The Cross of Christ - Chapter 13 (Part 2)

As John Stott nears the end of his book, The Cross of Christ, he looks into the relationship between Christ's sufferings and the sufferings of those spiritually united to Him through faith in His substitutionary work on the cross on their behalf. Below are the first of several connections he finds revealed in Scripture.
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     "Suffering and Glory" (Part 2)

Patience

First, the cross of Christ is a stimulus to patient endurance. Even though suffering has to be recognized as evil and therefore resisted, there nevertheless comes a time when it has to be realistically accepted. It is then that the example of Jesus, which is set before us in the New Testament for our imitation, becomes an inspiration.(1Pet.2:18-23) ... We need to 'fix our eyes on Jesus', for he 'endured the cross, scorning its shame'. So then: 'Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart' (Heb.12:1-3).

Mature Holiness

Secondly, the cross of Christ is the path to mature holiness. We need to consider the implications of two rather neglected verses in the letter to the Hebrews:

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God ... should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ( Heb.2:10)

Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him. (Heb.5:8-9; cf. Heb.7:28)

Not of course that he was ever imperfect in the sense that he had done wrong ... rather that he needed further experiences and opportunities in order to become teleios, 'mature' [perfected]. In particular, 'he learned obedience from what he suffered'. He was never disobedient. But his sufferings were the testing-ground in which his obedience became full-grown.

James uses the same language of 'perfection' or 'maturity' in relation to Christians. Just as suffering led to maturity through obedience for Christ, so it leads to maturity through perseverance for us (James 1:2-4; cf. Rom.5:3-5). ...Three graphic images are developed in Scripture to illustrate ... the father disciplining his children (Deut.8:5; Prov.3:11-12), the metalworker refining silver and gold (Ps.66:10; Isa.48:10; 1Pet.1:6-7), and the gardener pruning his vine (Jn.15:1-2). ...Not that suffering (which is an evil) is the cause of growth; but it is the occasion.

Suffering Service
Thirdly, the cross of Christ is the symbol of suffering service. We are familiar with the ...'Servant Songs' of Isaiah. ...We see this clearly in Jesus, who is the suffering servant par excellence, but we need to remember that the servant's mission to bring light to the nations is also to be fulfilled by the church (Acts 13:47). For the church, therefore, as for the Savior, suffering and service go together.

The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless an ear of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates [i.e. does not prefer, value] his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me..." (Jn.12:23-26)

Paul is the most notable example of this principle (Eph.3:1, 13; Col.1:24; 2Tim.2:8-10). Paul states in all three texts that his sufferings are being endured 'for the sake of you Gentiles', 'for the sake of Christ's body' or 'for the sake of the elect'.  The place of suffering in service and of passion in mission is hardly ever taught today. But the greatest single secret of evangelistic or missionary effectiveness is the willingness to suffer and die. It may be a death to popularity (by faithfully preaching the unpopular biblical gospel) , or to pride (by the use of modest methods in reliance on the Holy Spirit), or to national prejudice (by identification with another culture), or to material comfort (by adopting a simple lifestyle). But the servant must suffer if he is to bring light to the nations, and the seed must die if it is to multiply.

A Look at Real Faithfulness

I am not a very faithful being. I intend to do something, but the days fill up and pass by and I have trouble finding an empty Saturday. I vow I'll visit my shut-in friends ... and don't seem to do it nearly enough. I say I'll bring a book for someone ... and forget who it was or which book it was they wanted. (Never feel bad about reminding me!) I'll have endless ideas for preparing classes & self-tutorials & powerpoint lessons & devotionals, yet can't seem to find the time to execute them all. (Sorry, Julie ... I really WILL finish the one you're waiting for!) I intend to write encouraging notes and letters to college students, but few make it to their intended recipients. My desires & intentions are limited by my lack of time ... my lack of ability ... my aging memory ... my lack of power to actually accomplish it all.

I don't think I'm alone in these struggles. I've noticed there's actually an acceptable phrase now for telling people you have great intentions, but you're not going to actually DO anything. We say, "I'm thinking of you." and feel we've accomplished something. We could be regularly raising up prayers before the throne of God on their behalf. We could be helping them out with a physical need. We could send them a note with an encouraging passage from Scripture or an edifying book or a small gift to lift their spirits. We could be there listening to their grief, their pain, their frustration and giving real encouragement or needed admonishment from God's Word. We could be doing so many things ... but we settle for "thinking" of them. 

I'm so glad God IS a faithful being. He keeps His promises. His every intention is brought to fruition because He makes it happen. It's His character to be faithful, true and trustworthy. He CAN be relied upon. He is not limited by time, nor by ability, nor by memory, nor by power. Unlike me, He can be totally relied upon.

"God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Num.23:19)

"... the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." (Rom.11:29)

"God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." (1Cor.1:9)

"No temptation/trial has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted/tried beyond what you are able, but with the temptation/trial will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (1Cor.10:13)

"Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." (1Pet.4:19)

The Rebel's Guide to Joy - Isaac Watts

"Your Godly Ones Shall Bless You"

Thankfulness should permeate the heart/mind of the redeemed. As we study God's Word and the Holy Spirit illumines our minds so that we may know God at an ever-increasing depth, such knowledge should manifest itself in the depth of our thankfulness to Him. Yesterday my son gave a devotion following Thanksgiving dinner. He raised a good question ... how is the thankfulness of the believer different from that of the unbeliever? What makes the thankfulness of a regenerated soul different? 

I've been thinking about his question ever since and concluded one difference is the object of our thanks. Believers are not "generally" thankful, but "specifically" thankful to God. They are able to see His hand working in their lives and able to trust Him in all circumstances because of their position "in Christ" and because of God's goodness.

Secondly, the believer has a lifestyle of thanksgiving. He realizes his daily dependence upon God and looks to Him as the author of all good things (James 1:17). A third difference should be the depth of our thankfulness. Those who have a knowledge of how much they have been forgiven are able to respond to God's amazing grace in their lives with deep thankfulness.

A fourth difference is that a thankful heart offered up to God in praise honors Him and reflects His glory in our lives. The psalmists call upon God's people to "give thanks" some 100 times in the Book of Psalms! They certainly understood the connection between thankfulness and praise.

I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.  (Ps.7:17)

So we Your people and the sheep of Your pasture Will give thanks to You forever; To all generations we will tell of Your praise. (Ps.79:13)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting. (Ps.107:1)

This post looks at a fifth difference - believers receive blessings as a result of having a heart/mind that dwells in thankfulness to our God and Savior.

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Thankfulness forces us to focus on what we have rather than what we want. 

In our materialistic culture, we can succumb to a consumerism of the soul that reduces our prayers to shopping lists. Thankfulness looks outward, not inward. It realigns our lives so that they revolve around God instead of trying to make God revolve around us.

Thankfulness highlights grace.  

To give thanks is to admit that you are dependent, to say, "I couldn't have done this on my own, but you helped me." Thanksgiving removes the temptation to boast and strengthens the only basis on which we can relate to God: that of accepting our own unworthiness and God’s free grace in Jesus Christ.

Thankfulness develops hope for the future.  

Looking backward to the past with thanksgiving actually helps us to look toward the future with anticipation.

Thankfulness regularly ensures that gratitude will spill over into every area of our lives.  

We cannot thank God for difficult colleagues, relatives, or neighbors for long before finding that we express a positive attitude toward them. Grumpiness and irritability do not grow well in a climate of gratitude. Those who regularly give thanks to God find they are ready to give to others. Gratitude and generosity go hand in hand.

On the Pilgrim's Path

I appreciate the in-your-face kind of allegory John Bunyan offers in "The Pilgrim's Progress." With names like Christian, Faithful, Fearful and Mistrust, battle weapons called All-Prayer, and places named "The Valley of the Shadow of Death," one need not expend too much effort decoding this allegory! 

No wonder I found this book such an encouragement when I first started out on my Christian walk! It made me aware that I, too, was a pilgrim passing through this world, that this was not my home and that I now served a new King. Though the path was narrow and fraught with danger, the one who remained alert and steadfast would reach his eternal home and enter the presence of his King.

... at the bottom of the hill ... he saw three men with shackles on their feet. They were fast asleep a little distance off the pathway. The name of one was Simple, another was Sloth, and the third was named Presumption.

Upon seeing them lie in this state, Christian went to them (if by chance he might awaken them) and cried, "You're like those who sleep on the top of the rigging, for the Dead Sea is under you, a gulf that has no bottom. Wake up, then, and leave here! If you desire, I'll help you rid yourselves of your shackles." He also told them, "If he who prowls around like a roaring lion comes by, he will certainly devour you."

With that, they looked up at him and began to reply in this manner:

                        "I see no danger," said Simple.

                        "Just a little more sleep," replied Sloth.

                        Presumption ended with, "Every tub must stand upon its own bottom."

       

          So they lay down to sleep again, and Christian continued on his way.

What good it did me to understand that I was on no easy pathway, that there would be struggles, fears, temptations, failures, as well as encouragements and God's daily provision during my own walk to the Celestial City. It set my heart to perseverance & reliance upon God along the way. I recommend the book to every new believer, lest they become lulled into the expectation of an easy journey, one without trials, without fears, without deprivations, without attack by the Enemy's forces.

Reading it again all these years later, different things capture my notice. I pine for the family that is left behind.

I told them what God had shown me concerning the destruction of our city. But I appeared to them to be like a mocker, and they didn't believe me... my wife was afraid of losing this world, and my children were carried away with the foolish delights of youth.

 And I grieve for the companions who start out on the walk with Christian, but turn back when the way becomes difficult and not to their liking...

Pliable began to be offended and angrily said to his companion, "Is this the happiness you've been telling me about all this time? If we make such poor progress at the beginning of our travel, what can we expect between here and our journey's end? If I get out (of the Swamp of Despond) alive, you will enter the fine country without me!

Whether newly saved or down the road a pace, I highly recommend spending time in this classic. L. Edward Hazelbaker's translation into modern English leaves you without excuse! Immerse yourself in the book Christians have read and profited from since it was first published in 1678.

... they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.  [Hebrews 11:13-16]

Persevere, Believer!

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,  

 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking in nothing."  (James 1:2-4)

In his comment on a Koine Greek translation, William "Bill" Mounce made the following comments recently concerning James 1:4...

"The reason we must be patient with the maturing process is that perseverance must finish its task if in fact we are going to be perfect and complete ... If we are to be spiritually mature, then perseverance must complete its work. If it doesn’t, if we don’t embrace the pain but run from it, it can’t complete its God-given task .... It is like you are stuck in the middle of the road, cars coming and going both directions, and all you want to do is get out of the road.  All you want to do is make the pain go away.  You want to run away.  But God calls us to persevere, to hang in there, to lean into the pain, to sit in the middle of the road even though it feels like your life is being threatened every day.  And then someday, as we lean into the pain, as we cry out to God, as we choose to persevere in our faith and lean into the pain, as we stay in the middle of the road, we realize that we are growing into spiritual maturity, and some day God calls us to leave the middle of the road and come to the other side, perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

[His complete blog post can be read here.]

A Call for "Coronary Christians"

More memorable words from John Piper, in another of his devotionals, Life As a Vapor:

I am glad for adrenaline; I suspect it gets me through lots of Sundays. But it doesn't do much for Mondays. I am even more thankful for my heart. It just keeps on being a humble, quiet servant - during good days and bad days, happy and sad, high and low, appreciated and unappreciated. It never lets me down... It just keeps humbly lubb-dubbing along.

Coronary Christians are like the heart in the causes they serve. Adrenal Christians are like adrenaline - a spurt of energy, and then fatigue. What the church and the world need today is marathoners, not just sprinters. People who find the pace to finish the (lifelong) race.

Oh, for coronary Christians! Christians committed to great causes, not great comforts. I plead with you to dream a dream that is bigger than you and your families and your churches. Un-deify the American family, and say boldly that our children are not our cause; they are given to us to train for a cause. They are given to us for a short season so that we can train them for the great causes of truth and mercy and justice in a prejudiced, pain-filled, and perishing world.

Oh, Lord, this is our heart's desire.
Forgive us for adrenaline spurts of righteouness.
Forgive us for little sprints of holiness.
Forgive us for short flashes of noble-minded sacrifice.
And build into the fiber of our faith a rugged, resilient,
never-say-die perseverance in the cause of truth and love!
Make us coronary Christians!

Perseverance

We recently started the latest Ladies' Bible Study. It has been very encouraging to see the unexpectedly large turn out. [It's being offered at two different venues on two different nights. One class meets weekly and the other class meets bi-weekly.] I'm encouraged because these women are willing to WORK to learn skills which will help them interpret Scripture accurately, and then be able to use that knowledge in the preparation of lessons for discipleship, counseling, SS lessons, etc. - that is, in ministry.

This isn't the kind of class where you show up every week, chat about "what it means to me" and then go home to forget about it until the next week. No, friends, this is the kind of class where you come to realize how much you have left to learn.... where every week there is NEW material to digest and practice using throughout the week... where you have to relearn things you thought you had left far behind - things like grammar and history and geography.

Why, you might ask, would anyone be willing to subject themselves to such torture? Interestingly, anyone who has participated in one of these classes all the way through usually returns the next year... and they ALWAYS stick with it until the end! I often ask myself, "Why do they do it?" And I DO know the answer. It's because they have learned what a joy it is to be able to know God better, more obediently, to be able to gain new insight into Scripture, to have a whole new world open up before their very eyes as they start to plumb the depths of God's Word.

The hard part is convincing the first-timer to stick with it. It's hard to convince someone who is feeling clueless that ALL of us flailed around when we began. It has nothing to do with intelligence, with academic ability, with some special skill set you may have been born with. It has everything to do with hard work, with pushing yourself to learn, with reading, with meditating and with practice, practice, practice. This didn't come naturally to any of us!

But we discovered the value of perseverance. One day we DID start to notice things in our Bibles, it DID start to make sense to us, truths began popping out of the pages and organizing themselves in our minds. And that godly knowledge resulted in growth in our personal walk with Christ, in our dependence upon Him and in our obedience to Him. It changed the focus of our lives. That made perseverance well worth it!

How God's People Handle Despair: Psalm 77

We often have the mistaken notion that the man of God never despairs, never experiences deep pain or anguish, never suffers. So when it inevitably DOES enter our lives, we are shocked. We don't know how to deal with it and, in fact, we feel rather guilty for having experienced it in the first place! But that's a modern concept, NOT one we find in Scripture. Have you ever studied the Individual Psalms of Lament? Let's look at Psalm 77.

vv.1-9 God's People DO Cry Out with Anguish and Doubt

The key point here is that their cry is directed towards God. Asaph, the Psalmist, doesn't HIDE his anguish or DENY its existence. He cries out to God - repeatedly. He writes, "My soul refused to be comforted. When I remember God, then I am disturbed; When I sigh, then my spirit grows faint." In vv.4-6 he talks about his sleepless nights. He tries to muse on better times, but that offers no help. The end result is that his heart unceasingly broods and he sinks deeper and deeper into despair.

In vv.7-9, he asks the BIG QUESTIONS:

Has God rejected and forgotten me?
Has His unfailing love ended and its all anger now?
Have His promises failed?
Where is His mercy/grace?
Does God really care?

The REAL issue at the bottom of his despair is Doubt. Here is my pain. There is my God. This is my voice. Where is His answer?

vv.10-15 God's People Move On to Clarify Their Perspective

God's people cry out in anguish from time to time, but they ALSO move on to clarify their perspective. Verse 10 is the Pivot Point: "THEN I said, "It is my grief, that the right hand of the Most High has changed." Asaph realizes his perspective of grief is skewing his understanding of reality and he makes an appeal to the stability of God, rather than relying upon his own skewed perspective.

What action does he therefore take? "I will REMEMBER the deeds of the LORD... I will REMEMBER Your wonders of old." "I will MEDITATE on all Your work and MUSE on Your deeds." The focus of his thoughts change. No longer is he focusing on his pain and turmoil. Now He is focusing on God. He realizes that relief can only be found by deliberately fighting to remember God - FIRST and FOREMOST.

And what is the result of this change in focus? Notice the change in the pronouns. In vv.1-6 primarily 1st person pronouns are used [I, my] and after v.13 God dominates [You, Your]. Asaph demonstrates the Biblical process by which the believer escapes despair of the soul. He remembers God. He reviews God's works. He worships Him. He adjusts his view to God's eternal perspective.

vv.16-19 God's People Remember Their Redemption

As a result of his now clarified perspective, Asaph remembers God's past actions on behalf of His people [specifically, His deliverance at the Red Sea]. God's past actions on behalf of His people give Asaph HOPE that his own present and future are ALSO in God's hands.

Has God rejected and forgotten me? - No!
What about His love? - It's real!
Has His unfailing love ended and its all anger now? - Don't be silly!
What about His Promises? - They are true!
What about his Mercy? - Depend on it!
Does God really care? - Absolutely!

The pain is still there. The circumstances are still there. But God DOES care and He is NOT powerless. He WILL sustain and deliver. Asaph's immediate problem is DWARFED by a Greater Reality.

v. 20 God's People Express Their Ultimate Confidence

Just as God delivered Israel by the hand of Moses and Aaron, God will ultimately deliver Asaph ... and the man of God. Pain is not the sum total of our journey. "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?... Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." [Romans 8:31 ff]

So when you find yourself, or a fellow believer, in the "slough of Despond", don't say, "buck up" or "get over it". Christians do not embrace Stoic philosophy. They turn to their God. Go back to Psalm 77 and study it.

[Based upon Rev. Dr. Dorrington Little's outline, Hamilton, MA, 2001]
Related Posts: To the Soul in Despair - "Don't Listen to Your Self" (Psalm 42)