The R.C. Sproul quote we are meditating on is: “We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.” Today, we will think about the last of the three aspects of the Christian life: to live “for the honor and glory of God.” You are all familiar with this idea. Our Westminster Shorter Catechism starts with, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” The ultimate goal, for which we live and do all that we do, should be to glorify God.
Read MoreYesterday, I shared an R.C. Sproul’s quote about Christian life: “We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.” We talked about how our Christian life is not just a compartment in our life but encompasses every aspect of our life. Sproul provides three things that are essential to living the Christian life. We talked about the first one: to live "in the presence of God." Let's talk about the second one today: to live “under the authority of God.” I’d like to point out two things. The first is that being under the authority of God is an essential aspect of our salvation. Think about what sin was: it was to rebel against the authority of God, which was embodied in His prohibition regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve’s (and Adam’s) choice to go against it and eat the forbidden fruit was a direct rebellion against God’s authority. So, we can characterize the fallen condition of man as “autonomy” (self-rule). (This is, of course, an illusion. Satan’s temptation was essentially telling Eve to do what was right in her own eyes. But when she did, the result was that she ended up listening to Satan, putting herself under his authority.) To be saved, then, is to be under “theonomy” (God-rule). (Theonomy has another definition. It can also refer to a theological movement, which wants to apply even the Old Testament civic law, which was for the nation of Israel, to our nation. But that is not what I mean by “theonomy” here.)
Read MoreThis morning, I’d like to share with you what R.C. Sproul said about Christian life: “We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.” He reminds us of many important things about how we should live as Christians. First, our Christian life is not just a compartment in our life. To put it in another way: our Christian life is not just a spoke among many in the wheel of life; it is the hub, to which all “spokes” of our lives are connected. We have to be a Christian man/woman, Christian husband/wife, Christian son/daughter, Christian businessman/employee, etc. You get the idea. Our Christian identity in relationship with God and in union with Christ should determine how we live out our lives in each of our roles and in every situation.
Read MoreOne sign of humility is our constant reliance on God. Another sure sign of humility is gratitude. A proud person cannot be grateful. He gets mad when things don’t go his way because he thinks he deserves better. But even when things go well, he is still not grateful because he takes it for granted; he is only getting what he deserves. Actually, he looks around and sees other people who are doing better and his soul turns bitter. “Why do they get to have more and enjoy life more than I? Don’t I deserve it as much as they do?” Interestingly, a proud person doesn’t see those who are less fortunate than he; he only sees those who have more, and that makes him upset. A proud person is not a grateful person. And he, who cannot be grateful, cannot be happy.
Read MoreI’m so glad you decided to click on the email and read “Today’s Word of Encouragement.” I talked about the importance of humility yesterday and how it entails living in humble reliance on God. One way of showing our reliance on God is to begin our day with a time of communion with God, thereby reminding ourselves of God’s glory and His glorious grace toward us, His will for our lives, and His pledge to protect, provide for, and pilot our lives. These are wonderful truths to be reminded of, aren’t they? For we are easily distracted and lured away by the temptations and promises of the world. Each morning, our mind and heart and will need to be realigned to the True North. Your decision to read the Bible and pray (and read this email) shows your awareness of your need to rely on the Lord.
Read MoreLast Friday, we talked about God’s promise of the Holy Spirit. This morning, let’s talk about God’s promise of sanctification by the Holy Spirit. One passage, which speaks of the gift of the Holy Spirit, is Ezek. 36. V. 27 says, “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” As the authors point out, this shows why God gave us the Holy Spirit: “and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” We often think of salvation in terms of what we are saved from—like being rescued from drowning. But v. 27 shows us what we are saved unto—righteousness and holiness. How does the Holy Spirit achieve this goal of salvation in us?
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