Christ Church

State of the Church 2020

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Introduction

The Lord has been blessing our congregation in many striking ways. We have been growing in remarkable ways, and an essential part of this growth entails the inevitable growing pains. Quite a few of you just moved to our community within the last year, and it may seem to you that you have jumped into the middle of a conversation that has been going on for forty years. But some of you newcomers might be puzzled over something else. Where you came from felt like a wilderness to you, and so you would devour all kinds of things that would come out of Moscow, and then when you arrived here, you found yourself more checked out about what is going on than some of the people who have lived here for years. Life is funny.

The Text

“And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and the Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us” (1 Sam. 7:9–12).

Summary of the Text

On the threshold of battle, the prophet Samuel interceded on behalf of Israel, with a sacrifice and intense prayer, and the Lord heard him (v. 9). In the very moment of offering up the ascension offering, or whole burnt offering, the Philistines approached the Israelites to do battle (v. 10). But the Lord responded from heaven with loud thunder, so much so that the Philistines were thrown into confusion and Israel overcame them (v. 11). The men of Israel seized control of the situation and drove the Philistines back as far as place called Beth Car (v. 11). In response, Samuel in his gratitude set up a monument stone, and named it Ebenezer, saying that the Lord had helped them to “this point” (v. 12). The word Ebenezer literally means “stone of help.”

Earlier in the narrative, when the Ark of the Covenant had been captured by the Philistines, they took the ark from the place called Ebenezer to their city of Ashdod. This lost battle was a humiliation to Israel, and an indicator of their idolatrous faithlessness. Twenty years later, Samuel called Israel to return to God with all their hearts (1 Sam. 7:3), which they did. God granted them this victory, which Samuel memorialized, and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel (1 Sam. 7:13).

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I’ve come
(Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing)

Our Ebenezer

I would like this message to serve as an introduction for our “new members,” and a reminder for our old timers. Our congregation is alive and thriving, and there were many occasions when it all might have gone otherwise. Thus far the Lord really has helped us. We have no right to still be here.

The Centrality of Worship

We believe that the most important thing that any of us can do in the course of a week is to appear here before the Lord. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve [worship] God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28–29).

The Interconnectedness of All Things

But worship is not a disconnected important thing, like a diamond in a load of driveway gravel. Rather it is central and connected to absolutely everything else we do—the way the engine is central to the function of the car. “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:17). We believe that all things in the universe are related to one another, and they are related in Christ. In fact, the only reason why the universe can even be a universe is because of Christ. God is sovereign and therefore Christ is Lord.

Three Governments

Self-government—which is the fruit of regeneration—is foundational to every other form of God-given government. Those three other governments are the government of the family (Gen. 2:18), the government of the church (Eph. 4:11-12), and the government of the state (Rom. 13:1-2). The state is the ministry of justice. The church is the ministry of Word and sacrament. The family is the ministry of health, education, and welfare. Among other things, this means that you and your family all belong here at worship.

Chestertonian Calvinism

We are followers of Christ alone, and so it may seem odd to describe one of the attitudes that we are seeking to cultivate by using the names of two of the Lord’s more notable servants. But that is all that it is—odd. “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). Joy is not just an attitude we have going into the fray. That joy is one of our most formidable weapons.

All of Christ for All of Life

If there is one most noticeable thing that is missing in our lost generation, it is the fact of identity. They have had almost all of their old established (and idolatrous) identities smashed, and now are reduced to making up their own ad hoc identities as they go along. To this we answer, not with “traditional values,” but rather with the message of the crucified and risen Christ.

He is the risen one, and therefore the Lord of all. He is Lord extensively, and He is Lord intensively. There is therefore nothing in this cosmos that He did not extend His scepter over. Our task is to fan out and claim it.

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State of the Church 2019

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Introduction

As you know, it is our custom to present a “state of the church” message every year around this time. Sometimes the message addresses the state of the church generally, as in, across the nation. Other times, like today, the message concerns particular issues that pertain to our congregation.

The Texts

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6: 9–10).

“But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing” (2 Thess. 3:13).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).

“Use hospitality one to another without grudging” (1 Pet. 4:9).

Summary of the Texts

Before highlighting what each of our texts is saying, let me begin with the takeaway point from all of them. If we hear the message here rightly, we will see that the fusion of joy and staminais a peculiar work of the Holy Spirit. And if we are in the path we ought to be in, if we are walking in the right way, we will be in great need of Him to perform that work in us. We will need that peculiar fusion of joy and stamina.

In Galatians, Paul exhorts us to not give way to weariness, and the way we are to do this is by keeping our eyes on the agricultural metaphor. We will not grow weary if we keep our eyes on the harvest. Good works, done for all men, but especially for the household of faith, are a form of farming. Plowing hard ground can seem like an eternal distance from the ripening grain of autumn, so lookahead. Consider the whole point.

In Thessalonians, the same exhortation is given—do not grow weary in doing good. In this instance, it is an exhortation given to hard-working saints who are surrounded by goof-offs, leaning on their shovels. Not only must we not grow weary in the good work we are doing, we must also not grow weary in the work of disciplining those who do not understand the biblical view of work, or who do not understand it in their hands.

In Corinthians, Paul says that we are to aboundin our work. We are to be committed to it, and are to be steadfast and immoveable. This work that we are to abound in is work that is not in vain. This means that God wants us to hustle. And remember that this is in the chapter that is talking about the resurrection of the dead. Our abundant work nowis not going to be considered in vain then. Or, as R.C. Sproul put it, right now counts forever. If a cup of cold water given in the name of Christ will not be forgotten in the Lasts Day, then what of the greater words that are assigned to us?

And then Peter tells us to be given to hospitality, and not to be put off by the rudeness or thoughtlessness of others.

As Our Congregation Ages

I know that a number of you have been taking care of elderly parents. This is good and right and holy. Some of you have moved in together, while others are having to navigate this transition from varying distances. As lifespans increase, one of the things that also increases is the need to take care of the elderly. Something that used to be relatively rare is becoming relatively common. So as a congregation, you are to be commended for being the kind of support network that aging families need. And the next generation down needs to be taking notes, because this is a problem that is not likely to shrink. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Tim. 5:8). You all are living it out.

Life’s Report Card

Our congregation is filled with the spirit of entrepreneurship. That is all to the good, but you must remember the key role that failureplays in every true free market system. There is a strong temptation for many to think that objective standards of excellence only exist for as long as you are in school. Thereyou are evaluated, right out of a grade book—everything clean and tidy. And then, after you graduate, and are out in the world of business, you can start to think that all the standards are somehow subjective now. But frequently it is the other way around. “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men” (Prov. 22:29).

The Hospitality Dilemma

There is a reason why Peter says that we are to show hospitality without grumbling. Hospitality is a principal way of showing love for one another, and hospitality can be a principal occasion for thoughtlessness and rudeness. Love, in short, creates opportunities for lack of love. So take care, and beware. You are a hospitable group, and so the temptations that accompany hospitality—temptations for hosts and guests alike—will be plentiful.

Called to Our Work

Work is not a result of the fall. Adam was given his task of exercising dominion before he disobeyed the commandment. And he was given a helper for the task before he disobeyed the commandment. God has called us to our work.

This is not the same thing as being called to the work that we assumed that we were going to get done today. God often changes the schedule on us. How many times have we said something like, “I didn’t get anything done today,” when what we mean is that we didn’t get any of ourplans accomplished. All we did was what God assigned to us to do. Oh, only that?

Life in a working community is angular. There are bumps, misunderstandings, understandings, collisions, rivalries, envies, competencies, incompetencies, honest evaluations, and much, much more.

All of it is life in the body, which is to say, life in Christ.

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Church and Kingdom, Cathedral and Town (State of the Church 2018 #7)

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Introduction

Remember that the Spirit moves throughout the earth, converting and restoring individuals, fashioning them into saints, into believers. As His fruit is manifested in them, one of those fruits is self-control, self-government, or self-mastery. This self-government is the basic building block for establishing non-tyrannical governments in the other spheres that God has established among men. Without self-government, families can become autocratic tribes, with one domineering personality. Without self-government, the church can become a grasping and despotic monster, as happened with the medieval papacy. Without self-government, the civil magistrate can become an overweening and covetous thug, as has happened in our day.

It is easy for us to blame these governing entities for filling up the vacuum, but we really ought to find fault with ourselves because we (and our lack of self-control) are the ones who create the vacuum. When the people are slaves to sin, they cannot enjoy the balance of form and freedom that God has ordained for humanity. A family filled up with scheming manipulators will not be at peace with one another. A congregation of porn-users will not see the law of liberty unleashed in their midst. A nation of fornicating potheads will not enjoy civil liberty. As well expect to plant thistles and harvest barley.

The Text

“And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it” (Rev 21:24-26).

“In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Rev 22:2).

“Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought (Is 60:9-11).

“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine” (Ezekiel 47:12).

Summary of the Texts

Instead of just one text, I have selected a mash-up of texts. In doing this I am not attempting to pull a fast one, but am rather following the example of the New Testament writers, who frequently present us with a collage of quotations from all over the Old Testament.

In that spirit, the New Jerusalem in Revelation, the Isaianic Zion, and Ezekiel’s great Temple, are all one. Comparing them with one another, and seeing what is said of them, we see that they are all symbolic images of the Christian Church, neither more nor less. The Jerusalem above is the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26). When we gather to worship God, as we are doing right now, we are assembled on the heavenly Zion (Heb. 12:18). Come, the angel said to John, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. And who is that Bride? It is the Christian Church (Eph. 5:25). And then he showed him the New Jerusalem, adorned as a bride (Rev. 21:2). The great Harlot was the old Jerusalem, now divorced and put away. The New Jerusalem is the Holy of Holies, a living shrine of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Cor. 6:19; Rev. 21:16). So much is basic.

My point with these texts is to show you the distinction between this Church and the redeemed nations of men. The boundary between them is porous, but still clear. Ezekiel’s Temple does not grow and fill the earth, but water flows from her until it inundates and heals the earth. The earth does not become the New Jerusalem, but the kings of the earth bring their honor and glory to her, and acknowledge and support her. The great Zion of Isaiah does not swallow the world, but the ships of Tarshish sail to her, with all their wealth. There is a traffic of peace between them.

To Review

When men are forgiven and set upright again, they find themselves functioning within the framework of three basic governments. The first is the government of the family, following the order that God has established. The husband is the head, his wife is his body and the executive, and together they shepherd their little ones. The family is the Ministry of Health, Education, and Welfare. The second is the civil magistrate, which is the Ministry of Justice. Their task is to make it possible for you to walk across town safely at 2 in the morning. Justice here is defined by the Bible, and not by the hurt feelings of somebody. The church is the Ministry of Grace and Peace, who is the Holy Spirit Himself.

The Relationship of the Three

In God’s order, not one of the three is permitted to domineer over the others. Each has its assigned task, and each one needs to tend to its own knitting. The church does not declare war, or collect the trash. The family does not administer the sacraments. The state does not review cases of church discipline. And not one of these spheres is dependent on any of the others for its existence.

But with that said, there is definitely a hierarchy of honor in this glorious and eschatological fulfillment. And this is what it looks like. The church does not fill up the world, and the church does not make every day Sunday. But the knowledge of the Lord does fill up the world, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). How does this work? In our texts, notice the flow in two directions. The living water flows from the church out to all the families and nations of men, and all the families and nations of men flow to the church. But they don’t stream to the church in order to live there. They come to eat from the tree of life, and then they go back out again with a benediction, with the peace of Christ upon their heads.

So picture it this way. The worship of God is central to all of life, but it does not devour all of life. The sun does not burn everything up, but it does give light to everything. The water does not flood the world, but it does irrigate the entire world. The anchor fastens the ship, the ship does not turn into an anchor. The cathedral is at the center of the town, but does not “take over” all the activities of the townspeople—their printing, their auto mechanics, their software designing, their lawn mowing. In one sense all of that is none of their business. But at the same time the church instructs the townspeople in the adverbs—how these things are to be done, meaning, honestly, before the Lord, and with a hard work ethic.

The church is therefore at the center of the kingdom, but the church and the kingdom are very different.

And Christ is Lord of All

The authority of Jesus—the kind of authority that is granted to a sacrificial king—is an authority that mediates the kindness of the Father, and He mediates that kindness with the center fixed and all the edges in play.

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Sexual Sanity (State of the Church 2018 #6)

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Introduction

We are living in a time of sexual bedlam, sexual madness. The frenzy that has captured the Western world has many manifestations—open marriages, pornography, same sex mirage, robo-sex, trannies, and worse. My point is not to get into all these deviations in order to attack or refute them point by point. My point is to acknowledge that we are surrounded by it all, and in that context declare the only alternative to the madness, which is faithful Christian monogamy, and to highlight Scripture’s idea of what constitutes a faithful sexual testimony.

The Text

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed” (Titus 2:3–5).

Summary of the Text

I want to work through what is mentioned here, but with a particular emphasis on what the world is seeing as we obey passages such as this. The older women in the church need to be holy in their behavior (v. 3). They need to guard themselves against speaking false accusations. In addition, they should be careful to avoid “much” wine. In living this way, they should be teachers of good things—meaning that they should be in a position to teach the younger women how to behave (v. 4). They should instruct the younger women in sobriety (v. 4) and the arts of domesticity (v. 4). This is how I take the instruction on loving husbands and children. There are two words underneath that instruction, which are philandros and philoteknos. The word for love here (philo) is the word for warm affection, and in both instances it is a compound word, together with the word for man and the word for children. I would render it in a paraphrase as “teach them to be into husbands and into kids.”

The older women are also to teach the younger women to be discrete and chaste, to be busy at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, so that the Word of God not be blasphemed.

A Few Other Examples

So older wives are expressed taught to teach younger wives to subordinate themselves (hypotasso), so that the church not get a bad reputation. Young men are commanded to be sober-minded also, doing good in all things, and again for the same reason—so that the one who is opposed has no evil thing to say about you. And slaves are commanded to be diligent and obedient also (hypotasso again). Why? So that they might adorn the doctrine of God (v. 10).

Which Direction to Lean?

We are not just supposed to do what the Scripture says to do—although that is always important. We are also supposed to do it for the reasons that Scripture gives.

In other words, we must let Scripture determine how to head off what false ideas the pagans might have about us. Paul says here that the unbelievers should see the wife’s submission and obedience. That is what is to be in the foreground. Paul does not say that submission and obedience must be there somewhere in the background, but make sure what they notice is how educated or witty you are. No, Paul says that your unbelieving friends should notice what a sweetheart your husband has. Let them find out how educated you are after they become Christians.

I am not saying that Christian women should hide their light under a bushel. I am saying that God tells us what the light actually is—the light that shouldn’t be under that bushel. Being into the kids is the light that shouldn’t be under the bushel.

This is because God knows better than we do what kind of thing will be attractive to unbelievers living in the midst of sexual and marital chaos. He knows what they need, and He knows what behavior on our part will stir them up inside. He knows all that, and He has told us all about it.

And if unbelievers are not attracted to it, but rather are in rebellion against it, this kind of testimony remains potent. If you are out at the park with your small tribe, and you get cold stares from angry lesbians, you are not bringing disrepute on the gospel. God says the opposite. God is in charge of what constitutes a good testimony in an age like ours. We have our marching orders.

Modest Flappers

Take this another way. Suppose God told Christian women to be modest (which, come to think of it, He did). Suppose further that all the women outside the church, or at least all the women who were au courant, were flappers. There are two ways to approach this. One says “I obviously need to be a flapper too, and so I need to figure out a way to include modesty in there somehow. And hope nobody notices.” The other is to simply do what God instructs, and let the other pieces fall where they may.

Gospel and More Gospel

When we try to “gray out” the Christian forms of marriage that we practice, we are actually trying to “gray out” the gospel. Christ is the Bridegroom, and the Church is His Bride. Christian husbands are told to love their wives sacrificially, the way Christ loved His Bride (Eph. 5:25, 33). Christian wives are told to submit to their own husbands (Eph. 5:22, 33). Why would we try to hide this from the world? If they kick, let them kick. This is the good news of salvation.

Husbands, your task is to model for the world what the objective gospel actually looks like. And, in case you have forgotten, it looks like blood, sweat, and tears. You are the hands of Christ as He preaches His salvation to the world, and never forget that those hands are pierced. You are husbands—you are to be pierced.

Wives, your task is to model for this lost world what a subjective and personal response to the gospel looks like.

As I have noted before, we are all limited, and we cannot duplicate what Christ did. But even though we cannot duplicate it, we are commanded to imitate it, and we are to imitate it as best we can.

Husbands, the world is watching you. You are to model what the saving looks like. Wives, the world is watching you. You are to model what salvation looks like.

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Huguenot Hustle (State of the Church 2018 #5)

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Introduction

According to Scripture, a spiritual man is one who walks in step with the Spirit in this material world (Gal. 5:16). A spiritual man is not an ethereal man, or a wispy man, or a semi-transparent man. A spiritual man is never a worldly man (1 John 2:15), but he most certainly is a down-to-earth man. While there have been people who were so heavenly-minded they were no earthly good, it generally runs the other way. The people who have done the most earthly good have often been the most heavenly-minded. How could deep and intelligent love for ultimate wisdom incapacitate a person?

The Text

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; He shall not stand before mean men” (Prov. 22:29).

“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men” (Prov. 22:29, ESV).

Summary of the Text

The Bible teaches us that cream rises. This is not because cream has anything to boast of, but rather because of how God created and governs His world. We can plant and water, but God is the one who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

The point is to seek the blessings of being cream, and then secondarily, after that, seeking the blessing that comes to cream. And of course, having received such blessings, we are to boast —but we are only to boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31; 2 Cor. 10:17). What do you have that you did not receive as a gift? And if as a gift, then why do you boast as though it were not a gift (1 Cor. 4:7)?

So it is a gift from God to excel in your work. It is another gift from God to reap the benefits of excelling in your work. Though they usually go together (but not always), the two must not be confused, and the order of the two must not be reversed.

Vocation

One of the great accomplishments of the Reformation was the restoration of the idea of calling or vocation in every lawful endeavor. This abolished the old sacred/secular hierarchy, where it was assumed that if you were really sold out for Jesus you would be in a nunnery, or some other place that was equally high-minded. Being a merchant was kind of a tragic necessity, but somebody had to tithe.

Unfortunately, this medieval mistake is creeping back in, having made great inroads in the evangelical world. What do people who are “sold out for Jesus” do now? We call it “full time Christian work.” But what other kind is there? According to this unhappy assumption, if you don’t enlist in the Navy Seals for Jesus (NSJ), then you can always go into architecture, where you try to pay down some of the guilt for being such a partial Christian by giving donations to the real Christians.

But the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, and Christ’s universal lordship over all things, means that we need to put down this idea for good. If you are a faithful Christian, walking in the will of God, then God is advancing the kingdom of His Son through your film-editing, back-hoe operating, diaper-changing, book writing, music composing, lawn mowing, classroom teaching, study-group organizing, and sermon preparing. All of it is in the palm of God’s hand. Remember—all of Christ for all of life.

Not Kidding Yourself

But in all of these endeavors, the biblical pattern is clear. First the planting, then the harvest (1 Cor. 3:6). First the race, then the medals ceremony (1 Cor. 9:24). First the cross, then the crown (1 Cor. 9:25). First the death, then the resurrection (Rom. 6:4).

“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).

Because we live in a flattering age, too many Christians have come to think that successful entrepreneurship is their birthright, and all they have to do is be energetic enough to scoop up the rewards. And we try to sanctify the attitude that James describes as evil boasting, and we try to sanctify it with “the will of God.”

“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (James 4:13–15).

Peace and Purity

When you are engaged, as we are, in seeking to build true Christian community, the first thing that will happen is that an economy will start to take shape. And this means, in its turn, that disputes will arise. Most of the gnarly disputes will be about business or finances. This is borne out in my experience, and in line with the survey we recently sent out to you all.

Test your heart first. When you are thinking about a business opportunity with another member of the church, ask yourself this question first. If your first thought is that because so-and-so is a fellow kirker he might cut you a deal, then I would plead with you as your pastor to go do business with the pagans. You’ll fit in better there. Go buy it in Spokane. That’s how you can maintain the peace and purity of the church. How many Christians think something like this? “Ooo—he has that little fish in his window. I think I’ll add 10% to whatever he invoices. He’s a brother.”

And when the attitude is right, there is only one more thing I would ask you to include. Too many Christians think that regeneration, or good intentions, or having a nice personality will somehow make your memory perfect, or will prevent you from getting hit by a truck. So suppose you get hit by that truck, and your heirs and your partners’ heirs are all trying to figure out what that handshake fifteen years ago meant. Write it down. This does not make you suspicious and unloving. God loves us perfectly, and He still wrote it down.

Christ or Mammon

If you give yourselves to the pursuit of Mammon, it will do nothing but suck you dry. If Christ gives Himself to you, and you surrender yourself in response, the opposite thing happens. “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

“The liberal soul shall be made fat: And he that watereth shall be watered also himself” (Prov. 11:25).

This spirit of grace and generosity does not take Mammon out of your hands, but it most certainly takes you out of Mammon’s hands. And while Mammon remains a snake, the Lord promised that we could handle serpents without harm (Mark 16:18). But apart from the sovereign grace of God, you cannot keep money from doing what money always does.

But Christ—in whose hands you are—can keep money from doing what money always does. What is impossible for man is always possible with God. But this only happens if the crucified and risen Lord is Lord of your bank account.

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