And finally from last night:

Definition of the Gospel – John Calvin,

 

Without the gospel, everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe. It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.  For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, [a] sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt canceled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal.

In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune. For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorying under vituperation [bitter railing and condemnation], abounding in poverty, warmed in our nakedness, patient amongst evils, living in death.

Also from last night:

The gospel is not just a sequence of steps (say, the "Four Laws" of Campus Crusade or the "Six Biblical Truths" of Quest for Joy).Those are essential. But what makes the gospel "good news" is that it connects a person with the "unsearchable riches of Christ."

There is nothing in itself that makes "forgiveness of sins" good news. Whether being forgiven is good news depends on what it leads to. You could walk out of a courtroom innocent of a crime and get killed on the street. Forgiveness may or may not lead to joy. Even escaping hell is not in itself the good news we long for - not if we find heaven to be massively boring.

 

Nor is justification in itself good news. Where does it lead? That is the question. Whether justification will be good news, depends on the award we receive because of our imputed righteousness. What do we receive because we are counted righteous in Christ? The answer is fellowship with Jesus.

Forgiveness of sins and justification are good news because they remove obstacles to the only lasting, all-satisfying source of joy: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is not merely the means of our rescue from damnation; he is the goal of our salvation. If he is not satisfying to be with, there is no salvation. He is not merely the rope that pulls us from the threatening waves; he is the solid beach under our feet, and the air in our lungs, and the beat of our heart, and the warm sun on our skin, and the song in our ears, and the arms of our beloved.

Full text in blog

 

 

 

 

 

  

From last night:

Understanding the Gospel Produces Humility

According to Scripture, God deliberately designed the gospel in such a way as to strip me of pride and leave me without any grounds for boasting in myself whatsoever. This is actually a wonderful mercy from God, for pride is at the root of all my sin. Pride produced the first sin in the Garden, and pride always precedes every sinful stumbling in my life. Therefore, if I am to experience deliverance from sin, I must be delivered from the pride that produces it. Thankfully, the gospel is engineered to accomplish this deliverance.

            Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God’s own son in my place. Also, the gracious love of God, lavished on me because of Christ’s death, is always humbling to remember, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the Hell I deserve.

            Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel; and the more pride is mortified within me, the less frequent are my moments of sinful contention with God and with others. Conversely, humility grows lushly in the atmosphere of the gospel, and the more humility flourished with me, the more I experience God’s grace alone with the strengthening His grace provides. Additionally, such humility intensifies my passion for God and causes my heart increasingly to thrill whenever He is praised.

Milton Vincent, A Gospel Premier (P 27-28) emphasis mine

 

     The Gospel and Humility are inextricable linked. They are dance partners in an intricate, worshipful dance before heaven’s throne. The gospel leads humility around the floor in smooth and graceful choreography while humility continues to point back to her partner.

    

      Humility is both a product of growing in the gospel as well as catalyst that God uses in our understanding of and growth in the gospel

Salvation is wholly of grace, not only undeserved but undesired by us until God is pleased to awaken us to a sense of our need of it. And then we find everything prepared that our wants require or our wishes conceive; yea, that He has done exceedingly beyond what we could either ask or think.

Salvation is wholly of the Lord and bears those signatures of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness which distinguish all His works from the puny imitations of men. It is every way worthy of Himself, a great, a free, a full, a sure salvation.

It is great whether we consider the objects (miserable, hell-deserving sinners), the end (the restoration of such alienated creatures to His image and favor, to immortal life and happiness) or the means (the incarnation, humiliation, sufferings and death of His beloved Son). It is free, without exception of persons or cases, without any conditions or qualifications, but such as He, Himself, performs in them and bestows upon them.

— John Newton
"The Consolation" in Works of John Newton

Pride costs more than hunger, thirst and cold. -Thomas Jefferson

A.W. Tozer once wrote, “God cannot use a man greatly until He has broken him deeply.”


“At the root of all our disobedience are particular ways in which we continue to seek control of our lives through systems of works-righteousness. The way to progress as a Christian is to continually repent and uproot these systems the same way we become Christians, namely by the vivid depiction (and re-depiction) of Christ’s saving work for us, and the abandoning of self-trusting efforts to complete ourselves. We must go back again and again to the gospel of Christ-crucified, so that our hearts are more deeply gripped by the reality of what he did and who we are in him.”

Dr. Tim Keller - Paul’s Letter to the Galatians

 

The World #3

Who do things belong to:

·         Pride, in it’s self-centered thought process, sees things as “mine”, I worked for them, I own them, I deserve them. How many advertising campaigns remind you that you deserve a break, you deserve to that luxury car, you deserve to be pampered.

·         Humility dictates that we are not the center, and stuff is not the answer. Stuff, time, food are all means to an end and that end is not our ultimate satisfaction, but God’s glory.

           

If you have more things than me:

·         Pride says I deserve more things than you. James 4:1 informs us that fights, wars – everything from bickering to murder is caused by self-centered, pride induced passions that make me believe that I should have what you have.  Mark 15:10 tells us “that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him [Jesus] up”

·         Humility does not need to keep score with stuff. Humility screams, “I am getting far better than I deserve, no matter the circumstances.” Humility is not captivated by the length of a driveway or the logo on a SUV, but instead is honored at the chance to serve Christ with the things to which I have been entrusted.

How we see the World #2

More from my notes:

"Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace." 

 -- C. H. Spurgeon.

            My rights:

·         Pride establishes self-value and self-importance and thus determines our ‘rights’ and thus what others have the right to do and not to do. [Isaiah 14:13]

·         Humility reminds us that we were “bought with a price, you are not your own” [1 Corinthians 6:20], and therefore we have no rights, we only have what God deems good for us to have. Therefore, there is no bitterness or revenge in the Kingdom of God. All that was nullified at the cross.

The World #4

What is the purpose of Relationships?

·         Pride tells me that relationships are here to serve me. I can use people for my benefit, advancement, entertainment. To get that, manipulation, domination and deceit are all tools at my disposal.

Ø  Do you dominate conversations at gatherings? Care group? At Home? Do you tell little white lies to avoid conflict or get your way? Do you check out of conversations because they are not interesting to you? What does that say about how you value that relationship?

·         Humility reminds me that we are ALL God’s creation, we are ALL his image bearers, we are ALL debtors to mercy. I am not to value myself too highly, “but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4 ESV)

            What happens when relationships get difficult?

·         This question is a great thermometer of humility in your life. I would watch how you react and that will answer the pivotal question:

·         Are others here to serve you or are you here to serve God by serving others?

Pride and Humility dictate how we see the world #1

More from the 7/10 Class. I know I went to fast over the material, so I will include sections of it here:

How we view ourselves, God and the world

 

            What is the center:

·         Pride dictates that we are the center of the world, the center of what is happening. Pride asks at every juncture, ‘how does this impact me?’

·         Humility sees God at the center, God orchestrating events and asks the question, “how can I serve God’s purpose in this situation?’

           

How important I am:

·         Pride has an unhealthy self-focus and an unbiblical high view of self. It gives an inappropriately high amount of weight to my opinions, my interpretations and my motives in the moment. Pride relies heavily on self-counsel.

·         Humility recognizes my flesh-centered limitations to subjectivity [how I subjectively view myself and others] and interpreting life. Humility calls on the godly counsel of others. Humility dictates that I give more weight to the opinions of others than I do to my own.

 

The full text of the Edwards quote:

Humility
by Jonathan Edwards-
            Humility may be defined to be a habit of mind and heart corresponding to our comparative unworthiness and vileness before God; or a sense of our own comparative lowness in His sight, with the disposition to a behavior answerable thereto.
            A truly humble man is sensible of the small extent of his knowledge, and the great extent of his ignorance, and of the small extent of his understanding, as compared with the understanding of God.
            He is sensible of his weakness, how little his strength is, and how little he is able to do.
            He is sensible of his natural distance from God, of his dependence on Him, of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided for; and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.
            Humility tends to prevent an aspiring and ambitious behavior among men.
            The man that is under the influence of a humble spirit is content with such a situation among men, as God is pleased to allot to him, and is not greedy of honor, and does not affect to appear uppermost and exalted above his neighbors.

            Humility tends also to prevent an arrogant and assuming behavior.
            On the contrary, humility, disposes a person to a condescending behavior to the meekest and lowest, and to treat inferiors with courtesy and affability, as being sensible of his own weakness and despicableness before God.
            If we then consider ourselves as the followers of the meek and lowly and crucified Jesus, we shall walk humbly before God and man all the days of our life on earth.
            Let all be exhorted earnestly to seek much of a humble spirit, and to endeavor to be humble in all their behavior toward God and men.
            Seek for a deep and abiding sense of your comparative lowness before God and man.

• Know God.
• Confess your nothingness and ill-desert before Him.
• Distrust yourself.
• Rely Only On Christ.
• Renounce all glory except for Him.

·         Yield yourself heartily to His will and service.

·         Avoid an aspiring, ambitious, ostentatious, assuming, arrogant, scornful, stubborn, willful, leveling, self-justifying behavior; and strive for more and more of the humble spirit that Christ manifested while He was on earth.

      Humility is a most essential and distinguishing trait in all true piety.
      Earnestly seek then; and diligently and prayerfully cherish a humble spirit, and God shall walk with you here below; and when a few more days shall have passed, He will receive you to the honors bestowed on His people at Christ's right hand.

 

Becasue he first...

Good, reformed theology is gospel centered, and the gospel centered theologian cannot but be humbled by the gospel. John Owen understood this:

"Never did creature turn his affections towards God, if the heart of God were not first set upon Him."

 

Humility Quotes

During my study on humility, there are two quotes that keep rolling around in my head. One is:

“If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give, but if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts our meaningless.”

St. Augustine

The other is:

At every stage of our Christian development, pride is our greatest enemy and humility is our greatest friend.” (John R. W. Stott)

These quotes are really challenging my soul and my thinking.