An Atmosphere of Grace

Grace 6

Last week we discussed Peter's wondrous turn of phrase: "growing in grace". I likened it to a plant that grows in the soil, and we discussed briefly being rooted in Christ and established in the faith.

I want to return to Peter's primary thought today, and specifically to my illustration. If growing in grace is like a plant growing in soil, then to grow in grace I must live in an atmosphere of grace. Grace must surround me, it must fill my life.

How can I do that? If I will grow best as a Christian in an atmosphere of grace, how can I cultivate such an atmosphere?

First, remind yourself constantly of first grace. Yes, it is the old, old story but never let it grow old. Visit Calvary in your mind constantly. Let your heart thrill when the doctrinal aspects of salvation such as atonement, justification, and adoption are sung about. Listen eagerly to people when they share their testimony. Share your own often. Regularly witness to others, and as you tell them of God's grace available to them, you will find it will amaze you all over again. Never, ever, ever get over first grace.

Second, keep your heart and mind always squarely focused on Jesus Christ. John tells us, And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. A few verses later he repeats himself. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1.14, 17)

There is something about Who Jesus is, and how He operates that defines, describes, and delineates grace. To encounter Christ is to encounter grace. To think of Him is to think of grace. To be with Him is to be with grace. His life is just filled with it. It stands to reason, then, that the more my life becomes about Jesus the more my life is filled with grace.

About ten years ago, I began an intensive study of the life of Christ. It is the largest study I have ever undertaken, and it led directly to the birth of this blog, and of my ministry as a writer. In the course of that study Jesus Christ became a much larger part of my mind and heart, and a much larger part of my ministry. And although I did not intend for this to happen; I have found that grace has become a larger part of my life as well. Why? Because Jesus is, and He is full of grace and truth.

Third, seek to let the grace that increasingly fills your life overflow from it to those around you. I have spoken already in this series about giving grace but just one quick word more here. Again and again, an inspired author of Scripture wishes grace upon someone else. (Romans 1.7, I Timothy 1.2, II Timothy 1.2, Titus 1.4, Philemon 1.3, II John 1.3) Such a person, one who properly values grace highly, wants others to partake of its benefits. Because of this, it views others with grace, treats others with grace, and speaks to others with grace. Life is both giving and receiving. If grace is only present in the latter it will not fill my life. I must pour it out on all and sundry.

Fourth, seek to build your concept of, understanding of, and ability in the use of grace. Paul said to Timothy, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (II Timothy 2.1) In a sense, that is what this blog series is designed to do. As your grasp of grace, of its importance and of the place it ought to hold in your life grows, and as your understanding of what it is and how it operates grows, grace becomes stronger in your life. That cannot help but aid you as you seek to grow in Christ.

Fifth, witness. I mentioned it briefly above, but when I tell others about Christ I am reminded again of the greatness of the grace of God. But beyond that reminder, there is something about the action of seeking to introduce others to Christ that brings grace to me. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. (Acts 4.33)

Even after all these years, soul winning does not come easy to me. My neighborhood is spiritually cold, not to mention often physically cold. The majority of the people who live in the houses whose doors I knock on do not speak English much, if at all. I have spent hundreds of hours going door to door, inviting people to church and seeking to speak a word for Christ on the streets around my church building and I have comparatively little fruit to show from it. I confess that cold reception is difficult for me to overcome sometimes. It takes grace, so to speak, to continue to offer Christ to a sin-wracked neighborhood that seems to want little to do with Him. In so doing, then, grace comes into my life in yet another way so that whether people are responding or whether they are rejecting, grace is upon me.

Last, if you want to live in an atmosphere of grace you must spend time in the Word of God. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. (Acts 20.32) God's Word is full of grace, front to back. It overflows from its pages. It drips from its stories. It abounds in the Scriptures. Well, as I spend time in its pages that same grace flows into my life. It fills my mind, my heart, and my thoughts. Without even trying to, necessarily, and perhaps without even realizing it, I begin to grow as a Christian. Why? Because my life is surrounded by, is filled by, and abounds in grace.

I think sometimes we do the Lord a disservice by attempting to grow, by trying to get bigger, stronger, faster, so to speak, in our Christianity. Perhaps, on the other hand, we should simply immerse ourselves in grace and let God produce the growth in us organically and naturally.

I suppose that last paragraph could be read wrong, or applied wrong, but I cannot bring myself to delete it. I genuinely believe that Peter was right. If we want to grow we can only do so in grace.

So, fill your life with it. And then watch the growth happen.   

Grow in Grace

Grace 5

One of the best known of all the references to grace in the Bible is Peter's summary statement at the conclusion of his second epistle, But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

Certainly, this is a command or instruction calling on us to grow as Christians. A satisfied Christian, resting on his laurels, is an unhealthy Christian. We ought to grow in our love for the Lord, in our knowledge of the Word of God, and in our ability or capacity to serve Him. A wise Christian takes special note of his weaknesses and strategizes a plan of attack to strengthen them. If his prayer life is weak or his witnessing anemic or his patience frequently frayed he seeks to get better at these, to grow.

While all this is true, I also think it comes short of the idea that Peter is seeking to communicate here. Yes, we are called to grow, to develop, but in placing all the emphasis of our application on the first word of that phrase we miss something beautiful – the last two words of the phrase. Yes, we are to grow, but what do we grow in? Grace.

My wife, Mandy, was raised on a hillside farm in rural Pennsylvania, and although we live in inner city Chicago she still enjoys planting a small garden each year. It is strategically located directly outside my office window in a small square formed by two angles of our brick church building. It gets a fair amount of sun for being in the city, and the sun-warmed brick adds a helpful boost even when the afternoon shadows develop. Each Spring she diligently digs up the existing soil, mixes in some new dirt, and then plants our small crop of tomatoes, sunflowers, mint, basil, and zucchini. As the weeks pass, other than the occasional weeding and pruning, which she does, and the watering, which I do, it largely takes care of itself. As summer reaches it peak we begin to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
What does each one of those plants grow in? Dirt. That topsoil contains the nutrients necessary for it to grow. Yes, water and sun necessarily contribute, but a plant left sitting on the picnic table beside the garden will die no matter how much water and sun it gets. Hydroponics aside, plants grow in dirt.

This is the illustration Peter is seeking to convey. Christians grow, but how do they grow? They only grow if they are planted in and rooted into an atmosphere of grace.

I liken being planted in grace to being saved. There are a host of people in the world who are trying to grow their spiritual capacity, to develop themselves spiritually, who are fatally hindered by the fact they have never been saved. Beloved, we must begin at the beginning. We must humbly receive first grace if we are to have any hope of growing in grace.

Being planted, however, is just the beginning. Like Peter, Paul often used agricultural illustrations in his writing. For example, he tells us in Colossians 2, Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. To be rooted references a plant that has progressed beyond its initial sowing. As its roots spread out and down, thrusting into the fertile soil, it builds the base necessary to support the visible growth we see above ground.

This is why the root comes before the fruit, so to speak, and the same thing is true in the Christian life. I hold a firm belief that our lives ought to show our Christianity outwardly, that we ought to bear visible fruit, but I think sometimes the independent Baptist movement places too much stress upon this. If a plant has a healthy root system it almost always produces a visible, growing stalk with fruit.

Peter tells us to grow in grace, and Paul tells us to be rooted and built up in him. We will never go any further in the Christian life than our grasp of Jesus Christ. It begins by Him, it continues in Him, and it ends with Him. Our Christianity must be soundly established in an understanding of Who He is and what He does. The only way to establish maturity in the Christian life is to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable unto His death.

Not only are we rooted and built up in him but coinciding with that we are stablished in the faith. Those two words in Scripture – "the faith" – represent the corporate body of doctrinal truth each Christian is called to understand and believe. A Christian who does not know what he believes and why he believes is a weak Christian. Such a person will simply parrot back whatever they heard from the last strong personality they encountered. Like tumbleweeds, they are blown about by every wind of doctrine. They never establish themselves in the faith and grow the sturdy roots necessary to be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. Speaking plainly here, do you know what the fundamentals of the faith are? Do you know what the Baptist distinctives are? Do you have a decent if not systematic grasp of orthodox doctrine? Further, do you understand the why behind the what of our conservative positions of doctrine and practice? In the short term, I can get any Christian to temporarily do most anything, but they will not produce fruit over the long term unless they are stablished in the faith.

As you can imagine, this requires an enormous amount of teaching on the part of those overseeing the young Christian. Paul said that being rooted and stablished comes as ye have been taught. You do not develop deep and sturdy roots overnight. It takes a lot of time, on the part of both the teacher and the student, time in church, time studying the Bible, time deepening your knowledge and understanding, to be rooted and stablished.

Some months ago a pastor in another state, who had read "Schizophrenic", contacted me. He explained that he was burdened to see the young people in his Christian school stay in the faith in which they had been raised after they graduated. He asked me to come and spend a number of days teaching in the high school in relation to this. Travel is not easy for me, and I initially turned him down, but he was gently persistent so I finally consented. This week I had the distinct pleasure of getting to know that pastor, and those fine young people, as we shared some time together in the Word of God. At the risk of seeming to be overly complimentary, that is good leadership on the part of a wise pastor. He wants to see his young people rooted and built up in him and stablished in the faith and knowing this only comes about by teaching he is prioritizing such instruction.

I am a bit weary of depth in the Christian life being criticized in our circles. One would think Scripture says nothing of the deep things of God when it actually does. (I Corinthians 2.10) If, as a Christian, you neglect your root structure, the hidden part, the deepening of your faith, such neglect will inevitably and eventually reveal itself in a sickly stalk sparsely populated with puny fruit.

Do you want to grow as a Christian? Then you must pursue a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ and of the faith to which you are called. If you do not you will simply wander hither and yon, bouncing from church to church, from spiritual system to spiritual system, constantly frustrated and never growing to maturity. Bringing us back to grace, the Holy Spirit said it this way in Hebrews 13.9, Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.

Do you want to grow? Then you must grow in grace, establishing yourself more deeply in Him and in a knowledge and understanding of our mutual faith.

The Grace of His Lips

Grace 4

Grace is the means by which I become a Christian, and faith is the mechanism that makes those means effectual. Put another way, faith is the hand that reaches up to God to access the grace I must have in order to get saved. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5.2) This rich grace, however, is not designed to come to me; it is designed to flow through me. As I argued last week, I am not only to receive grace, but to give grace, to cultivate a spirit of graciousness in my interactions toward others around me.

This inward attitude – a default setting desirous of dispensing grace – that I feel toward others needs to be experienced by them in order to help them. It is not enough for me to view another person with grace; I must reveal that grace to them. Grace does not help anyone if you keep it to yourself, if you do not lavishly pour it out on someone else like God does.

In the direct context of the words we use in our conversation with other people Paul said, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. (Ephesians 4.29) There is both a negative and a positive command here. Do not speak that which would corrupt another. Do speak that which will edify, or build them up. They may not deserve those edifying words, those kind words, those forgiving words, those encouraging words, but it is this very lack of deserving that makes such words gracious. It is not enough for me to experience grace. It is not even enough for me to feel a spirit of grace toward another person. That grace needs to be ministered to them, it needs to be poured out on them.

It is the purpose of this post to establish that one of the primary ways we minister grace to others is with our speech. Recently, I have been much troubled about one of my members. They had absented themselves from the assembly for most of 2017 on the pretext of a flimsy excuse. At first, I was quietly encouraging, but as time went on and they refused to admit that their behavior was ungodly let alone to change it, I found myself getting perturbed. In the end, they would not so much as acknowledge frequent attempts to communicate with them. As 2017 turned over to 2018 I had a post-it note sitting on my desk instructing me to inform them that their membership in our church was about to be terminated for their lack of attendance, a visible reminder of my failure as a pastor and their failure as a Christian. Lo, and behold, guess who showed up the first Sunday of the new year? You guessed it. As I caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye that Sunday morning I sadly confess my instinct was to lash out at them, to accuse them of laziness and indifference, to call them to account for their behavior, and for how they had hurt others in our church who had tried to reach out to them. But by the grace of God I fought off that first instinct. Instead, I simply said to them, "Why, hello there. It is great to see you. Having you back is the best thing that has happened to me today." And to my own surprise, I found I actually meant those words as I said them. Their response was as unexpected as their presence. Without a word, they walked toward me, threw their arms around me, and whispered in my ear, "Thank you for saying that." My first instinct would not have ministered grace, now would it? Only an undeserved kindness could. And it did.

Giving people a piece of my mind often makes me feel better temporarily but it just as often fails to result in anybody's growth. Speech which is good to the use of edifying most often comes from grace, not from getting something off my chest.

To speak with such grace toward others, however, requires more than a discipline of my tongue; it requires that I actually have grace toward them in my heart. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. It would be appalling for me to speak grace to people insincerely, to express to them a love and joy and peace and delight in them I do not actually possess. The solution to this is not to stop speaking grace, but rather to actively cultivate a grace toward them in my heart. This is why I was so pleasantly surprised to find I meant what I said to that wayward member a few weeks ago. It came out of my mouth because it was in my heart. Who knew ministering grace to others would be the means of a ministry of grace in my own life?

Solomon tells us in Proverbs 22.11 that there is a direct connection between a pure, sincere heart, and grace-filled speech. He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. I love that phrase, the grace of his lips. God knows I fail all too often in this area, but as I grow in grace – did you see what I did there? – I find that same grace falls from my lips more often than it used to.

Indeed, such must be the case. What good is a pastor whose words are not filled with grace? In yet another sobering example, God promotes this explicitly when He instructs Zechariah to be a grace-filled preacher. Bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. (Zechariah 4.7) Whose grace? God's. And my own. To whom? To sinners far and near.

All too often our shoutings have nothing to do with grace. May we ponder the spiritual poverty of that, and may He lead us to the place that grace be on our lips as we speak one with another.

Giving Grace

Grace 3

Peter tells us that grace is a many-splendored thing. (I Peter 4.10) Thus far we have examined two aspects of grace, saving grace – the unmerited favor that results in my salvation, and helping grace – the unmerited favor that helps me to do what God tells me to do. In this post I want to examine yet another facet of grace. We have looked at how grace ministers to us; today I want to examine using grace to minister to the people around us.

As a pastor I routinely talk to people in a wide variety of situations and circumstances. Some of them seem to glory in their frankness.

"I just tell it like it is."
"I just call 'em like I see 'em."
"I don't hold back none."
"He started it; I was just giving him what he asked for."

The operating assumption of such an approach is that brutal honesty, with an emphasis on the brutality, is to be commended. I do believe, of course, that there is a time and place for dealing with people firmly, but, by and large, what ought to predominate in our dealings with them is not what we think they deserve.

This cuts to the heart of how we deal with people, and as I write this it cuts to my own heart. Recently, I was asking my church people to pray for me, and on the list of specific things I wanted them to pray was that I would be more compassionate. My default position is to be hard, and I often solace myself with the fact that what I just said is the truth, and no more than they deserve. Yet in the parable of the man forgiven a great debt in Matthew 18 we learn the utter fallacy of desiring mercy and grace from God while at the same time refusing to dispense it to those around us.

I think of a homeless man who accosted me in a park a few years ago. He asked me if I had any spare change. I allowed that I did. He asked me if he could have some. I told him he was welcome to get it where I got it. He asked where that was. I told him I got mine at work and if he wanted some that is where he would find it. Was that true? Yes. Is that what he deserved? After fourteen years of living in one of America's largest inner cities, I unhesitatingly also answer that one with a "yes". But was there any grace in my answer? Sadly, not in the least.

The scriptural truth is when you and I speak to people we ought to do so with grace. Jesus did. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. (Psalm 45.2) And we are to do so also. Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. (Colossians 4.6) Why? Because we ourselves have been given such prodigal grace.

I think every person reading this would agree that it is not right to want what you will not give, and one of the things every person wants is grace. If it is trouble, we want less than we deserve; if it is blessing, we want more than we deserve. We want the largest serving, the prettiest flowers, the biggest bonus. We want favor poured out on us. We want to be the favorite, so to speak. We desire grace. It was not just a polite turn of phrase Hannah used when she said to an angry Eli, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. (I Samuel 1.18) Yes, it was a polite turn of phrase, but why does that phrase exist? Why is it used no less than fifteen times in the Word of God? Because we want other people to look at us, not through the harsh lens of law and duty and toeing the line, but through the lens of grace. It is an innate human desire.

Mandy and I have been married for eighteen years. I have let her down too many times to count. I do not deserve for her to view me with grace, but I want her to do so. I am the father of two teenagers and a third grader. They have lived with me all their lives. They see me, good and bad, up and down, for better and worse. I want them to view me with grace. For fourteen years I have occupied the pulpit of the Maplewood Bible Baptist Church. My people and I know each other well, perhaps too well. They are painfully aware of my humanity, and in those times I need them to view me with grace.

Well, it is not right to want what I will not give. I must be just as willing to dispense grace to my wife, and my children, and my people as I am desirous of obtaining it from them.

Beloved, since we have received such great grace it is our duty to dispense it. Paul said as much to the church at Philippi. Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. (Philippians 1.7) Paul said, "I received the grace of God, and then I turned around and gave that grace to you." They partook of his grace because he gave what he received.

For six years Jack Hyles was my pastor. I realize a fair number of my readers have no great opinion of him, but he comes up in my life because for so long he was such a large part of it. One of the best things he ever taught me was his so-called "silent sermon." Dozens of times I have seen him act it out. He would say, "Let me show you the Christian life." He would kneel down, lift both hands in the air toward Heaven, and pantomime receiving something. He would then get off his knees, walk toward another person on the platform, and pantomime handing them what he had just gotten from God. Like Bro. Hyles or not, he was exactly right.

I go to the Lord for a message. He gives me one. I turn around and give it to my people. I go to the Lord for the health and strength to work. He gives it to me. I turn around and give the proceeds of my earnings to my family. I go to the Lord for wisdom. He gives it to me. I turn around and give it to the puzzled pastor with a troublous situation calling me from a distant state. And I go to the Lord for grace. He gives it to me. And I am supposed to turn right around and give it to those around me that deserve that grace the least.

See, that is what is so wrong about how I treated that homeless man in the park a few years ago. I gave him what he probably deserved, but what I did not give him was grace. May you, dear reader, as you peruse this give me the grace I do not deserve for my failure. Indeed, may all of us take the wonderful grace of Jesus and treasure it, yes, and then give it out to all and sundry.

Grace was given to give. So give it.

Helping Grace

Grace 2

Grace is a gem with many facets. Peter said as much when he admonished us, As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (I Peter 4.10) "Manifold" means numerous or varied, and thus is a perfect adjective for a many-faceted grace. At its simplest, grace is unmerited favor. As such, God's grace is best displayed and illustrated and understood in saving grace, but saving grace is by no means the only aspect of God's grace discussed in Scripture. As we saw last time it is first, but it is not only. Thus, today I wish to turn our attention to a different facet of the manifold grace of God.

I call this aspect of the grace of God helping grace. I get that phrase from Hebrews 4.16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Helping grace is just as much grace as saving grace. Do you and I deserve God's help? Do we deserve for the Almighty, the Creator of everything, to give us the help we need to fulfill our daily tasks? Of course not. Any help He grants us is entirely undeserved. It is purely a gift.

I suppose one might say, "Well, I am just trying to do what God told me to do. Of course, He ought to help me." Really? When your boss assigns you a task does he then show up in your cubicle to help you do it? No, he does not. He explains, he trains, and then he instructs you to do it yourself. If you keep coming back to him and saying, "I cannot do this without your help" at some point he is going to lose his patience and you will find yourself in the unemployment line.

No, beloved, we do not deserve God's help in living our lives, not even in fulfilling the daily tasks He has instructed us to do – but we most assuredly need it. And when He provides the help we need to do something that we are unable to do on our own He has, yet again, richly bestowed His grace upon us.

As well, helping grace is always enough. Who cannot help but be moved by Paul's pen when he writes:


II Corinthians 12.7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God often calls on you and I to do something that is beyond our normal capacity to do. For example, He tells us to live a holy life, yet we are chained by the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is impossible. He tells us to love our wives like Christ loved the church. That, too, is impossible. He places some crushing burden upon us, and when we cry for relief He piles yet more on top. When we say we cannot go another step and plead for deliverance Heaven is deaf, as Shakespeare said, to our bootless cries. How do you live holy? How do you love your wife as well as Jesus loves? How do you carry an indescribable burden for years? You ascend to the throne of grace on your knees, and find waiting for you there just the grace you need to help you do what He called you to do.

I can hear you now, murmuring as you read, "But He did not because I could not carry that burden; I fell beneath the weight of it." I say this kindly but it must be said: God has provided you and I all the helping grace we need. If we fail, it is not because He did not provide; it is because we do not avail ourselves of that provision. God has given us the Holy Spirit. God has given us the Word of God. God has given us a church to encourage and strengthen us. God has given us a pastor to feed us. God has given us a mind capable of understanding. God has given us a free will capable of choosing. God has given us a promise of fresh grace, specific to our situation, available for the asking. This is most definitely sufficient.

Do not tell me that you cannot do what God told you to do. Tell me it is hard, yes. Tell me it hurts, yes. Tell me you do not want to even though you know you should, yes. But do not tell me you cannot.

Our Saviour, of all people, understood this. Facing the cross He pleaded to be excused, but resigned Himself to His Father's will and carried it out magnificently. How did He accomplish that massively impossible task? But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2.9)

Mature Christians do not become mature by finding excuses;
they do it by finding grace. They do all sorts of things God wants them to do even though they cannot. How? The grace of God helps them.

Not only is helping grace always enough it is also always necessary. We simply cannot do what God tells us to do in our strength. We must have His help in order to do it, whether it is something for ourselves, or something we need as we serve others. Paul said it this way, For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. (II Corinthians 1.12) Our "conversation" is our manner of living. "To you-ward" means how we help, how we minister to those around us. How do we live a life oriented in service toward those around us? By the grace of God.

I am a Christian, a citizen of the United States, a neighbor to other people on West George Street, a son to two aging parents, a brother to five siblings, a father to three precious children, a friend to dozens if not scores of people, a husband to my darling wife, a writer read by more than a few, and a pastor to the membership of my church. Just writing that sentence exhausts me. All of these responsibilities require things of me that I cannot do and be. It is not in me to fulfil all of them well all the time.

In just one of those – being a Christian – I am supposed to live holy, have faith, pursue wisdom, show love, stand firm for right, know doctrine, witness, give sacrificially, be patient, learn the Bible, praise God, pray, serve in a ministry, forgive others, keep Christ pre-eminent, be at peace, persevere, work hard, judge carefully, control my tongue, express gratitude, keep my mind on Heaven, cultivate sorrow for my sin, be meek, hunger for right, yield to the Holy Spirit, live contented, resist the devil, keep a shining testimony, and a thousand other things. How in the world can I do that, let alone everything else on my list?

I cannot – by myself. I must have God's enabling, strengthening, helping grace. And then I can, for His grace is sufficient.

This is the only possible way that what I offer to God will ever be acceptable to Him. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. (Hebrews 12.28)

Do you find yourself over-matched, beloved? Do you find yourself wondering how in the world you can possibly do all the things you are to do? How you can possibly be all the things you are to be? Good. Let that drive you to the throne of grace. You will find there mercy, and grace to help in time of need.

First, Grace

Grace 1

Perhaps the most famous hymn in Christendom is John Newton's "Amazing Grace". It can arguably be said that no one described grace better than he when he said,

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch; like me!

I once was lost, but now am found,

Was blind, but now I see.

It is a wonderful description of grace because he is what grace produces - found from lost, sight from blindness, sweetness from wretchedness. And all of that at absolutely no charge.

The classic definitions of grace include phrases such as unmerited favor, undeserved blessing, unearned goodness, and complete acceptance. I prefer a story.

Let us say that tonight, while I am sleeping, someone breaks into my house, sneaks into the bedroom that contains my two sons, and slaughters them in cold blood. As he saunters out the front door, whistling merrily, I load my shotgun and blow him down the front steps. Is that grace? No. That is vengeance. As he saunters out the front door, whistling merrily, I frantically dial 911, watch as Chicago's finest pile out of the patrol car, and arrest him. He is tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison. Is that grace? No. That is justice. As he saunters out the front door, whistling merrily, I do nothing. I let him go scot free. Is that grace? No. That is mercy. But if I bring him back into my home, wash off the blood, give him my son's room, and adopt him as my heir – that is grace. Amazing grace.

Grace, though much more than just that which saves us, is amazing to us precisely because that is where it found us all first. And that saving grace is still what we treasure the most. For the next several months on this blog we are going to explore the subject of grace, but we are going to start right here with saving grace. Our first grace.

Saving grace is where we first start with God. I spend several dozen hours a year mentoring men who have been recently saved. Sitting down with Caleb recently, I explained that salvation is important because everything else in life revolves around it. Salvation is the hub of the wheel, the foundation of the building. You cannot start living life until you have been born, "quickened" in the immortal language of the Apostle Paul. This is where it all begins.

Ephesians 2. 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 ¶ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We do not deserve mercy. We do not deserve Heaven. It is unmerited favor, undeserved blessing, unearned goodness, and thus complete acceptance. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. (Ephesians 1.6-7)

Not only is saving grace where we first start with God, saving grace is where God first starts with grace.

Genesis 6. 5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Noah found unmerited favor, undeserved blessing, unearned goodness, and thus complete acceptance. Noah found adoption instead of vengeance. In other words, Noah found grace. This is the first mention of grace in the Bible and it is significant. It sets the context of grace, a gift prodigally poured out on sinful man. It sets the beginning of grace, a salvation from sin and from the justifiable wrath of a scorned Creator.

Saving grace is not only where we first start with God, and where God first started in the Bible, it is also what God places first in priority of emphasis when He discusses grace. The word "grace" is used 170 times in the King James Version. These passages have various contexts and purposes, and we will look at many of them over the next few months. But we first start with this for there are more verses that discuss saving grace than any other aspect of grace. First in use, first in time, first in the plan of God, first in emphasis, first grace.

I read many a secular biography and history. Just today I was reading Jack Weatherford's "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World". It is a fine book, well-researched if not quite well-written. Running in place on the elliptical, my eyes staring vacantly at a screen over my head playing ESPN's Sportscenter, I listened as Weatherford went into long detail of a 13^th century debate between William of Rubruck, a Franciscan missionary, and a Mongol shaman, a Buddhist monk, and an Islamic imam. The theological ignorance flying off the pages into my ears was staggering. Neither the author describing the scene, nor the four participants knew the first thing about God because none of them knew the first thing about grace. Yet God mentions it again and again and again in Scripture, emphasizing it, modeling it, explaining it, defining it, illustrating it, and applying it.

You can find saving grace in Genesis, Acts, Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, and I Peter, but we see it most clearly, perhaps, in Romans. In this matchless epistle, Paul deals at length with the problem of sin. He describes our great need of justification, how to obtain that justification, and how to then live above sin, conquering sin. Paul sets forth the widely held position of his day – that justification comes only through our good works – and demolishes it.

Romans 4. 1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Faith in the person and claims and work of Christ is the hand that reaches up to Heaven to access the saving grace of God. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5.2) Thus, when I place my simple faith in the claims of Jesus to be God, to be sinless, to die an atoning death for me on the cross, to rise from the dead, to be the Messiah that saves me from my sins, I have accessed redemption and justification. I have thus, via faith, found the same rich, rich grace that Noah did, that Abraham did, that every man and woman and boy and girl in Heaven did. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all. (Romans 4.16)

If you are paying with works then it is not unmerited favor, undeserved blessing, and unearned goodness. No, you are paying off a bill. The only way it can be by grace is if we do not pay the bill at all. In other words, grace and works are completely contradictory soteriological systems. And since it clearly is by grace it just as clearly cannot be by works. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. (Romans 11.6)
Salvation is a free – through incredibly costly and valuable – gift.

Romans 5.15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
…
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
…
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Grace, free grace, rich grace, only grace, brings me to life. It quickens me, forgives my sin, declares me legally justified, and gives me an eternal home in Heaven.
James Gray, who for decades served God in the same city I do, wrote it this way:

Naught have I gotten but what I received;

Grace hath bestowed it since I have believed;

Boasting excluded, pride I abase;

I'm only a sinner, saved by grace!

No matter what else you may know about grace know this first – the grace of God saves you. It is where we begin. It is where He begins. First, grace.

For Your Consideration, Sixteen Recommendations

Bring the Books 10

Note: With this post I bring to an end my series on a minister's reading. I may from time to time add book reviews as part of the mix going forward, but for the moment this series is done. As has become my custom, with the arrival of the holiday season I will now take a break from blogging. A new series will begin in January.

Last week we discussed the eight types of reading every minister ought to do. Today, I want to end this series with some recommendations for each of these eight types of reading. Of course, these are simply examples and are by no means meant to be a thorough discussion of all that you should read in a particular category. If you have been reading this blog over the last couple of months and you find yourself with an increasing conviction that you need to grow in this area, today's post, along with Joe Cassada's Puritan recommendations, is a great place to start. So without further ado let us commence.

Leadership:
1) Dennis Corle, "Spiritual Leadership", three volumes
While he could use a bit more organization and seems to think an editor is the first step on the road to liberalism, he also packs an incredible amount of content into this set. There are shorter books, more popular books to begin with in relation to leadership but these volumes really helped me. They drove home the idea that leadership is two things: influence and service. They proceeded to examine a veritable plethora of Scriptures on the subject from a wide variety of angles.
2) John Milton Gregory, "The Seven Laws of Teaching"
Gregory was a fine Christian, and the first president of the University of Illinois. This is an old book, but you all know I like dead guys. It is also rather small, and easily digestible. In this book Gregory lays out the basic essentials that every teacher needs. I am not referring to materials but to a philosophical understanding of how to approach teaching in order to ensure that your pupils are actually learning. It is a fantastic book.

Theology:
1) R. A. Torrey, "The Fundamentals", four volumes
Of course, if you call yourself a fundamentalist you ought to read this, period. But beyond the intellectual honesty of reading the set that was so influential in our establishment, it is simply good stuff. Torrey pulled together a wide range of ministerial experience, literary talent, and intellectual heft. The result is a genuine classic. You owe it to yourself to think your way through these.
2) J. Dwight Pentecost, "Things to Come"
This classic discussion of eschatology, while a bit dated, has yet to be out done, and remains the best of the one volume books on the subject written from a dispensational perspective. Dallas Theological Seminary has produced some dead preachers, for sure, but it has also produced some excellent books. This is among them. Read it slowly, especially if you are new to the subject.

Areas in Which You Are Weak:
This one is obviously highly personal, but here are two that helped me.
1) Jim Berg, "Changed Into His Image"
Holiness, or sanctification, is an awful weak point for the IFB movement. We generally equate it with standards that are little more than a list of don'ts. Jim Berg, longtime professor at BJU, lays out an excellent case for a complete approach to personal holiness. I have at least 25 books on holiness in my office. I am currently writing one. This one is simply the best of them all. At least until mine comes out… <grin>
2) Jeremy Pierre, Deepak Reju, "The Pastor and Counseling"
Several years ago, after feeling an increasing sense of lack in my own understanding of and ability in counseling, I set out to educate myself. Shortly, I came across the biblical counseling movement. Several seminars and books later, I count myself an appreciater (is that a word?) while not quite a follower. Along the way I came across this little book. It is much more up to date and realistic than Jay Adam's pedantic tomes. It does a good job giving the essentials of a basic approach to counseling, and thus is a great place to start if this happens to be one of the weaknesses you want to improve.

Relationships:
1) Jim Binney, "The Ministry of Marriage"
I fell in love with this book. It is so unflinchingly scriptural. Binney, an independent Baptist pastor with a wide experience in counseling troubled marriages, hammers home the idea that marriage is about ministering to your mate rather than manipulating them for your own ends. It is one of those rare books that has the potential to be life-changing.
2) Denny Kenaston, "The Pursuit of Godly Seed"
Kenaston, who transitioned from an IFB preacher to something a little closer to Mennonite, clearly placed a pre-eminence on his family in both his ministry and his personal life. His approach can be frustrating at times in its advocacy for a rural lifestyle, but setting that aside it is pure gold. It is a warm, thorough treatise, both philosophical and practical. I cannot tell you how often I wept as I read it, as I thought of and prayed for my own children along the way.

Background:
1) Michael Kerrigan, "A Dark History: The Roman Emperors"
If you preach the Bible you really need to understand Rome. It colors everything that happens in the New Testament. Now you could, for example, listen to the massive History of Rome podcast or read the equally massive Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I have done both of those and more besides, but for a much quicker introduction to the green screen of the New Testament I offer you this. It is a concise, interesting presentation of the moral, legal, civil, economic, and political walking disaster that was the Roman emperor, for the most part.
2) James R. Beller, "America in Crimson Red"
Aside from the whole George Washington's sword proves he was a Baptist disaster, this book is a helpful introduction to Baptist history in America. Its wisdom is that it confines itself to America, thus avoiding the thorny discussion of origin. Beller did his homework and it shows. It also shows us the important historical influence the Baptists have had here, and to our shame our complete failure to live up to our forefather's church planting efforts.

What Interests You:
Again, as with weaknesses, this is personal, but I offer you two as an illustration.
1) Mickey Hart, "Drumming at the Edge of Magic"
Mickey Hart was for several decades the lead drummer for the Grateful Dead. More than a drummer, however, he spent so much time studying drumming he essentially became an ethno-musicologist. Of course, from his perspective this is all a healthy exercise in learning to let the drum speak. From my perspective it was an impeccably researched, absolutely undeniable, horrific proof of the demonic presence in beat heavy rhythmically oriented music. If you can read this book as a Christian and still see nothing wrong with rock music I doubt I can help you understand anything spiritual at all.
2) Andrew Jukes, "The Names of God"
Another under-rated dead guy, Kregel has given us a gift with this reprint. The Bible is the revelation of God. This is basic to understanding it. It shows me who God is. Thus, as I read and study it I read and study it to see what it shows me about Who God is. One of the most interesting ways God reveals Himself in Scripture is via His self-chosen names. They show us Who He thinks He is – which is who we ought to think He is, naturally. Jukes deals both expositionally and devotionally in so doing. I think three or four of my personal praise lists are directly related to the names of God, and this book was the genesis of that in my life.

What God Emphasizes:
1) Martyn Lloyd-Jones, "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount"
You are reading a guy who wrote a book on the Sermon on the Mount. I would rather you read his book than mine. Why we independent Baptists so horribly neglect what is Christ's longest, best, and greatest sermon is utterly mystifying to me. Remember what I said above about life-changing books? This is one of those.
2) Andrew Murray, "With Christ in the School of Prayer"
Another dead guy who really ought to be read more, Murray was a warm-hearted South African most associated now with the Keswick Convention. This is a simple book. In fact, I recently read this book over a series of weeks to our Wednesday morning prayer group. I do not agree with all of it, naturally, but he does an excellent job of moving prayer deeper and farther than the average layman has ever viewed it. Read it. Then pass it on to your people.

Jesus:
Did I mention Edersheim yet? Ha! At any rate, here are a couple more very much worth your consideration.
1) J. W. Shepard, "The Christ of the Gospels"
The second best book I have read on the life of Christ, it edges out Pentecost's "Words and Works of Jesus Christ" because of it is simply a stronger book. It is warmer, better written, and more historically based. In places, he is so good he pushes Edersheim. Shepard shows you Jesus, and does it well. And that is awesome.
2) James Stalker, "The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ"
This book does not pretend to be a discussion of the life of Christ. It is neither historical nor expositional. Rather, it is boldly and plainly devotional. Stalker aims to bring home to us the personal impact of the last hours of Jesus' life, and he does so very well. So often this genre can turn into 75 pages of minute discussion on the date and place of Jesus' birth – I kid you not, those books are in my library. Stalker aims Jesus' death square at your heart, and he hits his target.
As a wonderful throw in here at the end, for those of you that are looking for a more detailed list of recommended books, let me point toward Clarence Sexton's book list. It contains 524 specific recommendations divided into categories such as Bible Study and Methods, Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, Commentaries, Geography, Concordances, Hermeneutics, Old Testament General, Greek Language Tools, Introduction to the New Testament, The Life of Christ, Miracles, Parables, Eschatology, Theology and Apologetics, Bible Doctrines, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Christology-Atonement, Christology-Life of Christ, Christology-Christ in the Old Testament, Baptists, Church Administration and Polity, Biographies, Missions, Prayer, The Christian Life, and each individual book of the Bible. As you can imagine, it is a massive compilation, and I think every serious independent Baptist minister ought to mine it. It is a tremendous resource. You can find it here. 

In closing, let me say how much I enjoyed writing this series, and the interaction I have had with you all along the way. I hope it has likewise been a blessing to you. See you all again in January.

The Eight Types of Reading Every Minister Ought to Do

Bring the Books 9

"Eight? Seriously? You're killing me, here."

Quit whining. Toughen up. Endure hardness as a good soldier, bub.

There. Now that I have gotten off to a good, compassionate start and empathized with my reader let us proceed apace.

In my view, there are eight different categories or areas which you ought to be reading constantly. And I mean in addition to your normal, routine sermon prep. I am not always reading books in all eight of these categories at the same time, but I am constantly reading books in these eight areas. So without further ado, here they are.

Leadership. The scriptural definition for minister is servant, but the scriptural definition of pastor is shepherd. Simply put, a shepherd must lead or else he will be a lousy shepherd. 
In this category, I place books written primarily for me as a minister teaching me how to be a better minister. This would include books on leadership, various aspects of pastoring, staff development, time management, even books on preaching. I do not like the term self-improvement, but that's what this category largely holds – books that help me to develop my potential in fulfilling my responsibilities to the people around me to whom I minister.

Theology. I did not have a class on systematic theology in Bible college. I got my class in books instead. I do not mean to say that I am always sitting around reading treatises on systematic theology, but I do mean I am constantly reading books about some aspect of theology. I am a Baptist. That implies a certain ecclesiology. I am premillennial. That (usually) implies dispensationalism. I am not a Calvinist. That implies common sense. Sorry, I could not resist… Anyway, these are all theological subjects. They raise questions that need thought and study to answer well. So I constantly read books related to some aspect of theology.

Areas in which you are weak. Although this list is not given in order of importance I place this one here because there is often a crossover between the need to study theology and the need to study areas in which you are weak. All of us have things we claim to believe, things that if the truth were told we have done very little study to support. Baptists don't speak in tongues! Why? I do not mean you heard two sermons about it and read a pamphlet from Curtis Hutson. I mean have you ever dug into it, comparing Scripture with Scripture, reading up on its history and process. Do you know what you believe about the gifts of the Spirit, about continuing revelation, about the fullness of the Spirit, about the power of the Spirit, etc.? And that is just a few aspects of one subject.

Throughout my ministry some of my most profitable studies have been undertaken specifically to shore up areas in which I knew I was weak. Prophecy. Music. Alcohol. Holiness. The history and meaning of fundamentalism. I have a further list of another six or seven that I could give you off the top of my head, areas that I have not studied in depth but areas I know I need to. Some are theological, some are practical, some are historical, etc. I want to be a well-rounded preacher. I want to be able to give a good, detailed explanation of the truth as I teach the Word of God. The only way to do that is to constantly work on the gaps in the walls of your knowledge base.

Relationships. I believe life is largely a matter of relationships. If I am going to build a good life, if I am going to live it well, I need to be good at relationships. More importantly, if I am going to shepherd my people well I must be able to help them to build healthy, close, permanent relationships. So I have 50 books in my office about various aspects of marriage and parenting. I work through those routinely, and just as routinely add new ones to the stack.

In this sense – and this is a critical point – this area is different from the one that precedes it, areas in which you are weak. I knew I was weak on what I knew and believed about alcohol so I studied it out. But I have largely finished that study. I fixed what was a weak area, took good notes, preached through it, blogged through it, I am good in that area now. But although I already have a wide knowledge base about relationships, and even though I have preached and taught on it at some length, I am still going to constantly read up on it. It is too big and too important to my life and the life of my people for me just to study it once, set it on the shelf, and move on to something else. That section of my bookshelves sees frequent use and it always will.

Background. I think a man who preaches several hours a week for consecutive decades to the same group of people needs to develop a wide base of knowledge. It helps to keep his preaching and teaching new and fresh. So I am constantly reading books on background, books that do not specifically help me to prepare for anything in particular. This is history (religious and secular). This is biography (religious and secular). This is current events. This is economics. This is science. This is sports. This is politics. This is medicine. Etc. etc. And I do not mean that you read this from a newspaper. There is little accuracy and even less detail in a newspaper article. Read a book about it. A man who talks for a living should know something about everything. It not only allows him to enter into conversation intelligently with just about everyone, it seasons his public speaking, gives him a wealth of illustrations at his fingertips, and keeps his mind fresh. As previously mentioned, I do this on the secular side with Audible. I do it on the religious side with physical books.

What interests you. All study is tiring, but if your entire approach to reading and study is "I have to read this" it will be wearisome in the extreme. Break it up with something that you are reading just because you want to read it. For me, one of these areas is music. I have read dozens of books about music, but I am always on the lookout for another good biography, another good history. I find it simply fascinating. Other times, I put all my books aside, go to my shelves, and pull out something that just looks good. I still even read a little science fiction, now and again, just because I want to. And I would argue this kind of reading is good reading, too.

What God emphasizes. Years ago, I attended Clarence Sexton's week-long Pastor's College for two consecutive summers. It helped me, in fact it changed my life in at least two ways. One of those ways was this statement: "Place the emphasis where God places the emphasis."

Everything in the Bible is important or else it would not be there, but it is not all equally important. Jesus plainly said there were weightier matters of the law, that there was a greatest commandment, etc. Simply put, there are some things God emphasizes in Scripture more than others. My primary task is to preach the Word of God. I need to do it in such a way that I place the emphasis in my preaching where God places the emphasis in His Word.

For example, I have and do preach about how Christians ought to look, their appearance, and I do not apologize for it. In fact, I am doing a series about it on Wednesday nights right now. But if you stacked up my preaching you would find I have spent a whole lot more time preaching about the condition of our heart than I have the condition of our hair. Why? Because that is where God places the emphasis. I have studied the Word of God to find the things He discusses again and again and again, and I have sought to place my attention there. Faith. Love. Prayer. Holiness. Praise. Wisdom. The Word of God. Witnessing. Doctrine. The Second Coming. Who God is. Comfort. These are things that come up again and again in my preaching because these are things that come up again and again in the Word of God. If this is what God emphasizes it what I ought to emphasize. To ensure I do that I seek to keep thoughts related to this flowing across my mind all the time. So I am always reading something related to these great themes of Scripture.

Lastly, and most importantly, Jesus. He is the sum and substance of all that we believe and practice. He is the great what, the great how, and the great why. As the old song says, "Everything is Jesus, and Jesus is everything." Brethren, we ought to be constantly reading about Jesus. He is to be the great theme of our life, of our study, and of our preaching. He is to be lifted up. He is to be proclaimed. He is to be taught. He is to be praised. He is to be explained. He is to be applied. He is to be explored. He is to be modeled. He is to be obeyed. He is to be served. He is to be preached. He is to be taught. He is to be loved. Whatever else you read, read Jesus.