospel on a regular basis. There are people on the radio, on TV, on tapes, in books and magazines, and quite possibly in our churches who are disturbing the sheep and distorting the Gospel of Christ. Right now there is a book that is a huge success along with a movie that is projected to be a huge success that is distorting the Gospel (the Da Vinci Code). What is the best way to protect the sheep? Preach the true Gospel so that the heresies of the book and movie will be seen. Preach the Gospel of the glory of God so that those with spiritual taste buds will simply know by tasting that the things taught in the book and the movie are false. We must understand that whatever else we do, the Gospel itself must be made clear. We must understand that if people are drawn away from the true Gospel, it is because someone has distorted the true Gospel and has put a false one in its place. It happened in Paul’s day and it is happening in our own day. Notice again, people “want” to distort. Our job is to want to preach the truth with a clarity that makes the Gospel harder for others to distort.

Now we must shift gears. The sheep are under constant attack and the shepherds must be protecting and defending the sheep with the truth of the Gospel. But how are we to view those who want to distort the Gospel and in fact are teaching a false Gospel? “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal. 1:8-9). Paul leaves us no doubt of what has to happen. People who do this may be in our churches. They may be ministers that we know. They may be ministers in our own denomination. But know this, a preacher and teacher of a false gospel is to be accursed. No matter how much we like another person, we must never allow a false Gospel to remain within our numbers very long. The ministers are to feed and protect the sheep that are bought by the very blood of Jesus Christ. Will we really be squeamish about dealing with people we like if they are slaughtering the sheep owned by Christ? If so, what does that say about us?

We must make a proper distinction that the text does. There are those who are misled and depart from the Gospel, but then there are those who want to distort the Gospel and so teach a different gospel, which is not a gospel at all. We must treat people differently depending on the case. People who are misled are those that we are to go after and try to persuade. We must warn them and plead with them not to desert God Himself by deserting the Gospel. We must strive over and over to declare the truth of the Gospel and show them their error. But for those who want to distort the Gospel and in fact do, we must notice that Paul has his strongest words against these people. These people may be very nice and charming. They may be very educated and cultured. They may be our strongest backers in some ways. They may be our best givers. But if they are wolves and are teaching a false gospel, they are accursed and we cannot allow them to continue teaching such things. “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. 28 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them (Acts 20:27-30).

Pastors and shepherds must defend the flock as ministers of God and shepherds of the flock of Christ. They do this by declaring the whole counsel or purpose of God. They do this by being on guard for things that come in against themselves and against the church. They do this knowing that savage wolves will attempt to come in. These wolves come in appearing like sheep, and possibly like the nicest of people. But these people do not spare the flock, but speak perverse things that draw the sheep away from Christ. It is hard when very nice and tolerant people speak such soothing things to people, yet while appearing to be helpful, they are being the cause of people to desert God and the Gospel of grace. Those who defend the truth may have to appear mean and intolerant, but so be it. The sheep of the Master must be defended. Ministers must study for a deeper understanding of the Gospel and to remind themselves of the glory of God in the Gospel. The wolves draw people away with distortions and outright lies. We must do battle with the truth and of the glory of God in the Gospel applied with love. Our Master deserves nothing less than our all and those poor sheep of His must be defended with the Gospel of His glory itself.

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