New Thoughts (08/07/14-08/10/14)
Grace Electing (08/08/14)
While many commentaries suggest Peter is writing primarily to expatriate Jews, I am still convinced his audience is Gentile, natives of Asia Minor and subjects of Rome. Recalling that Paul is from that region and a citizen of Rome, it is reasonable to suppose that a portion of the readership likewise held Roman citizenship. How did that come about? Well, Roman citizenship could be a matter of birthright or it could be obtained by purchase. If it seems odd to contemplate purchasing citizenship, think of our own immigration process. It is costly in both time and treasure to become a citizen if you were not born here. I dare say, it’s rather costly even for those streaming in illegally of late, although payment does not seem to accrue to the government’s coffers.
I see Peter drawing a stark contrast with how one obtains kingdom citizenship. There can be no purchasing of citizenship in God’s kingdom. It’s not for sale at any price. Arguably, one cannot be citizen by birthright, either. Being born to Christian parents is a great boon, but it is no guarantee of citizenship. One must be reborn. One cannot choose to be reborn any more than one could choose to be born at all. Birth is not a choice. It is a reality dictated by outside forces. In the case of kingdom citizenship, there is only one means for obtaining it and that is election. “You are a chosen race […] a people purchased by God for His pleasure.” God elects you. You did not choose Him. This is grace at its utmost. You and I have nothing to offer. There is nothing about us that recommends us for inclusion in this kingdom. We have no particular talents that would justify an H1-B visa. There is no lack of workers in heaven that would require our inclusion. There are no jobs that are considered beneath the current citizenry. No! It is solely God’s gracious choice to extend citizenship to us, indeed to buy our citizenship for us. This is in direct contradistinction to Roman practice. In Rome, you buy your citizenship. In heaven, your King buys you.
Calvin looks upon this reality, this peculiar possession of God’s, and writes, “He makes His peculiar possession from worthless dregs.” There are your boasting rights. You would boast? Here’s your true valuation: worthless dregs. I have nothing, absolutely nothing, by which to recommend myself to God’s attention for good. I have everything by which to recommend myself for punishment. But, God chose otherwise. This was most certainly true when He called me. It remains most certainly true at this stage. If I consider my wife, whom I find to be far more devoted to exercises of sanctification than myself, I must reach the same assessment. For all that she strives to be pleasing to God, it really doesn’t alter the assessment He has made. His assessment, after all, was never made on the basis of her gifts or her progress. It was made on the basis of Christ. It was made on the basis of the Cross.
Thanks be to God that this is so! Otherwise, there would be no man saved. We would remain utterly without hope in this life and subjected to eternal torment in the next. But, God is gracious, and instead we enjoy this reality that Peter proclaims: You are chosen; bought and paid for. It deserves mention that if I am bought and paid for, then I am not my own. I am His, bought “for God’s own possession.”
Peter offers a collection of phrases, drawn from the Scriptures he knew, to establish what we have become. Of great note, we have become a kingdom – one holy nation. We need to grasp hold of this as we listen to events around the world today. Our brothers and sisters in distant lands, suffering for the name of Christ, are not strangers and foreigners to us. They are of the same holy nation as we are. We need to consider that in the obverse, as well. The one holy nation is not the US of A, nor England, nor France, nor any other political body one can point to. It is not the Caucasian race, nor is it the Latino, the Negro or the Asian. The one holy nation has, in this regard, absolutely nothing to do with statistics of physical birth.
At the time the New Testament was being written, the great divides that people saw were those between Jew and Gentile, between slave and free, and between man and woman. As measured by society, these were distinctions that determined much of life. As measured by God, these were no distinctions at all. Some of these distinctions continue to our day, but we have others. Indeed, we seem to manufacture distinctions any more, for all our talk of being one big, global humanity. But, God’s measure has not changed. The dividing walls are down. There remains only one distinction: Chosen or reprobate. It can be difficult for us to discern which is which, quite frankly. In fact, God makes it pretty clear that we can’t really tell for the most part. We can observe the present trend in a life, perhaps, but we don’t know the final outcome. He chooses, not us. Yes, we are to observe. Yes, we are to judge what we can observe, and to seek to correct that which is wrong. We are even to apply discipline in God’s name where it is justly due. But, we do so with an eye towards restoration. We do so in recognition that it could as easily be us being disciplined, and it may well be us one day. God willing, we will likewise be disciplined for our own good; that we may repent and return.
But, this kingdom talk echoes not only the prophetic message to Israel. It also reflects the teaching of Jesus. The JFB notes Peter’s continued use of Psalm 118 as he writes this part. I am inclined to think he also, if not primarily, has Jesus’ teaching in mind. “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation that produces its fruit” (Mt 21:43). That was what our Lord said to the religious leadership of His day. Wycliffe’s commentary brings this up. I can’t help but notice that this is tied directly with Jesus talk of the Cornerstone, the self-same passage Peter has been using. So, yes, Psalm 118 is firmly in view, but it is Psalm 118 as Jesus interpreted it.
I am looking briefly at that section of the Psalm just now, and what I see is that in its setting, the rejected stone is the author himself. “The Lord disciplined me severely, but has not given me over to death” (Ps 118:18). “I will give thanks to Thee, for Thou has answered me and become my salvation” (Ps 118:21). Then we come to the rejected stone made the cornerstone, and the joyful exclamation, “This is the Lord’s doing! It is marvelous in our eyes” (Ps 118:23). It is that last which leads the Wycliffe authors to find the passage on Peter’s mind as he writes of God’s marvelous light. But, if that is the case, he has folded it firmly together with thoughts from Isaiah along with the primary source of Moses (Ex 19:5-6) that he is applying. Peter may have been a fisherman by trade, but he proves to be a fine weaver by way of preaching.
Now, what shall we say of this one nation to which we have been added? Barnes makes the observation that we are, ‘a kingdom in which all the subjects were engaged in offering sacrifice to God.’ That is his take on wheat it means to be a royal priesthood, or a kingdom of priests as Moses originally put it. I have looked, in previous studies, at the nature of those sacrifices we are to offer, but will remind myself at this juncture that the chief of those sacrifices is thanksgiving. It’s not always easy to give thanks. It’s almost always unnatural to us, for we are inclined to think we have done things in our own strength even knowing nothing could be further from the truth. Giving thanks to God for what our flesh would like to tell us we have done for ourselves is a sacrifice. It’s humbling and we don’t particularly care for being humbled. Giving thanks to God for times of discipline is even harder, for we well know the truth of Scripture when it says that no discipline seems pleasant at the time. No, it most certainly doesn’t. If it did, it wouldn’t be discipline, but reward. But, the fruit thereof? Yes, please! Thank you, Lord, may I have another? Oh, we can be thankful enough when the fruit is found. But, it is a sacrifice to be thankful in the midst.
As regards this royal priesthood, I was taken by a point Adam Clarke makes. We are not made royal by having a king. Those nations which still have a king or queen are not made royal by that reality. They may be, in some sense, a royal procession, and they certainly have royalty. But, the citizen is not made royal. No, to be royal, one must have royal parents. In our situation, we must of God as Father as well as King. We must be born into the royal family, reborn in this instance. Scripture speaks of it as adoption, for there is only one begotten Son. But, we are given that birthright in our adoption. Oh! And is not adoption a costly enterprise as well!
I’ve been watching one of my brothers going through his family’s third adoption process. It’s not cheap by any means. It requires much by way of time and treasure, as well as emotions. It’s a serious undertaking with lifelong implications. That can be said of God’s adopting us as well. It assuredly cost Him in time and treasure. All of the history of creation, and all that remains of creation’s time has been paid to this process. His own Son, His own Life was given in payment. What could be more costly? Further, our adoption is a lifelong reality. It is not subject to revocation. I recall a teaching somewhere not so many years ago to this effect. Part of the legal status of adoption requires this. You cannot un-adopt. You can disown your natural child, but that option is closed to you as concerns the adopted child. It’s sealed. To borrow from Pastor Dana’s words last Sunday, He paid dearly to have you for His own. Do you really think He’s going to just throw you out, now?
No! If you are of this chosen race, it is precisely because you do have Him as Father. There is no other means of entry. You are indeed a King’s kid, the King’s kid. Don’t let your head get all swollen with that, but it’s true. It is no cause for boasting. You’re still a worthless dreg. But, it is cause for greatest confidence against the trials, temptations and pressures of this life. You are His and that is final.
What are We? (08/09/14)
In one sense, the whole of this passage addresses the question of what we are. I am glad that I took time with the terminology in my first pass through here, and rather surprised that none of the commentaries take note of the progression. We begin with genos, a generation or, if you will, a species. We proceed to ethnos, an ethnicity, a nation. In both cases, the implication is that there is but one in the kingdom. There is one species, one race. There is only the one nation with one King. This goes back to Clarke’s comment about having God as both King (nation) and Father (species).
Being one nation and species, we are informed by the very terms that we have a common set of habits, a common history, and common norms as to conduct and character. We value the same things. We pursue the same things in the same manner. We share the same heritage, and what a marvelous heritage it is! Matthew Henry puts emphasis on this oneness. We are, all Christians in all ages, one family. This family is distinct from the world in spirit, principle and practice. It must be, for it is called to holiness. To add Clarke’s thought to the mix, we are God’s private property – a people purchased by Him for His benefit. Nobody else has right of us. Let me add that in saying this, we must include ourselves. I have no right of me. I am a bought man.
That phrase deserves some attention. The NKJV sets it forth as, ‘His own special people’. The NASB speaks of a people for God’s own possession. The KJV famously records the term as ‘a peculiar people’ and it seems that many have taken to that phrase with gusto. Point out anything off-putting about their approach to people and their defense is, “Hey! We’re supposed to be peculiar.” It’s like a license to offend. Point this out, and they’ll trot out the passage regarding how the world is offended by us, and wield it as proof that we are supposed to be offensive. It’s like a badge of honor. But, I would go to Peter’s words later. It is to our benefit if we suffer for doing what is right. But, if we are suffering for sin, the value is gone. If we suffer for being insufferable, that has nothing to do with being part of this holy nation. That has to do with being a jerk.
Rather, the term in question implies something far greater. It is God speaking of us as a desired possession He has procured. He has paid for the benefit of having us – paid dearly. He has done so because, improbable though it may seem to us, He greatly prizes us. Can you imagine that? We worthless dregs are greatly prized by God, so greatly prized that He set forth this whole plan of Creation, sending His Son to die, arranging the events of millennia, just so that He could make you His own. As Wycliffe’s Commentary concludes, “Here is a tremendous word of encouragement.” Don’t waste it on finding license to be weird or silly. You are not purchased to be some sanctimonious goofball. You are purchased to be a holy, royal priesthood.
We are sanctified together so as to be servants to God our King. Set the terms before you. We are holy. What does this mean? It means we have been set apart to God, sanctified by Him in washing away our sins; exclusively His in all we say and do. We are royal. By His own decree, we have been made part of His family. We are not just citizens of a kingdom, we are children of the King. This entails great privilege; we might even say infinite privilege. But, it also entails responsibility. Any prince knows the weight of upholding expectations, of properly representing the kingdom and the King. The prince must be serious, preparing for the day when he may be called upon to rule the kingdom. He wants nothing more than to rule well, if he is a good man. And, let us be certain, God does not call bad men to be princes in His court. The greedy and the power-seeker find no place with Him. No, we who are made part of this royalty are cleansed in the process, that we may serve the one nation well in whatever capacity He may choose.
We are a priesthood. It is to this we are called. It’s not just the select few who are called to the particular role of minister. It’s not a thing reserved for those who head off to seminary. It is a call upon every last citizen of this nation. We can quibble over Peter’s precise intent in this, but I’m inclined to follow the lead of being priests after the order of Melchizedek. No, I am not suggesting we attain to equality with Christ; certainly not! He is High Priest forever, without beginning and without end, thereby fulfilling the type. But, we are of that order, not the Aaronic order. We are a royal priesthood. As priests, we bear our sacrifices before God, we serve God. As royalty, we add the benefit of family ties with the God we serve. We serve, then, not out of fear or awe, but out of the mutual love we have for one another: God loving us beyond measure, and our love responding in turn.
Our Response (08/09/14)
But, what does that response look like? One obvious answer is given by Peter in the same breath, “To proclaim His excellencies.” I’ll get to that. There is a response that precedes this, that is a necessary prerequisite. We might encapsulate it as, ‘getting with the program’. The JFB sums it up by saying we must be, “singular, if we would be holy; consistent, if we would be useful.” What does that mean? The words are almost too fine for us in the present day. What is this idea of being singular?
To be singular is to be completely focused on the matter, with no thought for anything else. Modern usage tends to think of this in terms of being exceptional, best of class. But, that is not the sense of the thing for this statement. It has more to do with having reference to just one thing. Our attention is on just one thing. This does not mean we have only one thought. We may have many. But, they are all coordinating toward one matter. In my efforts as an engineer, I see this singular focus as a necessity. I may be considering any number of details that must interact and mesh perfectly in order to achieve my intention. It requires a good deal of concentration to hold all of these threads in mind as I proceed, and any interruption for an unrelated matter may be a serious setback. The task requires singular focus, attention on that one intention that allows for no other thought.
Over against this, there is that other approach to matters that tries to think about everything all the time. The entire day is spent considering the myriad different goals that one wants to attain, and you never get focused enough on any one of them to really achieve the goal efficiently. Inevitably, this approach seems to lead to an overloaded day, too many things planned for too short a space of time. Yet, there are those who thrive in such an atmosphere.
I find it mildly interesting, perhaps even disturbing, that both tendencies are now construed as being a disease. If you are focused, you must have some degree of autism. If you are not, you clearly have ADHD. We have effectively managed to define away anything that might be considered normal. Yes, there are no doubt those at the extremes who have one or the other of these maladies. But, the categories have been broadened to the point where everybody must fall within one or the other camp. It renders the whole thing rather pointless, just like the efforts to call everybody special. If everybody’s special, then by definition, nobody is special. If everybody has some form of attention disorder, then really, nobody does. We just have different approaches to life, and rather than being taught how to work within our own dispositions, we are advised to medicate. OK. Enough of this diversion. Back to positive territory.
As concerns our pursuit of service to God, our common custom in this one, holy nation, there can be no ADHD. There is only singular focus on pursuing and pleasing this God who loved us and bought us for Himself. Remember the priesthood under Aaron. His family had no other calling. The Levites were carefully provided for so that the necessities of life would not distract them from their duties. They served God and God alone. Yes, the priests, in serving God, served the people. That was their service to God, to bear the prayers of the people before His throne. But, they did it primarily for God; that is to say, because He commanded it. It is not that they had no thought or compassion for the people, but had God not set them this particular duty, all the care in the world would not have made their efforts to be of any value whatsoever.
We serve. We serve with singular focus on being holy, set apart, sanctified and exclusive in our service to God. Add to your singularity, consistency. If we are inconsistent, lurching this way and that in our efforts at following Christ, we cannot be any great use. Let me couch that a bit. We all of us stumble. We are all of us inconsistent. There is a degree of this within which we remain useful to God as He demonstrates His mercy and grace in picking us back up and dusting us off again. We will ever be in need of having our feet washed again. But, if we become careless or carefree as concerns our exclusive service to God, we express not faith in His mercy, but unbelief in His holiness.
Calvin reminds us to take heed lest unbelief robs us of the honor God has done us. Now, let’s understand that Calvin by no means suggests that we can lose our salvation. It’s the central supporting structure of his entire understanding of theology that God is sovereign and His effectual call must seal the matter of our salvation. I can, then, take his meaning in two possible directions. Let me start with the more dangerous.
We can, and I would argue do, have assurance as to our salvation. God has seen to it. But, part of His seeing to it is this very point: Are you seeing evidence of your singular pursuit of God? If you are truly His, there will be evidence of it. It is not the evidence of perfection. It is not the absolute absence of sin from your life. Scripture leaves no room for so inflated a sense of our progress. But, there will be a trend line showing that overall, we are proceeding towards the goal, however often we may take a wrong turn or fall back. If, however, unbelief is our primary characteristic?
Let it be supposed you were born into a Christian household, or in a Christian nation. You had great advantage. You were trained up in the way you should go, taught of this God Who Is. However imperfect your teachers, yet you were taught. You had every opportunity to hear the Gospel unto salvation, and yet you are there in your unbelief. Remember that unbelief has no excuse in lack of data. Unbelief is a willful determination not to be persuaded by the facts. It is not ignorance, then, but rebellion. You had the honor of this heritage. You had every advantage in making this heritage your own, but your unbelief has robbed you of all you could have had. This is the dark reality of the reprobate. You have been expelled out of His marvelous light into impenetrable darkness, there to remain. How I pray this is not the case for you! Yet, that possibility shall be the reality for many.
If I would set that warning of Calvin’s in a less catastrophic light, I think we can find application in the case of the true Christian, the one who has every reason to know assurance as to his salvation. That assurance, as I have said, is hardly a guarantee of perfect holiness; certainly not in this lifetime. Oh, when we are brought home, that perfection will come, but now? No. We have our days. In some cases, we have our years. There are times when God seems distant, and the skies like brass, as the more poetic like to express it. There are times when our thoughts are far from Him, when we are so fully involved in the details of life that we neglect Him utterly. There are times when our flesh rises up (daily times, it seems) and our responses to the pressures of this life are not as they should be. What are these but moments of unbelief? They are moments when we lose sight of who we are and Whose we are. And so, by our actions of unbelief, we are robbed of the honor that is ours as sons and daughters of the royal household of heaven. Oh, praise God, that it is but for a season! But, take heed! See what you have lost and turn. Forgiveness follows on repentance.
Here, we return to the balance of grace and law. Both persist for us. Paul makes the point, and we must hold it firmly in mind, for the sin that remains in us would gladly lead us to neglect the matter: Grace does not grant permit for sin, only pardon. The Law has not been done away with. If this is what you heard Jesus saying, you have completely misunderstood. He came to uphold the Law in perfection. That is how He finished it, by keeping it utterly without fail throughout His life. He alone has done it. He alone could. I have probably said before that He showed us what we could be as humans. But, that is not really the case. He did not come to demonstrate what we could have done for ourselves if only we were a bit more attentive to our ways. He came to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. If there was the least possibility that we could, His Incarnation was both frivolous and devoid of value. But, no. Christ did not come to dispense with the Law. He came to restore it. One need only read through the Sermon on the Mount to grasp that truth. His whole life was about restoring God’s people to a sense of the full scope of the Law.
If we do not dispose of the Law entire, our next tendency is to reduce it to the level we think we can manage. I have written of this point often in the last several years: The Codex of the Achievable. That’s what we want the Law to be. That’s what the Pharisees wanted the Law to be. Let us set forth standards we can keep, little meaningless details of life that we can follow successfully. Oh! We want nothing more than to feel good about ourselves, to be able to come to God and say, “See how well I’ve done?” But, that is a fool’s game. It can only result in a most thorough disillusionment when we are forced to recognize that what we have done had nothing to do with what was required of us. Far better that we recognize the impossibility of the Law now and turn to Christ. Far better that we accept the aid of the Holy Spirit as He trains us up in holiness. Let us never fall into thinking we’ve achieved the goal. But, let us never cease from striving towards that goal. And, when we fail, as we assuredly will, let us be swift to seek out our merciful Lord for the forgiveness He holds in store for us. Let us be swift to repent, and malleable in His hands as He shapes us for greater success next time.
Our Purpose (08/10/14)
All that Peter has said in the first half of verse 9 is by way of giving cause for the second half. We have been called for a purpose. That’s the message. The fact that we now compose a holy nation of royal priests purchased by God for His benefit serves to amplify the propriety of that purpose. Our purpose is to proclaim His excellences. What He has made of us, particularly in light of what we were as raw materials, should be all the cause we need to be about this purpose. But, you may ask, what does it mean to proclaim His excellences?
Are we all to become street-corner evangelists, shouting at one and all about the goodness of our God? No. Some might be called to this, but not all. Here, I see a matter that all the commentaries are agreed upon. It’s not just a matter of talk. It’s not by tongue alone, but by your whole life. We are to demonstrate cause for God to be praised. We are to be, if you will, walking billboards for God. But, this is not a thing we do in the way stores might do. This is a thing we do by living lives modeled on His standards. Remember that comment about being consistent and singular? This is why it’s so needed. Our purpose is to, “exhibit [His virtues] in a holy and useful life being transformed into the image of God and walking as Christ himself walked.” That’s Adam Clarke again. Set it next to this from Calvin. “This doctrine ought to be the subject of daily meditation […] that all God’s blessings with which he favors us are intended for this end, that His glories may be proclaimed by us.” It comes to this: If our lives do not give evidence of God’s sanctifying work, in what way do we give anybody cause to believe God is great?
While I have said that Peter’s list of what we are gives us cause to be about the work for which we are intended, I could say that in the reverse and be just as correct. The fact that we are called for the purpose of proclaiming the greatness of our God should prove ample incentive for pursuing the challenges of sanctification. How can we point to Him who are not being made like Him? What do we recommend in regard to God if our own lives give no evidence that He makes a difference? If all we have to show for our faith is a record of regular attendance at church, we have nothing. If all we have to show for it is an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, Christian theology and doctrine, we still have nothing.
In writing that last, I can’t help but think of Paul’s assessment of the charismata (1Co 13:1-3). I may display all manner of spiritual powers; I may be involved in all manner of programs; I may be doing, ‘all the right things’. But, if I am not doing it out of love for God and man, I am nothing. It’s all worthless. The same applies here. If I am taking in all this information, right and holy information, yet remaining just as I was, it’s all worthless. If I walk away from these morning studies having already forgotten everything I just read and wrote, then I am doing nothing beyond wasting an hour of my morning. I might just as well toss it all and find something better to do with my time. And, I must say that nothing could be better than seeking the Lord in earnest that He might bring the change to pass.
Let me bring in the JFB on that point. It is God’s mercy, they remind us, and not merit which achieves the change. It is not that we can be slothful about it, and leave it all up to God. But, at the same time, we really have to leave it all up to God, because what we achieve by our works is vanity and wind apart from Him. I go back to the concurrence matter of the previous study. We work together or it doesn’t work at all. But, in the end, however much we may seek to contribute to the end result, it’s all God. That reality, as the JFB concludes, should stir us to liveliest gratitude, and such gratitude cannot but be evidenced in both word and life. In this instance, I think I would have reversed the order: in life and in word. The change being of God, the life can’t help but give evidence, but we are still capable of being so guarded in our words as to appear ashamed of the Gospel.
Is it just me? It must feel that way, and I am sure that is nothing other than the Spirit bringing conviction upon us, for no doubt, you feel the same if that describes you. I’ll sing along with the song, echoing Paul’s great proclamation. “I’m not ashamed of the Gospel! I’m not ashamed of the One I love.” Yes, but when do I sing? I sing in the privacy of home or auto. I sing together with those I know feel the same, or at least give the appearance of feeling the same. But, would I go down the streets of Lowell singing the same song? I don’t think so. Would I do it in public at all? Given enough like-minded folks around me, sure. Been there, done that. But, there’s something of the fallen man in me, prevents me from even thinking such a thought in more isolated conditions. Even walking about with my beloved wife, I am made a bit uncomfortable by the talk being, as it were, all God, all the time. But, isn’t this just what we are called to be doing? Meditate on His word day and night. Speak of it as you walk. Yes, I clearly have some work waiting to be done, don’t I?
Life and word, word and life: Either one by itself is insufficient to satisfy our purpose, God’s purpose. If our lives are not evidently changed for the better by His working, we cannot say anything that anybody will listen to. If we will not speak out about the God Who has achieved this change in us, we will be presumed to be nothing more than a relatively good person. But, we are called to call, called to proclaim, and we are called to do this in every way we can. It is a holistic proclamation, involving the whole person.
Barnes offers us some examples of what this proclaiming is to entail. We publicly praise Him in worship. We proclaim Him by remaining steadfast friends of God. We proclaim Him by vindicating His governance. OK, that last is perhaps a bit too stilted and aged for us to lay hold of, so let us stop and examine. What, pray, does he mean by vindicating God’s governance? I think I hear the call of the apologist in that. The world would like to dismiss God as being clearly evil. After all, look at what He allows to happen. It falls to us to seek to open their eyes to the truth that we, by our nature, deserve far worse, and it is only His great mercy that limits the carnage. We are called, then, to proclaim His excellences by disabusing men of their false sense of their own goodness. But, here we speak with love, with compassion, not as shouting down our opponents in the marketplace of ideas.
Barnes continues. We seek to inform the ignorant of His excellences. That seems to tie to the previous point; another call to act the apologist for a righteous God. Then, we seek to proclaim His excellencies by living a life consistent with His ways. That is, perhaps, the most critical matter. The world is looking for any excuse to write us off as hypocrites, proclaiming faith in a God we don’t really follow, don’t really love and don’t really seek. In some instances, perhaps even many instances, they are correct in this assessment. But, correct or not, we can count on there being ample opportunity for the charge to be leveled. We will make mistakes. We will fail to live up to the ideals we hold as our desired end. And those anxious to reject the message will latch onto this as proof that everything we believe is bogus. But, it is not proof of a bogus God; only of a fallen man trying his best to stand. Still, the urge and the urgency are there.
“The consistent life of a devoted Christian is a constant setting forth of the praise of God.” That’s the concluding thought of Barnes. Without understanding, I fear this should lead us to utmost despair. But, we must come back to the fact that, as the JFB reminded us, that consistent life is going to be by God’s grace and not (at least solely) by our works. Honestly, I think the more we get worked up about trying to be consistent, trying to be holy all the time, the worse we do. It oughtn’t surprise that this is the case, for when we get into this mode, we are really trying to do it ourselves, and have left God out of it. The key is to first allow God the right of directing our activities (not that He has need of our permission), and then to join Him in what He is doing. Our life’s consistency will, as it were, take care of itself. And that, I dare say, shall be a greater testimony than anything else.
I recall reading a blurb from a student of one of my past acquaintances in the church. He always seemed a particularly sweet guy, devoted to doing God’s work. But, then, you only see him at church, and who knows what he’s like in private life? A question worth asking about all our role models in the faith. But, here was this student’s story, which happened to involve him. And there in the midst of the story, in a context having nothing to do with church or evangelism or anything even vaguely Christian, was record of his comment on some good thing happening for the student. “Praise God.” It was just there. It was just my brother being who he is. And in that, I dare say, is evidence of a consistent life. I recall somebody, pretty sure it was him, discussing a certain intolerance of those who had their particular Christianese sayings of a Sunday, but would never use those phrases elsewhere. I suppose we could call it keeping it real. It’s solid advice.
The call to proclaim His excellences is not a call to act in bizarre, attention-drawing ways. It’s not a call to put on an act. That way lies Pharisaism. No. It’s a call to live as He has made you, as He has remade you. It’s a call to be what He says you are. It’s a call to be relaxed in your skin, consistent as you are able to be. It’s a call to live the same life in private as you do in church. That’s going to be challenge aplenty for many of us. If church is a mask you put on and take off, you’re doing it wrong. I warn myself in that regard. But, I’ve known enough folks, folks whose faith I have no cause to question, whose lives are still fine models of godliness come Monday; yet in the church setting, they’ll still put on a show of sorts. It’s not that they are intentionally seeking to come off as holier than thou. It’s cultural training of a sort, I think. It wouldn’t be right to admit to feeling less than ideal. It wouldn’t reflect well on God to confess to sickness, or need of any sort. I sort of understand the mindset, but I don’t accept it. God doesn’t need a bunch of false witnesses, even with the best of intentions. What He desires is a people who are real, whose outward appearance reflects the inward reality. If the inward reality is hurting, Truth is not going to consist in pretending everything’s fine. Truth will admit to the hurt, but also hold fast to the greater reality that God is Good, and in control, and will right whatever is wrong in His time and His way.
Meanwhile, here’s our call: Let them taste and see that the Lord is good by what they see in you. You can’t fake it. Don’t bother trying. The sugar-coated life of perfect health and sufficient wealth is not what demonstrates His goodness. I tell you I have found greater witness to His magnificence in those who quietly, peacefully accepted their health issues than in those who go about proclaiming themselves healed when it is patently obvious that they are not. God has no need of us manufacturing miracles for the sake of promoting His good name. His name is Good. His healing is a great deal deeper than matters of flesh and bone. The life He gives extends so far beyond the scope of this earthly existence as to render the whole of this present life pretty insignificant. Why, then, do we who have such knowledge of eternity seek so greatly to cling to the temporal? Why would we suppose that God, Who dwells beyond time and space, and Who is recreating us after His own image, would be focused on the here and now? Why should we, who are His own?
We are called to proclaim! Let us rather point to His magnificence with all that is in us. Let us turn our eyes towards heaven, for heaven is our home, not this mess. Let us maintain an eternal perspective that the things of this life may fade to their proper significance. But, let us love those around us enough to seek that they might join us in this chosen race, this holy nation.
