Your Cold Prayers

 

MAY 24 Your Cold Prayers

Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer. Psalm 66:20

In looking back upon the character of our prayers, if we do it honestly, we shall be filled with wonder that God has ever answered them. There may be some who think their prayers worthy of acceptance—as the Pharisee did; but the true Christian, who sees things clearly, must surely weep over his prayers, and if he could retrace his steps he would desire to pray more earnestly. Remember, Christian, how cold your prayers have been. When in your closet you should have wrestled as Jacob did; but instead your petitions have been faint and few—far removed from that humble, believing, persevering faith that cries, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Yet, how wonderful to know that God has heard these cold prayers of yours, and not only heard, but answered them. Reflect also how infrequent have been your prayers unless you have been in trouble, and then you have gone often to the mercy-seat: But when deliverance has come, what happened to your constant supplication? Yet, even though you have stopped praying as you once did, God has not stopped blessing. When you have neglected the mercy-seat, God has not deserted it, but the bright light of His glory has remained visible between the wings of the cherubim. How marvelous that the Lord should pay attention to our intermittent spasms of prayerfulness that ebb and flow with our needs. What a God He is to hear the prayers of those who come to Him when they have pressing concerns but neglect Him when they have received a mercy; who approach Him when they are forced to come but who almost forget to address Him when benefits are plentiful and sorrows are few. Let His gracious kindness in hearing such prayers touch our hearts, so that from now on we may be found “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”1

Ephesians 6:18

Sanctificcation

 May 23, 2023

Writing to the church in Corinth, Paul described the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work in the believer’s life as follows:

We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)

The New Testament describes the Spirit’s ministry as not only a one-time act in our new birth but also an ongoing work in which He makes us more like Christ. Simply put, the Holy Spirit is responsible for the transformation of the Christian’s character.

But how does this transformation occur? The theological word for the process is sanctification. It carries with it the idea of being set apart by God for His own possession. As it relates to our spiritual transformation, sanctification is the process whereby the Spirit makes our union with Christ in His death and resurrection increasingly real and obvious in our lives. It’s the lifelong process of moral transformation to make us more like Jesus.

The Relationship of Sanctification to Justification

If we are to rightly understand the Spirit’s work of transformation in our lives, we need to be familiar with a related doctrine: justification.

It’s a common error to drive a wedge, theologically speaking, between the ministries of Christ and the Holy Spirit. We must not do this. Indeed, justification—the once-for-all act affording to the Christian a righteous standing before God—cannot be separated from sanctification. These two works belong as much to Christ as to the Spirit (Eph. 5:26).

Sanctification is the lifelong process of moral transformation to make us more like Jesus.

Understanding the relationship of sanctification to justification is crucial. If we separate them, we could end up manufacturing a kind of two-tiered Christianity: the “basic” version, in which we don’t progress spiritually beyond our justification, and the “deluxe” version, where we do make some spiritual progress along the way. The result is like the experience of a college student who excels beyond his or her peers by enrolling in honors courses: all of them will earn a degree, but one will do so in a more distinguished way. In the Christian life, however, sanctification isn’t an optional extra for the spiritually elite. It isn’t an honors course in Christ’s school. It necessarily follows our justification—whether in great measure or small.

In one sense, justification by faith is a dangerous doctrine. The Reformers taught that when we are justified by faith—when we are born again of the Holy Spirit—Christ’s work on the cross has dealt with our sin past, present, and future. The inherent danger in this truth, of course, is that it can be understood as permission to sin recklessly in order to show the wonder of God’s forgiveness. This kind of thinking is exactly what Paul refutes in Romans 6: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!” (vv. 1–2).

From the moment of our new birth, we have a radically new relationship to sin.

For a Christian to live in this kind of open rebellion would be akin to a newlywed within days of his marriage involving himself in old relationships only to show the extent of his wife’s love for him. It’s nonsense! And we run the risk of becoming similarly foolish when we isolate God’s initial work of renewal from His sustaining work of transformation in our lives. Let’s be clear: from the moment of our new birth, we have a radically new relationship to sin (Eph. 5:8; Gal. 2:20).

Three Truths Concerning Sanctification

Having established the relationship between justification and sanctification, we would do well to consider the essential New Testament teaching on the Spirit’s transforming work.

Sanctification Is Not Sinlessness

First, the Scriptures nowhere teach that we can become sinless in this life. Some maintain that we can achieve sinless perfection through the Spirit’s transformation. This view is typically based on the teaching of Charles Wesley (1707–1788), who urged his followers to pursue a life of spiritual discipline that would apparently remove them from their ongoing warfare with sin.

The Scriptures nowhere teach that we can become sinless in this life.

In truth, anyone who views sanctification as sinlessness defines sin only in a limited sense. “So long as I’m not openly disobedient to God’s revealed will,” the reasoning goes, “then it could be said that I’m living a completely sanctified life.” The problem with this is that the Bible doesn’t let us decide what constitutes sinlessness. We have to say what the Bible affirms, and God in His Word defines sin without any loopholes. The apostle John states it plainly:

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

In other words, anyone who claims to be sanctified to the degree of sinlessness is a liar. This view is not only unbiblical and impossible this side of eternity but also pride-inducing. So we aren’t to act as if our sin doesn’t exist. Instead, we are to set out on the lifelong quest of becoming like Jesus, eagerly awaiting the day when we see Him and enjoy final deliverance from sin’s grasp (1 John 3:2).

Sanctification Is Both Active and Passive

Next, we should view sanctification as having both an active and passive aspect. We encounter both in Scripture, so we must hold them in tension. On the one hand, we’re urged to rest in the finished work of Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). On the other hand, certain passages present Christian growth as a striving to be conformed to Christ’s image (Col. 3:5). Our transformation, therefore, involves both resting and striving.

It’s unbiblical to go to either of the two extremes, pushing just one of the elements to its limit. Any attempt to muster up Christlikeness in our own strength is futile, and it’s equally fruitless to withhold all effort in the process of spiritual transformation.

Paul says our sanctification involves working out what the Holy Spirit passively works in us.

Philippians 2 helps us balance sanctification’s active and passive aspects:

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (vv. 12–13)

In essence, Paul says our sanctification involves working out what the Holy Spirit passively works in us. The Spirit urges us, quickens our consciences, and directs us toward what’s right and from what’s wrong. He works through our activity, not in spite of it. Sanctification is both active and passive.

Sanctification Is Preceded and Followed by Crisis

Finally, sanctification is a process preceded and followed by two crises, or watershed events. It isn’t an isolated process. The crisis of before is justification; the crisis of after is glorification. This is why Paul can describe the events of our salvation, from predestination to glorification, as having already taken place (Rom. 8:30)—for in God’s view, they already have. From the divine perspective, there isn’t a time gap between the believer’s justification, sanctification, and glorification. It’s all a completed work.

From the divine perspective, there isn’t a time gap between the believer’s justification, sanctification, and glorification. It’s all a completed work.

So, between our past justification and future glorification, what takes place? The answer is that we’re being renewed in the image of our Creator (Col. 3:10) and growing up into Christ (Eph. 4:15)—all language for the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in us.

What might Paul say to the person who understands the doctrine of sanctification but doesn’t feel like he’s making any progress in the Christian life? We can return to Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where he reminds us that we are in fact being transformed by God’s Spirit, even when we don’t feel like it. We should remember that this transformative process takes time. No acorn ever became an oak tree overnight, nor has anyone ever stumbled into a holy life by chance.

Sanctification is a lifelong process to which we ought to submit and a rock-solid promise to which we ought to hold fast.

This article was adapted from the sermon “Getting the Holy Spirit in Focus — Part Five” by Alistair Begg.

 

Little Sins

 

MAY 30 Little Sins

Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards. Song of Songs 2:15

A little thorn can cause much suffering. A small cloud may hide the sun. Tiny foxes spoil the vineyards; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These small sins burrow in the soul and fill it with what is hateful to Christ, and thus our comfortable fellowship and communion with Him is spoiled. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable. Jesus will not walk with His people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”1 Some Christians rarely enjoy their Savior’s presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Are you a child of God, and yet satisfied to live without seeing your Father’s face? What! You are the spouse of Christ, and yet content to be absent from His company! Surely, you have fallen into a sad state, for the pure spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate when he has left her. Here is the question: What has driven Christ from you? He hides His face behind the wall of your sins. That wall may be made up of little pebbles as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains: And the sea that divides you from Christ may be filled with the drops of your little sins; and the rock that almost wrecked the vessel of your life may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of your little sins. If you would live with Christ and walk with Christ and see Christ and have fellowship with Christ, pay attention to “the little foxes that spoil the vineyard, for our vineyards are in blossom.” Jesus invites you to go with Him against them. He will surely, like Samson, take the foxes at once and easily. Go with Him to the hunting.

John 15:10

When Do You Pray?

 

MAY 25 When Do You Pray?

Do not forsake me, O Lord! Psalm 38:21

We frequently pray that God would not forsake us in the hour of trial and temptation, but we are prone to forget that we need to pray like this at all times. There is no moment of our life, however holy, in which we can do without His constant upholding. Whether in light or in darkness, in communion or in temptation, we need always to pray, “Do not forsake me, O LORD!” “Hold me up, that I may be safe.”1 A little child, while learning to walk, always needs the nurse’s aid. The ship left by the pilot drifts immediately off course. We cannot do without continued aid from above; let it then be your prayer today, “Do not forsake me. Father, do not forsake Your child, lest he fall by the hand of the enemy. Shepherd, do not forsake Your lamb, lest he wander from the safety of the fold. Farmer, do not forsake Your crops, lest they wither and die. ‘Do not forsake me, O LORD,’ now or at any moment of my life. Do not forsake me in my joys, lest they absorb my heart. Do not forsake me in my sorrows, lest I murmur against You. Do not forsake me in the day of my repentance, lest I lose the hope of pardon and fall into despair; and do not forsake me in the day of my strongest faith, lest faith degenerate into presumption. Do not forsake me, for without You I am weak, but with You I am strong. Do not forsake me, for my path is dangerous and full of snares, and I cannot do without Your guidance. As the hen does not forsake her brood, so You, O Lord protect me, and permit me to find my refuge in You. ‘Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.’2 ‘Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!’”3 Forever in our cleansed breast, May Thy Eternal Spirit rest; And make our secret soul to be A temple clean and pure for Thee.

Psalm 119:117 Psalm 22:11 Psalm 27:9

He Begins and Completes

 

MAY 23 He Begins and Completes

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 138:8

It is clear that the confidence that the psalmist expresses is a divine confidence. He did not say, “I have enough grace to perfect that which concerns me—my faith is so steady that it will not falter—my love is so warm that it will never grow cold—my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it.” No, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we display a confidence that is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream; it will fall upon us and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. The psalmist was wise; he rested on nothing less than the Lord’s work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be completed. If there is one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness that we must insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence—what the Lord begins, He completes. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates: “You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart—you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you—you will be certainly allured by them and led astray.” True, we would certainly perish if left to our own strength. If by ourselves we navigate the most frail vessels of our lives over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but thanks be to God, He will complete that which concerns us and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too eager to have such a trust.

He Begins and Completes

 

MAY 23 He Begins and Completes

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Psalm 138:8

It is clear that the confidence that the psalmist expresses is a divine confidence. He did not say, “I have enough grace to perfect that which concerns me—my faith is so steady that it will not falter—my love is so warm that it will never grow cold—my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it.” No, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we display a confidence that is not grounded on the Rock of ages, our confidence is worse than a dream; it will fall upon us and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. The psalmist was wise; he rested on nothing less than the Lord’s work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is He who has carried it on; and if He does not finish it, it never will be completed. If there is one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness that we must insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence—what the Lord begins, He completes. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates: “You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart—you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you—you will be certainly allured by them and led astray.” True, we would certainly perish if left to our own strength. If by ourselves we navigate the most frail vessels of our lives over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but thanks be to God, He will complete that which concerns us and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in Him alone, and never too eager to have such a trust.

The Downward Spiral of Sin

 

The Downward Spiral of Sin

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

2 Samuel 11:2-3

How did David go from godly king to abusive adulterer? It happened by degrees, as sin tends to.

First, David was all alone. This may appear to be a minor detail, but 2 Samuel 11:1 reveals how it was “the time when kings go out to battle”—yet David, instead of leading his men, had sent Joab to do the fighting in his stead. And so, instead of fulfilling his role as king, David was all alone on the roof of his house.

From the roof, David saw a very beautiful woman bathing. He might have seen Bathsheba accidentally, but he could have prevented himself from staring at her. The problem wasn’t that he unintentionally caught a glimpse; the problem was that he started to gaze. The eye was the point of entry through which temptation came to David, as it so often is.

But David not only saw; he also sent. After seeing Bathsheba, he began to think about her. He could have put that thought away and ended his descent into sin right there. But having failed at this point, his thoughts led to action, and he sent for information about the woman. He learned that she was Bathsheba, the wife of one of his greatest warriors. The realization that Bathsheba was married to Uriah should have ended the matter for David. He knew the commandment of God: “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Yet even this did not stop him! When lust grips, conscience fades, and reason is obliterated. And so “David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her” (2 Samuel 11:4). There is no sense that she was given a choice in the matter.

This narrative should serve as a great warning to all of us. Paul warned the Corinthians, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). If David, a man who was greatly loved by God, could fall in this way, then we must never think that we are incapable of such a fall. Complacency is often the mother of sin. If David had taken heed, he would have led his men to war. He would have looked away. He would have stopped his thoughts. He would not have misused his power to sleep with Bathsheba. God has promised that “with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). And he provided David with many opportunities to stop. The tragedy is that David took none of them.

Like David, you will be tempted in this life—but God has promised that there will always be a way out. With which temptations are you particularly struggling at the moment? Thank God for His faithfulness. Pray that He will give you strength to endure temptation and so avoid sin’s downward spiral. Take heed.

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Asking ‘Why?’

 

MAY 22 Asking ‘Why?’

He led them by a straight way. Psalm 107:7

Changing circumstances often causes the anxious believer to ask, “Why is this happening to me?” I looked for light, but darkness came; for peace, but faced trouble. I said in my heart, my mountain stands firm, I shall never be moved. Lord, You hide Your face, and I am troubled. Only yesterday I could read my title clearly; but today my evidences are blurred, and my hopes are clouded. Yesterday I could climb the mountain and view the landscape and rejoice with confidence in my future inheritance; today my spirit has no hopes, but many fears; no joys, but great distress. Is this part of God’s plan for me? Can this be the way in which God would bring me to heaven? Yes, it is even so. The eclipse of your faith, the darkness of your mind, the fainting of your hope—all these things are just parts of God’s method of making you ready for the great inheritance, which you will soon enjoy. These trials are for the testing and strengthening of your faith—they are waves that wash you further upon the rock—they are winds that steer your ship more quickly toward the desired haven. What David wrote then will be true of you: “he brought them to their desired haven” (verse 30). By honor and dishonor, by evil report and by good report, by plenty and by poverty, by joy and by distress, by persecution and by peace—by all these things your spiritual life is maintained, and by each of these you are helped on your way. Do not think, believer, that your sorrows are out of God’s plan; they are necessary parts of it. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom.”1 Learn, then, to “count it all joy … when you meet trials of various kinds.”2 O let my trembling soul be still, And trust Thy wise, Thy holy will! I cannot, Lord, Thy purpose see, Yet all is well since ruled by Thee.

Acts 14:22 James 1:2

Show Your Steadfast Love

 

MAY 20 Show Your Steadfast Love

Wondrously show your steadfast love. Psalm 17:7

When we give our hearts with our offerings, we do well, but we must often admit to failure in this respect. Not so our Master and our Lord. His favors are always performed with the love of His heart. He does not send us the cold meat and the broken pieces from the table of His luxury, but He dips our portion in His own dish and seasons our provisions with the spices of His fragrant affections. When He puts the golden coins of His grace into our palms, He accompanies the gift with such a warm pressure of our hand that the manner of His giving is as precious as the gift itself. When He comes into our houses on His errands of love, He does not act as some austere visitors do in a poor man’s cottage, but He sits by our side, not despising our poverty, nor blaming our weakness. Beloved, with what smiles does He speak! What golden sentences drop from His gracious lips! What embraces of affection does He bestow upon us! If He had only given us pennies, the way He gave would have made them as gold! But as it is, the expensive gifts are set in the golden basket of His pleasant demeanor. It is impossible to doubt the sincerity of His love, for there is a bleeding heart stamped upon the face of all His coins. He gives generally and without holding back. He gives no hint that we are burdensome to Him, no cold looks for His poor dependents; instead He rejoices in His mercy and presses us to His bosom while He is pouring out His life for us. There is a fragrance in His ointment that nothing but His heart could produce; there is a sweetness in His honeycomb that could not be unless the very essence of His soul’s affection had been mingled with it. Oh, the rare communion that such singular devotion provides! May we continually taste and know the blessedness of it!

If…

 

MAY 21 If…

…If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:3

“If.” Then this is not a matter to be taken for granted concerning every one of the human race. “If”—then there is a possibility and a probability that some may not have tasted that the Lord is gracious. “If”—then this is not a general but a special mercy; and it is necessary to ask whether we know the grace of God by inward experience. There is no spiritual favor that may not be a matter for heart-searching. But while this should be a matter of earnest and prayerful inquiry, no one ought to be content while there is any such thing as an “if” about his having tasted that the Lord is good. A jealous and holy distrust of self may give rise to the question even in the believer’s heart, but the continuance of such a doubt would be an evil indeed. We must not rest without a desperate struggle to clasp the Savior in the arms of faith and say, “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.”1 Do not rest, believer, until you have a full assurance of your interest in Jesus. Let nothing satisfy you until, by the infallible witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with your spirit, you are identified as a child of God. Do not trifle with this. Do not be satisfied with “perhaps” or “if” or “maybe.” Build on eternal truths; really build upon them. Let your anchor be cast into that which is within the veil, and see to it that your soul is linked to the anchor by a cable that will not break. Get beyond these dreary “ifs”; stay no longer in the wilderness of doubts and fears; cross the Jordan of distrust, and enter the promised land of peace, where the land ceases not to flow with milk and honey.

2 Timothy 1:12

Upstarts and the Truly Great

 

MAY 19 Upstarts and the Truly Great

I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. Ecclesiastes 10:7

Upstarts frequently steal the highest places, while the truly great struggle in obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact that none of us should complain if we face the experience. When our Lord was on earth, although He is the Prince of the kings of the earth, yet He walked the footpath of weariness and service as the Servant of servants. It should then be no surprise if His followers, who are princes in His line, should also be looked down upon as inferior and contemptible persons. The world is upside-down, and therefore the first are last and the last first. Consider how the servile sons of Satan lord it in the earth! What a high horse they ride! How they exalt themselves. David wanders on the mountains, while Saul reigns in state; Elijah is complaining in the cave, while Jezebel is boasting in the palace. Yet who would wish to take the places of the proud rebels? And who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints? When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink. Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time. Let us not fall into the error of letting our passions and sinful appetites ride in triumph, while our nobler powers walk in the dust. Grace must reign as a prince and make the members of our bodies instruments of righteousness. The Holy Spirit loves order, and He therefore sets our powers and faculties in proper rank and place, giving the highest room to those spiritual faculties that link us with the great King; let us not disturb the divine arrangement but ask for grace to keep our body under control and bring it into subjection. We were not made new to allow our passions to rule over us, but in order that, as kings, we may reign in Christ Jesus over the triple kingdom of spirit, soul, and body, to the glory of God the Father.