This morning I read Proverbs 3. Verse 3 (HCSB) reads as follows:

Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.

When we tie something around our neck, what happens? The thing is with us everywhere. We can’t get away from it. In fact, it becomes such a part of us that we don’t think about it being there. Haven’t we all worn a ring or other jewelry so long that we just forgot we had it on? And then, when we took it off, it felt like it was still there? That’s the picture: Make loyalty and faithfulness so much a part of our lives that they become part of us. Written on the heart, they become part of who we are.

Be loyal. Be faithful. Enjoy your day!

• Road Map
• Reason
• Recipe

Today our subject is the second theme, Reasons, that is, the reasons we study God at all.

Packer asserts that today we don’t study God the way we used to. He writes:

We shall have to deal with the Godhead of God, the qualities of deity which set God apart from humans and mark the difference and distance between the Creator and his creatures: such qualities as his self-existence, his infinity, his unchangeableness. We shall have to deal with the powers of God; his almightiness, his omniscience, his omnipresence. We shall have to deal with the perfections of God, the aspects of his moral character which are manifested in his words and deeds–his holiness, his love and mercy, his truthfulness, his faithfulness, his goodness, his patience, his justice. We shall have to take note of what pleases him, what offends him, what awakens his wrath, and what affords him satisfaction and joy.

For many of us, these are comparatively unfamiliar themes.

Fast forward to 2010 and I think it’s fair to say that these themes are even less familiar than when Packer first penned these words. We just aren’t used to studying God in such a way. My opinion I that many of us–often myself included–are more interested in what pleases us. Packer is calling us to think in a new way, confronting fresh ideas about our infinite God.

There is temptation that must be avoided. Packer writes:

We need to ask ourselves: What is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with these things? What do I intend to do with my knowledge about God, once I have it? For the fact that we have to face is this: If we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. The very greatness of the subject matter will intoxicate us, and we shall come to think of ourselves as a cut above other Christians…

I dare say that pursuit of knowledge for the sake of knowledge also promotes an air of superiority over non-Christians. I’ve experienced the cold glances of those whose accumulated knowledge has made them puffed up.

When we study, therefore, the reason must be so that we can know God better. Period.

The text for the day was Philippians 1: 9-11:

1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight 1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ, 1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

(http://beta.net.bible.org/#!bible/Philippians+1)

The preacher highlighted three things that really stuck with me:

1. Of all the things Paul could have wanted for the Philippians–safety, wealth, health, etc.–his prayer for them was that they love more and more.  (Verse 9)
2. That they will be careful to know the difference between what’s “good” and what’s “best.” (Verse 10) Not settling just for what’s good. Not settling for what they can do to get by.
3. That they will bring God glory. (Verse 11)

The preacher urged the graduates–and the rest of us–to ask ourselves the following questions on an ongoing basis:

• Am I settling for good, or am I striving after what’s best?
• Am I making choices that please God, that bring glory to Him?

Our job is not done. As these graduates move on, they need us to pray and encourage them to strive for the best and to make God-pleasing choices.

I would have benefited tremendously from some kind of road map to my end goal, how a task fit into the larger scheme of things, and the step-by-step directions for how to get there. In chapter 1 of J. I. Packer’s Knowing God, the author provides all three. In fact, The Study of God delivers with three main thrusts:

• Road map
• Reasons
• Recipe

Road Map

Packer opens the chapter with a discussion of the universe. He asserts that God made the universe, that it operates according to principles He put in place, and that where we’re going in the book requires us to at least agree to think about it in this way. As such, Packer invites the skeptic to table their doubts for a time and join him on the journey. His request:

I ask you for the moment to stop your ears the those who tell you there is no road to knowledge about God, and come a little way with me and see. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and anyone who is actually following a recognised road will not be too worried if he hears nontravellers telling each other that no such road exists.

In the same way we trust MapQuest or our GPS to show us the way–until the directions tell us to take a left turn into a corn field–Packer is inviting us to trust him that there is, indeed, a road to God that can be followed. He says that if we give him a chance we’ll see the road and not the corn field.

More on Road map, Reasons, and Recipe in subsequent posts…

Referring to a previous work by theologian John McKay, packer describes “balconeers” and “travelers.” One could think of the balconeers as those:

…sitting on the high front balcony of a Spanish house watching the travelers go by on the road below. The “balconeers” can overhear the travelers’ talk and chat with them; they may comment critically on the way the travelers walk; or they may discuss questions about the road, how it can exist at all or lead anywhere, what might be seen from different points along it, and so forth; but they are onlookers, and their problems are theoretical only. The travelers, by contrast, face problems which, though they have their theoretical angle, are essentially practical–problems of the “which-way-to-go” and “how-to-make-it” type, problems which call not merely for comprehension but for decision and action, too.

As he approaches God in this book, Packer is staking claim to writing a book for travelers–those who not only wish to know God but also wish to know how to live, how practical knowledge of the creator affects their lives.

Packer was motivated to write the book–really a series of articles that became the book–by his perception that the church of 1972 was weak–weakened by an ignorance of God. I wonder how much worse it is today–in a society where many young people do not even know that the Bible has two testaments. Of the ignorance, Packer identifies two causal trends:

Trend one is that Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit: the spirit, that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God. The modern way with God is to set him at a distance, if not to deny him altogether… Furthermore, thoughts of death, eternity, judgment, the greatness of the soul, and the abiding consequences of temporal decisions are all “out” for moderns…

Trend two is that Christian minds have been confused by modern skepticism. For more than three centuries the naturalistic leaven in the Renaissance outlook has been working like a cancer in Western thought. [Many] came to deny… that God’s control of this world was either direct of complete, and theology, philosophy and science have for the most part combined to maintain that denial ever since.

Packer’s invitation to the reader comes from Jeremiah 6:16:

Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good path is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.

Packer is calling us back to the old paths, on the ground that “the good way” is still what it used to be.

This week I have been listening (via mp3) to Carson teach a lecture on Christ in Culture. In it he made some insightful observations:

• In the famous “Therefore, give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” passage in Matthew 22, Christ was saying that there were things that Caesar had dominion over, but God has dominion over all. Caesar only operated within the authority God granted him. Christ was not arguing for separation of the secular and the sacred, the church and the government.
• Christianity is not associated with a particular form of government. Those of us in the States have a tendency to think that democracy and Christianity are linked in some way, but it’s clear from history that democracy is not the answer. One need only look at the way democratically-elected leaders become dictators outside of the West.
• Democracy only works when there is substantial agreement among citizens about what “good” and “right” are. As the people in a country diverge on these beliefs, democratic government is increasingly called upon to settle disputes and, ultimately, favor one group over another. Take, for example, the recent controversy with the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts were attacked for not allowing gays to act as scout leaders–a move that elevated the rights of gays over the rights of Boy Scouts. In such cases, one side or the other usually loses freedom.

Christians, therefore, have only one hope. It is Christ and him crucified, risen to ransom sinners from their doom.

I read Psalm 39 yesterday. I can’t shake what David wrote. It hits very close to home. The psalm reads, in part:

⁴LORD, reveal to me the end of my life
and the number of my days.
Let me know how transitory I am. ⁵ You, indeed, have made my days short in length,
and my life span as nothing in Your sight.
Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor.

Selah

⁶ Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.
⁷ Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.

When I was younger, I really felt immortal. I didn’t walk around thinking, “Wow. I really am going to live forever!” But I didn’t think about illness, weakness, or death very much. While I was vibrant and strong, while my extended family was relatively young and healthy, I went about my life as if the end wasn’t near. It seemed so far off.

Age is the great equalizer. As my energy has waned, as my health has become less-than-perfect, as family members have died, had surgery, required biopsies, my perspective is beginning to approach David’s. How much time do I have left? Am I ready to face God? Have I accomplished all that I set out to accomplish?

My wife says this is my mid-life crisis talking. She might be right, but I think David’s words in verse 7 apply regardless of time of life. My hope is in Christ. To put my hope in my failing body or fleeting achievements is, pretty clearly, the path of folly.

This e-mail arrived at a time when I was doing some heavy thinking about death, wickedness, righteousness and salvation. I am of the opinion that God makes things line up like this once in a while. I have learned over the years *not* to ignore them when I see them. (I am also convinced that many times God lines things up for me and I miss them. Oh, well…)

I have been studying the book of Luke for the last few weeks. The text in Luke has made me think about what it means to be good in God’s eyes. In chapter 18, Jesus meets a rich young man. You can read the story yourself here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2018:18-27&version=HCSB

This guy is holy and righteous, having kept all the commandments since his youth. I mean, he is as holy as any man can be. He’s that guy that everybody talks about being so perfect. He didn’t curse God. He served God. He didn’t disregard God’s laws. He kept the commandments. Yet Jesus said he was lacking. Lacking! Here’s the super-religious guy, and Jesus said it’s not enough. The Bible says the dude walked away sad.

The crowd watching the discussion with the rich young man asked Jesus, “Who, then, can be saved?!!?” I mean, if this guy can’t get in, what hope do the rest of us have? Jesus’ answer is awesome: “What is impossible for man is possible with God.”

Over and over in scripture, we are told there are two paths to hell. One is to live a life disregarding God, cursing him, rejecting his laws, rejecting his offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. The second is to do good things such that (we think) God *must* let us into heaven. If we’re good enough, we think, God *must* let us in! Right? Wrong. Both groups are equally lost, equally wicked in God’s eyes. Both groups are trusting in their own efforts to save them. Under our own power, heaven is impossible. Impossible.

But there is hope. It *is* possible with God. The third path is the one Jesus calls us to. It’s the same path he called the rich young ruler to follow in Luke 18. We’re called to follow Jesus. The righteous and the wicked alike must come to him and say, “I’ve got nothing! Save me!” This applied to John Lennon and Mother Teresa. This applies to Charles Manson and Billy Graham. It applies to all of us.

In Matthew chapter 8, a Roman Centurion came to Jesus to ask Him to heal his servant. Upon seeing the faith of this man, a non-Jew and a member of the people who were oppressing the Jews, Jesus says these words:

I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith! I tell you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Let’s remember who Jesus was speaking to. This was a people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These were God’s Chosen People. They thought their birthright was a passage to heaven and that Gentiles (non-Jews) were lost. In this passage Jesus says clearly that salvation has come for the whole world–and that birthright will not be enough! This was a radical message to his audience, no doubt one that did not earn him favor with some of His hearers.

In Acts 10, Peter is preaching to a Gentile household. As he witnesses to them, the Holy Spirit fills his listeners. They become believers in Jesus Christ even though they are not Jews. Verse 45 proves what a radical idea this is:

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

The “circumcised believers” here refers to Jews who had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Radical. He wasn’t afraid to Speak up!