Wise and Wicked Borrowing

 “The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives.” – Psalm 37:21

The recent controversial news of federal tax dollars paying down student loan debts has sparked a controversy of what is wise dealings in our personal finances. The complexities of macroeconomics in a nation as large and prosperous as the United States requires more skill than I can offer, but as a pastor I can and must open the Word of God in wise personal and household dealings for the Christian to live by.

The wicked takes out loans with such a carefree heart that the person has no intention to repay. Perhaps the loan is so great that the wicked borrower refuses to chart a course to repay to begin with, yet even if the wicked borrower had the funds repayment is refused. Taking advantage of the lender reveals the wicked as under God’s curse.

God requires His people to be wise in their dealings and just in both their lending and borrowing. The weight on the lender to not take advantage of borrowers with unjust financial injury is the very same weight upon the borrower not being unjust in their dealings to repay lenders. We tend to think of unjust lenders like Charles Dicken’s character Ebenezer Scrooge, but somehow our culture omits God’s wise commands upon borrowers to pay back in the wise, blessed life under His care.

The wise do not seek wealth by unjust gains, even if it means earthly prosperity. Whenever there is opportunity, the righteous is generous and a giver. The wise person may not have a stuffed wallet, but with deep charity in the heart the wise give a generous ear and fellowship. The wise is like the one healed Samaritan leper who turned back to Jesus and praised God loudly. The wicked is among the company of the world which Paul describes in Romans 1:21 having known God through His gracious workmanship, but refusing Him honor and thanksgiving. The wicked are takers, not givers.

Christian, the world is filled with takers withholding any thanksgiving toward God. Do not be surprised when such a world is foolish in their dealings with one another. Let such foolishness not be true of us. Rather, let God’s Word shed light on our dealings with others in wisdom.

Paul commands Christians to owe nothing but love to one another in the church (Romans 13:8). This means we have every intention to pay down our debts, wisely charting a course in our revenue to pay back what we owe. Yet, there is a debt which forever unpaid – love. There is the generous and giving heart of the righteous. We receive an everlasting, steadfast love of God who loved us first while we were still His enemies, and now we make payments of love for one another as a debt owed which will never be repaid; a debt we joyfully receive! Let us not be like the wicked borrower, taking love without any intention to repay. Rather, let love be genuine in the church of Jesus Christ, dispensed generously and joyfully without expectation of repayment (Luke 6:35).  

Dear follower of Christ, the Word of our wise God charts a course for wise living in our financial dealings just as in our love. When we borrow money for a car, mortgage for a home, and yes even college tuition, there is blessing in obeying the Lord to intend to repay. The Bible’s link of debts and our love for one another is not simply poetic, but rather deeply connected as God’s wise plan for the blessed health of His people. Living within our means is wise dealings for life which honors our God. Let us rejoice in His generous giving, especially of love. That precious currency of His love is one we will never outspend. He truly is good to us.

Heavenly Father, grant to us wisdom in our borrowing and spending. By Your generous hand, provide for us and our households. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Be glorified in Your generous and giving church. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

M'Cheyne - Consider Christ

I encourage you to read this excerpt of Robert Murray M'Cheyne's sermon on Hebrews 3:1

"I would now plead with believers – Some of you have really been brought by God to believe in Jesus. Yet you have no abiding peace and very little growing in holiness. Why is this? It is because your eye is fixed anywhere but on Christ. You are so busy looking at books, or looking at men, or looking at the world, that you have no time, no heart for looking at Christ.

No wonder you have little peace and joy in believing. No wonder you live so inconsistent and unholy a life. Change your plan. Consider the greatness and glory of Christ, who has undertaken all in the stead of sinners, and you would find it quite impossible to walk in darkness or to walk in sin, Oh what mean, despicable thoughts you have of the glorious Immanuel!  Lift your eyes from your own bosom, downcast believer, – look upon Jesus. It is good to consider your ways, but it is far better to consider Christ."

 

Waiting More than the Watchmen for the Morning

 “My soul waits for the LORD more than watchmen for the morning.” –Psalm 130:6

Sometimes I see my Bible and I feel like a man who walked the desert and rejoiced in finding a watery oasis, and other times I feel mysteriously heartless. My mood rides the waves of circumstances and unpredictable affections of the heart. Church services can be much the same way. I question whether I should just read the Bible or sing this song anyway, despite my disinterest. Yet, I grow deep in my fear of the Lord, praying I don’t end up like the hypocrites Jesus says “honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8).

There is a precious hope wrapped up in the biblical words “longing” and “waiting.” Every trial and every struggle which comes my way is a warm invitation of my heavenly Father to find in Him my strength, joy, and peace to persevere in this journey. I long for the Lord to answer my pleas for mercy when I’m in the depths of woe. What else does it mean when my affections for the disciplines of grace such as Bible reading, prayer, and worship grow dim but that a trial is upon me and tempts me to abandon from hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd and follow? The dullness of my heart weakens my resolve to pray, read Scripture, or attend church. Beloved, to feel heartless in our worship of Christ is not an exercise in trying to recover feeling “it,” but in longing and waiting for the Lord.

Waiting is a major part of our modern lives. We wait in the doctor’s office only to wait for the doctor when finally in a room. We wait in lines. We wait on hold when calling customer service. Yet, waiting for the Lord is not passive like these things. The Psalmist waits for the Lord “more than watchmen for the morning.” There is an active anticipation in waiting for the Lord that is MORE than a nightshift guard waiting for the sun to rise.

Waiting for the Lord means to shift our focus away from our unaffectionate hearts and toward Christ in faith in who He is and what He says of His affection for you. Our Lord says to ask whatever you want in His name. Ask the Father for the “want tos,” the deep feeling of longing as you wait with eager anticipation greater than a watchman for the morning. The Psalmist waits for the Lord with greater joy and assurance of His coming than a watchmen of the rising sun.

Through your faith in Christ the Son of God your soul can wait for the Lord by putting your hope in His Word (vs5). Press on with certainty knowing He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of the Lord’s coming (Philippians 1:6). Press on knowing that a trial of indifference is purely a temptation, and He will not allow this temptation without an escape (I Corinthians 10:13). When your heart lacks the “want tos,” you will find it is there in the depths you need Scripture, prayer, and fellowship more than ever. Pray as one crying out of the depths like this Psalm, confessing and rejoicing that you stand before the Lord who could mark our iniquities but has instead judged your sin finally and fully upon Christ at the cross.

Christ loves you now. His affections are not like ours in and out, up and down, hot and cold. Paul assures us in Romans 8 that God is for us and not against us (31), graciously giving us all things (32), all charges of sin are completely pardoned for God’s elect who cannot be condemned (33-34), and nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (35-39).

We must hold onto the word of His promise as we wait for the Lord. With this great comforting assurance of His grace, our soul can wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning. Behold, He is coming, He is with you, He will not abandon you. His love for you is steadfast. Your weary heart can rejoice in the Word of His great promise. Your soul can rest as you wait for Him with patience. To God be the glory!

Heavenly Father, forgive my fickle heart which may be warm today and cold tomorrow. From the depths of woe my soul cries out to You. May my prayer reach Your ears, I beg a hearing for Your mercy. You are a God who could mark all my iniquities which would bar my standing before You. I fear Your awesome power and pure holiness, and in Your grace my sin is forgiven. I wait for You, Lord, with hope in Your Word more than a watchman waits for the sunrise. May all Your covenant people rejoice in Your redeeming, steadfast love. We wait for it with patience. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

How God Means for Good what Others Mean for Evil

Joseph said to his brothers, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” –Genesis 50:19-20

Joseph was just a young boy running into the field to check on his brothers for their father Israel. They hated the favored dreamer son of Israel with jealousy, seized the boy and threw him into an empty cistern to die while they ate a meal. Ishmaelite traders came by, and the brothers made a quick buck selling Joseph into slavery in Egypt instead, lying to their father about his son’s death and returning his gift to his son, a coat of many colors, with animal blood on it just to make it believable.

In Egypt, the now slave Joseph prospered his master’s household rather than his father’s back at home. Here, Joseph fought off sexual temptation with his master’s wife only to be falsely accused and sent to prison. Yet, in prison, the faithful Joseph was given favor by the prison warden through God’s providence to look over the prisoners.

Joseph helped a disgraced cupbearer be restored in Pharaoh’s home only to be forgotten. Joseph did not use loneliness in a dungeon and being forgotten by someone he helped as an excuse to sin. By God’s saving power, Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream of upcoming prosperity and famine to be prepared for. Pharaoh placed Joseph second in command in all of Egypt at the time famine reached the home of his father and brothers back in Canaan.

It is here in the story of Joseph I marvel at his faithfulness. He was hurt over the extent of many years by his brothers who wanted him dead. Now, with the might of the Egyptian Empire behind him, his brothers come at the end of their rope seeking mercy. The tables have turned. Will Joseph show wrath or will he show mercy?

We allow disappointments in our life to justify an angry treatment of those who offend us. Joseph could have justified sexual unfaithfulness with Potiphar’s wife as a stress relief from having been left for dead and sold into slavery. Joseph could use the egregious offenses of his brothers to show no mercy and even have his brothers killed in return. Temptation asks our hearts a question, and our answer exposes either faithfulness to our righteous God or draw us down the dark alleys of destruction.

We may think that humble service comes only when we are in a comfortable spot in life. If people treat me well, I’ll treat them well. Consider Joseph, then consider our Lord Jesus. God is glorified in a life of humble, faithful service when life is most uncomfortable. Joseph learned a faithful life under God’s care not in the comfortable environment of ease, but in a dungeon. Christ displayed the salvation of God not only in teaching, but in His willingness to lay down His life for sinners. You see, Joseph told his brothers that their offense which was meant for evil God meant good for them. Joseph went through all of these hardships for God to bless his evil brothers with good. They meant death, God gives life.

Christian, the battle is not only with the person in front of you no matter how offensive they are, but the battle is most deeply inside of you. Joseph was obedient in slavery, prison, and forgiving his brothers who wanted him dead and sold him into slavery, even through their lying to their father who suffered in anguish thinking his boy to be dead! Our Savior was faithful to the Father even unto death, even the humiliating death of a criminal on a cross. So, when your spouse offends you, friends betray you, or your neighbor offends you, by the mercy of God do good to them.

When you know who you are as an offender to a holy God and you know Christ who was crucified for you to reconcile you to a holy God who committed no offense to you, you can easily forgive those who offend you, exchange kindness and gentleness in the face of someone angry and wanting to offend you, and love those who hate you. In a local church filled with born-again saints understanding each other to be works in progress by His Holy Spirit, we enjoy Christ’s peace and love proving to be His disciples.

Heavenly Father, You place us in many hard places. Open our eyes to see hard times, offenses, and dungeons as opportunities to display Your grace through Christ who became a curse and endured the cross for us. Teach us to forgive just as You forgave us. Bless us with Your peace and joy. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Expository Preaching

 “All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

–II Timothy 3:16-17

 Following the voice of the Good Shepherd requires an extraordinary humility. I need God’s breathed out Scripture because I am an ignorant fool who needs to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained to be righteous. Oh, what grace is there for a weak fool like me in the deep instruction of the Bible! All of my faults and sins, my weaknesses and temptations, my needs to be further conformed to the image of the Son are confronted by God’s Word to my humble and ready ears.

This why I am committed to expository preaching. That is, the entire point of every sermon is the text of Scripture itself which is relayed to the life of the Christian and the local church. In Alistair Begg’s fine booklet Preachingfor God’s Glory he contends, “We are on the wrong track if we think expository preaching merely as a preaching style chosen from a list (topical, devotional, evangelistic, textual, apologetic, prophetic, expository). As John Stott says, ‘All true Christian preaching is expository preaching.’”

 I know topical preaching and topical Bible studies are the more popular in our culture. One may think, “well, that’s just what I prefer.” I understand it is what you prefer, but is that truly wise? We are tempted to raise our children in more exciting settings as if Scripture taught deeply passage by passage is not enough to keep my children in the faith when they get older. I understand it is what your children prefer, but is that truly wise?

 Glance at a list of sermons on a topical preacher’s website or Sunday School’s curriculum and you will find massive gaps. Why do they skip large portions of Exodus or the Gospel of Matthew, for example? Then ask yourself, what riches in these large passages am I and my family missing which we need to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained to be righteous with?

Topical preaching feeds truths in portions, but misses the deep riches of entire swaths of God’s Word and reduces difficult texts as simply marginal or lessons for moral living. The “types and shadows” which lead human history to Christ’s kingship making all things new are oblivious in the ears of the preacher who simply wants to discuss steps to improve marriages or various other subjects. These steps and subjects are indeed in Scripture, but to handle the Word of God as simply a collection of topics to help rather than deeply understanding the whole counsel of God in reference to Christ will miss the “fire in our hearts” as the men on the road to Emmaus experienced. 

If you are a preacher or teacher of God’s Word, remember we are held to a higher account for how we handle God’s Word in the face of God’s people. We are to lead them deeper into the text, not use the text to move them away from it. I encourage everyone willing to take the time to read this article to attend a church devoted to the exposition of Scripture. You may visit us at Allison Avenue, watch our livestream, or download our sermons. It is here in the deep study and understanding of God’s Word we hear the voice of our Good Shepherd and follow Him. And this is good news: such preaching and teaching of God’s Word will equip you and your family “for every good work” as God’s craftsmanship for God’s glory.

 Heavenly Father, prepare my heart to receive Your Word as a skillful farmer plows, plants, and waters. Grant me patience to hear Your wise instruction to bear in me much fruit. If it pleases You, reveal Yourself to me through the rich treasures of Scripture which points to Christ and burns like fire in my heart. For Your glory’s sake I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.