No Not One!

Sung this hymn in church on Sunday. Music to the sinners ears!

1. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   None else could heal all our soul’s diseases,
   No, not one! No, not one!
2. 
   
3. Refrain:
4. Jesus knows all about our struggles,
5. He will guide till the day is done;
6. There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,
7. No, not one! No, not one!
8. No friend like Him is so high and holy,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   And yet no friend is so meek and lowly,
   No, not one! No, not one!
9. There’s not an hour that He is not near us,
   No, not one! No, not one!
   No night so dark but His love can cheer us,
   No, not one! No, not one!
10. Did ever saint find this Friend forsake him?
    No, not one! No, not one!
    Or sinner find that He would not take him?
    No, not one! No, not one!
11. Was e’er a gift like the Savior given?
    No, not one! No, not one!
    Will He refuse us a home in heaven?
    No, not one! No, not one!

The Power of Mercy and Forgiveness in Marriage

A couple great quotes from Dave Harvey's book, When Sinners Say 'I Do'.

"Mercy sweetens marriage. Where it is absent, two people flog one another over everything from failure to fix the faucet to phone bills. But where it is present, marriage grows sweeter and more delightful, even in the face of challenges, setbacks and persistent effects of our remaining sin." 

"Mercy takes people who are capable of open warfare over toothpaste tubes and toilet seats, and enlarges their vision to include a Savior. Mercy confronts a sinner wrapped in self pity and protected pride and shows him the way out of the darkness into the light. Mercy inspires us to move beyond the power and government of self love back to the nobler and benevolent principles of our new nature" 

"Forgiveness and repentance is the powerful tool that repairs the damage done to sin-torn marriage relationships. And where forgiveness is employed, and repentance is lived out, it transforms. Forgiveness humbly sought, and humbly given, profoundly expresses the glory of God. Why? Because forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel-the true demonstration of God's love for those who deserved his wrath....We have all been forgiven the greatest debt. Let's learn how to forgive the debtor we married." 

Dave Harvey, When Sinners Say 'I Do' (Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 2007) 80, 82, 113,  

Like One of the King's Own Son's

"And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David's table,

like one of the king's own sons."

2 Samuel 9:11

Who is this Mephibosheth guy? A little background on this verse. Mephibosheth was the grandson of Saul. Yes, this is the same Saul who tried to kill King David. Because Mephibosheth was from the household of Saul, David, by law, legally had the right to kill him. So, first of all, Mephibosheth was a man who deserved death. Some more background; Mephibosheth was crippled in both feet. In other words, he was completely helpless and useless. He was an outcast. So here is Mephibosheth, who by law deserves a traitors death, and who by his own recognition in 2 Samuel 9:8, describes himself as a "dead dog". 

As the story goes, David, rather than killing Mephibosheth, rather than bypassing him as a social outcast, actively seeks to show him mercy and kindness. 2 Samuel 9 begins, "One day David asked, 'Is anyone in Saul's family still alive-anyone to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?'" (2 Samuel 9:1). Where nothing but judgement was deserved, David delighted in, and sought to show mercy and kindness. 

The reason I love this passage (and am doing a Bible study on it tomorrow night, Wednesday) is not that it shows how great of a guy David is. It is because what David did for Mephibosheth is strikingly similar to what God does for us. David takes a dead dog, and brings him to the King's table, and adopts him as a beloved son. God takes us, sinners, who rightfully deserve death,  who are crippled and unable to help ourselves, who are outcasts, and offers us mercy and kindness. He takes dead dogs and makes us into true sons and daughters of the King. That is too good to be true! But the good news is that, yes, it is true. We are Mephibosheth. We are poor, crippled, broken, sinful people. But God's love and mercy are greater. Only the power of the gospel can take us from dead dogs to those who are "like one of the King's own sons." (2 Samuel 9:11)

What Kind Of Pastors Do Sinners Need?

Here is a blog post from Tullian Tchividjian's blog in which he quotes Sinclair Ferguson. This was brought to my attention by Danny Hindman.

What kind of pastor do sinners need?

 

Sinclair Ferguson answers this question from his Marrow Controversy Lectures:

But when your people come and have been broken by sin and have fallen into temptation and are ashamed to confess the awful mess they have made of their life, it is not a Calvinistic pastor who has been sanctified by vinegar that they need. It is a pastor that has been mastered by the unconditional, free grace of God. It is a pastor from whom ironclad orthodoxy has been torn away and the whole armor of a gracious God has been placed upon his soul–the armor of one who would not break the bruised reed or quench the dimly burning wick.
You see, my friends, as we think together in these days about a Godly pastor we have to ask, what is a Godly pastor? A Godly pastor is one who is like God, who has a heart of free grace running after sinners. The Godly pastor is the one who sees the prodigal and runs and falls on his neck and weeps and kisses him and says, “This my son was dead, he was lost and now he is alive and found.”

Pastors, when sinners are drowning, don’t tell them to paddle harder and kick faster. Throw them the life-line of amazing grace.

Titus 3:3-7 Part Tres (The Great Motivation)

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

So, at this point, we know that God has decided to appear and save man. The Hero has arrived to save wicked man from their sin. But Why? Why would God do this? What's the motivation?

If I'm being honest, I am hardwired with a 'pick yourself up by the boot straps' mentality. If something is wrong, its on me to fix it. I'm that guy who never asks other people for help. I am disciplined and committed enough to get it done myself. That being said, I'd naturally be expecting this verse to read something a little more like this:

"He saved you, because you were strong, smart and wise enough

to pick yourself up and turn to him. You aren't actually that bad, you just 

needed a little help from God. God saved those who help themselves!"

And this is why I need to pick up my cross daily and die to myself. My old self keeps telling me God loves me, and saved me because I'm good enough or strong enough. The Gospel tells me God loves me and saved me because HE IS MERCIFUL. This is a contrast I need to hear everyday. It changes everything. It turns self-boasting into humble worship. It turns pride in performance to pure amazement at God's grace. It turns self-righteous bitterness into contagious joy. The great motivation of God saving us is based on His mercy, not our merit. Thanks be to God!

Titus 3:3-7

Just read came across this verse this morning. A great summary statement of the good news of what Christ has done to redeem hopeless sinners.

"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient

led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, 

but according to his own mercy, 

by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

so that being justified by his grace,

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."

Titus 3:3-7

Wow! There is so much jaw-dropping stuff in here, I don't even know where to start. How about with us? Paul paints a picture in which we all exist (or once existed) as characters. Foolish, disobedient, slaves to various passions and pleasures. From Paul's description, I conjure up two images. The first being us in foolish disobedience. The second is our restlessness and enmity. Without Christ, what makes our lives foolish disobedience? I don't think it is so much that we disobey God's rules. I think it is that we willingly bow down and serve these various pleasures and passions as our god. It is that we think we have life figured out, that our purpose and pleasure is for these things. God created us to be infinitely intimate with him, experiencing the fullness of true joy. It is foolish disobedience that we turn away from this like a ignorant, disorientated child. 

The second image is one of hostility. There is no peace; within us, between us, and between God. Apart from Christ, we are bound to have enmity everywhere, because deep down, we have not found what we are looking for. This makes us extremely insecure. We pass the days in malice and envy, because we are never satisfied. Like Adam and Eve, we are always looking for another 'apple' to eat, that we think will fulfill us. But, life, as it was created to be, is to be lived in relationship with God. Without the saving work of Christ, we are bound to be at war with each other, and with God. 

These two images combined are one of chaotic, restless frustration. We are wandering children, completely lost and led astray; yet, unwilling to give ear to the tender and loving words of our Heavenly Father. This is where the awesome mercy of God comes in! More on that tomorrow. 

Positioning

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:9-14

....

This passage gets me every time. I am so similar to the Pharisee Jesus describes. I often find myself too concerned with the spiritual resume I'm building in my heart. If I only really grasped my appropriate position before my Almighty and Holy Lord, like the tax collector. He had nothing of his own to claim. He knew he was scum. He was ashamed to enter fully into the temple, as he stood far off, and he knew he was far from worthy to even raise his eyes to heaven. His only words in prayer were a simple plea, claiming God's mercy! The text is clear. Jesus welcomes this plea. In fact, that is exactly what He desires for us. Period.

My prayer for renewal in this comes from an excerpt from Whiter than Snow by Paul Tripp:

"So I am hoping for wise eyes that are able to see through the cloud of self-righteousness and see myself as I actually am. I am praying for wise ears that are able to hear through the background noise of well-used platitudes and hear myself with clarity. And I am longing for a humble spirit that is willing to accept and confess what you reveal as You break through my defenses and show me to me. I am hoping for a broken heart."

Psalm 51:17 "A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Praise the Lord for His love for prodigal love for sinners!

Observation #7: In Justification God's Mercy and Justice Come Together

Thus far, we have touched on each of these elements. In the first observation, we talked about how justification presupposes God's wrath. This has to do with God's justice. Because God is just, sin cannot go unnoticed. Sin demands a judgment from a holy God. The judgement is death. In fact, in the book of proverbs it is stated, "He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 17:15). If the Bible testifies that we are wicked, how is it that God justifies us. This goes against His justice.

However, this is where the second element comes in. While we deserve God's wrath because we have sinned, God is infinitely gracious in showing us mercy. His mercy is shown in providing us a way out. The single greatest act of grace is seen at the cross, where God's justice and mercy meet. Jesus absorbed the wrath that we deserve.

The Bible teaches that God can only justify us because his justice is satisfied. Jesus satisfied God's justice in his substitutionary death on our behalf. Therefore, if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9). The penalty is paid. Justice is served. We are justified if our trust is in Jesus' acts on our behalf. 

As the famous hymn 'Let us Love and Sing and Wonder' puts it, 

Let us wonder grace and justice

Join and point to mercy's store

When through grace in Christ our trust is

Justice smiles and asks no more. 

Certain Victory

From Valley of Vision,

"O LORD,

I bless thee that the issue of the battle between thyself and Satan

has never been uncertain,

and will end in victory.

Calvary broke the dragon's head, 

and I contend with a vanquished foe,

who with all his subtlety and strength

has already overcome.

When I feel the serpent at my heel

may I remember him whose heel was bruised,

but who, when bruised, broke the devil's head. 

My soul with inward joy extols the mighty conqueror."

This morning I praise God for decisively defeating Sin at calvary. My mind cannot understand the kind of faithfulness God has demonstrated. Though I cannot comprehend, my heart rejoices that God was faithful to His promise in Genesis 3:15. In this life, I will never fully understand the depth of grace that was displayed in fulfilling Genesis 3:15. I do not realize how truly undeserving I am, and what it meant for the infinitely holy, good, perfect, creator God, to die for hateful sinners who consistently choose to malign His name rather than rejoice in their Creator. Yet, in what my finite mind can comprehend, I rejoice and glory in the grace of God. My mind cannot comprehend the intricacy of God's providential sovereignty. From the beginning of time, God has been bringing His plans to pass. I rejoice that God has sovereignly chosen to reveal His glory by granting salvation to a People. I rejoice that before the foundations of the earth, God predestined me to be a vessel of mercy, to be adopted into His family, and not to be a rightful vessel of His wrath. Lastly, I cannot comprehend a love of this kind. In this life I will never truly understand the profundity of the Son becoming man and suffering on the Cross. I am amazed how a God infinite in wealth, put aside His fame and limited himself to a human body, experiencing life in a broken world. The One who deserves ultimate praise, the One who is the highest, emptied himself of everything, and became the lowest. All of this to fulfill His promise in Genesis 3:15. The only way for God to crush the head of Sin was for himself to be bruised. This is love, that God became man, took upon the himself the shame, burden and punishment for Sin that His people rightfully deserve, and finished it once and for all at the Cross. I pray that I will be 'strengthened with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.' (Ephesians 4:18-19)

Gospel= Saved by Works?

To some degree, everyone on this earth tries to justify their existence by works. Everyone thinks they are saved, or are justified in their existence, or will go to heaven based on works. Most people trust in their own works or own goodness. At the end of the day, they believe they are good people, who have done enough 'works' to get in. Comparatively speaking, we all think we are better than most. As humans, we inherently trust in our own works to justify ourselves. 


The gospel is both similar and sharply contrasted to this. The gospel says the only way to be saved is by works.....but not your own. And here is the gospel, or good news. 


The Bible testifies against man, that in their own works, or own goodness, no one is righteousness, not one. In our own standing, we are completely and utterly hopeless. Before God, any attempt to stand on our own two feet, or any attempt to justify ourselves by thinking we really aren't that bad, or are better than our neighbor or the 'evil' people in the world, won't stand. But, God being rich in mercy and great in love, saw this problem of Sin. He sent His Son to live the perfect life, and die the death we deserve. Now, though we all are condemned based on our own lives, the good news is that we can be saved based on the works of another. The gospel is that we are saved by works....but not our own. The gospel is that Christ's work is fully sufficient to merit salvation. More so, this is a gift that is given freely by grace. It can't be earned. So why would we spend our lives striving so hard to try and earn God's favor? Why do we try to justify our existence with our own goodness? Jesus is better. Being a Christian is to forsake, or turn from your own work/goodness and to turn to Christ and His work. In the words of my favorite hymn, 'Rock of Ages'

"Nothing in my hand I bring

Simply to your Cross I cling, 

Naked look to thee for dress

Helpless look to thee for grace."

Till He Has Mercy On Us

^"1To you I lift up my eyes,
   O you who are enthroned in the heavens!²Behold, as the eyes of servants
   look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
   to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
   till he has mercy upon us.

 ³ Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,

   for we have had more than enough of contempt.⁴Our soul has had more than enough

   of the scorn of those who are at ease,

   of the contempt of the proud."

Psalm 123

Receiving restoration or forgiveness requires two things. First, it requires that we acknowledge our need for mercy, our brokenness, our spiritual sickness. Second, it requires knowing who alone can grant this mercy, and turning to them. We do not receive mercy by trying hard to make up for  mistakes. Rather, it is simply coming to God, knowing that we have nothing to offer, that we are poor sinners who are in desperate need of God's restoration, and laying ourselves before him in repentant helplessness. Take an example from the faith of the Canaanite woman in the gospel according to Matthew, and the repentant tax collector in Luke 18. Notice both their recognition of their need for mercy/healing, and their recognition that God alone could provide this. Not their own effort, not their own goodness, not what they deserve. Only grace.

"And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." ²⁴He answered,  "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."²⁵But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." ²⁶And he answered, "It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs." ²⁷She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly." Matthew 15:22-28

^"9He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ¹⁰"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' ¹³But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' ¹⁴I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other." Luke 18:9-14

Approach My Soul, Thy Mercy Seat

A hymn brought to my attention by Danny Hindman. These are some very powerful words written by John Newton.

Approach, my soul, the mercy seat,
Where Jesus answers prayer;
There humbly fall before His feet,
For none can perish there.

Thy promise is my only plea,
With this I venture nigh;
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I.

Bowed down beneath a load of sin,
By Satan sorely pressed,
By war without and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

Be Thou my Shield and hiding Place,
That, sheltered by Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face,
And tell him Thou hast died!

O wondrous love! to bleed and die,
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I,
Might plead Thy gracious Name.

“Poor tempest-tossèd soul, be still;
My promised grace receive”;
’Tis Jesus speaks—I must, I will,
I can, I do believe.

Without Beginning and Without End

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows no more.

But the steadfast love of the LORD

is from everlasting to everlasting

on those who fear him,"

Psalm 103:15-17

"How vast the contrast between the fading flower and the everlasting God! How wonderful that His mercy should link our frailty with HIs eternity and make us everlasting too! From old eternity the LORD viewed His people as objects of mercy, and as such chose them to become partakers of His grace; the doctrine of eternal election is most delightful to those who have light to see it and love wherewith to accept it. It is a theme for deepest thought and highest joy"

Charles Spurgeon

Where Sin is Hidden, There is No Healing

Gospel community: The type of community where you can bring the full weight of who you are (sins, struggles, burdens, joys, failures, brokenness, issues, addictions, hidden sin, etc...) and be loved unconditionally

Now, I'm not one to quote secular rappers, but listening to this song by Kid Cudi reminded me of the universal nature of shame and our tendency to hide the darkest part of our souls by putting on a mask or putting up a persona. But in the end, we all know that deep down we are messed up.

"But they all didn't see, the little bit of sadness in me,

I've got some issues that nobody can see,

And all of these emotions are pouring out of me

I bring them to the light for you,

it's only right" ---Kid Cudi

Where sin is hidden, there is no healing. In Christ, we are unconditionally loved. He knows our deepest darkest thoughts, he knows our hidden sin, He knows who we are underneath our coverup. The more we realize this on an individual level, the more Gospel community will be cultivated. When we know we are jacked up sinners, it frees us from having to go out into the world and prove ourselves. More so, it allows those around us to take their masks off as well. It frees us to be open. It frees us to be real with sin. And when we are open with each other about our sin, when we are real with our brokenness, the grace, mercy and restoration will start to pour out. We will taste redemption in a whole new way. Healing happens where sin is fully disclosed.

In the end, I think it's what we all long for. For someone to see us for who we really are (sin, failures, struggles, issues and all) and love us. The Gospel says Jesus fulfills that. Gospel community calls us to live this out by being real with each other and to love each other unconditionally in a way that reflects God's unconditional love for messed up sinners. Let's bring the full weight of who we are to Christ, and experience the marvelous healing that is in Christ. Let's cultivate a community of grace that encourages each other as fellow sinners to fully disclose our sin to the Light of the World.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
(Psalm 51:1 ESV)

....

"What's actually true is that when I come to the Lord after I've blown it, I've only one argument to make. It's not the argument of the difficulty of the environment that I am in. It's not the argument of the difficult people that I'm near. It's not the argument of good intentions that were thwarted in some way. No, I have only one argument. It's right there in the first verse of Psalm 51, as David confesses his sin with Bathsheba. I come to the Lord with only one appeal, his mercy. I've no other defense. I've no other standing. I've no other hope. I can't escape the reality of my biggest problem - me! So I appeal to the one thing in my life that's sure and will never fail. I appeal to the one thing that guaranteed not only my acceptance with God, but the hope of new beginnings and fresh starts. I appeal on the basis of the greatest gift I ever have or ever will be given. I leave the courtroom of my own defense, I come out of hiding, and I admit who I am. But I'm not afraid, because I've been personally and eternally blessed. Because of what Jesus did, God looks on me with mercy. It's my only appeal; it's the source of my hope; it's my life. Mercy, mercy me!"

- Paul David Tripp, Whiter than Snow

Confession of Our Righteousness

O Lord, we confess our righteousness

Those thoughts, words and deeds that have taken our eyes off of Christ and His finished work

And put them on ourselves.

We have fooled ourselves into seeing our obedience as a substitute for your perfection.

We have failed to see that even our best works are as filthy rags in your sight.

Father, we confess that we have deserted your Gospel.

We have made a mockery of the Cross.

For the sake of your great name,

have mercy on us.

Refresh us with your love,

that we may remain fixed on Jesus alone.