Last week's post on Christian Resolutions and July's post about personal relationship with God being the primary focus out of which ministry for God must flow (Who's Running the Show?) coincide nicely with this recent post on the Ligonier site. Buck Parsons revisits Jonathan Edwards' preface to his resolutions to "work out his own salvation with fear and trembling" in the power of the Holy Spirit (sanctification), that he might glorify God and enjoy Him forever. He looks at three particular areas where believers tend to be the most needy: dependency upon God, humility before Him and living for God's glory. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him ... Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Col.3:17, 23).
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At nineteen, as a ministerial student preparing for the
pastorate, I grew concerned that someday I could get to the point in
ministry that my passion for ministry would usurp my passion for God —
that ministry would become my religion, that the idol of success in
ministry would replace my heart’s desire to be faithful to God. With all of this weighing heavily on my mind, early one
morning, I slid from my bed onto my knees and cried out to God that He
would equip me for ministry, sustain me in ministry, and give me passion
for ministry — a passion that would flow out of my love and passion for
God Himself. That morning I penned the following words in the front of
my Bible: “I shall live for God, not for the ministry.” Every year since
then, by God’s sustaining grace, I have surrendered myself to the Lord,
imploring Him to help me live for Him and trusting Him alone to equip,
sustain, and empower me for His ministry.
In order to remain steadfast in this pursuit of active surrender of
living for the sake of God and not for the sake of ministry, I must not
only regularly confess my sin of self-reliance I must also resolve to
remain resolved every day of my life — living a life of repentance and
faith, with every step and every breath, delighting in the Lord’s
abundant love and assurance. For if I confide in my own strength, my
striving would indeed be losing.
The Resolve of Edwards
The nineteen-year-old Jonathan Edwards knew his weaknesses and was
aware of the destructive nature of his sin, so he resolved to make and
keep certain resolutions in his effort to live for God’s glory. He
helped pave the way for us all as he prefaced his seventy resolutions
with these words:
Being sensible that I am unable to do
anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to
enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his
will, for Christ’s sake.
These simple, introductory words of Edwards not only provide a glimpse into the mind of one of history’s greatest minds, they
provide us with a glorious insight into the heart of a young man whose
heart had been humbled and mastered by the Lord God Almighty. We would
therefore do well to consider Edwards’ prefatory remarks as we seek to
glorify God and enjoy Him forever in our churches, our homes, and our
hearts...
Resolving Dependently
“I am unable to do anything without God’s
help,” Edwards admits. We must be sensible in grasping the simple truth
that every resolution must be made in dependence on God. And while every
Christian would respond by saying, “Well, of course we must depend on
God for all things,” most Christians have been sold the world’s bill of
goods. They think that once they become dependent on God, then they will
have immediate strength. They mimic the world’s mantra: “Whatever
doesn’t kill me will make me stronger.” While the principle is generally
true, such thinking can foster an attitude of proud independence. We
must understand that in being able to do all things through Christ who
strengthens us means that we must depend on His strength continuously in
order to do all things and to keep all our resolutions (Eph. 3:16; Col. 1:11).
In truth, whatever doesn’t kill us, by God’s conforming grace, makes us
weak so that in our weakness we will rely continuously on the strength
of our Lord (2 Cor. 12:7–10).
Resolving Humbly
“I do humbly entreat him by his grace to
enable me to keep these resolutions.” In making resolutions for the
glory of God and before the face of God, we must not come into His
presence pounding our chests in triumphal arrogance as if God must now
love and bless us more because we have made certain resolutions to
follow Him more. In reality, the Lord in His providence may choose to
allow even more trials to enter our lives; in His unchanging fatherly
love for us, He may decide to discipline us even more in order that we
might more so detest our sin and delight in Him. We should approach Him
in humble reliance on His grace as we seek not merely the blessings but
the one who blesses.
Resolving For Christ’s Sake
“So far as they are agreeable to his will
for Christ’s sake.” We cannot resolve to do anything with a presumptuous
attitude before God. The whole matter of making resolutions is not just
goal setting so that we might have happier lives. We are called by God
to live according to His will, not our own — for Christ’s sake, not our
own — for it is not unto us but unto Him that all glory belongs.
[Burk Parson's full post at Ligonier site]
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