Christ Church

Giving Your Testimony & Sharing the Gospel (Workbench of Practical Christianity) (King’s Cross)

Christ Church on

The Text: 2 Timothy 2:8-9

INTRODUCTION

I don’t remember a time when I did not love Jesus. One of my earliest memories is being interviewed for membership in an OPC church by a couple of elders when I was four years old. I was baptized and became a communicant member shortly thereafter. I’ve always loved singing worship songs and hymns. Part of how I’ve always known the presence of the Holy Spirit is through the many times I’ve been convicted of sin.

One of the first times I remember sharing the gospel with someone was a neighborhood boy in Alaska who prayed with me and my brother to receive Christ. I was probably nine years old; he was probably around seven. My dad, an OPC minister, often took me around with him knocking on doors or walking through the park to share the gospel. Sometimes we would do a literature table at the local shopping mall. 

Why do I begin here? Because “by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:10). This, in part, is my testimony of God’s grace in me, and if you have met Jesus, you have a story to tell as well – you have a story of God’s grace toward you. This is my gospel, my testimony of the gospel of free grace, the gospel of blood-bought forgiveness and freedom and unending goodness, through Jesus. This is also your gospel. It’s the same Jesus, the same grace, but you have a different story of the same grace that has not been in vain. This is why you need to learn to say, “this is my gospel.” This is your testimony. 

WE PROCLAIM JESUS WITH OURSELVES

There are important ways in which the gospel is a public, political announcement to the world about facts that are objectively, historically true, which have an inevitable glorious culmination (e.g. Phil. 2), which would be true if none of us had been born. There are also important ways in which the gospel transforms individuals from the inside out, granting them healing, hope, and new hearts (e.g. 1 Pet. 1:3). There are times and places where either side of that coin may be the appropriate emphasis, but by themselves, the former can lack any personalism or else the latter can veer into over-personalized subjectivism. An overly objective emphasis can tend to discourage evangelism because it seems to be based on getting certain facts and truths right, and you’re worried someone will ask you a question you don’t know the answer to. An overly subjective emphasis can tend to discourage evangelism because it seems to be based on having a “great testimony,” when maybe you were blessed to grow up in a Christian home like me (and Timothy, 2 Tim. 3:15). But a Christian testimony describes how the objective, historical God-man has invaded particular lives and transformed them from darkness to light. 

Jesus saves in such a way as to make His gospel your gospel. And therefore we need to learn to say, “This is my gospel.” It’s striking to notice how often Paul talks about himself in his letters. Sometimes he is defending himself against false accusations (2 Cor. 2:17, 4:2), sometimes he is defending his apostolic authority (Gal. 1), sometimes he talks about his imprisonment (Phil. 1), sometimes he reviews how he came to the Lord (1 Tim. 1), sometimes he names people who have helped him, and other times he names people who have harmed him. This is why Paul sometimes has to protest that he is not preaching himself: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Cor. 4:5). 

PAUL’S GOSPEL

Paul refers to the gospel of Jesus several times as “my gospel.” In Romans 2:16, Paul refers to the day of judgment which is coming “according to my gospel.” Later, in Romans 16:26, Paul writes, “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages…” And again in 2 Tim. 2:8-9: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” Something similar is described in a number of other places in Paul’s letters. “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing…” (2 Cor. 4:3). “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction…” (1 Thess. 1:4-5). “To this he called you through our gospel so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:14). “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you… Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Cor. 15:1, 10). “And the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Tim. 1:14-16). 

CONCLUSION: YOUR TESTIMONY

The point is that when God saves, He saves particular people, with particular backgrounds, personalities, gifts, strengths, and so on. He saves you from your sins, and the shape of His grace in your life is on purpose. He has given you a unique and glorious testimony of His grace.

How should you share the gospel? You should share your gospel, your testimony of God’s grace to you. This is not a different gospel than the one Paul preached. Nor is it a different gospel than all the faithful saints have preached down through the ages. It’s still Christ crucified for sinners; it’s still Jesus raised and seated at God’s right hand. But this glorious reality takes a particular shape in particular people. If you’ve never thought about this or shared it, start by writing it down. Take some time in your family or with your roommates to tell your stories. 

As I am fond of telling my homiletics students: you cannot give what you do not have, but the wonderful thing is that you can always give what you do have (cf. Acts 4:6). Have you received mercy? Then share that mercy. Have you received hope? Then talk about that hope. Were you raised in a Christian family? Tell that story of grace. Were you saved out of addictions or abuse? Write down that testimony of grace and look for opportunities to talk about it. Tell someone. Your story of grace is your gospel for the world. With Paul, learn to say, “This is my gospel.” And as we do this, we are sharing our gospel, our testimony, and the only gospel there is.

Read Full Article

Hard Work & the Sabbath (Workbench of Practical Christianity)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

Our elders recently decided that at the beginning of this academic year, we were going to have a three-week series of messages on practical Christian living, with different messages preached at King’s Cross, CCD, and here. These nine messages will then be bundled together for broader circulation. And so it is that we are taking a brief break from our series through Philippians. 

The topic of our message this morning is going to be “hard work and the sabbath.” Because we are living in the time of the new covenant, we will begin with the Lord’s Day—in the old covenant, it was six days of labor followed by a day of rest. In the new covenant, the day of rest is foundational—it is on the first day, and the six days of labor follow after, and are built on the foundation of gospel rest.

THE TEXT

“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27–28). 

“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: But the slothful shall be under tribute.” (Proverbs 12:24). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The perennial sabbath snare is that as soon as we learn that the Fourth Commandment remains binding, we gravitate immediate to a list of things we are not permitted to do. This was the case with the old sabbath, and it has been a recurring temptations for sabbatarians under the new covenant. This is why Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, was routinely accused of sabbath breaking. How did He manage that? He knew that the day of rest was a gift to men, and that men were not to be sacrificed on the altar of sabbath strictness. The text from Mark 2 is from a context where the Lord’s disciples had been picking grain on the sabbath. But rest is grace. Rest is a gift.

What kind of work needs to be built on the foundation of gospel rest? This work needs to have two characteristics. It needs to be industrious and diligent (as in our text), and it needs to be skillful and competent (see Prov. 22:29).

A BRIEF SABBATH PRIMER

The fourth commandment is not the only commandment of the Ten that has somehow been retired, or put out to pasture. But the fact that it is among the moral commands of the Decalogue does not mean that it cannot be amended as redemptive history progresses. We see this when at the first giving of the Law, the ground of sabbath observance was the fact that God had created the world in six days and had rested on the seventh (Ex. 20:11). But in Deuteronomy, the text of the fourth commandment is altered, and the ground of observance was now given as the Exodus (Dt. 5:15). 

In the new covenant, the ground of sabbath observance is altered again. The fact is that Christ entered His rest after the work of redemption was complete, in an analogous way to how God rested at the end of the creation week. He did this on the first day of the week, which is why we still have a sabbath, and it is why our sabbath is on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day.

“There remaineth therefore a rest [a sabbath] to the people of God. For he [Christ] that is entered into his rest [in His resurrection], he also hath ceased from his own works [of redemption], as God did from his [works of creation]” (Hebrews 4:9–10). 

The Lord pointed to this new reality in numerous ways. In the old covenant, God had said numerous times that the seventh-day sabbath would last as long as the old creation did, which it did (Ex 31:16-17). But when God ushered in a new creation, what then? The sabbath was fulfilled and transformed. The Lord rose on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:1; John 20:1). He appeared to the disciples one week later (John 20:26). The Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, fifty days later, also on a Sunday (Acts 2:1). The early Christians began gathering on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2). We have been honoring the Lord’s Day in this way ever since (Rev. 1:10). 

A WEEKLY CYCLE

We need to take note of what this does. Every Lord’ Day when we gather together, we are pouring a foundation. We want our worship to be Christ-glorifying, which is another way of saying that we want the foundation walls to be straight. When the foundation walls are straight, you are in a good position to have the (hard) work you do line up with that foundation. And what will that mean for your work?

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE

What does work with “straight lines” look like? It should be diligent, industrious. We are not just commanded to rest for one, but also to work for six (Ex. 20:9). It should be competent, skillful, intelligent (Prov. 22:29). Your work should be honest, not conniving or devious (Prov. 20:10). Your work should be imitative. You should not be too conceited to learn from others (Prov. 13:20). Your work should be creative. You must not be afraid to try something new (Eph. 2:10). 

A RITUAL OF REST

Christians ought to be the hardest working people around, but the work we do must not be tormented, or driven, or under the lash. Work is a true privilege, work is a grace. Work was granted to Adam before the Fall (Gen. 2:15), and was not the result of the Fall. Work became more onerous after the Fall (Gen 3:16-19), but that is quite different. The work itself is a grace. Christ came as the second Adam to begin the process of restoring Eden. That is the image we are given with Ezekiel’s Temple, and the New Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven. The work we now do we have been liberated and recreated to do.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10).

Read Full Article

You Get What You Pray For (Troy)

Christ Church on

Sermon Text – James 4:2-3

INTRODUCTION

One of the hallmarks of Christianity which bolsters it as the one true religion is its penchant for balance. Religions derived by men are hard nosed and they will categorically define certain actions as forbidden. From Sahih al-Bukhari, Muhammed says, “Allah has cursed wine, its drinker, its server, its seller, its buyer, its presser, the one for whom it is pressed, the one who conveys it, and the one to whom it is conveyed.” Joseph Smith says in Doctrine and Covenants Section 89, “Tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is not good for man…And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.” But when the Bible speaks about behaviors that are verboten, it will often do so by contextualizing the prohibition. Drinking alcohol in and of itself is not evil, but drinking it to the point of drunkenness is evil. Sex is not inherently evil, but it quickly can become evil if it is not framed within the covenant of marriage. Similarly, raw desire cannot be flagged as good or evil without context. And this too, requires biblical balance to rightly discern it. This morning’s sermon will be about prayer, but since our text this morning is addressing the particular issue of covetousness, let’s take a moment in the introduction to discuss the concept of desire. 

THE NURTURE OF PRAYER

Those who have walked with God for a time, times, and half time know that prayer has an exponential quality to it. You come to God in faith, expressing your agreement with the name of God, that He exists, and you ask Him for something specific, and you receive an answer which emboldens your faith even more, which drives you back to your knees to petition Him once again. And the cycle continues until  you find yourself in line with the commandment of scripture, to pray without ceasing. It is this ever present communion with God that defines what it means to be walking in the Spirit.

Prayer reminds us that this world is fallen. In this world homes burn to ashes, metal rusts, and moths destroy. And it reminds us that one day, one glorious day, we will enter our father’s mansion where there are many rooms and every tear will be wiped away and death will be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. This is the comfort prayer can bring. This is the hope we have in God.

THE METHODOLOGY OF PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer has seven aspects. One, acknowledge who He is and where He is. Two, bestow reverence on His name, which we covered earlier. His name is “I Exist” so you agree with that statement and extol His name in faith. Three, you ask God for change. At the moment, there is a rift between heaven and earth. And you are praying that a restoration will occur. You are praying that Revelation 22 will be fulfilled, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” Number 4, you ask God for daily bread, to be sustained physically with earthly bread, and to be sustained spiritually with the heavenly manna. Five, you ask God to initiate the cycle of forgiveness that starts from Him to you and then from you to others. Six, you ask for guidance and protection from evil, and lastly number 7, you recognize that He has the power, it is his kingdom, and he is to receive glory as long as forever is forever. 

THE IMPLICATIONS OF PRAYER

John 14 says, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” The cardinal verse of the health and wealth, name and claim it gospel has led many astray and many have been deceived by it. If the verse does grant us carte blanche, and the only thing that’s preventing us from having whatever we want is that we haven’t asked yet, then there is a contradiction in scripture. Because our text this morning explicitly states “you do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” So which one is it? Our choices are, there’s a contradiction in scripture or we do the hard work of harmonizing the two verses and deriving our interpretation in a way that accords with the whole counsel of God. To rightly interpret this verse let us get some help from Jesus. In Luke 11, he says, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

CONCLUSION

 When we submit to the Father’s will, as Jesus did, it gives us direction. When Jesus stands up after the third prayer, having received a no from the Father, and having accepted the answer fully in his heart, you will notice that there is a line of demarcation. From this moment on, the Lord Jesus will wipe the sweat off his brow, dust himself off, gird up his loins, and display the greatest example of manliness the world has ever seen. He’s done defending himself. His actions and teachings and miracles over the last 3 years have spoken plainly as to who he is. He will say very little over the next 17 hours and he will display meekness on a scale that is incomprehensible. This is the power of prayer. It is prayer that gave Jesus the strength to endure his passion. And when the veil in the temple tore from top to bottom, he forever opened the channel by which we can commune with the Father. The Holy of Holies is opened to you saints. Your God is listening. So pray to Him and expect good gifts.



Read Full Article

Forgetting What Lies Behind (Philippians #12)

Christ Church on

INTRODUCTION

One of the great things I learned from my father is that “God takes you from where you are, and not from where you should have been.” All of us are sinners, and so none of us are where we should have been. The glory of forgiveness is that God can bring glory out of a shapeless ruin, and in the gospel, this is precisely what He has done. He provides the glory. We contribute the shapeless ruin. 

THE TEXT

“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) (Philippians 3:13–19). 

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul is not claiming that he has somehow “arrived” (v. 13). He knows that he has not. But he does know what direction he is facing, what direction he is running. Like a runner stretching toward the finish tape, he is leaning toward the end of the race, and has forgotten the past (v. 13). What is that prize that he is running for? It is the high calling of God in Christ (v. 14). He is doing this, but he is also actively recruiting all other Christians to do the same (v. 15). He knows he is not perfect, but he urges this duty upon as many as are perfect. This is the goal of Christian maturity—complete maturity (v. 15). If you are lacking in your understanding of this, God will fill in the gap. We all need to live up to what we have already attained, and not turn back (v. 16). We should all think this way. He then urges the Philippians to imitate him, not to mention imitating others who walk the same way. They all serve as examples (v. 17). This is necessary, he says with tears, because there is another way of walking. There are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ (v. 18). These are not pagan outsiders, but rather false teachers within the church. It didn’t take long for corrupt teachers to infiltrate the church. Their finish line is different from Paul’s—their finish line is destruction (v. 19). Their god is their belly. Their glory is in their shame. Their mind anchored down here on earth (v. 19).

RUNNING WITH PURPOSE

In order to run with purpose, which is what Paul is urging here, it is necessary to lay aside every weight (Heb. 12:1-2). That weight, for many of you, is a backpack filled with regrets. But how can you run the Christian race if you are running with a pack filled with guilt-bricks?

In order to run the race that is before you, it is necessary to forget what lies behind. And what lies behind? All your failures as well as your previous victories. Remember what we said last week about repenting your virtues. You must not only forget your stumbles and errors, but if you are on the fourth lap, you can’t be thinking about the second lap—however well you ran it. The Christian life is directional. It is purposive. It is all geared to the last day. 

IMITATION IS THE WAY

The way of godliness is learned by imitation, as in our passage here. Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children (Eph. 5:1). The Thessalonians learned by imitating the churches of Judea (1 Thess. 2:14). Paul summons the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ (1 Cor. 4:16; 11:1). Hebrews tells us not to be sluggish, but rather to imitate those who through endurance inherited the promises (Heb. 6:12). We learn by imitation.

But this godly way of learning to walk faithfully is discredited by those who imitate foolishly. Instead of imitating the walk, the things that are imitated are the haircut, or the clothes, or the accent, or the mannerisms. That is not what we are talking about. 

Imitate character, not personality. 

ENEMIES OF THE CROSS

The cross deals with our little lizard egos. The cross crucifies all selfish ambition, carnal striving, lustful yearning. And yet there are those who see the religious world as containing a great number of opportunities, with not a few chumps, and so they gravitate toward us, with easy sermons laced with easy lies.

“Which say to the seers, See not; And to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, Speak unto us smooth things, Prophesy deceits” (Isaiah 30:10). 

“If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; He shall even be the prophet of this people” (Micah 2:11). 

All their sermons run downhill. Everything is tailored to suit, and slathered with the heated butter of flattery.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Timothy 4:3).

By way of contrast, our salvation is all of grace. But it is a grace that works in us, both to will and to do what God has purposed for us (Phil. 2:12). And what He has purposed for us is to run this race. He works in the heart to run, and so we run, forgetting what lies behind. 

Read Full Article