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Continuing on the Spurgeon quotes...  Here is today's devotional from morning and evening and it's a doozy!  It's very reminiscent of a recent post on faith as looking outside ourselves to Christ.  But, as ever, Spurgeon says it best.  Drink it in!

"Looking unto Jesus." --Hebrews 12:2

It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of His children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: He tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesu's blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesu's name."

We've looked at Preaching and Grace, now we examine Faith through the lens of David and Goliath.

One of the most significant 'light-bulb' moments for me in the last couple of years has been to hear Alan Torrance and Mike Reeves say in different contexts basically the same thing.  Namely this: the reformers did not speak of salvation by 'faith alone' so much as they spoke of salvation by 'Christ alone.'  So Torrance maintains that John Knox, when he used the word 'alone' would attach it most often to 'the blood of Christ' rather than 'faith'.  Reeves says something similar about Luther - he would speak of salvation by 'God's Word alone', more than by 'faith alone'.  Did both reformers both believe in 'faith alone'??  They staked their lives on it.  So why make the distinction?

Well think about these two ways of answering this question:  Are we saved by our works?

Answer 1: No, we're saved by our faith

Answer 2: No, we're saved by Christ's work

Now which answer better refutes works salvation?

The trouble with answer 1 is that is readily gives the impression that faith is the one work that merits salvation.  It seems to privilege 'faith' as the one property we must possess over and above those other properties called 'works'.  So we say, "It's not my works that save, it's my faith."  Faith becomes a thing.  But as Matt Jenson reminds us Faith is Nothing.  (If you haven't read Jenson's short little article, stop wasting your time on this post and get over there).

Far better to say Answer 2: "It's not my works that save me, it's Christ's work."  Our salvation lies outside us, in Jesus.

On a related note, this has some bearing on that little question we ask in evangelism: Why should God allow you into His heaven?  The standard wrong answer is 'Because I did good things.'  But all too often the standard 'right answer' is, 'Because I believed in your Son.'  I much prefer the answer I read at De Regno Christi:

I’ll bow and be silent. Then I’ll hear a voice,
“Father, he’s mine.”

 H/T Tim

Our salvation lies outside of ourselves.  Therefore if we trumpet 'faith alone' as a way of elevating this saving property called 'faith' which is my own meritorious possession... well, that's pretty yuck.  It makes faith into a work - the one truly saving work.

Now if you buy into that kind of understanding, what view of faith and works will you have?  You'll say 'works are external, physical acts' and 'faith is an internal, mental act.'  And you'll say, God has rejected external, physical acts (works) but desires internal, mental acts (faith).  But let's ask, Is it possible that my external, physical acts are instances of faith in the world?  Surely yes!  On the other hand, Is it possible that my internal, mental acts can betray exactly the kind of works righteousness condemned in the Scriptures?  Absolutely.

So how does David and Goliath help?

Well the Israelites were full of internal mental acts prior to David's victory.  They might range from things like "Yikes, what's the quickest way to go AWOL" to the much more respectable sounding, "Bring Goliath over here, I'll win the day."  (No-one did seem to think this, but it was a possibility). Now both those mental acts would have been faithless.  Even if someone thought "I'll defeat Goliath in the Name of the LORD" it would be faithless, for to do so would be to step into shoes that only the Anointed King can fill.  Such mental acts are still works since they displace the Champion with something else.

On the other hand, once David has defeated Goliath, there are some very concrete external acts going on (v52).  They shout aloud and chase down the defeated Philistines.  Yet for all their physicality, these acts are simply expressions of faith.  In fact the person who remains physically unmoved by David's victory is almost sure to be the person who has not seen the victory, or has not understood the connection between David and them.  Such a person has no faith.

'Internal' does not equal 'faith' and 'external' does not equal 'works'.  What counts is the victory of David.  Has David's victory for me been understood and received?  That's the question that lies at the fault-line between faith and works.  Any expression of a 'yes' to that question (whether internal or external) equals faith.  Any expression of a 'no' to that question (whether internal or external) equals works.

Let's put it one more way:  'Faith alone' is really another way of saying, 'I did not help David one little bit, but I get all the benefits.'  'Faith' does not put the spotlight on me (and my emotional/spiritual state).  'Faith' is all about putting the spotlight on Christ.  'Faith alone' is an expression that secures 'Christ alone' in my subjective appropriation of salvation.  Just as 'Grace alone' is an expression that secures 'Christ alone' in God's objective offer of salvation. 

Ok, I'm repeating myself lots now.  Why hammer on at this?  Well here's one pay-off.  The quest for more faith is not an inward journey!  I don't find faith in me.  I find faith when I forget all about faith and simply focus on my Champion.  I find myself in the state of believing not by trying to believe but by simply seeing and appreciating the work of Christ.  And from this the emotions (shouting!) and the works (plundering!) will flow as true expressions of faith.  As Robert Murray McCheyne once said to a woman he counselled, "You don't need more faith, you need more Christ."

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I've begun looking at the story of David and Goliath as a lens through which to view five different doctrines:

  1. Preaching
  2. Grace
  3. Faith
  4. Election
  5. Reward

In my last post we saw that preaching is not like a military briefing to troops on the front line.  It's the war correspondent heralding the victory of Another to an otherwise hopeless people.  It's about His victory for us, not ours for Him - this should be the heart-beat of our preaching.

Now I want to think a little bit about grace.

It's interesting in 1 Samuel 17 that David brings bread to his brothers from his father's house, Bethlehem - the house of bread (v17).  Now if this constituted our whole conception of grace then what would we have?  We'd have, typologically, Christ bringing His people heavenly provisions so that they can win their battles.  Grace would be construed as the sovereign gift that empowers our efforts to achieve the victory.  Yet, this conception of 'grace' is seriously deficient:

  • it makes David's victory at best incidental
  • it throws all the emphasis onto our battles (no matter how much David's bread is praised!)
  • without David's victory, David's bread may as well have been poison.

David's bread only makes any difference in the light of David's victory.  Once their Champion has won, then the bread is useful, empowering them to plunder the Philistines.  But grace is first and foremost the victory of David on behalf of his people.  His provision is a secondary grace that only gains efficacy from his vicarious triumph.

Yet how often do we operate with a basic conception of 'grace' as, effectively, providence that empowers our efforts.  I remember when I first became a Christian writing out a short gospel presentation on a sheet of A5.  It ran something like this:

  • God is sovereign and all sufficient
  • Therefore no one can give Him anything
  • Therefore we can't earn our salvation
  • Therefore He must give it to us
  • Therefore what God requires of us He also provides in us
  • In this way He sovereignly works salvation in us
  • This is what we mean by 'grace'

Is it?

What's missing from my presentation?  How about Jesus?  How about the whole darned gospel? 

If this presentation were true then God could save us by working anything in us . As long as He empowered it, salvation could be a matter of pilgrimmages to Bognor Regis, life-long abstinence from toast and self-flagellation with rancid eels.  So long as you claimed that such acts were 'empowered from on high', it would still be 'all of grace.' Apparently.  Even if the pilgrimmages were required daily - you could still claim that such activities were the work of God in us to achieve what He also required. 

But I hope we can recognize that this is far from what the bible means by 'grace.'  'Grace' is not simply another way of describing some abstract 'sovereignty'.  Grace is another way of declaring the victory of Christ to which we contribute nothing.  The two are very different.

How about we fix the last three bullet points from the above presentation:

  • Therefore what God requires of us He also provides in Christ
  • In this way He sovereignly works salvation in Christ
  • This is what we mean by 'grace'
  • Grace is the victory of our Anointed King on behalf of a people who are fainting with fear and about to desert.  It's not bread to help you win the day.  Not first and foremost.  It's something entirely outside yourself and it happened on a hill called Golgotha.  Living by grace is not first and foremost looking to sovereign provisions.  First and foremost it's looking to the cross.

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    You've all wondered what David's five smooth stones represent (1 Sam 17:40).  Now I bring you the definitive answer...

    Not really, I just have some reflections on David and Goliath and there happen to be five of them...

    1. Preaching
    2. Grace
    3. Faith
    4. Election
    5. Reward

    But first, let's remind ourselves of the story. (Read it here)

    So here we are (verses 1-3) the uncircumcised Philistines facing off against the ranks of Israel.

     

    There came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. (v4)

    Over nine feet tall.  Most of us would be eye-to-navel with him.  The tallest man I know (6 foot 9) wouldn't even be eye-to-nipple!  Even his coat of armour (verse 5) was 55kg or 8½ stone.  And he’s from Gath which tells you:

     

    1) He’s probably Nephilim.  (Look up Gath and Anakites – you do the requisite mathethatical calculations).  In which case he’s literally super-human.  Literally a super-hero – or super-villain more like.  In the person of Goliath heaven and earth is united against the ranks of Israel.  But secondly...

     

    2) Gath means ‘wine-press’.  And here we see Goliath crushing the LORD’s vineyard.  Israel is the vine and Goliath is the vine crusher.  Watch him crush them, vv10-11:

    And the Philistine said, "I defy (reproach) the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together." When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

    The word ‘dismayed’ means literally ‘shattered’ and Israel has been constantly told 'Don't be dismayed by the nations.' (Deut 1:21; 31:8; Josh 1:9; 8:1; 10:25).  Instead God would dismay (shatter) the nations - how?  Hannah tells us at the beginning of 1 Samuel:

    Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His King and exalt the horn of His Anointed."  (1 Samuel 2:10)

    Through the Messiah, the LORD would shatter all opposition.  In 1 Samuel 2 we see world-wide realities - judgement to the ends of the earth.  Hannah looks ahead to the victory of the LORD Jesus.  But in chapter 16 we see little David anointed as king.  And here in chapter 17 we see this little king picture for us the victory of the Anointed One.

     

    We see him in verse 12, fresh from his father’s house, the house of bread – Bethlehem – bringing bread to his brothers.  But David’s provision and sustenance would mean nothing without his victory.

     

    Let's consider his victory.  From verses 38-40 we see him reject the armour of Saul - his victory would not be with worldly strength but in weakness - that the Name of the LORD be seen in all its power.

    Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have reproached. (v45)

    With a single blow David kills the giant (v50) and then takes his head (v51 - cf Gen 3:15; Hab 3:13).  In a second the Israelites are turned from shattered men to shattering victors.  Now, in the certainty of their king's victory (v52) they shout and advance, shattering the adversaries of the LORD and plundering their camp.

     

    Now...  What’s that got to do with preaching?

     

    A good preacher is like a war correspondent on the front lines of this battle. You survey the scene – and it’s bad. An evil, super-human opponent.  Fear and despondency in the ranks and you just can’t win.  But then!  You announce, from among you – the anointed king, your champion.  He is small and looks so weak but, yowsers he is handsome! (v42; 1 Sam 16:12).  What courage He has as He fights for us.  What confidence He has in the Name of the LORD.  And look people, look – even through His weakness He defeats the enemy – killing him with his own weapon.

     

    And as the herald of victory you declare:

     

    "We’ve won!  Our champion has triumphed!  Shout aloud! Praise your Champion!  Rejoice in song!  And advance into your week knowing that the enemy is decapitated – you have the victory in your Messiah.  Charge into your week in the name of the Anointed King…. And then come back next week when you’ll  be dismayed and terrified all over again."

     

    And each and every week you herald the bad news that is very bad and the good news that is beyond triumphant.  And bit by bit the troops begin to really love their King and they begin to walk in the kind of freedom and victory that He’s already won for them.  That’s good preaching.

     

    Bad preaching is not like that.  A bad preacher is like a battle-weary soldier briefing the troops and saying

     

    "It’s tough out there people but, hey, if battle-weary soldiering has taught me anything it’s that we’ve got to be tougher. That David – he’s an example to us all – a model soldier.  Let me give you some advice that I learned direct from David: When you use a slingshot, you have to get a firm base with the legs and then... it’s all in the wrist.

     

    "Three points for you to take with you – after all this is a military briefing – you’re here for practical tips.  Point 1: remember whose army you are.  Don’t let the side down.  Point 2: Remember the techniques I’ve taught you, and Point 3: if you’re struggling for motivation – do it for David!  God bless, and ‘be careful out there.’"

     

    Do it for David??  Do it for David??  David did it for you!!  And He did it for you when you were shattered and terrified.  Our congregations need gospel preaching.

     

    Our congregations need to hear the victory of Christ proclaimed week after week after week.  We don’t need more combat skills – we need more Christ.  If you take your eyes off the champion your eyes either go on Goliath or on your paltry combat skills – either way you’ll end up dismayed, shattered, terrified.

     

    I hear so many sermons that simply crush the vine.  They do Goliath’s job for him.

     

    When you preach, preach about our Champion.  Tell them about His fight, His sacrifice, His victory.  Make them shout, make them sing, make them see brave, beautiful, loving, strong Jesus once again.

     

    And the weaker the troops, the more dismayed, the more disobedient, the more they look like deserting and making shipwreck – herald the good news.  Christ has triumphed for the weakest and the worst of them.

     

    Preach the Gospel friends.

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    Two sermons on 1 Samuel 17 - audio part one; audio part two

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    Some other relevant posts on preaching:

    Preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God

    Preaching evangelistically

    What is "applied preaching"??

    A long (20 000 word) paper on Karl Barth and preaching

    8

    A while back Matt Jenson wrote a brilliant short essay entitled: Faith is nothing at all.  Do read it if you haven't already, it won't take long.

    We must constantly remind ourselves that faith is not a thing.  It is not a possession by which we make claim to salvation.  Faith is the absence of a thing - it is the confession of a complete lack.  To even ask 'Am I having faith?' is already an unbelieving question for faith is looking away to Christ.

    If you make faith into a thing you run into problems.  Either you have to make it an imputed substance which God grants arbitrarily (in order to uphold sovereign grace).  Or you make it a legitimate factor contributing to our salvation. Sounds quite like many Calvinist-Arminian debates right? In many (certainly not all, but in many) of these debates you can see both sides making this mistake: they begin by considering faith to be a thing.  And from this premise, one side is in danger of making salvation a matter of divine caprice unrelated to Christ.  The other side begins from the same premise and makes salvation a matter of self-effort (and again Christ's position is diminished).  But both have begun down the wrong track.  They've thought of faith as a thing and then they've got into trouble figuring out how a gracious salvation can be 'by' this thing.  We must remember though: Faith is not a thing.  

    Alan Torrance is fond of pointing out that reformers like John Knox spoke very little about 'salvation by faith alone.' Instead he spoke of salvation 'by the blood of Christ alone.'  Why?  Because he didn't want anyone thinking that faith was the 'thing' that saved.  'Faith alone' makes sense only in the context of 'Christ alone.'  'Faith alone' is the subjective correlate of the objective salvation in Christ alone - it cannot be considered apart from it.  To do so is to risk seeing faith as a thing.

    Similarly Mike Reeves points out that Martin Luther's favourite phrase for declaring our gracious salvation was not salvation 'by faith alone' but salvation 'by God's Word' alone.  Again, faith is not the 'thing' that saves and 'faith alone' is not possession of the single savingly significant substance.  (I suspect Luther would have trouble saying this phrase - especially after his fifth Wittenberg ale!).

    Faith is, in Anders Nygren's memorable phrase, 'being conquered by the gospel.'  Note how passive this image is.  Faith is a description of what has happened to the person who's been overwhelmed by Christ in His word.  It is not a thing.

    Anyway, check out Matt Jenson's article.

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    After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29 "Come," He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. "You of little faith," He said, "why did you doubt?" 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."  (Matthew 14:23-33)

    Here Jesus walks on water - He treads on the abyss. But Peter walks as Jesus walks (cf 1 John 2:6). How?

    Notice he doesn't just step out. He asks for Jesus to command him. He's been in a storm with Jesus before (Matt 8:23-27).  Peter knows the power of Jesus' word - His word is obeyed! So Peter wants a word from Jesus to command him. And the word is powerful to enable that which it commands (Jesus' word is like that). Peter does the impossible because Jesus commands it.

    Of course he sinks (looking at the waves and not looking at Christ). But in His grace, Peter only ‘begins' to sink.  This is not gravity acting on Peter or he'd sink like a stone. How slowly Jesus lets him down!  But when Peter calls out, 'immediately' Jesus saves.

    His words of rebuke tell us how we can walk like Jesus: ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?'  Now what is Jesus referring to here?

    Peter did not doubt that Jesus could walk on water.  And it wasn't self-belief that Jesus was recommending (Peter has no ability to walk on water!).  Peter's problem was that he doubted Jesus' word to him.  He doubted the word which both commands and enables what it commands. Peter doubted that he truly had been made into the person Jesus said He had - one who walks like He walks.  That was Peter's problem.

    When Christ speaks a word to us then trusting Him involves trusting that we are the people Christ says we've become.  Jesus says to you:

    "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24)

    So, don't look at the wind and waves.  Don't look at your heart and your abilities.  Trust the word that Jesus has spoken to you.  His word is powerful to make you who He says you are.  You can't make yourself into this person, but neither can anyone or anything else prevent you from being it.  The word of the LORD is supreme, you can trust Him.  You will not be condemned.  You have crossed over from death to life.  And now, you can walk as He walked.

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