Knowing that God still speaks today through His pure Word, God spoke to me last night through the words of Paul.
Recently I’ve been struggling to stand in awe of the glory of God and enjoy Him as my real treasure. Like many of you I would imagine, the business of work, a new baby, school (even Seminary!), being a husband, and anything else that the enemy could use was in full effect as a roadblock in my heart to seeing and savoring Jesus Christ. The Gospel, Scripture, prayer; all had become the stuff of discussion on Thursday nights, and a perpetual feeling of guilt and disappointment that what I told everyone was the greatest treasure had ceased to look so shiny in my own life. Little did I know this was not a temporary roadblock, but God was about to expose a much greater sin that had previously flown under the radar, clouded by excuse after excuse. The reality – I’m trying to build a spiritual portfolio that would impress God and yield a salvation apart from the work of Christ on the cross. I am a contemporary Judaizer.
Casually, as I often do, I turned on a clip from desiringgod.org last night to hear Pastor John Piper explain Luke 14:13-14 and apply that to our Thanksgiving dinner. He said, “it is not important who you eat Turkey with, it is important that you boldly show where your treasure is.” My heart was exposed, I felt naked… my treasure was me. As if the parable of the man finding the treasure in the field had been about myself, the next chapter in that story must have been, “and the man put the treasure in his pocket, and pretended like he didn’t need it after all.” As my heart felt gross and my brain began to spin in 22 different theological directions, I sought after the only source of inerrant, concrete, reality that I could put my hands on. As I gripped my wife’s ESV Journaling Bible I turned to the place I knew my heart needed to hear again. A verse that I myself had preached, but apparently did not fully grasp until this moment. ”O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?… For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them… Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Gal. 3:1-3,10,13). I then turned to Philippians 3, another passage that I have actually preached before, but never grasped with its realities in my own life;
“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness, under the law blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil 3:1-9).
See God… I’m in Seminary, I know all about the NT and the importance of the Gospel – I even went to a conference on the five Solas! Maybe I wasn’t persecuting the church like Saul, but like those in Galatians 5, I was forgetting that circumcision was of no value to me, because my heart was prizing me.
God does not love me because I’m good. God does not delight in me because I preach or study or tell my little boy about Jesus. God delights in me because when he looks at me he sees his Son who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That’s precisely why ”God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil 2:6-10).
As you’re preparing today for your families and friends to enjoy the blessings God has given you, remember that the Gospel is not merely the greatest blessing he’s given us – it is THE gift by which all others exist as supplements to keep our minds sharply focused on the Lamb.
For years I’ve looked forward to this day for food, family, and football. Now I have a fresh and wonderful heart of thanksgiving for the Messiah who by grace took my place. Thank you, Jesus.
