The Cross and Criticism

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger and its crew embarked on a mission to broaden educational horizons and promote the advancement of scientific knowledge. The most outstanding objective of the Challenger 51-L mission was the delivery of educational lessons from space by teacher Christa McAuliffe. A lesson was, indeed, delivered, but not one which anyone expected.

Just 75 seconds after liftoff, tragedy struck. Before a watching world the shuttle suddenly erupted overhead, disintegrating the cabin along with its crew. The debris of metal, blood and bones plummeted to earth, along with our nation's glory.

What had gone wrong? That was the pressing question everyone asked. As teams of researchers examined the wreckage, the specific cause was soon found. The problem was with the O-rings (circular rubber seals), which had been designed to fit snugly into the joints of the booster engine sections. Evidently, the O-rings had become defective under adverse conditions, and the resulting mechanical failure led to the tragedy. Was that the whole story?

The truth eventually got out. The New York Times put it frankly: the ultimate cause of the space shuttle disaster was pride. A group of top managers failed to listen carefully to the warnings, advice and criticisms given by those down the line who were concerned about the operational reliability of certain parts of the booster engine under conditions of abnormal stress. Just think: heeding criticism could have saved seven human lives.

As a pastor, church leader, and lecturer for Peacemaker Ministries, I am blessed with the opportunity to minister to people and congregations in conflict. Among the many things I've come to learn is the dominant role that giving and taking criticism has in exacerbating conflict. Yet, even more, I've learned that the remedy wonderfully provided by God requires us to return to the cross of Christ. For our present purposes, I want us to look at the problem of taking criticism.

The Dynamic of Defending Against Criticism

First of all, let me define what I mean by criticism. I'm using criticism in a broad sense as referring to any judgment made about you by another, which declares that you fall short of a particular standard. The standard may be God's or man's. The judgment may be true or false. It may be given gently with a view to correction, or harshly and in a condemnatory fashion. It may be given by a friend or by an enemy. But whatever the case, it is a judgment or criticism about you, that you have fallen short of a standard.

However it comes, most of us would agree that criticism is difficult to take. Who of us doesn't know someone with whom we need to be especially careful in our remarks lest they blow up in response to our suggested corrections? Unfortunately, as I travel around the country, the tale is often told that many people would never dare confront or criticize their pastor or leader for fear of retaliation. Many just find another organization to work for or church to attend.

In fact, don't you know of leaders who select those to be nearest to them who are easiest on them? How many times have you been warned to "walk on eggshells" around that person?

As sad a commentary as this is, such people are not much different from me. I, too, do not like criticism. Any criticism is hard for me to take. I'd much rather be commended than corrected, praised than rebuked. I'd much rather judge than be judged! And I do not think that I am alone in this. The more I listen, the more I hear the dynamic of defensiveness against criticism.

In counseling, I see it in the humorous way a couple will be diverted from the issue at hand to debate who said what, when, and where. Or in how people debate back and forth as to whether it was a Tuesday or a Wednesday when they did something.

Why do we expend so much time and energy swatting at these flies with sledgehammers? Why are our hearts and minds so instantly engaged and our emotions surging with great vigor in our defense? The answer is simple. These issues are not minor or insignificant. We defend that which we deem of great value. We think it is our life we are saving. We believe something much larger will be lost if we do not use every means to rescue it. Our name, our reputation, our honor, our glory.

"If I don't point out that I've been misunderstood, misquoted, or falsely accused, then others won't know I'm right. And if I don't point out my rightness, nobody will. I will be scorned and condemned in the eyes of others."

Do you see the idol of self here? The desire for self-justification? But idols have legs. Because of this deep idolatrous desire for self-justification, the tragedy of the Space Shuttle gets played out over and over again in our relationships. It destroys our ability to listen and learn, and it provokes us to quarrel.

Thus, for the sake of our pride and foolishness, we willingly suffer loss of friends, spouse, or loved ones. Some of that destruction comes in the shape of a thin truce. We tolerate a cold war. We make a false peace. We pledge to each other to discuss only those things which have little significance for bettering our souls. We lay out land mines and threaten the other that we will explode in anger if they so much as raise the forbidden subject of my mistake, my error, or my sin.

This is how churches split and factions develop. We surround ourselves with "yes" men—people willing to never challenge, advise, or criticize us. Yet, while we go on defending ourselves against criticism, we find Scripture teaching something different.

Criticism Commended

	Being teachable, able, and willing to receive correction is a mark of the wise.

The ability to hear and heed correction or criticism is commended in Scripture, particularly in Proverbs. Being teachable, able and willing to receive correction, is a mark of the wise. And the wise father or mother will encourage as well as model such an attitude for their daughters and sons.

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice (Prov. 12:15).

Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice (Prov. 13:10).

A rebuke impresses a man of discernment more than a hundred lashes a fool (Prov. 17:10).

The ability to take advice, correction, and rebuke is not only considered a mark of the wise, and the inability a mark of the fool, but both the wise and the fool reap according to their ability to take criticism:

He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded (Prov. 13:13).

Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning (Prov. 9:9).

He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding (Prov. 15:32).

There is gain in taking criticism. No wonder David exclaims in Psalm 141:5: Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. David knows the profit of gaining wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He knows rebukes are a kindness, a blessing, an honor.

Ask yourself: Is that how you look at a rebuke? Is that how you perceive criticism, correction or counsel? Do you want to look at it that way?

How can we move from always being quick to defend ourselves against any and all criticism toward becoming instead like David who saw it as gain? The answer is through understanding, believing, and affirming all that God says about us in the cross of Christ.

Paul summed it up when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ." A believer is one who identifies with all that God affirms and condemns in Christ's crucifixion. God affirms in Christ's crucifixion the whole truth about Himself: His holiness, goodness, justice, mercy, and truth as revealed and demonstrated in His Son, Jesus. Equally, in the cross God condemns the lie: sin, deceit, and the idolatrous heart. He condemns my sinfulness as well as my specific sins. Let's see how this applies to giving and taking criticism.

First, in Christ's Cross I Agree With God's Judgment of Me

I see myself as God sees me—a sinner. There is no escaping the truth: "No one is righteous, not even one" (Rom. 3:9-18). In response to my sin, the cross has criticized and judged me more intensely, deeply, pervasively, and truly than anyone else ever could. This knowledge permits us to say to all other criticism of us: "This is just a fraction of it."

Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law (Gal. 3:10).

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).

By faith, I affirm God's judgment of myself, that I am a sinner. I also believe that the answer to my sin lies in the cross.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live (Gal. 2:20).

For we know that our old self was crucified with him [Jesus] so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin (Rom. 6:6).

If the cross says anything, it speaks about my sin. The person who says "I have been crucified with Christ" is a person well aware of his sinfulness. You'll never get life right by your own unaided efforts because all who rely on observing the law are under a curse. "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law" (Gal. 3:10). Thus the cross doesn't merely criticize or judge us; it condemns us for not doing everything written in God's law. Do you believe that? Do you feel the force of that criticism? Do you appreciate the thoroughness of God's judgment?

	To claim to be a Christian is to agree with all God says about our sin.

The crucified person also knows that he cannot defend himself against God's judgment by trying to offset his sin by his good works. Think about this fact: whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10).

To claim to be a Christian is to agree with all God says about our sin. As a person "crucified with Christ," we admit, agree, and approve of God's judgment against us: There is no one righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10).

Second, In Christ's Cross I Agree With God's Justification of Me

I must not only agree with God's judgment of me as sinner in the cross of Christ, but I must also agree with God's justification of me as sinner. Through the sacrificial love of Jesus, God justifies ungodly people (Rom. 3:21-26).

But the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

My goal is to boast in Christ's righteousness, not my own.

No one will be declared righteous in his [God's] sight by observing the law (Rom. 3:20).

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Rom. 3:22).

Pride breeds quarrels, says Solomon. Quarrels are often over who is right. Quarrels erupt in our idolatrous demand for self-justification. But not if I am applying the cross. For the cross not only declares God's just verdict against me as a sinner, but His declaration of righteousness by grace through faith in Christ.

The cross of Christ reminds me that the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me. And because of this, God has thoroughly and forever accepted me in Christ. Here is how grace works: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Gal. 3:13f).

What a sure foundation for the soul! Now, I don't practice self-justification, but boasting—boasting about Christ's righteousness for me.

If you truly take this to heart, the whole world can stand against you, denounce you, or criticize you, and you will be able to reply, "If God has justified me, who can condemn me?" "If God justifies me, accepts me, and will never forsake me, then why should I feel insecure and fear criticism?" "Christ took my sins, and I receive His Spirit. Christ takes my condemnation, and I receive His righteousness."

mplications for Dealing with Criticism

	GIVING CRITICISM GOD'S WAY
	I see my brother/sister as one for whom Christ died (1 Cor. 8:11). Keep on loving each other as brothers (Heb. 13:1). I come as an equal, who also is a sinner. Are we any better than they? Not at all. For there is no one righteous...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:9,23). I prepare my heart lest I speak out of wrong motives. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD (Prov. 16:2). The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil (Prov. 15:28). A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction (Prov. 16:23). I examine my own life and confess my sin first. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Let me take the speck out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matt. 7:3-5). I am always patient, in it for the long haul (Eph. 4:2). Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. (1 Cor. 13:4). My goal is not to condemn by debating points, but to build up through constructive criticism. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may give grace to those who listen (Eph. 4:29). I correct and rebuke my brother gently, in the hope that God will grant him the grace of repentance even as I myself repent only through His grace. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth... (2 Tim. 2:24-25).

In light of God's judgment and justification of the sinner in the cross of Christ, we can begin to discover how to deal with any and all criticism. By agreeing with God's criticism of me in Christ's cross, I can face any criticism man may lay against me. In other words, no one can criticize me more than the cross has. And the most devastating criticism turns out to be the finest mercy. If you thus know yourself as having been crucified with Christ, then you can respond to any criticism, even mistaken or hostile criticism, without bitterness, defensiveness, or blameshifting. Such responses typically exacerbate and intensify conflict, and lead to the rupture of relationships. You can learn to hear criticism as constructive and not condemnatory because God has justified you.

Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? (Rom. 8:33-34a).

Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it (Ps. 141:5).

If I know myself as crucified with Christ, I can now receive another's criticism with this attitude: "You have not discovered a fraction of my guilt. Christ has said more about my sin, my failings, my rebellion and my foolishness than any man can lay against me. I thank you for your corrections. They are a blessing and a kindness to me. For even when they are wrong or misplaced, they remind me of my true faults and sins for which my Lord and Savior paid dearly when He went to the cross for me. I want to hear where your criticisms are valid."

The correction and advice that we hear are sent by our heavenly Father. They are His corrections, rebukes, warnings, and scoldings. His reminders are meant to humble me, to weed out the root of pride and replace it with a heart and lifestyle of growing wisdom, understanding, goodness, and truth. For example, if you can take criticism—however just or unjust—you'll learn to give it with gracious intent and constructive results. See the sidebar, "Giving Criticism God's Way."

I do not fear man's criticism for I have already agreed with God's criticism. And I do not look ultimately for man's approval for I have gained by grace God's approval. In fact, His love for me helps me to hear correction and criticism as a kindness, oil on my head, from my Father who loves me and says, "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone He accepts as a son" (Heb. 12:5-6).

Applying What We've Learned

1. Critique yourself. How do I typically react to correction? Do I pout when criticized or corrected? What is my first response when someone says I'm wrong? Do I tend to attack the person? To reject the content of criticism? To react to the manner? How well do I take advice? How well do I seek it? Are people able to approach me to correct me? Am I teachable?

Do I harbor anger against the person who criticizes me? Do I immediately seek to defend myself, hauling out my righteous acts and personal opinions in order to defend myself and display my rightness? Can my spouse, parents, children, brothers, sisters, or friends correct me?

2. Ask the Lord to give you a desire to be wise instead of a fool. Use Proverbs to commend to yourself the goodness of being willing and able to receive criticism, advice, rebuke, counsel, or correction. Meditate upon the passages given above: Proverbs 9:9; 12:15; 13:10,13; 15:32; 17:10; Psalm 141:5.

3. Focus on your crucifixion with Christ. While I can say I have faith in Christ, and even say with Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ," yet I still find myself not living in light of the cross. So I challenge myself with two questions. First, if I continually squirm under the criticism of others, how can I say I know and agree with the criticism of the cross? Second, if I typically justify myself, how can I say I know, love, and cling to God's justification of me through Christ's cross? This drives me back to contemplating God's judgment and justification of the sinner in Christ on the cross. As I meditate on what God has done in Christ for me, I find a resolve to agree with and affirm all that God says about me in Christ, with whom I've been crucified.

4. Learn to speak nourishing words to others. I want to receive criticism as a sinner living within Jesus' mercy, so how can I give criticism in a way that communicates mercy to another? Accurate, balanced criticism, given mercifully, is the easiest to hear—and even against that my pride rebels. Unfair criticism or harsh criticism (whether fair or unfair) is needlessly hard to hear. How can I best give accurate, fair criticism, well tempered with mercy and affirmation?

My prayer is that in your struggle against the sin of self-justification you will deepen your love for the glory of God as revealed in the gospel of His Son, and that you will grow wise by faith.

by Alfred J. Poirier

Christ our Mediator

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

In that one sentence, Paul captures the main theme and essence of the entirety of holy Scripture, as well as answering the cry we heard from Job for someone to arbitrate between God and man.

"Father, thank You for the Mediator
whom You both planned for and provided
in Your love and mercy and wisdom and power.


Jesus, You alone could be my substitute
and pay the penalty for my sin!
How can I ever find adequate words to thank
You enough for Your uniquely perfect life
and Your uniquely perfect death on my behalf?
With all my heart and soul and mind and strength,
I thank and praise You for Your sacrifice.
Thank You for this truth that so transcends my emotions.
Continue to allow it to transform my emotions."

C.J. Mahaney

I am the Worst Sinner I know

We must be reminded that apart from the cross, condemnation is normal. Without Jesus, we all deserve to be condemned and punished for sin. However in Romans 8:1 the Bible tells us, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Knowing this, we don't have to go through life under condemnation.

Condemnation is something that everyone deals with at one time or another. I know from time to time I really struggle with this. We can become condemned over any sin, past or present, great or small. C.J. says that the common element is a sustained sense of guilt or shame over sins for which you have repented to God and to any appropriate individuals."

Mahaney wants us to ask ourselves the following questions:

1. Do you related to God as if you were on a kind of permanent probation, suspecting that at any moment He may haul you back into the jail cell of His disfavor?
2. When you come to worship do you maintain a "respectful distance" from God, as if He were a fascinating but ill0tempered celebrity known for lashing out at His fans?
3. When you read Scripture does it reveal the boundless love of the Savior or merely intensify your condemnation?
4. Are you more aware of your sin than you are of God's grace, given you through the cross?

God is glorified when we believe with all our hearts that those who trust in Christ can never be condemned.

It is only when we receive his gift of grace and live in the good of total forgiveness that we're able to turn from old, sinful ways of living and walk in grace-motivated obedience.

1 Timothy 1:16

I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

Cross Centered Day's

How do you keep the flame of Gospel passion burning in the drizzle of real life?

1. Memorize the Gospel

The Bible refers to memorizing Scripture as storing up His Word in our hearts. God wants us to tuck His promises into our hearts so that, no matter where we are or what we're doing, we can pull them out and be strengthened by their truth. God has given us passages to help us preach to ourselves. Here are a few key passages that speak of God's work of salvation through the cross which we should never forget.

Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one
from whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he
has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet
we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities; upon
him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed. All we like
sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on
him the iniquity of us all.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith. This was to show
God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance
he had passed over former sins. It was
to show his righteousness at the present time, so
that he might be just and the justifier of the one
who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:6-11
For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely
die for a righteous person, though perhaps for
a good person one would dare even to die, but
God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore,
we have now been justified by his blood, much
more shall we be saved by him from the wrath
of God. For if while we were enemies we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be
saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received reconciliation.

Romans 8:32-39
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him
up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously
give us all thigns? Who shall bring any
charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who
died, more than that, who was raised, who is
at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding
for us. Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or
sword?
No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For I am
sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4
For I delivered to you as of first importance
what I also received: that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was
buried, that he was raised on the third day in
according with the Scriptures.

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

Galatians 2:21
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification
were through the law, then Christ died for
no purpose.

2. Pray the Gospel

The gospel should be at the center of your prayer life. The gospel makes it possible for us to approach God. We must acknowledge that Christ's work on the cross is what makes our very prayer possible. We should thank Him that, because Jesus bore God's wrath for sin, we will never be separated from God's love. Lets thank Him that, because of the cross, we are reconciled to God and have been given the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, lead us, guide us, and empower us to resist sin and serve God. Let us ask God to bless us graciously with all that we need to obey and glorify Him.

3. Sing the Gospel

"A Christian's heart should be brimming every day with the song of Calvary. One thing we must do is not just wait for sunday worship but, we should make cross centered worship a regular part of our dailt routine. Here is one of CJ's favorite hymns:

'Twas I that shed the sacred Blood,
I nailed him to the Tree,
I crucified the Christ of God;
I joined the mockery.
And of that shouting multitude
I feel that I am one;
And in that din of voices rude
I recognize my own.
Around the Cross the throng I see
That mock the Sufferer's groan;
Yet still my voice it seems to be,
As if I mocked alone.

4. Review how the Gospel has changed YOU

Many people today want to forget the past. The mistakes they've made and the sins they've committed aren't subjects they like to revisit. One of the best ways we can draw near to the cross is to remember the past. It should remind us of how marvelous God's salvation really is. For me reminding myself of my ugly sins in the past has given a heart to not make the same mistake twice.

5. Study the Gospel

• Camp out in the books of Romans and Galatians. Author John Stott, among others, has written excellent commentaries on both to assist us in our study.
• Don't be afraid of technical theological terms. Take the time to learn the meaning of such words as atonement, substitution, propitiation, justification, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. If you're looking for a guide, the Atonement by Leon Morris explains each of these words in detail :) Understanding them will and has helped me appreciate and marvel at what God has done.
• Read your whole Bible with your eyes peeled for the gospel. It has been noted that every passage of Scripture, whether it's in the Old or New Testament, either predicts, prepares for, reflects, or results from the work of Christ.
  

Remember we cannot do any of this on our own. We need God's Spirit to light the truths of the cross within our hearts.

Justification - Sanctification

In Romans 3:26, it says that, in that moment, in which you first repented of your sins and trusted in Jesus Christ, you were justified, or declared righteous, before God. When you put your faith in Jesus, God, the judge, hands down the verdict that you are righteous. He transfers the perfect, sinless record of Jesus to you.

The word justified refers to our status before God. This is amazing grace at its most amazing. In the moment that I first believed, my past sin didn't cease to exist. I hadn't done any good work that could somehow make up for my disobedience. Yet God completely and totally forgave me. He not only wiped the record of my sin away, he credited the righteousness of His Son to me.

"However, the power of the gospel doesn't end when we're justified. When God declares a sinner righteous, He immediately begins the process of making that sinner more like His Son. Through the work of His Spirit, through the power of His word and fellowship with other believers, God peels away our desires for sin, renews our minds, and changes our lives." This would be called "Sanctification."

Sanctification is a process of becoming more like Christ, of growing in holiness. This process begins the instant you are converted and will not end until you meet Jesus face-to-face. Sanctification is about our own choices and behavior.

We must not confuse the two. CJ gives a few examples of how the two differ:

• Justification is being declared righteous
• Sanctification is being made righteous, being conformed to the image of Christ

• Justification is our position before God.
  
• Sanctification is our practice. You don't practice justification. It happens once for all, upon conversion.

• Justification is objective, Christ's work for us.
• Sanctification is subjective, Christ's work within us.

• Justification is immediate and complete upon conversion. You will never be more justified than you are the first moment you trust in the Person and finished work of Christ.
• Sanctification is a process. You will be more sanctified as you continue in grace-motivated obedience.

I think William Plumer had a pretty good summary of the two. "Justification is an act. It is not a work, or a series of acts. It is not progressive. The weakest believer and the strongest saint are alike equally justified. Justification admits no degrees. A man is either wholly justified or wholly condemned in the sight of God."

Lord, I ask for your grace and strength as I seek to serve you today. I thank you that all your blessings flow to me from your son's work on my behalf. I am justified by your grace, and Your grace alone. None of my efforts to obey you and grow in sanctification add to your finished work at the cross.

Amen

Passion

In this Chapter CJ makes it clear that one simple truth should motivate our work and affect every part of who we are. Christ died for our sins.

If there's anything in life that we should be passionate about, it's the gospel. And I don't mean passionate only about sharing it with others. I mean passionate in thinking about it, dwelling on it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to color the way we look at the world. Only one thing can be of first importance to each of us. And only the gospel ought to be.

Three main tendencies that can draw our hearts away and that we should be aware of are:

1. Legalism - which means basing our relationship with God on our own performance
2. Condemnation - which means being more focused on our sin that on God's grace
3. Subjectivism - which means basing our view of God on our changing feelings and emotion

The Most Important Message

"The gospel, is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it." Jerry Bridges

Is your life cross centered?

Do any of these describe you?

• You often lack joy
• You're not consistently growing in spiritual maturity
• Your love for God lacks passion
• You're always looking for some new technique, some "new truth" or new experience that will pull all the pieces of your faith together

As you learn to live a cross centered life, you'll learn:

• How to break free from joy-robbing, legalistic thinking and living
• How to leave behind the crippling effects of guilt and condemnation
• How to stop basing your faith on your emotions and circumstances
• How to grow in gratefulness, joy, and holiness

A good example of someone who lived a cross centered life was the apostle Paul. Paul recognized the danger of forgetting what is most important. He refused to be pulled away from the gospel. The cross was the centerpiece of Paul's theology. It wasn't merely one of Paul's messages; it was the message. He taught about other things as well, but whatever he taught was always derived from, and related to, the foundational reality that Jesus Christ died so that sinners would be reconciled to God and forgiven by God.

Regardless of our pasts, we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. (Romans 3:23)

Let us not forget the most important message that, Jesus, God's perfect, righteous Son, died in our place for our sins. Jesus took all the punishment; Jesus received all the wrath as He hung on the cross, so a sinner, like me and you could be completely forgiven.

The Cross Centered Life

So I just finished the book, The Enemy Within. I definitely would recommend anyone, no matter where you stand in faith, to read that book.

I am now going to blog on, The Cross Centered Life, by C.J. Mahaney.

Sufficient Grace

If these are your thoughts, you will find that his grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9)

"I am a poor, weak creature, unstable as water. I can't
conquer my flesh. My corruption is too much for me
and is a step away from ruining me. I don't know what to do.
My soul is a desert, a cave full of dragons. I've
made promises and broken them. Many times I thought
I'd won and would be delivered, but I was deceived. I
can tell that if I don't get some help right away, I'll give
up on God and make a shipwreck of my faith.
But here at death's door I raise my weak arms. I
look to you, Lord Christ, with all grace in your heart,
all power in your hand, more than able to slay all my
enemies. You can make me more than a conqueror.
Why do you say, O my soul, that "my way is hidden
from the LORD. . . . Do you not know? Have you not
heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator
of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or
weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the
power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and
weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those
who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and
not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. (Isaiah 7:9)

Where do I stand?

Why do we know so little of God?

1. We know so little of him because he is God.

"He often describes himself by telling us what we can't know if him. We can't see him, we can't comprehend him, because he isn't like a man. In fact, there's no one like him. And what we do know of him, we can't comprehend. We can only believe and admire. We say and believe that he is infinite and eternal, that he is everywhere and never changes."

2. We know so little of God because we only know him by faith.

Faith is all the evidence we have of this invisible God. It is the only way we can come to him. Our whole relationship with him in this life is summed up as walking by faith. We simply trust what he says about himself, and thats how we know him. We know him little, but we know him truly, enough to love him more than we do, delight in him and serve him more than we do, obey and trust him more than we do.


Here are some questions out of the book that have helped me look at different areas in my life, that I have definitely grown in, things that I haven't really changed in, and then just things that I have been really slacking in and need to pray about.

• Is your zeal for God as warm. living, vigorous, effective, and eager as it was when you first gave yourself to God?

• Do rivers of tears still flow from your eyes when God is dishonored?

• Do you contend as violently as you once did for the faith?

• Do you concern yourself as much as you once did with the glory of God in the world?

• Does your life judge the world by its holiness and separateness as it used to?

• Is your faith growing stronger?

• Do you delight in public worship as you did when you first came to Christ?

• Do you find the same relish and sweetness you once found in worship?

• Is the preaching of the Word as precious to you as it was?

• Do you listen to the Word eagerly and respond in faith and repentance?

• Do you anticipate the Sabbath as a time of joyous fellowship, as a foretaste of heaven?

• Do you hunger for holy conversation with others?

• Are you as careful about obedience as you were in the past?

• Is your conscience as tender toward sin as it was?

• Are you as faithful in private prayer and meditation?

• Do you love your brothers and sisters more than before?

• Are you as ready for crosses and burdens and persecution?

• Are you as humble?

• Are you as willing to deny yourself for the sake of the Kingdom?

Revelation 2:4-5

You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

7 Cold Splashes on First Love Fire

1. The flesh knows how to eat an elephant

The flesh knows that it wouldn't succeed against us if it stormed in to crush our love in one blow. It is subtle, working carefully and deliberately to pick our love apart. The felsh eats away love the way you eat an elephant - one bite at a time.

Indwelling sin takes advantage of our natural laziness and negligence in spiritual things, enticing us to lay aside spiritual duties one by one. It won't at first get God completely our of our minds. But it will talk us into thinking of him less and less making us think we can get by with a little less prayer, shorter or fewer private devotions, until he at last convinces us that we can get along without talking to God at all. Which we can't.

2. The flesh dresses us up in tuxedos and evening gowns

Hebrews 12:28-29 - Le us worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

God won't accept mere outward worship from us. When we deal with him, he demands our whole heart and soul and mind and strength, not just our bodies, but our thoughts, our longings and dreams, our everything.

To approach him without fear is to approach him without thinking about who he is: the God of the universe, who holds the nations in his hands, who can create and destroy.

3. The flesh sends us down rabbit trails.

In 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 Paul worried that the Corinthians had been deceived and lost their pure devotion to Christ. The flesh wants to sidetrack us from the simplicity of the gospel, so that Jesus is not our all in all. It steers us toward a religious or political or moral cause as a substitute for passion for him.

4. The flesh turns sin into a cuddly pet.

Cuddly pets are sins that we domesticate and harbor in our hearts. We think of them as either too small or too great to take to God, or in some cases we just get too attached to them to let them go.

5. The flesh pumps up our heads and shrivels our hearts.

I think what Lundgaard is trying to say here is that a person with a big head and a small heart can learn the doctrines of sin, yet never be convicted of sin. He can learn the teachings of grace and pardon and the great atonement for sin, yet never feel the peace of God that passes understanding.

6. The flesh gets us to do our own thing

The flesh tries to put out the fire of our love by gradually persuading us to live according to its wisdom, rather than God's. The wisdom of the flesh is to trust in self. God condemns such "wisdom". Isaiah 47:10 - Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, 'I am, and there is none besides me.' Independence is the opposite of faith and love. Faith and love trust another.

7. The flesh is a cat that gets our tongue.

Lundgaard tells us that the greatest destroyer of first-love fire is the neglect of private communion with God.

The person who calls himself a Christian, who says he loves God, yet does not seek his company and delight in it, can't be a true lover of God. His own flesh has deceived him. If he doesn't daily give his heart to God and receive God's heart in return, if he doesn't daily renew his hatred of his own sin and his delight in God's mercy, he has no relationship to God.

What you are
when you are alone with God,
that you are
and nothing more

Consent to Sin

Lundgaard describes consent of the will as a tricky thing. Sometimes we give our consent to something freely, fully, absolutely, after careful deliberation. Sometimes we consent reluctantly to "the lesser of two evils." Sometimes we do something on impulse that we immediately regret and can't explain.

Lundgaard categorizes consent to sin in two forms:

1. Sins of the high hand

In Ephesians 4:19 Paul speaks of those who have "given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more." With this consent the soul plunges into sin like a ship at full sail with the wind at its back.

2. Sins of the willy-nilly

When believers consent to sin, there is always a secret reluctance. The Spirit in us is grieved by our sin and can't delight in it. The believer's consent is like a ship sailing against the wind. In every individual sinful thought, word, action, or feeling, God's grace fights against the will's consent. The wisdom of the believer is to learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit's resistance, no matter how faintly it may echo in the conscience. The folly of the believer is to ignore that voice repeatedly, until he becomes nearly deaf to it. That is only 'greasing the tracks for sin," as Lundgaard calls it.

Lundgaard tells a story which illustrates what we must do in order to defeat sin:

"Suppose my friend Stanley is getting ready to spend a few months in the Central African Republic. Dr. Livingston tells him he must take a series of inoculations, or he will certainly get malaria. Stan looks into it and finds the pills will cost him $200, so he balks. Four months later Stan is on his deathbed, looking up at Dr. Livingston's I-told-you-so face. Who is responsible for Stan's sickness and possible death?

Stan was warned. He knew what he had to do in order to prevent malaria. But he chose, because of the cost, not to take the pills. He has no one to blame but himself.

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)

For the glory of God

1. Guarding your mind is essential to obedience.

Hebrews 2:1 - We must pay more careful attention, therefore, so what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

The sense of the warning is that we need to give attention to the things we have heard (in the Scripture), because if we don't, we'll lose the life, power, sense, and impression of them in our minds. There is no way to keep the impression of the Word in our minds except by constant care.

2. The mind includes the conscience

Hebrews 5:14 - Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

The solid food in the verse I believe is talking about the meat of the Scriptures.

If the conscience isn't stirred up at the sight of sin, it can't help us, and if the mind is dull and led astray, the conscience will be sluggish, or even corrupted.

Lundgaard writes that to please God with obedience, it isn't enough to merely do what he says. The way we do it has to square with God's rule. The great duty of the mind is to attend to the rule of duties.

Words mean nothing unless they are arranged according to the rules of language. In the same sense duties piled up mean nothing to God unless they are done according to his rule. The work of your mind is to know his rule and apply it to all you do before God, to be very careful, then, how you live.

God wants us to think deeply about what pleases him. Lundgaard gives us a list of some of the duties of the mind for everything that pleases God:

1. Obey fully

Under the Old Testament ceremonial law no animal could be a sacrifice unless it was completely free of spot and defect. Similarly, duties must be complete in all of their parts, nothing lacking. The mind must study to know everything that pleases God.

2. Obey by faith

Every duty must be done in faith, in the strength from Christ. Apart from him we can do nothing. We must remind ourselves that it isn't enough for us to be a believer, thought that's the beginning of every good work, but we must also act in faith in every duty.

3. Obey from the heart

A duty offered to God as an act of mind and will without the affections is abominable to God. God loves a cheerful giver, not merely someone who grudgingly drops money in the plate.

4. Obey God's way

Your mind has to make sure you do everything the way and by the means God has commanded. An example of this would be how God has commanded us to worship him. However we are not free to make up ways to worship him. According to his directions for worship we must worship him in spirit and in truth.

5. Obey God for God's goals

Your mind must search out the purpose of every duty, the main goal always being the glory of God in Christ.

"Whatever you do , do it all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)

God's Hammer

Romans 8:13 - For if you live according to the [flesh], you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
2 Peter 3:17 - Be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
1 Corinthians 15:58 - My dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.






"... the believer, to protect himself against deceit, has to fix in his mind the sinfulness of sin and the grace of God. The tools God has given you enable you to do that - when you swing God's hammer, the law of sin is flattened before you. On the other hand, precisely because these tools are so destructive, the flesh opposes them with all its wily strength. So we have to know not only how to use them, but how to keep from being tricked out of using them."

These great tools of the mind are meditation and private prayer. The meditation and prayer that Lundgaard is mentioning are designed specifically to ruin the flesh. In this meditation and prayer we compare our hearts to the Scriptures, comparing our lives to what we find there. We ponder the truth as it is in Jesus, to see his life formed in us.

Lundgaard mentions that, "... we never approach meditation and prayer like this until we keep three things in mind."

1. Meditate on God with God.

We must fill our minds with thoughts of God's character, glory, majesty, love, beauty, and goodness, but not abstractly and impersonally. We must also speak to God as we contemplate him, humbling our souls before him, adoring and admiring him, delighting in him and giving him glory. We must make our meditation into the worship of the psalmist:

O Lord, my Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1)

2. Meditate on the Word in the Word

We should study the written Word to know the living Word. We should never study and pray without God's help. He is the one who revealed his truth, and only he can enlighten our minds to know it. We should ask him to open his mind and will to us, so that we may know him and love him more.

3. Meditate on your self in the Word and with God.

The power of this meditation and prayer lies in its ability to expose the secret workings of sin, what advantages the flesh has gotten over you, what temptations it has used with success, what harm it has already caused, and what harm it still plans. This prayer and meditation calls on the Spirit to use his Word to shine light into the cracks and crevices of our soul, to show us every real need and danger there.

God has given us a hammer that crushes the flesh.

Temptation

This Chapter starts out with a story about a man having dinner with his boss's wife, in which she tries to seduce him. It is very similar in a sense to that of Josephs story so I will just share Joseph's instead.

Genesis 39:6-10

So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. ow Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

We must know and hold on to the evil of sin and the love of God. That is how Joseph stood up against overwhelming temptation.

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in "the present age"

The Cross-Eyed Watchman

"Your mind can only protect against the deceit of the flesh if you are 'cross-eyed.' That is, you can only keep teh rottenness of sin and the kindness of God in mind if you fix your eyes on the cross. What shows God's hatred of sin more than the cross? What shows God's love to you more than the cross? If you want to know exactly what sin deserves, you have to understand the cross. If you want to know how infinitely deep the rot of sin reaches, you have to think through all the implications of the cross. If you want to know how far God was willing to go to recue you from sin, you have to see his precious Son hanging on the cross for you."

Deception

(James 1:13-14) But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James is writing to people trying to excuse their sin much the way Adam and Eve did in the Garden, pinning the blame on God. But James says that the whole guilt of sin lies in the sinner, as he is hoodwinked by the desires of his own flesh.

First, the goal the flesh aims at is death. Whatever sin pretends, it will end in death. The flesh wants us to believe that the consequences for dallying with sin will only be slight.

Second, the way the flesh works for your death is by temptation. The essence of temptation is deceit, to be tempted and to be deceived are the same thing. Here is a lists that James gives us that he calls the five degrees of temptation:

1. dragging away
2. enticing
3. conceiving sin
4. the birth of sin
5. death by sin

"The first degree relates to the mind, it is dragged away from its duties by the deceit of sin. The second aims at the affections, they are enticed and entangled. The third overcomes the will, the consent of the will is the conception of actual sin. The fourth degree disrupts our way of life as sin is born into it. The fifth is the flesh's goal, a hardened life of sin, which leads to eternal death."

"Each of the faculties of your soul has duties before God. The mind is the sentinel, commanded to watch carefully over the soul by questioning, assessing, and making judgments: "Will this please God?" "Is this according to God's Word?" If the mind determines that an action is right, the affections should then fall in line and desire, long for, and cling to that which the mind said was good. Last, the will puts the soul into action, carrying out what the mind said was good and the affections hungered for."

The Haunted Heart

What is the heart?

Heart is used different ways in the Bible. Sometimes it is the mind believing or being enlightened, the will deciding and acting, or the affections feeling. Lundgaard says the best way to think of your heart is that it comprises:

• your thoughts, plans, judgments, discernment (the mind)
• your choices and actions (the will)
• your longings, desire, revulsion, imagination, feelings (the affections)
• your sense of right and wrong, which approves or condemns your mind, will, and affections (the conscience)

This book points out the fact that the heart is a maze that only God can solve, and is more complicated and unsearchable: it is "deceitful above all things".

In Matthew 15:19, Jesus called the heart the fountain of sin.
In Luke 6:45, Jesus continues and says that the heart is a treasure chest where we sock away evil.

We should never think for a minute that the war against sin is over in this life.

A great example of this would be David. David lived a long life of devotion and duty to God, and saw mercy on mercy from God's hands; then he made a few bad choices and sin had stabbed him in the back.

However what made David a remarkable man was that he persevered through hardships trusting in God. He relied entirely on God. When he did stumble, he was quick to repent and ask forgiveness and didn’t repeat his sins. He took personal responsibility for his actions and didn’t try to get out of the consequences. He took the time to learn God’s voice and thank God in everything.

One thing that I pray for and really aim to do is not make the same mistake twice. I know as a sinner I will always sin; but I pray that I learn from my mistakes, pay the consequences of my actions, and then have the strength and wisdom to not make the same ones.

Hebrews 12:1-4

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

"The Holy Spirit takes the horror out of the horror show. We don't know our hearts, but he does. He is a blazing torch we carry into the haunted house, and he ferrets out the monsters. He leads us into a closet under the stairs and uncovers a seething hatred. He shines under the bed and exposes a sniveling lust. No sin escapes his searching eye."

Search me. O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139:23-24)

Daily Distractions

This Chapter starts of by stating that the only moral, authoritative rule over believers is the kingdom and reign of God.

There are many 'distractions' and 'temptations' as Christians that we deal with daily.

I know this is something I deal with daily. Being on a college campus full of non-believers, and many distractions, is very hard sometimes not to be distracted with sin. This is why I pray throughout the day that God would remove these 'distractions' from my daily life. I find it very important also that even if something is no longer distracting to you in your life, and you feel that you are doing well in that area resisting against sin, to continue to pray that God would keep that distraction gone and to continue to give you strength to resist it.

Sin Gets Under Our Skin

1. Indwelling sin wears out its welcome.

One thing we must remember and something I was reminded of through some one else's blog, is that, sin, never takes a day off in our lives. If sin only came to visit now and then, we could get a lot of godliness done while it was away. If it were like an army that struck, then pulled back for a time, we could refresh ourselves and fortify our defenses during the calm. But the flesh is a relentless homebody and assailant. As Lundgaard says, "Where ever you go, whatever you do, the law of sin is with you step for step, in the best you do, and in the worst you do."

2. Indwelling sin doesn't observe a sabbath.

Lundgaard describes sin as a not just a permanent houseguest; but as a meddlesome wretch that is always poking its nose in, looking over your shoulder, and whispering in your ear. This hateful, wicked pest is in your face with a thousand distractions and surprises, making sure you can't perfectly accomplish the good you intend.

3. Sin does its dirty work with the greatest of ease.

Landgaard states that since it works from within, it "easily entagles" us. It needs no help from the outside (Though I find the world and the Devil are always ready to lend a hand). There is no spiritual duty, nothing godly you can set yourself to, in which you won't feel the wind of sin's resistance in your face.

The more you discover the power of indwelling sin, the less you will suffer its effects.

The more you discover the power of indwelling sin, the less you will suffer its effects.

The more you discover the power of indwelling sin, the less you will suffer its effects.

The better you know your indwelling sin, the more you will hate it; and to the length that you abhor it, and no farther, you will grasp for grace against it. No one who is born of God can live at peace with sin.

Indwelling Sin

So this morning for devotions I started a new book called, The enemy within. The back of the books description says that, "This book takes dead aim at the heart of ongoing sin. Drawing from two masterful works by John Owen, Kris Lundgaard offers insight, encouragement, and hope for overcoming the enemy within."

Romans 7:21 - So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

Lundgaard tells us that if we want to stand in conquest over our bleeding flesh, we'll have to follow Paul into the fight. When we do, we'll find the same four truths that humbled him in battle.

The Four Key Truths
1. Sin living in us is a "law"

The "law" Paul refers to is the same thing he calls "sin living in me."

Indwelling sin works like this -- enticing, threatening, even bullying. So Paul calls it a law to get us to see that it is powerful even in the lives of believers and that it constantly works to press us into its evil mold.

Lundgaard asks us the question, "In what sense has Christ defeated sin in the believer?"

He has overthrown its rule, weakened its power, and even killed its root so that it cannot bear the fruit of eternal death in a believer.

2. We find this law inside us.

"It is one thing to sit in a group and critique dissertations on original sin; it is something else to find yourself subdued by its strength and madness. It is one thing to listen to a lecture about AIDS --how it spreads, what it does to a body, how invincible it is; it is another thing to hear your doctor say to you, "HIV positive, I am sorry."

Lundgaard goes on and says that the law of sin is a raging river; carrying them along; they cannot measure the force of the current, because they have surrendered themselves to it and are borne along by it. A believer, on the other hand, swims upstream -- he meets sin head-on and strains under its strength.

3. We find this law when we're at our best.

As powerful as this law of sin is, it doesn't rule the heart of the believer. Paul found it at work in him even while he wanted to do good. He was aware of it even when he most wanted to serve God.

I know that I want to do good, I want to please God, and give him glory. By God's grace the desire to obey him ordinarily prevails in us even against this insidious enemy within.

4. This law never rests

The "law of sin and death" is in a constant tug of war against the believer's overall desire to please God.

Galatians 5:17 - For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing things you want to do.

Lundgaard writes that in your struggle against sin, there is only one thing more important to grasp than these four facts: the free, justifying grace of God in Christ's blood. The grace of God in Christ and the law of sin are the two fountains of all your holiness and sin, joy and trouble, refreshment and sorrow. If you are to walk with God and glorify him in this world, you need to master both.

Closing Prayer

Lord, I just want to thank for everything you have done for me, and continue to do for me, everyday of my life. I thank you for the relationship that I have with you. I pray that after reading this book Lord, that I will continually be reminded of the abundant riches of my inheritance in Christ. I pray that I may clearly see that in the unsearchable riches of Christ and in the right standing with God that comes from those riches, I have both the assurance of eternal life and God's favor in this life. Please help remind me that I am saved by grace through faith and not by works. Thank you for taking the initiative by sending your Son to die in my place. And lastly I pray that whomever reads this blog Father, would also be reminded of these things. Amen

Focused on the Gospel

In this chapter Bridges talks about the Gospel and Sanctification. One thing he makes clear is that we must always keep focused on the gospel at all times. Horatius Bonar,who was a nineteenth-century Scottish pastor and author wrote this:

The secret of a believer's holy walk is his continual recurrence to the blood of the Surety, and his daily [communion] with a crucified and risen Lord. All divine life, and all precious fruits of it, pardon, peace, and holiness, spring from the cross. All fancied sanctification which does not arise wholly from the blood of the cross is nothing better than Pharisaism. If we would be holy, we must get to the cross, and dwell there; else, notwithstanding all our labour, diligence, fasting, praying and good works, we shall be yet void of real sanctification, destitute of those humble, gracious tempers which accompany a clear view of the cross.
False ideas of holiness are common, not only among those who profess false religions, but among those who profess the true. The love of God to us, and our love to Him, work together for producing holiness. Terror accomplishes no real obedience. Suspense brings forth no fruit unto holiness. No gloomy uncertainty as to God's favour can subdue one lust, or correct our crookedness of will. But the free pardon of the cross uproots sin, and withers all its branches. Only the certainty of love, forgiving love, can do this. . . .
Free and warm reception into the divine favour is the strongest of all motives in leading a man to seek conformity to Him who has thus freely forgiven him all trespasses.

The gospel, received in our hearts at salvation, guarantees definitive sanctification. And the gospel believed every day is the ONLY enduring motivation to pursue progressive sanctification. That is why we need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day.

Bridges reminds us that, "It is in the gospel that we find those unsearchable riches of Christ that produce not only justification but also sanctification."

We Shall Be Like Him

1 John 3:2 - Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

To be like Jesus is the hope we can look forward to. The apostle Paul wrote that we have been predestined by God to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. Likeness to Christ, is God's ultimate purpose for us and the hope we look forward to.

Here are a few words of Paul and John:

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 - So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body"

1 Corinthians 15:51-54 - Listen, I tell you a mystery; We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the winkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory' "

Revelation 21:3-4 - And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away' "

Revelation 22:3-5 - No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Before we experience that glorious reality, we still must live in this life. While here, we must not just wait for our hope of heaven, but should be actively and vigorously engaged in becoming more like Christ.

Confident Assurance

Bridges starts off by asking us, "How can I know that I have eternal life, that I have indeed come into a right relationship with God?

In the Scriptures, it shows us three means by which God assures us that we do have eternal life:

1. The promise of His word
2. The witness of the Spirit in our hearts
3. The transforming work of the Spirit in our lives

Here are a few invitations and promises:

• Isaiah 55:1 - Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
• Revelation 22:17 - The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
• Romans 10:13 - Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved
• John 6:37 - All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

One thing we must do is constantly examine ourselves. We should never be afraid to examine ourselves either. But when doubts do arise, the solution is not to try harder to prove to ourselves that we are believers. The solution is to flee to the cross and to the righteousness of Christ.

The work of the Spirit within us is as much a gift of God's grace as is our justification and adoption as sons. But whereas justification and adoption are instantaneous and complete at once, our growth in Christlikeness is a lifelong process. Knowing that, we should never look solely to our love and obedience for our assurance of salvation. At most they can demonstrate our salvation, never proving it. Ultimately our assurance must rest on the gospel and on the fact that God has said that all who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

1 John 3:19 - 24

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.