Christ Church

Children of the Congregation

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Introduction

As Reformed Christians, we naturally think in terms of covenants. We do this when thinking about our salvation, and the covenant of grace, and we also do it when it comes to some of our horizontal relationships—we have a rich understanding, for example, of the covenant of marriage. And related to marriage, we also think of the family in covenantal terms. We are covenant families; our children are covenant children. This means that when our children are brought into the faith, they are introduced into the universal church. But they also individuals who, for the most part, grow up in a particular congregation (this one), and this has additional ramifications. They are not just brought to the faith. They are brought to a particular church, and they grow up to maturity within the church.

The Text

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Summary of the Text

This passage is one that is very familiar to us, having been appealed to regularly as we have urged and argued for the necessity of a Christian education for Christian kids. Fathers are here instructed not to provoke their children, which is something that fathers are prone to do (v. 4). In addition, as you have been told many times, the word translated nurture here is paideia. This paideia of the Lord is, of necessity, an all-encompassing reality. Our word education doesn’t begin to touch it. This word actually represents the profound experience of enculturation. The other word, admonition, could also be translated as instruction. Christian kids need a Christian education; the apostle requires that they be reared in an environment dominated by the Word of God.

That said, my interest today is with the verb rendered as “bring [them] up.” The word is used just two times in the New Testament. One of them is here, meaning rear, or bring up. The only other use is just a few verses earlier, when husbands are commanded to treat their wives as they treat their own bodies. No man ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes (same word) and cherishes it.

A husband is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church. That is the baseline. As if that were not enough, he is told to apply the Golden Rule to marriage, taking how he nourishes and cherishes his own body as a rule for how he treats his wife. He feeds and cares for his own body, and the word for cherish (thalpo) literally means “to keep warm.” He is to be, in other words, extremely solicitous for his wife’s welfare. Then just a few verses later, he uses the same word with regard to the children of this man. Bring them up, feeding, protecting, caring, watching. Fathers are given this central charge.

In This Together

Fathers, and then mothers together with them, are engaged in this vital task of bringing up children. But Christian fathers and mothers are not on their own with regard to this.

In our practice of baptizing children, we recognize the importance of our congregational unity in child rearing when we ask you this question: “Do you as a congregation undertake the responsibility of assisting these parents in the Christian nurture of this child? If so, signify it by saying amen.” But what does this mean exactly?

Let us say that you dutifully said amen at the baptism of little Herbert, and it is now three years later and little Herbert, cuteness diminishing by the year, is three rows ahead of your family at church every week, and is playing the role of a hellion ramped up on nitrous oxide.

The vow that we all take at baptisms requires (at a minimum) two things of us. The first is that if you are an observer of such things, and you have discounted for reasonable differences in family standards, then you need to inquire. But absolutely make sure you are observing a divergence from the Word, and not a divergence from your house rules. I would recommend that you do this dad-to-dad, and that you do it with questions, not accusations. Do it carefully, don’t rush into it, but do it. These are vows we take, and not decorations we put on.

I know that a number of you have done this sort of thing, and I know also that most of the time it goes well. Parents who are in over their heads are usually more eager for input than outsiders are to provide such input. This is not always the case, but it is usually the case. And when it isn’t the case, consider that the problem may have been an inept approach. So I said begin with questions, and not accusative questions. They should be questions like “How do you think Herbert is doing? Do you and your wife feel on top of things?”

The second thing these vows require is a particular attitude if you are the parent who is approached. This vow does not mean that any critic who comes to you is correct about what they see, or that their observations are even sensible. You are not obligated to agree, but you are obligated to not be defensive. The one thing you may not say is that “this is none of your business.” It is our business. We all took a vow.

Not only did we all take a vow, but in addition we practice child communion. We all come to the same Table week after week. This means that we are all being knit together into one body, and this includes your child and your child’s critic. That critic may be part of the problem, or may be part of the solution, but the one thing that is certain is that the critic is part of the body.

One last thing about this. You know your child up and down, inside and out. You are invested in your child. You love your child. The critic, observing from fifty feet away, may not know your child’s name, or his hopes, dreams, and aspirations. But because of the way communities work, that person that I have been (somewhat unkindly) calling a critic may know things about your child concerning which you have no idea. A three-year-old falls over at church, gets up, looks around, and then runs across the gym, bursting into a wail as soon as mom comes into sight. The observer, who doesn’t even know Herbert’s name, knows that Herbert is working his mom. And mom doesn’t know.

Or the parents of the kids who rode the bus to that basketball game know all about your teen-aged daughter’s boy-crazy conversation, and you don’t know. Factor this in as an ever present possibility (not a certainty), and simply refuse to be defensive. A rebuke from the righteous is excellent oil (Ps. 141:5), and so treat everyone who comes to you as being potentially one who brings that.

In the Lord

And now a few words to you children of the congregation. As you are growing up in the Lord, what sort of spiritual indicators should you be looking for? We are supposed to make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). We are supposed to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). This can be done without morbid introspection. But how? Keep in mind that in all that follows, it is not so much what you look to as the way you look to it.

We are not looking for dramatic conversion stories, like Saul on the road to Damascus. Those do happen in the world, but for kids whose parents have obeyed our text this morning, bringing you up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, such stories are not the norm. Some people can say that they “got saved” at thus and such a time. For others, while God knows the precise time, they do not. But remember that everyone here knows that the sun is up, but I dare say that not one person here knows the precise time the sun came up.

For you covenant kids, what are the assurances of salvation. Fortunately, they turn out to the same as they are for everyone else. Now I am directing these remarks to the 10 to 12-year-olds. But if you are younger, you are invited to listen. And if you are older, you are invited to listen.

  • We see in 1 John 5:13 that we are to believe on the name of Jesus. We are to hold fast to Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:9). This is the foundation of everything else. Do you trust in Jesus? This is all about Jesus. So we begin with Him. What do you make of Jesus? What is your attitude toward Him? Love? Hostility? Indifference?
  • “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13). The Spirit is given as a guarantee (Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:5-6). The Spirit is given to us as an assurance. And how do we know we have the Spirit? He grows things (Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9), and He kills things (Rom. 8:13). Many of the passages we are looking at here tell us explicitly how we know that we belong to God. Notice how it goes with this one—hereby we know . . .
  • “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (1 John 3:14). What is your attitude toward those that you know really love God? Do you want to be with them, or are you repelled by them? Now you don’t know if you are a real Christian, but you do know certain others who are real Christians. I am not talking about the goody-two-shoes, but rather the kids your age whom you know that really love God. What do you make of them? What is your attitude toward them? Respect? Admiration? Constant irritation? When one of them raises her hand in Bible class to answer a question, do you roll your eyes?
  • “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Jesus says that a mark of true conversion is humility of mind, becoming like a little child. When it comes to spiritual issues, are you humble? Or are you a know-it-all?
  • “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Pet. 2:2–3). A marked characteristic of life is hunger—in this case, hunger for the Word. I am not talking about whether you read your Bible because for many of you, it is assigned. I am asking here whether there is any hunger for it. Do you read your Bible, or listen to sermons, because you are hungry? Peter compares it to being a newborn. When you were first born, nobody had to give you hungry lessons.
  • “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). There are two kinds of people in the world—those who are perishing and to whom the cross makes no sense, and those who are saved, to whom it does. So here is another indication. When the gospel is proclaimed, does it make any sense to you? Or is it all just yammer yammer Jesus yammer yammer yammer Bible yammer be good?
  • “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3). Here is another explicit statement of how we know. We know because we obey Him. We know that we are real Christians if we act like real Christians. We are following Jesus if we do what He says. But don’t despair too quickly here—this leads directly into an assurance that is connected to us not doing what He says.
  • “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). But the previous mark should not be clutched in a false and unreasonable perfectionism. We do still sin. But what happens when we sin? What happens then is anothermark of true conversion. God doesn’t spank the neighbor kids.

And so it is that we—all of us, adult and child alike—must always return to the proclamation of Christ. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:13).

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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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Christmas Confession of Sin

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Introduction

John opens this letter remembering Christmas, and so this is a fitting message for our consideration as we finish up Christmas festivities and look forward to the new year.

The Text

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, our hands have handled, of the word of life…” (1 Jn. 1:1-10).

Summary of the Text

John echoes his gospel describing the “Word of life” from the beginning as something that has become flesh, something heard, seen, looked upon, and handled (1 Jn. 1:1, cf. Jn. 1:1). This Word is the life manifested from the Father (1:2), and the apostles have seen it and heard it and declared it as witnesses so that all who hear their testimony may have fellowship with them and with the Father and the Son (1:3). This fellowship is fullness of joy (1:4). The message they proclaim is that God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all (1:5). Therefore, fellowship with God in His light means that we must not walk in darkness, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1:6-7). If we deny that we have sin, we are liars and we make God out to be a liar, but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all sin (1:8-10).

Christmas & Confession

What have you heard and seen and looked at and handled over the last few weeks? As you have sought to celebrate Christmas as Christians, you have heard and seen and looked at and handled the Word of Life. The whole point of the presents, the tree, the meals, the songs, the cookies, the eggnog – the whole point of all of it was Jesus, the Word of Life. We gave because He gave. We celebrated because He came. We rejoiced because we have fellowship with Him and with one another. But this fellowship is only possible because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14). God became man in order to reconcile all things in His flesh. “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Col. 1:21-22). “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity” (Eph. 2:15-16). So the Word became flesh in order to reconcile us to God and one another. The Word became flesh in order to abolish the enmity between us and God and one another, making true peace and fellowship. This is the only basis for Christian joy (1 Jn. 1:3-4). This fellowship is through the cleansing of the blood of Christ (1 Jn. 1:6-7). And the blood of Christ cleanses us as we confess our sins to God and one another (1 Jn. 1:9).

Fellowship & Lies

Christian joy is real joy because it built on the truth of Christ. But as descendants of Adam and Eve, we have not only inherited their guilt and tendency to sin, we have also inherited their tendency to try to hide their sin. They tried to hide their nakedness with fig leaves, and they tried to hide from God in the trees of the garden (Gen. 3:7-8). In the presence of God, all darkness is shade. Sin is turning away from God’s light, and that darkness includes trying to hide our guilt, trying to cover our shame. Even true Christians are still tempted to do this. This is why the Bible teaches us that dealing with our sin right away is enormously important. Jesus says that if you bring a gift to worship and remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift and go be reconciled to him first (Mt. 5:23-24). It’s better to be 10 minutes late for church and worship in Spirit and in truththan to stand before God as a liar. Paul says that when there are divisions in the Church, especially at the Lord’s Supper – an act of fellowship, we are not actually celebrating the Lord’s Supper, and we are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, causing sickness and weakness and even death (1 Cor. 11:18-30). If you have anything against anyone go make it right as soon as possible. “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:26). The devil is the father of lies, and he is happy for Christians to pretend to be in fellowship when they are not. So do not give an inch to the devil here. When fellowship is broken, go make it right.

Fellowship & Joy

John clearly says that the heart of Christian fellowship is fullness of joy (1 Jn. 1:3-4). And this is echoed in other places, specifically related to confession and forgiveness of sin. In Psalm 32, David sings, “Happy is the one whose transgression is forgiven… When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long… I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin… Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (Ps. 32:1, 3, 5, 10-11). Likewise, in Psalm 51, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make to me hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice… restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” (Ps. 51:7-8, 12). So lying about our sin (that it isn’t a big deal or that it isn’t there) and lying about God (that He can’t see it, that Jesus didn’t need to die for it) is the central cause of sadness and sickness and depression in this world. You cannot enjoy fellowship with God or other Christians while guilt and shame weigh upon you. Non-Christians experience this agony as well, but Christians have the added grief of grieving the Spirit who lives in them (Eph. 4:30). When we grieve the Spirit by sinning and refusing to confess our sins, the Spirit grieves us. Because God loves His children, His hand is heavy upon them in their sin. The greatest horror in all the world is God giving us up to our sin (Rom. 1:24).

Conclusion: Comfort & Joy

Christ was born in order that we might know God, that we might have fellowship with the Father and the Son by the Spirit. And this fellowship is the fullness of peace and joy. But this peace and joy is maintainedand enjoyedby the application of the blood of Jesus to every bump and bruise by confession of sin and forgiveness. Confession of sin agrees with God by naming the sin biblically and asks Him and any offended parties for forgiveness. God forgives us by promising not to hold our sin against us for the sake of Christ, and so we must forgive one another like that (Eph. 4:32). Forgiveness is not based on our feelings. Forgiveness is based on the fact of the Cross. When we are faithful to forgive as we have been forgiven, the Holy Spirit works true comfort and joy into our hearts and homes.

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Parenting in the Kingdom

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Introduction

Parenting is one of the most difficult, important, and rewarding tasks in this life. Particularly in a community that has been taught about the importance of childrearing, this can add to the pressure, fear, and disappointment when things are not going as we had imagined. But raising children well is a grace of God; it is one of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to those who ask.

The Text

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:1-4).

Children of the Kingdom

The Bible is clear that the children of believers are not future citizens of the Kingdom of God; they are presentcitizens of the Kingdom. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mk. 10:14). Even this command to children to obey their parents, alongside all the other commands “in the Lord,” implies that they have a role to play in the Lord(Eph. 6:1). The Psalmist famously sings,“Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger” (Ps. 8:2). Jesus also makes it clear that the faith of little ones is the exemplar for adults: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). Remember, David said, “But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God” (Ps. 22:9-10). Likewise, John the Baptist leaped for joy in Elizabeth’s womb (Lk. 1:41, 44). This is why Jesus gives such a stern warning: “… whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6).

The Culture & Counsel of the Gospel

Literally, the words “training” and “admonition” mean “culture” and “counsel.” This goes all the way back to the instructions Moses gave Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land: “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Dt. 6:7-9). We are to talk about God’s ways everywhere because His ways effect everything. To love the Lord with all we are is to love His lordship overall we are.

And we love His rule because it led to our deliverance: “When your son asks you in time to come, saying,`What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son: `We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand… that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers’” (Dt. 6:20-24). The whole point of the law was to talk about God’s grace and freedom. The point of parenting is to celebrate God’s grace and freedom, and this means tonsof confession of sin and forgiveness. We are Christians: this means we know what to do with sin. So the tenor of our homes must be joy.

Teaching Obedience

The central task of parents is teaching obedience to God. We live in an arrogant and sentimental world that thinks it knows better than God’s Word. But young children must be taught from a young age to obey their parents. The same Psalmist who said he learned to trust God from his mother’s womb also said that he was conceived in sin (Ps. 51:2). Young children are not naturally inclined to obey, but they are designed to be taught God’s grace. “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him” (Prov. 22:15). In the ordinary course of things, when Christian parents faithfully seek to drive foolishness from their children through spanking, God blesses children with wise hearts. “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother” (Prov. 29:15). This is why regular, prompt corporal discipline is loving: “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Prov. 13:24). The rod, lovingly administered, is love, but the rod is not automatically love. Spanking in anger or frustration is not love; nor is it love to administer the rod long after an offense has been committed (worse the younger they are).

Related to all of this is the implied biblical advice: do not try to reason with young children. It doesn’t really matter how you feel inside, and feelings are often manipulative. Children must simply be required to obey right away, all the way, and cheerfully. They also don’t know how they should feelabout sin; discipline is teaching them how to feel.And every trip to the “wood shed” (or wherever) should be accompanied by prayer, forgiveness, and full reconciliation/restitution (as age appropriate). Some toddlers will require battles of the will, and parents must commit themselves to winning. Sometimes this will require stretches of hours, days, or a couple of weeks of intense focus (dads, take initiative). Don’t give up; the peaceable fruit of righteousness is worth it (Heb. 12:11).

Conclusion: As a Tender Father

While Scripture is clear that children must be taught to honor and obey father and mother, and therefore, mothers have significant responsibilities in the training up of children (Prov. 1:8), Paul clearly singles out fathers here, instructing them not to provoke their children to wrath but to train their children in the culture and counsel of the Lord. We live in a father-hungry world. None of our fathers were perfect, and some of our fathers failed significantly. Some of us are tempted to be harsh, and some of us are tempted to be indulgent. Some of us work too much, and some of us just don’t know how to relate well to our children.

So how can flawed men hope to be faithful fathers? The answer is that you must have a new father. The only good fathers in this world have a perfect Father in heaven. And His perfection is particularly evidenced in His pity: “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103:11-14). Do you pity your children? Are you a tender father? This is not sentimentalism; this is Christian love. You cannot bea tender father unless you have the Lord as your Tender Father. But this is only possible by the Spirit of adoption: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).

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Left-Handed Power

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Introduction

One of the results of rebelling against the Lordship of Jesus and His authority over all things is a humanistic obsession with power. When human societies reject the power of the cross as oppressive and tyrannical, the whole point is to create a void for fools to rush into. Under the Lordship of Jesus, all lawful authority is established, delegated, and therefore accountable to Christ. But when Christ is rejected, everything is up for grabs, and Christians are sometimes tempted, in the name of realism, to join one of the factions. But we are called to embrace the Lordship of Jesus, and His assignments in our lives, through embracing His example of left-handed power.

The Text

“Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully, For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously…” (1 Pet. 2:20-23)

Value Structures

Part of the problem we have with the commands of God is our flawed value system. We don’t value the things that God values and so His commands can seem strange. It would be a bit like suddenly arriving in a civilization where everyone scrupulously saved pennies but threw away all the quarters. It would seem backward and wasteful. But what if you grew up in that backward civilization and then suddenly arrived back in our present day? You might still have old habits of throwing quarters away and a strange attachment to pennies. This is what it’s like becoming a Christian. But in addition to the old man and the flesh striving with the Spirit and the new man, we have cultural norms and systems that reinforce various sins or virtues.

We see this throughout the passage: What are slaves to value? What are wives to value? What are husbands to value? The consistent pattern is to value what lookslike weakness, but which is actuallypower. The believing slave is to suffer injustice patiently by trusting “him that judgeth righteously” (1 Pet. 2:20-23) – this has the power to change lives (1 Pet. 2:24-25). The wife with a disobedient husband is to submit without a word, adorning her life with the beauty of holiness, trusting in God without fear (1 Pet. 3:1-6) – that she might winher husband – for this is “in the sight of God of great price” (1 Pet. 3:4). And husbands are to honor their wives as the weaker vessel, that their prayers might be answered(1 Pet. 3:7). A little further down, Peter says, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Pet. 3:12). What is valuable? What is powerful? Patient trust in God.

No Guile in the Mouth

The central model for this left-handed power is Jesus, who suffered for us leaving us an example (1 Pet. 2:21). He of all people had the best excuses, the best argument for why everyone around Him was wrong and how they were all going down, but He did no sin, neither was any guilefound in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22). What is guile? Guile is cunning, craftiness, wiliness, slyness, deviousness, plotting, duplicity, or treachery. On the one hand, Peter is likely emphasizing just how perfect Jesus was – He didn’t even sin with His mouth. But the point is also to point out the place every man or woman struggles: the mouth. “For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body” (Jas. 3:2). And as Jesus insisted: For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34).And James again: “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless” (Jas. 1:26). Putting all of this together, the first result of a changed heart will be a changed tongue/mouth. But there are plenty of people who think they are very religious who are setting whole forests on fire with their words (Jas. 3:6). Bitterness is a root that defiles many (Heb. 12:15).

Some Christians are straight up bitter and foul – cursing and complaining like verbal terrorists. If this is you, you are self-deceived, and your religion is useless. But most Christians are more self-aware and careful, but they can still be self-deceived. And this brings us back to the guile, which is closely related to the idea of dissembling. To dissemble is to conceal your true motives, feelings, or beliefs. When Jesus suffered unjustly, He was not dissembling. He was not pretending anything. He was not being crafty or duplicitous. His intentions and motives and plans were right out in the open for all to see. And this is the example for slaves, wives, husbands, for all Christians. Christian submission does not mean putting a brave face on it while freaking out inside, muttering threats under your breath, smiling in public while cursing in your heart, or passive-aggressive avoidance of conflict while pushing your agenda – all of that is guilein your mouth. And it is fundamentally not trusting God.

Trusting God Means Loving Him More

In Luke, Jesus says, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26). But remember that this is the same Jesus who affirmed the fifth commandment (Lk. 18:20) and condemned building campaigns that functioned as write-offs for financially supporting parents (Mk. 7:10-13). Clearly the point is that Jesus requires absolute loyalty. Love for Jesus must be ultimate, supreme. In Sheldon Vanauken’s book A Severe Mercy, he recounts what it felt like when his wife “Davy” became a Christian before him. He describes her going to church and bible studies without him feeling like “unfaithfulness.” Love for Jesus will sometimes appear dismissive, even hatefulof good gifts of God. Why? Because You love Jesus way more.

The biblical name for anything that feels threatened by Jesus is an idol. An idol need not be an actual statue or image. It can just as easily be an image in your head, a scene of happiness, desire for respect and leadership, a theological conviction, a longing for a certain job, church, spouse, sex, children, family, house, friendships, whatever. That’s still a graven image; it’s still an imaginedreality that you are placing your hopes in for your joy, happiness, pleasure, or success. But what if that is not God’s plan for your life? The point is not to have low expectations or do a soccer-flop of apathy. The point is true and complete submission. Do you love Jesus more than everything?

Conclusion

Left-handed power is God’s power working in history, through men, women, slaves, Christians who trust and obey Him in the midst of injustice, disobedience, weakness, trouble. And that trust is evident in their words that reflect honest, trusting hearts. There is no guile in their mouths because there is no guile in their hearts because they have new hearts. We love Jesus more than anything and anyone because He suffered for us, and now we have died to sin and by His stripes we are healed. We had gone astray, but He has brought us home. And so we trust Him with it all. He is watching. He is listening. And He will judge righteously.

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