Toby Sumpter

Our Happy King (Psalms | King’s Cross) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on July 3, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Psalm 2 is often taken as part of the introduction to the whole psalter along with Psalm 1, or perhaps the introduction to Book 1 of the psalter (Ps. 1-41). It reinforces the fundamental antithesis of Psalm 1 by contrasting the happy rule of God and His Son with the kings and nations that rage and plot against Him.

One important element of rightly interpreting this psalm is understanding it both as talking about David’s own dynasty as well as a prophecy of Jesus Christ’s reign. Reading Psalm 2 in light of David’s circumstances helps us rightly apply this psalm to our circumstances in Christ.

The Text: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed…” (Ps. 2:1-12).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The psalm begins by asking why the nations rage and plot in vain against the Lord and His anointed (“Messiah”) king (Ps. 2:1-3). The King of Heaven sits in Heaven unbothered, unworried, and He laughs at their pitiful attempts to break His Word and the way He has made and governed the world – God’s Word and ways are like shackles to the rebellious heart (Ps. 2:4-5). God insists that His Word is firm and sure: the king is His son, and He will reign over all the earth, destroying those who rebel (Ps. 2:6-9). The psalm closes by warning the rulers of the earth to serve the Lord and kiss His son or suffer His wrath (Ps. 2:10-12). And like Psalm 1, happy is everyone who trusts in the Son (Ps. 2:12).

DAVID’S FAITH

At first glance, this psalm seems audacious, perhaps even arrogant. David is God’s anointed king (after Saul), and David says that all the plotting and raging of the nations is against God and him (Ps. 2:1-2). Who does David think he is? It may be tempting to run immediately to Christ. But in 2 Samuel 7, God sent a message to David and promised to make David’s son His own son and establish his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:14-16). This is the background of Psalm 2 (cf. Heb. 1:5). David therefore knows that all the plotting against him and his dynasty will fail because God has promised to establish his throne forever. Who does David think he is? Well, nobody, except for what God has said. And this is our position as well. What gives us the right to say that every knee must bow to Jesus Christ? The Word of God. What gives us the right to say that the United States, Russia, China, and all the nations of the earth must submit all of their laws to Jesus Christ? The Word of God. What gives us the right to say that marriage is one man and one woman in covenant under God? The Word of God. Why do they rage and plot against us? Because we have God’s Word.

PLOTS & CONSPIRACIES

The Bible is clear that those who reject God and His Christ hate God and His ways, and they therefore plot to overthrow His ways. Christians (of all people) must not be surprised by this. This goes back to the Garden of Eden, and the enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). Of course they rarely admit that their war is with God. Instead, they array themselves against many proxy-enemies: capitalists, conservatives, white people, black people, men, the patriarchy, the Jews, China, etc. The wicked really are hateful and full of hate and will hate almost anything (Tit. 1:3), but it must always be remembered that their true enemy is God and His people. The wicked really do conspire but there is a real temptation to absolutize their conspiracies, and Scripture says not to call a conspiracy everything they call a conspiracy (Is. 8:12). We are not to fear what they fear, which (having denied God) is fundamentally the power of man; we are to fear the Lord.

This same psalm is cited by the apostles to explain the conspiracy to murder Jesus, but even that was utterly worthless since it was only “whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:24-31). How much more all their lesser attempts to foil God’s Kingdom?

HOLY LAUGHTER

This psalm along with several others says that God laughs at the foolish plots of the wicked (Ps. 2:4). The Lord laughs at the wicked because He sees their judgment coming (Ps. 37:13, 59:8). Wisdom, a personification of

God’s eternal counsel, laughs at the calamity of the wicked when they have refused to listen (Prov. 1:26). And the Bible also teaches that the righteous are to imitate this holy laughter: When God destroys the wicked, “the righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him” (Ps. 52:6). There is a kind of unbelieving scorn and bitter sarcasm that is not at all fitting for believers, but there is a faithful, joyful laughter in the sovereign salvation of God and in the weakness and folly of man.

Calvin says that this psalm teaches that when God does not act immediately to destroy the wicked it’s because he is letting their rage be exposed for everyone to laugh at and that we ought to be assured that now is “his time of laughter.” Christians should be marked by this confident merriment.

CONCLUSION: KISS THE SON

The New Testament repeatedly appeals to this Psalm and says that Christ was “begotten” at the resurrection (Acts 13:33, Heb. 5:5). “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead” (Rom. 1:3).

The implication is clear: if Jesus Christ is the Son of David whom God has enthroned as King, then Christ has inherited all of the nations as His rightful possession (Ps. 2:8). At the resurrection and ascension, all power and authority really was truly transferred to Christ (Mt. 28:18), who was raised, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named” (Eph. 1:21, cf. Phil. 2:10-11). He rules the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:27, 12:5, 19:15).

All nations are already Christian in principle, in so far as they have become Christ’s inheritance, Who purchased them with His blood (cf. Rev. 5:9). All nations and their rulers therefore owe Christ their public allegiance and obedience or else He will destroy them (Ps. 2:9-11). Secularism is a refusal to kiss the Son, and of course so is Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and all the others. It’s Christ or chaos: happiness or raging (Ps. 2:1,12). Happy is that nation whose God is the Lord (Ps. 33:12).

The Happiest Man (Psalms | King’s Cross) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on June 25, 2025

INTRODUCTION

This psalm introduces the entire psalter and establishes one of the central themes: those who seek God are happy but those who reject Him will fade away. As the old hymn puts it: “Fading is the worldling’s pleasure// All his boasted pomp and show// Solid joys and lasting treasure// None by Zion’s children know.”

The Text: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful…” (Ps. 1:1-6)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The word here for “blessed” means “happy,” and the Psalmist says that the man is happy who does not walk, stand, or sit with those who do not seek God (Ps. 1:1). Instead, that happy man’s deepest pleasure is in the whole Word of God, and it’s in his mouth day and night, which makes him like a fruitful and prosperous tree in every season (Ps. 1:2-3).

The wicked are like chaff driven by the wind, and therefore, they will not stand in the judgment or sit with the congregation of the righteous (Ps. 1:4-5). Regardless of appearances, God knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will be destroyed (Ps. 1:6).

THE ANTITHESIS

From the beginning of the world, God has established an antithesis between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). This great war began when sin entered the world, and it will continue until

the end of the world. It is a battle line that runs through every human heart, but it is also a battle line that runs through history between those who seek the Lord and those who reject Him.

But the serpent and his seed have always wanted to blur the lines of the conflict, appearing as an “angel of light” and false teachers (2 Cor. 11:13-14), wolves in sheep’s clothing (Mt. 7:15). But what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness (2 Cor. 6:14ff)? Christians must be determined not to fit in with worldliness (music, movies, fashion, politics). We have been called out and rescued from the world.

The Psalm outlines a progression of compromise: walking, standing, sitting, which runs roughly parallel to secret faults, presumptuous sins, and great transgressions (Ps. 19:12-13). People do not decide to ruin their lives out of nowhere. Big weeds grow from little ones. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God (Js. 4:4)? The cloying reply comes back: What about Jesus the friend of tax collectors and prostitutes? Yes, a true friend is seeking to rescue those who are drowning in their sin, but the kind of “friendship” many are demanding is to let them drown (and if you’re really their friend, you’ll let them pull you down with them).

We are not “friends” with the world and its cheap baubles and petty influencers because as Calvin says, the happy man of this Psalm is the one who not only studies the Word of God but finds it delicious.

WHO IS REALLY HAVING FUN?

The problem is that many Christians secretly (or not so secretly) think that unbelievers are having more fun. And this is where the fundamental question divides: is happiness found in the Triune God or is He not necessary?

Many unbelievers appear to be happy. But this Psalm says they are not really. Scripture teaches that they are miserable. They are miserable because they have sinned against God and their fellow man and cannot get rid of the awful weight of guilt and shame (Ps. 32). They are miserable because they are living lies: denying that they know there is a God when He is obviously right in front of them every day (Rom. 1). They are also miserable because they are trying to live in God’s world according to their own wisdom, but the way of transgressors is hard (Prov. 13:15). You keep doing it your own way, but how’s that working out for you?

But in God’s presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forever more (Ps. 16:11). And Who is at God’s right hand? The Lord Jesus. Jesus is the fullness of God’s joy and pleasures. And Jesus promises a joy to those who follow Him that no one can take away (Jn. 16:22). The center of this joy is the forgiveness of our sins, and the complete confidence we have to stand before God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ (plus all His gifts).

BUT WHAT ABOUT EVIL?

This Psalm says that those who turn away from the paths of evil men and seek the Lord will be happy and fruitful, but it does not always seem that way. Job was struck by the Lord. Jacob and David were persecuted. The apostles were rejected and hated. And many Christians have suffered from the effects of the Fall: disease, pain, loneliness, and many hardships. And on the flip side, many of the wicked do seem to be prospering, healthy, and wealthy.

Some Christians ignore the problem of evil and simply insist that you need more faith and then you will be more prosperous. We call this lie the “prosperity gospel.” The problem with this is that Jesus had perfect faith, and He was rejected and killed. Others shy away from the plain meaning of this Psalm: that the godly will tend to prosper in this world – and they spiritualize the whole thing. We can only expect spiritual prosperity and Heaven in the end.

But we need to hold the entire Bible together and embrace the whole message. We insist that the history of the world will vindicate the righteous. In general, those who seek God will prosper more than those who don’t. Wisdom will be justified by her children. At the same time, God is not merely interested in our physical prosperity. He disciplines us so that we might share in His holiness (Heb. 12:5-11). In many places, Scripture teaches that God has determined to do this through hardships: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (Js. 1:2-4 ESV). Holiness is a deeper happiness and more fruitful than mere material circumstances. What if you could run and not get tired?

CONCLUSION

Nietzsche mocked Christianity for what he called “slave morality,” accusing Christians of apathy, submitting to hardships and calling it “good.” But Nietzsche finished his days in an insane asylum, and according to legend, with his sister selling tickets to see him, and so are many of his cultural descendants in our day, destroying themselves with their “strong” delusions.

But we confess that Christ is the Happiest Man to ever live. He delighted in the Word of God day and night, and He was (and is) fruitful in every way. For this, they called Him insane and demon possessed, but after they killed Him, He came back from the dead and He has the fullness of life forever. And everyone who loves Him is given His happiness. Who is really having the most fun? The Lord Jesus Christ and those who follow Him.And it’s not even close.

Dreams, Visions, and the Holy Spirit | Pentecost Sunday (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on June 11, 2025

INTRODUCTION

How often have you heard someone say, “The Lord told me…?” Or maybe you or someone you know had a dream or vision in which they believe God was directing them. Or maybe sometimes you wish you had a direct word from the Lord.

We are no position to limit or deny God’s freedom to speak directly to anyone, but the Bible is clear that God’s clearest and fullest Word is Jesus Christ and the Scriptures spoken by His Holy Spirit (inspiration) (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The gift of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost was not about giving a new or additional word; rather, the gift of the Holy Spirit is about giving believers the ability to actually hear the Word already given (illumination) (Jn. 14:26).

The Text: “… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened…” (Eph. 1:15-20)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The apostle says that after the Ephesians had come to faith in Christ, he began praying for them that the Holy Spirit would give them an even fuller knowledge of God (Eph. 1:15-17). Even though they were already Christians, he was praying specifically that the “eyes” of their understanding (or minds) would be given even more light (Eph. 1:18). Specifically, he says he was praying that they would know the hope of God’s calling, the glory of His inheritance (Eph. 1:18), and the greatness of His power at work in us (Eph. 1:19). He was praying that they would experience the same power in their own lives which raised Jesus from the dead and set Him at God’s right hand (Eph. 1:20).

CONVERSION & SANCTIFICATION

Scripture says that to the unconverted the gospel seems like foolishness (1 Cor. 1-2). It’s like there is a veil over their hearts, blinding their minds, so that they cannot see the light of Christ in the Scriptures (2 Cor. 3-4). At conversion the Holy Spirit is given and you begin to see the glory of Christ, but that same Spirit begins a life-long process of opening your eyes to more and more of the hope, inheritance, and power in Christ (Eph. 1:18-20). The final step in this process is called glorification, when we will be transformed to be able to see Him as He is (1 Jn. 3:2). To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, ‘How can we meet Him face to face, till we have faces?’

HE IS THERE & HE IS NOT SILENT

In the meantime, God has spoken clearly, but we are slow to believe all that He has said. Our eyes are not yet adjusted to His glory. Our ears are dull. But as Francis Schaeffer once said, God is there and He is not silent. He is always speaking in His creation: day unto day, night unto night, in every language (Ps. 19:1-4). And He has spoken most clearly in His written word (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

The apostles were given unique signs to confirm their authority to speak on behalf of God, including visions and dreams (2 Cor. 12:12). And where their word has initially gone, God has often confirmed it with extraordinary signs and wonders (Mk. 16:20). But the apostles urged Christians not to look for visions or some other word from the Lord, but rather to cling to the Word of God that was spoken to them and written down: “Now we beseech you, brethren… that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us… Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thess. 3:1-2, 15, cf. 3:14).

Likewise, in 2 Peter, it says that God’s “divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature…” (2 Peter. 1:3-4). And he goes on to say that he’s writing these things [those great and precious promises] so that they will remember them when he is gone (2 Pet. 1:15). He affirms that the apostles were eye witnesses of Christ’s glory on earth (2 Pet. 1:16-18), but then he says something extraordinary: “we have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:19-21). The written Scriptures are a more sure word than any vision or dream or spiritual experience.

APPLICATIONS

It is true that we long to see Jesus Christ face to face, to hear Him speak directly to us, but right now, in our current state, His Word in the Bible is a more sure word than any vision or dream.

You might say that you wish God would talk to you, and this is the clear answer of Scripture: He is talking to you all the time. But this is a bit like an ant asking for Einstein to explain his theory of relativity. Or change the image: it’s like looking up at the night sky and seeing a few stars but then looking through a telescope and seeing thousands. The stars are there all the time; you just can’t see them. You don’t need another word, a dream, or vision; you need your eyes opened by the Holy Spirit.

The Lord is not telling you to disobey Him. The Lord is not telling you to dishonor your parents, sleep with your girlfriend, or steal from your neighbor. You don’t need to pray about whether to become a drug dealer or accept homosexuality or transgenderism. The Lord does not contradict Himself.

Scripture says that if even an apostle or angel from heaven preaches another gospel, God damn him (Gal. 1). This would apply to Mormonism and Islam – both of which claim that angels spoke to their founders and radically altered what the Bible says. Dreams and visions can deceive and confuse: “to the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Is. 8:20).

So let this be the prayer of our hearts: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Ps. 119:18).

So Much Better Than The Angels (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on June 4, 2025

INTRODUCTION

Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven. This is called the Ascension, and we celebrate that historical event on this Lord’s Day. The text before us says that the Ascension means that Jesus is so much better than the angels. Today we consider what that means.

The Text: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son…” (Heb. 1:1-2:9).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the Old Testament, angels had been God’s more common messengers telling the prophets His Word (Heb. 1:1), but in the last days of the Old Covenant, God spoke directly by His Son, Jesus, the heir of the world by whom all things were made (Heb. 1:2). Being the brightness of God’s glory, the exact image of His person, and upholding all things, having purged our sins, He ascended and sat down on God’s own throne, far above all angels (Heb. 1:3-4).

Christ had a right to this glory because He is God’s own Son (Heb. 1:5). What angel is worthy of the worship of angels (Heb. 1:6)? Angels are certainly God’s ministers, but the Son sits on the throne of God and rules all things forever (Heb. 1:7-12). Angels are ministering spirits, but Christ reigns until all His enemies are put beneath His feet (Heb. 1:13-14).

Therefore, we must give far more earnest heed to His Word (Heb. 2:1). If God guarded His Word thundered by angels in the Old Testament, how much more jealous is He of the Word of His Son, even as it has been passed down by those who heard Him directly (Heb. 2:2-4)? The angels are not the ones inheriting the world; rather, this was God’s design for man, who was made a little lower than the angels but created to rule all things (Heb. 2:5-7). Jesus was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death in order to be crowned with glory and honor and bring many sons to glory (Heb. 2:8-10).

FOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS TEXT

1. This text gives us a glimpse of a biblical cosmology: the angels were present and cheering when God laid the foundations of the earth (Job 38:6-8). Angels sometimes appear in human form (e.g. Gen. 19, Dan. 10), but also seraphim (fiery, dragon-like creatures) (Num. 21, Is. 6) and cherubim (sphynx-like creatures) (Ez. 10), as well as the “angel of the Lord,” a “theophany” of Christ Himself (Gen. 32, Ex. 3, Jdg. 13). Since angels are described as ministers and guardians of men, it seems likely that angels would have been like tutors for Adam and Eve (“a little lower than the angels”) (Ps. 34:7, 91:11, Mt. 18:10). Since Satan appears to be a fallen seraph, he was the original false teacher (2 Cor. 11:13-14). When man sinned, cherubim became guardians of God’s presence (Gen. 3:24, Ex. 36-37, Gal. 4), delivered the law (Gal. 3:19), and enforced His justice (Ps. 78:49, 1 Chron. 21). The only way back into God’s glory was through their swords, but no one could do that and survive.

2. So Hebrews is emphasizing the supremacy of the New Covenant by underlining the supremacy of Christ: No man or angel dares claim God’s majesty (Heb. 1:3). No man or angel dares sit on God’s throne (Heb. 1:8). No man or angel has laid the foundations of the earth or can claim to have made the galaxies (Heb. 1:10-12). No man or angel may say that his years will never fail (Heb. 1:12). No man or angel could taste death for sin and survive (Heb. 1:3, 2:9). To ascribe all these things to Christ is either perfectly just or utterly blasphemous. This is either a lie and fabrication, or it is delusional madness, or it is historical truth and reality. People try to split the difference and say that perhaps it was all a very pious mistake – they all had a very spiritual experience, and it changed their lives. But that isn’t what Jesus or the apostles said (e.g. Mk.10:37, Lk. 14:26, Heb. 1:13, 2:8). Either Jesus was a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord.

3. If Jesus is God, His Word is the Word of God. Hebrews says that God has been speaking since the beginning in various ways (Heb. 1:1). And if there is a God and He has spoken at all, no human being may treat that casually, but if that God has now spoken clearly through His own Son, by whom He made all things, it is pure insolence to ignore Him (Heb. 1:2, 2:1-3). While the prophets and patriarchs and Israel had no excuses, it might have been understandable for someone far off to not be sure what the angels/prophets meant by their messages. But when Christ has come and spoken plainly, when there are hundreds of witnesses of His resurrection, four written testimonies, and over a dozen more documents attesting to what He said and done, there is no excuse (Acts 17:30-31). He has spoken. What will you do with His word?

4. Christ is King, and He will have dominion. Angels are ministers and servants. But Christ ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high (Heb. 1:3). All the angels worship Him (Heb. 1:6). He sits on the throne of God (Heb. 1:8). He loves righteousness and hates all evil perfectly (Heb. 1:9). He made all things (Heb. 1:10). His kingdom is forever (Heb. 1:11-12). He ascended and must reign until all His enemies are made His footstool (Heb. 1:13). Christ is Lord. Christ claims all things in Heaven and on Earth, and this necessarily has implications for all rule and authority (Mt. 28:18-20). He is reigning until everything is in submission to Him: every nation, every city, every family, every business, every husband, mayor, president, judge – until every knee bows.

CONCLUSION

Christ became man to taste death, to eat death for us (Heb. 2:9). This was the promise of the prophets: “He will swallow up death in victory” (Is. 25:8). Christ, the Eternal Son of God, humbled Himself to be a little lower than the angels in order to suffer death for us who deserve death, in order to take away our sins, in order to restore us to the glory of the Father. “Know ye not that we shall judge angels?” (1 Cor 6:3, cf. Heb. 2:5).

We do not yet see all things put under Christ, but we see Christ crowned with glory and honor. We see Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and He will get His reward. You are either with Him or against Him. You are either under His blood or you scorn His blood. He is King. So crown Him.

How to Grow in Christ (Practical Christianity #10) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on May 30, 2025

INTRODUCTION

When anyone confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord and they believe that God raised Him from the dead, they are saved (Rom. 10:9). This offer is made to all freely and to their children (Acts 2:39, 16:31). And this is why all who believe and their households are offered baptism (Acts 16:33). This is what God calls becoming a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) and the new birth (1 Pet. 1:23). This is all pure grace, received by faith, not by works, lest any man should boast, but it is the kind of work that God does in us that causes us to begin working and growing (Eph. 2:8-10). We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works. We are saved in order to grow up as trees that bear good fruit (Lk. 6:43).

Therefore, after becoming a Christian, the task before us is growing up into Christ, growing into maturity, becoming fruitful in every way. So this message is about that.

The Text: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil… And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Lk. 4:1-4).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

We might be tempted to think that being full of the Holy Spirit might mean everything going easy in our lives, but here we see that it was when Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, right after His baptism in the Jordan River, that the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Lk. 4:1). Not only was He being tempted by the devil, He ate nothing and was incredibly hungry (Lk. 4:2). Now God had just proclaimed that Jesus was His beloved Son at His baptism (Lk. 3:22), but forty days in a desert and severe hunger can make anyone doubt or forget and the devil started there, tempting Jesus to doubt God’s Word and double check “if you’re really the son of God…”, suggesting Jesus turn a stone into bread (Lk. 4:3). But Jesus knew to doubt His Father would be sin, and refused, quoting from Deuteronomy, that His life was upheld and strengthened, not merely by bread, but by the Word of God (Lk. 4:4, cf. Dt. 8:3).

SIX STEPS FOR GROWING IN CHRIST

Growing in Christ is a lot like growing up. So how do you grow up? Eat well, get enough sleep, exercise, go to school, learn from your mistakes, work hard, etc. Then it just happens. Plants and trees grow this way also: sunshine, water, good soil, fertilizer, pruning, etc. So here are six steps for growing in Christ.

1. Read your Bible: Many folks in our community do the Bible Reading Challenge, and it’s a bit like cross-fit for Bible reading. If you want to get in Spiritual shape, it really is a great blessing, and I commend it to you. But if you’re not in great shape, and you don’t have regular Bible reading habits, just start reading a chapter a day. If you’ve never read the Bible before, read the New Testament first and then start over in Genesis and read the whole thing. The key thing is regularity not quantity, but as you grow, you’ll want more. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2).

2. Pray: God is real. He created the Heavens and the Earth, and He made us in His image for communion with Him. Pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father…” Pray the Psalms– they are 150 inspired prayers that God loves to hear and answer. To be a Christian is to receive the Holy Spirit of adoption that means you have been granted the same sonship as Jesus Christ, and you are invited to cry out to God as your Abba Father (Rom. 8:15). What do you tell your father? What do you ask from your father? God is your perfect Father.

3. Read the Bible, pray, and sing as a family: Men, you are called to be the spiritual leaders of your home. Husbands, wash your wife in the water of the word (Eph. 5:26). This is how you love your wife like Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25). Fathers, you are specifically required to raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Dedicate a regular time to this and lead your family before the Lord. This can be very simple: read a little bit of Scripture, pray, and sing a song. When the kids are little, this can take less than 5 minutes; when the kids are older, it can grow.

4. Repent of your sins: This is the invitation of the gospel that Jesus Himself preached: “the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mk. 1:15). To “repent” means to turn around, to stop going one way and go the other way. The Bible describes this as putting off the old man and putting on the new man (Eph. 5:22-24). Stop lying and tell the truth (Eph. 5:25, cf. 5:28). Stop looking at porn and lusting, pursuing a wife and be faithful to one woman and the children she bears you (Prov. 5). Do not be drunk with wine/pot/drugs, but be filled with the Spirit, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to the Lord (Eph. 5:18-19). Stop cursing and using filthy language, but let your mouth be full of thanksgiving, praise to God, and edification (Eph. 4:29, 5:3-4). Be anxious for nothing, but with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to God (Phil. 4:6).

5. Forgive those who have sinned against you: this is perhaps one of the central acts of repentance. The old, natural man is full of hatred, bitterness, and resentment (Tit. 3:3). And this part of the old man dies hard. This is why Jesus taught us to pray that God would “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The warning of Christ is clear: “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:26). Bitterness is a root that will cause much trouble, and it defiles many families, churches, and communities (Heb. 12:15). We forgive for the sake of Christ (Eph. 4:32).

6. Go to church, keep Sabbath, and tithe: “Going to church” means worshiping the Lord, and “worship” means complete surrender. When you become a Christian, you surrender in principle. This is what it means to confess that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” This means beginning to obey Him in everything. But two particular ways you demonstrate that complete surrender is by keeping Sabbath and tithing. From the beginning, God’s people have imitated God’s own rest, when He finished His work of Creation. Christians rest on the first day of the week because that is when Jesus finished His work of New Creation (Heb. 4:9). And we tithe, giving God ten percent of our first fruits, confessing that all that we have is from His hand, all that we have belongs to Him (Gen. 14:20, 28:22, Mal. 3:10).