What's Importunity Mean?

Importunate:
–adjective

1.	urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.

2.	pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.

3.	troublesome; annoying: importunate demands from the children for attention.

I was given the book "The Valley of Vision" (Leather Bound) by my roommate, Logan (A very nice gift by the way). On the first page was written "May you learn to pray with importunity," and of course I had no idea what that meant. I must confess, I should have known, and perhaps all Christians should know, if not in dictionary terms then at least practically.

Instead of dictionary terms, may I set before you a story that I would commend to your reading (It is from the Bible. The Chapter XV of Matthew. Verses 21-28), and it goes like this:

Behold, a woman of Canaan came...to [Jesus], saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

What does importunity mean? This example gives a better definition than the dictionary. It is not an abstract definition but a feeling all can relate to. Yet how often do we neglect prayer as unprofitable and at times give it up as though there were no use in it? Unbelief gets the better of us.

I have at times felt my prayers unheard, unanswered, and rejected, so then the thought creeps into my head, "What's the use? Why bother? If it hasn't come yet, it never will."

O God, forgive me of those thoughts, and may this Canaanite woman come to mind whenever I feel like I might give in to those thoughts.

Importunity is a quality many lack, and it is one we must acquire. At first Jesus may seem to ignore, He may seem to reject, but be of good cheer, if you ask it in faith He will hear and He will answer. To ask and to give up after days of not being answered, is not asking in faith. The moment you doubt Jesus' willingness and ability, you have allowed sin to get the better of you. Never stop seeking...never stop knocking.

"My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; In the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up." -Psalm 5:3

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." -Psalm 7:7

"If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." -John 14:14

Believe In Me

Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. -John 14:1

Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. -John 14:11

While you have the Light, believe in the Light, that you may become sons of light. -John 12:36

[Jesus] said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." -John 20:27

Demand numero cinco, Jesus says "Believe in Me." Unfortunately this simple command has been turned into a complicated debate. What was once an easily understood word in Orthodoxy has be made to mean more than its original intention, and less.

Piper begins with the reason of why we must believe in Jesus, and why He commands that we do so. "The reason Jesus demands that we believe in Him is that all human beings are in a desperate situation, and only Jesus can rescue us" (Piper, pg. 48). Belief in Jesus is that only thing which reconciles us to God the Father (Romans 5:1), since none are righteous (Romans 3:10), and Jesus was perfectly righteous and without sin, we must believe in His work on the cross in order to be imputed with His righteousness which He freely gives (2 Cor 5:21). That is the reason in a nutshell.

What is it that only Jesus can rescue us from? Piper gives the passage John 3:16-18, 36 and asks that you give notice to the words "perish," "condemned," and "wrath of God."

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God...Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

The "desperate situation" we are in, is brought upon us by our sin which is why repentance is key (see Demand 2, "Repent").

"God Sent Jesus to Die in Our Place"
This is the subheading for the next part. I touched on this briefly, but Pastor Piper goes into a little more detail on the subject.

"The amazing truth is that God has sent His Son Jesus into the world not to add to this condemnation, but to rescue us from it...the way Jesus rescues us is by taking the condemnation on himself, dying in our place, and then demanding not heroic acts of penance but that we trust in Him" (Piper, pg. 49).

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11). Jesus intentionally laid down His life for His elect (sheep), to rescue us from our depravity was the purpose all along. Consider Isaiah 53 in relation to Christ's fulfillment of this prophecy:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Preferably read the entire chapter, and keep in mind the Prophecy was given 700 before Jesus came to fulfill it)

It is simply a matter of belief in what Christ has done in your place, resting on those promises of redemption and reconciliation, and one will be saved. There is nothing you can add, because you can never do what Jesus did, attempting by your own good works is a waste of time and a minimizing of the work of Jesus on your behalf.

"What does believing in Jesus Mean?"
If believing in Jesus is the only way to inherit eternal life and be at peace with God, then obviously it would be important to understand what it means to "believe" in Jesus.

Firstly, it is true that it is the belief of historical facts, that He was a real person, who really did live a perfect life, and died on the cross, and rose again on the third day. He says to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe" (John 20:27). But this is a limited answer, and it is one that is popular among the "free grace movements" which make belief nothing more than intellectual consent with no trust in the person and Lordship of Jesus Christ (therefore cheapening His work), so then Piper makes a qualifying statement:

"Believing in Jesus means more than knowing true things about Jesus. It means trusting Him as a living person for who He really is. This is why Jesus spoke of simply believing in Him. "Believe in God; believe also in Me" (John 14:1; cf. Matt. 18:6). Believing in Jesus is more than believing about Jesus. We trust Him" (Piper, pg. 50).

"Being Satisfied With All That God Is For Us In Jesus"
Piper takes these verses:
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37).

"Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14).

And he states,

"In another place Jesus connected this drinking with believing in Him and coming to Him: 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst' (John 6:35). In other words, believing in Jesus and drinking the water that wells up to eternal life are the same (Piper, pg.51)."

Piper makes a good observation in saying that merely believing that water will quench your thirst is not enough, you must trust that it is able to do so in the first place. So not only drinking that life-giving water but trusting that Jesus is able to give you that life-giving water.

"Believing in Jesus includes drinking Jesus as the soul-thirst-quenching water of life. That is, it means savoring and being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus" (Piper, pg. 51).

We must realize that Jesus did not only come to rescue us from the condemnation we deserve, but to satisfy our souls with this life-giving water and eternal life.

"This is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible

Come To Me

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. -Matthew 11:28

Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." -John 7:37

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger." -John 6:35

You refuse to come to Me that you may have life. -John 5:40

When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." The man who had died came out. -John 11:43-44

Demand #3. "Come to Me." Like repentance and rebirth this is an essential command, not just because it is necessary but because it is a wonderful promise. At this point, the awakened sinner discovers what is truly important, that being Jesus. At one point it was the pleasures of life, clothes, food, family, jobs, retirement, sex, and on and on. "But when God gives the radical change of new birth and repentance, Jesus Himself becomes our supreme treasure" (Piper, pg. 44).

John Piper begins by stating as the Bible does, that "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light" (Matthew 11:30). When we come to Jesus it is not burdensome,

"Jesus did not come into the world mainly to bring a new religion or a new law. He came to offer Himself for our eternal enjoyment and to do whatever He had to do-- including death-- to remove every obstacle to this everlasting joy in Him" (Piper, pg. 44,45).

Piper continues to make a very good point here, by contrasting what Christ brings to the world as opposed to every other world religion. This is in fact what separates Christianity from all other religions, and proves its validity, that this religion is one based on faith alone in Christ Jesus. We look all over the world and look at religions such as Hinduism, Islam and even Judaism, and see people laboring under "heavy loads" to earn favor with their god or gods. "[Jesus] did not come to replace that God-appeasing load with another one. He came to carry that load and call us to Himself for rest" (Piper, pg. 45). Amen and Amen. That is why Christianity offers hope to a world full of hopelessness.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

The next thing point out is that there is a yoke and there is a burden, "there would be no demands if this were not true" (Piper, pg. 45), but it is a light one.

His next subtitle is "There is a Burden, but it's not Jesus." While Jesus offers a light load, He also says this, "The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life" (Matthew 7:14). This is what Piper says to this,

"The reason it is hard is not because Jesus is a hard taskmaster. It's hard because the world is a hard place to enjoy Jesus above all...besides our sin, many people are angered that we do not love what they love" (Piper, pg. 45).

But Jesus is that load-lifter and an our help in these situations, He offers us food and drink (John 6:35, 7:37), and the promise that He will be our help, that He will satisfy us when we go through these times, if we will obey His demands to come to Him.

"You refuse to come to Me that you may have life" (John 5:40). The fact is many will not come, and while many say this is simply the man acting upon his free-will, it is a little more than just that. We cannot say that man has the free-will in the sense that he has the ability (apart from God) to actually come to Jesus, but must say that man's free-will is enslaved to his nature, which is one of sin. "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). "The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light...everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light" (John 3:19-20). "[You] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:3). And so on the Bible proclaims that man is bent toward sin, and is not able apart from God's regenerating grace to actually come to Jesus.

"How then has anyone ever come, since we are all enslaved to sin and spiritually dead? Jesus' answer was that God, in His great mercy, overcomes our resistance and draws us: 'No one can come to me unless the Father who sent Me draws him' (John 6:44). 'No once can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father' (John 6:65)" (Piper, pg. 47).

When we are freed from slavery we come to Christ, not by works but by Him who calls (Romans 9:11).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible

Repent

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
-Matt. 4:17

I have no come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. -Luke 5:32

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. -Matt. 12:41

Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. -Luke 13:3,5

The Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon, called it Christ's first and last subject (referring to Matt 4:17 and Luke 24:47). Repentance. There are subjects in Christian doctrine which, I admit, can be disagreed upon (i.e. baptism, worship practices, eschatology), this is not one of them. To be unrepentant and consider yourself a Christian is contrary to scripture and logic, but more importantly scripture, and will lead to ruin.

We must first understand what repentance is, and I think Piper gives a few good points on this subject. Firstly he looks at the Greek word that we get repent from (μετανοέω, metanoeō), and separates them into their two parts: meta and noeō, noeō referring to the mind, its thoughts, perceptions, etc. and meta referring to change or movement. The first point he is attempting to prove is that repentance is more than just "mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior" (Piper, pg. 40), but a change of mind and heart.

The problem with most professing Christians, is they believe repentance to be simply changing your outward lifestyle such as not drinking, not cussing, not having sex until marriage, and so on. But this is not the meaning, though external changes will certainly result from internal changes, the focus is on the internal. So then, "we may infer that the basic meaning of repent is to experience a change of mind's perceptions and dispositions and purposes" (Piper, pg. 41), namely, to see God as good and holy and worthy of obedience, and seeing the things we once loved (sin) as evil and corrupt and contrary to the law of God.

Next, Piper gives a passage which points to the meaning just given in Luke 3:8, "Bear fruits in keeping with repentance." There are those who believe that with faith comes no new obedience to the Lord, yet this passage shows that where an inward change occurs outward fruit is brought forth.

"This change leads to the fruits of new behavior. Repentance is not the new deeds, but the inward change that bear the fruit of new deeds. Jesus is demanding that we experience this inward change" (Piper, pg. 41).

But why must we repent? Because we are all sinners, "I have no come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32), in other words he doesn't come to call those who think they are already righteous but those who see their own sin and are in need of repentance. One of the things we must know is that sin is an offense to man in most cases, but that is not our biggest problem, sin is an offense and assault on a holy and righteous God. As the prodigal son says when he returns, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you" (Luke 15:13), it is an offense against heaven.

Pastor Piper points to the Lord's prayer where it is said, "Forgive us our debts, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us" (Luke 11:4).

"Therefore, Jesus' view of sin is that it dishonors God and puts us in debt to restore the divine honor we had defamed by our God-belittling behavior or attitudes" (Piper, pg. 42).

Jesus has paid this debt yet in order to benefit from that we are commanded to repent, it is an essential part of belief itself.

"Repenting means experiencing a change of mind so that we can see God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience. This change of mind also embraces Jesus in the same way" (Piper, pg. 42).

Next Piper proves the universal needs for repentance. But as with most of these commands it is enough to say that they are required of all men as much as belief in Christ is required for salvation.

Piper, then goes into why there is such an urgency for this message of repentance, because of the judgment that is surely coming. "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3,5). They will perish if they do not repent, "The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here" (Matt. 12:41).

"Jesus, the Son of God, is warning people of the judgment to come and is offering escape if we will repent. If we will not repent, Jesus has one message for us: 'Woe to you' (Matt. 11:21)" (Piper, pg. 43).

This is why Spurgeon called it His first and last message, because it was, and the reason it was, was because of its importance. Anyone who dupes you into thinking there is not much importance in it, that it is not necessary is telling a lie.

I have a few personal caveats for this subject:

1) There are those that you repent once and it is a done deal, as though repentance were not a continual process. They believe that that one repentance covers all sins past, present and future. But just as the Greek word for believe implies a continuance of belief, so repent has the implication of continued repentance. Just as you cannot believe that Christ is savior of your soul one day, and not believe it the next, so you cannot be penitent one day and not be the next.

2) This subject is confused, and there are those who will criticize those who believe in repentance before justification, and consider them legalist and preaching a works salvation (as though repentance were a work). If this is something that might bother you, consider the fact that before God caused your rebirth (regeneration) you were dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1), and unable to submit to the will of God, nor could you (Rom. 8:7). But when God, by His grace, give you life and a new heart, he also grants you faith (Eph. 2:8) and repentance (Ezekiel 36:27). In other words what God commands of you, He also grants you. Thus, salvation by Grace ALONE, apart from works.


Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible
ESV Bible

You Must Be Born Again

Jesus answered..."Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" -John 3:5,7

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless on is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." -John 3:3 (esv)

Piper begins with the first demand of Jesus, and certainly the most important one in relation to the state of our soul. It is Piper's first focus, and it is the first teaching of Jesus found in the Gospel of John, when speaking with the Pharisee Nicodemus. Obviously, if this is an important one it would be prudent of us to fully understand it. Note: Most do not. Often Regeneration (as it is also referred to ) is just blurred into the word salvation, and most confuse regeneration with justification, they are connected but separate.

Jesus gives this demand to Nicodemus and his response is, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" (John 3:4) Which Jesus then asks, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?" (John 3:10) Why?

Piper's first subheading in the chapter is "A New Spirit I Will Put Within You", wherein he describes why it is that Nicodemus should know its meaning. Being a Jewish leader he was well versed in the Hebrew scriptures (OT), and knew well that God had referred to this process before. Piper references Ezekiel 36:25-27:

"Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (kjv, I have highlighted some actions of God, because I will make a point about that later. Just know God causes these actions and responses)

Which Piper compares to John 3:5, which states, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."

"God promises cleansing from sin and the gift of a new human spirit by the presence of His own divine Spirit" (Piper, pg. 38). Jesus thinks the link should be clear, but it isn't for Nicodemus, so Jesus describes further, "That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).

To understand the new birth rightly we must first understand our condition before God worked His spirit within us. Piper titles the subtitle, "The Dead Cannot See." We are by nature flesh, born of flesh, and by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3). "We are not born spiritually alive with a heart that loves God. We are born spiritually dead" (Piper, pg. 38). We must understand that we are indeed spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), I think this John Calvin quote makes a good case for depravity:

"By the phrase born again is expressed not the correction of one part, but the renovation of the whole nature. Hence it follows, that there is nothing in us that is not sinful; for if reformation is necessary in the whole and in each part, corruption must have been spread throughout" (Calvin Commentaries on John 1-11).

Lastly to be understood is who it is that works this new birth within us. Above I highlighted the actions that God takes in the Spirit being placed in us. Jesus says it like this in John 3:8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not now where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (The wind is the same as the Spirit).

"We do not cause ourselves to be born again. The Spirit does that. And the Spirit is free and blows in ways we do not comprehend. We must be born again. But this is a gift of God" (Piper, pg. 39).

I think Piper closes out the subject better than I ever could:

"Look away from yourself. Seek from God what He alone can do for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. New life is what the whole world needs. It is radical and supernatural. It is outside our control. The dead do not give themselves new life. We must be born again--'not...of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God' (John 1:13). That is what Jesus demands from the world" (Piper, pg. 39).

Citation:
Piper, John. "What Jesus Demands from the World" Crossway Books Copyright © 2006. DG. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, Il 60187, www.crossway.com.
ESV Bible
Calvin, John. "Calvin Commentaries on the Whole Bible," Baker Books. 2002.

What Jesus Demands from the World

Well, I have not written in a while (I'm sure most people who see my messages popping up on their mini-feed on Facebook were happy about that.) ROTC and 18 hours of class have been keeping me busy, and I think I needed a break from keeping up on this blog for a little. But, yesterday, I began reading a new book by Pastor John Piper, entitled "What Jesus Demands from the World" (Crossway Books 2006, DG), and thought I might share what I've been reading.

The book is broken down into 50 chapters, which are in fact 50 commandments or "demands" of Jesus from the four Gospel books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). By way of introductory, I thought I would take a few excerpts from the book which help explain what the book is about and its method.

Firstly, Piper begins by making a few qualifying statements, which I believe are important to understand when approaching this book, or my comments about the book. For example:

"Since the focus is on the commands of Jesus in this book, much about his life and death is not here" (Piper, pg. 15). This is important because there is much about the life and death of Jesus which will be assumed, since this book is dealing mainly with what it is He commands of the world.

Piper begins his introduction with his purpose in writing this book, namely, Jesus command, "Make disciples of all nations...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). He calls this the "Impossible final command." Because Jesus does not say, "teach them all my commandments," but rather, "teach them to observe all my commandments." Here is what Piper says:

"You can teach a parrot all of Jesus' commandments. But you cannot teach a parrot to observe them. Parrots will not repent, and worship Jesus, and lay up treasures in heaven, and love their enemies, and go out like sheep in the midst of wolves to herald the kingdom of God.
Teaching people to parrot all that Jesus commanded is easy. Teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded is impossible" (Piper, pg. 17).

Piper considers Mark 10:25-27, where Jesus is approached by a rich man who could not let go of his possessions to follow Him, and Jesus says that "with man it is impossible" to enter the kingdom of God, "but all things are possible with God."

"Therefore, the person who sets himself to obey Jesus' final commission...attempts the impossible. But Jesus said it was not impossible. 'All things are possible with God.' So the greatest challenge in writing this book has been to discern God's way of making impossible obedience possible" (Piper, pg. 18).

Further in the introduction after giving a brief overlay of the life and work of Christ, he explains why obedience to Christ's demands is important. He says this:

"On the basis of who He was and what He accomplished, Jesus made his demands. The demands cannot be separated from His person and work. The obedience He demands is the fruit of His redeeming work and the display of His personal glory. That is why He came--to create a people who glorify His gracious reign by bearing fruit of His kingdom (Matt. 21:43)...In other words, the Son of Man came to save people from their suicidal love affair with possessions (and every other kind of idol) and to lead them into a kind of impossible obedience that displays the infinite worth of Jesus" (Pipe, pg, 23).

While Piper makes many more good points in his introductory and the following chapter, I only really want to point out one more big issue. The subheading in the chapter is "Why this Title for the Book?"

"I am aware that the word demands is jarring to many modern ears. It feels harsh, severe, strict, stark, austere, abrasive...My conviction is that if we rightly understand Jesus' demands, and if we are willing to find in Him our supreme joy, His demands will not feel severe but sweet" (Piper, pg. 24).

And then further, in the subtitle "Dare He make Demands of the Whole World,"

"Two objections arise. One is: Did He make demands on the whole world? The other is: Dare He make demands on the whole world?
One may ask, did Jesus give all these demands to the world, or did He give them only to His disciples? The answer is: The demands He gave only to His disciples are also meant for the world because He demands all people everywhere to become His disciples" (Piper, pg. 26)."

He makes many other good points in the intro, but I recommend reading the book yourself.

I will be praying through this book, and hoping to do a commandment every other day (Lord willing), Piper is an exceptional pastor and I know this book will be very encouraging and helpful, so I hope someone else might read these posts.

What Seek Ye?

"Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, 'What seek ye?'" -John 1:38 (kjv)

I find this saying by Jesus very fascinating and comforting at the same time. Why for?

The Gospel of John starts this way:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." -John 1:1-4

So we see that Jesus was with God and is God, He was in the beginning, and everything was made through Him. He is God. He is Almighty God (Gen. 17:1), the Everlasting God (21:33), the King (Psalm 98:6), Creator of heaven and earth (Col. 1:16), the great I Am (John 8:58).

With all that in mind, we come to the verse at hand, in which Jesus says, "What seek ye?"

Andrew and another disciple were the ones which followed Jesus in this passage (v. 40), right after hearing John the Baptist declare, "Behold the Lamb of God!" (v. 36), and earlier "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (v. 29). And immediately these two began to follow Jesus. The Jesus turns and says to them, "What seek ye?"

And that's where I, for the first time, saw something I hadn't seen. I could make an extensive list like the one above, with scripture, proving how high and holy and pure and lovely Jesus is. How much honor, glory and praise He had left in the Celestial City, with the company of angels and moreover the Father and Spirit, and yet here he was asking these two and us, "What seek ye?"

Not in a way, as though they were bothersome to Him, and He said in such a way to get them to leave Him alone. But as a loving friend asks what their desire was, "What seek ye?" I think this passage I found in Matthew Henry's commentary, say well what I cannot obviously express very well...

"The question Christ put to them is what we should all put to ourselves when we begin to follow Christ, and take upon us the profession of his holy religion: "What seek ye? What do we design and desire?" Those that follow Christ, and yet seek the world, or themselves, or the praise of men, deceive themselves. "What seek we in seeking Christ? Do we seek a teacher, ruler, and reconciler? In following Christ, do we seek the favor of God and eternal life?" If our eye be single in this, we are full of light" (Henry Commentary).

What do we seek in Christ? And in Him alone. I think most would agree with forgiveness of our transgression against a thrice holy God, and the joy, peace and love all found in Him.

(This speaking to my own soul firstly) Think for a minute what is being said, we the creatures, an utterly depraved creature at that, are being invited by Jesus Christ Himself, God of very God, to seek forgiveness, holiness, love, reconciliation, and fellowship with and in Him alone. So then, "What see ye?" The world, its lies, its vanity, its corruption and death? Or Jesus Christ, His truth, His love, His forgiveness, His fellowship, and the everlasting life which comes through Him?

"What do you seek? This kind and gracious invitation, which was once made to two persons, now belongs to all. We ought not therefore to fear that Christ will withdraw from us or refuse to us easy access, provided that he sees us desirous to come to him; but, on the contrary, he will stretch out his hand to assist our endeavors. And how will not he meet those who come to him, who seeks at a distance those who are wandering and astray, that he may bring them back to the right road?" (John Calvin, Commentaries on John)

Selah.

A Passage On My Mind

A passage I came upon, and wished to share some thoughts...for anyone who might care (I couldn't imagine why).

Proverbs 24:30-34 (nasb):

"I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense,
And behold, it was completely overgrown
with thistles;
Its surface was covered in nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.
When I saw, I reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
'A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,'
Then your poverty will come as a robber
And your want like an armed man."

I pictured a house. With a vineyard. And a stone wall. With a man inside the house.
Yet, I pictured the house as worn down, the vineyard dead, the stone wall broken down, and the man inside, sitting in his chair, doing nothing about it.

So there is two ways I think I could go about taking application from this.

Application 1

Make constant use of roundup (I kid).
But more seriously, to be diligent in all your work, as though doing it for the Lord (cf. Colossians 3:22). I am more than guilty of this sin, of negligence, of not only not praying, reading scripture, and meditating as I should, but also, in worldly matters, such as work, school, chores around the house, etc. Our purpose (chief end) in this life, as the Westminster Confession so eloquently puts it, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One of the ways in which we do this is by glorifying Him in all aspects of life. Not just church. Not just bible reading. But in all things from recreation to vocation to duty.
When we neglect our duty and our diligence in all matters, we end up like this man, then when our poverty and want comes we wonder why, often people are quick to blame God instead of looking to themselves. God forbid that we ever should.

Application 2

Spiritual application is how I see it.
The house = Our heart/ soul/ mind (compare Matt 7:24,26, 1 Cor 6:19, Matt 22:37).
The vineyard = Fruit of the Spirit/ the Word of God (compare Gal 5:22, Luke 8:11).
The thistles and nettles = Bad fruit/ cares of this world/ evil (compare Matt 7:16, Luke 8:7,14)
The stone wall = Faith (Psalm 18:2, Eph 6:16).

First, I pictured as this house should be. Or rather, as the heart and soul should be, but I'll explain it with the house, so just bear with me on the symbolism.
The house and the vineyard should be kept safe, because of the stone wall that is set up surrounding it all. The vineyard should be well kept, by the diligent man who tends to it and prunes away the thorns and thistles, and makes sure that the wall stays strong and is not eaten away by the weeds.

But in this case, as Solomon does, so we must: "When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction." We see the sluggard, the man lacking sense, understanding and wisdom, who is inattentive, lacking diligence and care, and is completely allowing the weeds to destroy everything.

So then, we must take this man as an example, of what we must not do. We cannot sit back, we must daily be in our Bibles, daily in prayer, daily making supplication to the Lord for diligence, strength and the faith to continue on. Remembering that we do our work for the Lord, not for men. God has given us a new and beating heart, let us hedge away the temptations and the sins that so easily entangle us (Hebrews 12:1), and press on to holiness, in all diligence. Truly.

The Blessing of A Beautiful Day

I was reflecting as I took a little walk this evening, and I thought to myself: "It is a magnificent day today." Truly it was a wonderful blessing of God. It could not have gotten over 85 today, not a cloud for miles, and a gentle breeze. I couldn't help but think to myself: "I deserve none of this. I am a sinful creature, infinitely blessed by a sinless and holy creator. If God can create a day such as this, surely heaven will be infinitely more glorious."

From the rising of the sun to its going down, the LORD’s name is to be praised. -Psalm 113:3

But one thing bothered me as I thought about it. There would be many who would not even think to acknowledge God on such a day as they have been blessed with. "For God so loved the world..." Well God most certainly has a general love for all of man, just look at what He blesses us with: rain, snow, sun, food, clothes, family...Christ Jesus, etc. But man has been so blinded by his own sin, he has neglected to praise God the Author and Giver of all these things, and they entertain the vain idea that God is not angered by this. Even those claiming to be redeemed show more interest in their relationships, clothes shopping, and schoolwork than in the great and glorious works of God.

He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. -Matthew 5:45

That is a great love He has shown to all men. I stepped out of my house today to go for a walk, and left my cares of this world behind, focusing upon God and giving Him thanks for what He has given me. None of which I deserve, paralleling the gift of salvation, wrought by Christ and freely bestowed upon my soul because of nothing in me, but because of the great mercy of God. It is a grave sin we commit when we do not acknowledge God for His mercies, for His love and for His grace, I am guilty for it constantly, and repent I must.

Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
-Psalm 29:1,2

Just take a moment to praise God for His many blessings, and remember how little of it you deserve. This is enough to humble any man or woman.

If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,O Lord, who could stand? -Psalm 130:3

God Is In Hell

“The biggest problem the sinner has in hell is not the Devil, its God. God is in hell, actively punishing the wicked. The sinner in hell would do anything and everything he could to get God out of hell. Because the terror that men face in the judgment is God himself.” -R.C. Sproul-

Who Rules Hell?
The common idea about hell today, is that it is ruled by Satan. But what is the purpose of hell? Answer, it was originally created for the punishment of Satan and his fallen angels. Now after the fall of man, it is reserved for those who follow in the rebellion of Satan and who die in their sins. It was created by God for the punishment of the wicked. And God is actively punishing the wicked in hell for eternity.

Question
Here's a good question that R.C. Sproul asks:
"What are you saved from?"
His answer might shock some:
"You are saved from God. From being exposed to His fierce wrath and punishment."

What does the Apostle say in Hebrews? "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).

Or Paul: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Rom. 5:9).

Changing Perspectives
Putting it in this way can change perspectives. No longer is hell the party of the devil some might think it is. Satan is not the ruler of hell, but is actively being punished by God as well.

Its possible that some may think: "If hell is a separation from God, what is so bad about that, the people who are being separated from Him never wanted to be near Him anyway."

It is true a person in hell is separated from God in one sense. They are no longer beneficiaries of God's common grace which is given to all men. "The person in the most abysmal state of suffering still enjoys some bit of the common grace of God at this moment, which would be removed entirely if they were to move to hell" (Sproul). So then they no longer experience the love, care, benevolence, grace and long suffering of God. But for all of eternity will experience His wrath, curse, anger and hate.

Hope
By the grace of God, He has given hope to all men in Christ Jesus. What Jesus underwent upon the cross, was what a sinner would experience in hell. He took upon himself the "sin of many" (Isa. 53:12), became a curse on our behalf (Gal 3:13), bore the wrath of Almighty God and was forsaken by Him(Isa. 53:4-7; Matt 27:46). Because of this, the verse I used before displays a wonderful truth: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved through Him."

Meditations on Psalm 4:1

This is a verse I have been pondering as of late. Just a few things I was thinking about, and maybe you might think about as well.

NASB/ ESV/ ASV
"Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

KJV/ NKJV
"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer."

Psalter which I sing from:
"Answer when I call, O God who justifies..."

"Answer me when I call, O God..." For this verse I actually prefer the KJV rendering here (not because they translated it better, both translations are perfectly fine, in fact both mean the same thing). The way the KJV has it makes my point clearer though: "Hear me" is how the KJV has it, "Answer me" is how the NASB renders the first petition. For God to "Hear" us, is for God to "Answer," at least in the case of a believer. "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive..."(Matt. 21:22) "Whatever we ask we receive from Him..."(1 John 3:22) "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him..."(1 John 5:14,15).
Thus, it follows that what we ask of God in faith we shall receive. And for the Lord to "Hear" us is to answer. "Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.."(end of v. 1), this having the same conotation. Its no wonder that in the verse after next, David says, "The Lord Hears when I call to Him." He knows the Lord hears his cries, and He is not afraid of the enemies pursuing him, for he knows that God will answer.

"O God of my righteousness..." C.H. Spurgeon, has a good thing to say of this particular part of the 1st verse, it goes along with how I viewed it. He states, "The name by which the Lord is here addressed...deserves notice, since it is not used in any other part of scripture. It means 'Thou art the author, the Witness, the Maintainer, the Judge, and the Rewarder of my righteousness; to thee I appear from the calumnies and harsh judgments of men'"(Treasury of David, Psalm IV, P.34). This, a righteousness not of our own but a gift of God through Christ. The imputation of which was divinely orchestrated by the work of the Holy Spirit. The psalter renders it, "O God who justifies." Rightly so, since the same Hebrew word can mean justify as well. To be justified is to be seen as righteous in the eyes of God. There is not way to this, but by faith in Christ, and the alien-righteousness (not belonging to us) imputed to our account.

2 Cor. 5:21
"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Worship Of A Holy God

Hello. Figured its been a while, perhaps I'd write something, and I figured might as well write about something I was thinking about recently.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'"
-Leviticus 10:1-3-

I like this verse whenever I think about the topic of worship. At one point in my life I would have read this verse and thought, "wow, thats pretty harsh for something that doesn't seem so serious."

Perhaps this type thinking is the cause of some atheistic arguments such as, why is the whole race damned because of such a small sin as eating of a fruit (Gen. 2:17) or perhaps the example of Uzzah with the ark, struck down by the Lord because he attempted to catch the ark so it wouldn't hit the ground (2 Samuel 6:6,7).

I joined the Reformed Presbyterian Church last October, since coming to that church there has certainly been a change in the way I have viewed worship.

Worship is not to be taken lightly. I fear the church of America today is more than guilty of this sin. Looking at the verse above brings a few things into mind:
1. Think of it for a minute. If one takes a look at the state of the church, and takes an honest look at it, it won't be long for you to come to the conclusion that its mostly man-centered worship, not God-centered. The mentality of most church-goers is "what do I want out of a church?" When really it would be in their best interest to say "what does God want out of a church, or out of my worship?" To be honest I don't know how many specific scriptures proof-texts I need for that statement, as this should be common knowledge amongst Christians.
2. Reverence. Thats a forgotten word no? Most Christians today wouldn't want you to "fear God" but to "revere Him," though even that reverence is non-existent in any form, in anything from worship to Christian living. Its assumed that God is just your buddy or pal, He isn't concerned at all about how you worship Him. Well looking at that verse above it just doesn't catch me that way, of course then again it is just the Old Testament [sarcasm intended].
3. God takes it very serious I promise. "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, 'The LORD reigns!'" (2 Chronicles 16:29-31). That passage has a few things to note:
a. He is holy. Many passages could suffice for this, its just one of those known facts, yet it seems to be not so known after all in today's Christianity. He is holy, and He will be worshiped as such.
b. Something is due to Him. Perhaps thanks, praise, worship...your life as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Its a joke to most, like I stated before most want whats in it for them, proving the paper-thinness of their "Christianity."
4. The danger of "unauthorized fire" is very serious. Obviously this "unauthorized fire" had serious implications. Looking at that verse makes me think very carefully about what I bring to worship God with, how I go about preparing my mind and heart. Though once again, the church today wouldn't give a verse such as this very much thought. Not concerned at all what is pleasing to God much of the world has creeped into the church, Satan is having a field day with most churches who think they are doing the work of the Lord.
5. Sincerity is not an issue. Most would argue that churches are being sincere and really trying in what they do to bring more to Christ, and in trying to worship God. Sincerity has been placed in front of the word of God. As my pastor put it, "Muslims are sincere does that mean they're going to heaven?"

Give it serious thought, worship is meant for the Lord, reading through the Bible does not leave the impression that God is not serious about what He says.

Part 5 - If God Isn't Sovereign

Then prayer is meaningless.

Think of the things you pray for (i.e. the salvation of others, the spreading of the gospel, the spreading of the kingdom, your own personal faith, hope, and love, etc.). Okay now imagine a God who has no power over any of those things, or in other words, imagine Him as most people do.

Though no one will outright say this type of thing, it is the inevitable conclusion of their thought of God.

Think about it:
1) If God is not sovereign in the spreading of the gospel and conversion of souls, then why pray to God that it will be done?

2) If God is not sovereign in the Christian life, in the providence He has in your life (cf. Rom. 8:28), and in conforming you to the image of the Son (2 Thess 2:13, Heb. 12:2), then why pray to Him. Just do it yourself. By your own will defeat satan, by your own will transform your heart and rid it of evil, by your own will build up faith and hope and love.

But! If you believe in a sovereign God. A working and active and living God. A God working through you and through the word by His Holy Spirit ...then pray to Him. Pray for the salvation of souls, pray for the advance of the kingdom of Christ, pray for holiness and sanctification, pray for the care of others and for the perseverance of brothers and sisters in Christ.

You have two ways you can think of prayer. 1) A casual talk with God. One in which you merely tell Him about how your going to do things by your own strength. 2) A plea for the working of God. That His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.

"Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him..." -Matthew 6:8-

Use the means God has given. Glorify Him and praise His name in prayer, and pray that His will would be done.

Part 4 - If God Isn't Sovereign

If God isn't sovereign would salvation exist? Is the free-will of man the deciding factor? Many people have a difficult time reconciling their free-will and God's sovereignty in their salvation.

Does man have free-will?
Yes.

Its a road with two ditches. Some will take sovereignty to the extreme, where man has no free-will and God forces man to have every thought and take every action, thus leaving them unaccountable. The other side would be to say man has complete free-will to do things good (in God's eyes) and to do things bad.

Almost seems paradoxical, but the question is:
How can man have free-will and yet not be able to do good or bad by choice?Simply put, man, or really anything for that matter, acts according to its nature. Man cannot do the things which please God (especially regenerate and save themselves), apart from God causing a change in nature in the man. Man is "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3), man cannot act contradictory to his fallen sinful nature.

Think of it this way. God has a free-will, no one will argue with that, but God cannot do evil. Why not? Because His nature is good.

But God is sovereign, while he does not force us to do good or evil against our free-will, He is the only one capable of the change of nature we so desperately need. The only one capable of resurrecting our souls which are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1).

Salvation from beginning to end is the sovereign actions taken by God. People don't argue as much that God is working in their lives after conversion, or that he was providentially working before their conversion, but if you tell many people that it was God who gave them life and the ability to even come to Him, they are offended. May God be thanked and praised for his sovereign work in conversion.

Part 3 - If God Isn't Sovereign

In the last post I mentioned the verse:

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28-

This verse is a wonderful promise to believers. But, before you meditate upon this verse, or go off making up your own meaning for it, I think there are a few misunderstandings of the meaning of this great verse.

What it is not saying:
It is not saying that God is going to allow only good things to happen to you all the time, or that He will never let anything bad come into your life. Don't be so vain. The Christian life is not all "butterflies and green fields" (Julianna Weaver; I may misquoted, but you get the point). Just take examples from Job, Jeremiah, Jesus, Peter, Stephen, Paul. Especially take a look at the experiences of Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, and let me know if thats the idea of mainstream, pop-psychology, self-help, health and wealth "Christianity" of today.

What it is saying:
What may look to you like horrible situations and things you would classify in the "not good things" category are in the end brought back to your personal good. God's providence is beyond measure, it is hard to fathom how it is that He has so ordained all things to take place down to the minutest detail so that in the end it would work out for the good of those who are called according to His purpose. Take a minute to look back on your life, imagine every small detail, every instance where had you made a different decision you may not be where you are today, a Christian blessed by God. God has guided your feet to the place you now stand. Even think of "bad" situations and what good came out of many of them: i.e. faith and obedience are strengthened, lessons are learned, people that have encouraged you in your walk may have been met along the way.

The point is, "If God Is Not Sovereign" then He does not know your steps or your directions, He is not able to bring all things together for the good of those called according to His purpose. The thought contradicts the scripture.

God is sovereign and God is bringing all things in your life together for good, the ultimate good, eternal life in heaven praising Jesus Christ.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." -Matthew 10:29-31-

Further Reading:
The Mystery of Providence - John Flavel
All Things for Good - Thomas Watson

Honestly I have only read the first one, but I know the other will be good because Thomas Watson is a great writer. Both of these guys are Puritans, and in my opinion Puritans have left behind Christian writings that are unparalled. Check these books out.

Part 2 - If God Isn't Sovereign

Perhaps I'll speak first of God's sovereignty in His acts of providence. In light of the Virginia Tech incident, I believe this might be a proper place to start. Some, in these times, will turn to God for comfort and peace, yet, at the same time many may be hardened at a time like this.

The questions arise amongst natural unbelieving man, perhaps even amongst some Christians, how can God let such things happen? Where was God in all this? Why do bad things happen to good people? These questions are nothing new though. Throughout history we have seen genocides, world wars, mass murders, and pain and suffering. For a mind set at enmity with God, its easy to have such objections to a "loving and all-powerful" God , who seems to have no problem with letting these things happen to people.

So then what is the response? Is God not all-knowing, all-powerful, and sovereign over all things? Are these things out of his control or unknown to Him before they happen? Of course not.Lets think for a minute. Who gives life? Most atheist/agnostics love to point out that God kills many many people in the Bible, and they ask, is He not evil? If they stopped and thought of the absurdity of the remark they may not have asked such a question in the first place. The only reason they have enough breath to utter such a comment is because of God's sustaining grace.

Job understood the implications after his sons and daughters were killed, he didn't blame Satan or some other cause he says:

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." -Job 1:21-

Job understood the sovereignty of God's action, God willed it and it was done, God gives and sustains life and God can easily take that away. For the grieving Christian parent of a child who died in such an atrocity, they can say with Job these same words and be comforted that in such trials and in such pain the Lord has promised something very very comforting:

"We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28-

I do not wish to trivialize the mourning and the grief, I cannot even fathom the depth of sorrow in such an event, but I do know this much, the Lord's hand is in all things and he will bring good out of evil for all believers. I'll come back to providence because of course there is much more that can be said of the mystery of God's providence.

Part 1 - If God Isn't Sovereign

What suffers? Is it merely as trivial as people pretend it to be? Is God's sovereignty in salvation and in providence a thing to be swept under the proverbial rug? Can it be said that God's sovereignty is something higher than we can understand so we should just leave it to God?

Here is where I believe we have a major disconnect in the church. In God's sovereignty, in His election, in His calling, justification and in His providence. I think of it this way. When I go to the range to qualify with my rifle, I look at the target (300 meters away) through the rear and front sights. Say I was off by a centimeter to the left, from where I am that doesn't seem to be so far off, but 300 meters down range that could be 2 or 3 feet to the left.

It can be applied to the sovereignty of God in this way. People deem election or predestination not that big of a deal, if one person believes it and another doesn't its not that much of a difference how much could it possibly affect? I mean those are things higher than us anyway, they aren't for us to worry about.

But go down the range (in theory) and when you get to the target you're way off. You have churches which are more man-centered than God-centered, and worship that cares more about entertainment than worship, so on and so on.

The sovereignty of God is a complete world-view, it will sway your thinking and your approach to an all-holy all-sovereign God. I'll do a couple posts thinking about some of the things this effects, such as: worship, evangelism, Christian living and persecution, and perhaps other things as I think of them.

God Bless.

A Test of Faith

Test yourself with all honesty, to fail at one of these points is not to say you are a false Christian...but I believe it is to the benefit of your soul to consider these questions.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" -2 Cor. 13:5-

1. Is Christ the Lord of your life? Would you give up all for Him and deny yourself? Would you give up your possesions, family, friends or even your life for Him? (Matt. 10:37, Luke 14:26)

Christians are to be willing to give up all if asked to do so, if Christ were to ask you to sell all and follow Him (Mark 10:21) that you would do it without a second glance back (Luke 9:62). The Christian must be willing to deny them self and take up their cross and follow after Christ with their whole heart (Mark 8:34). Self-denial is an absolute must in the Christian faith, it is a question of whether or not you are in humble reliance upon God or if you rely upon your own strength.

2. Do you cherish the commandments of God? Do you wish nothing more than to be conformed to the image of the Son and to keep the commandments which Christ has given us? (Psa. 19 and 119)

The Christian is commanded to keep the commandments (Matt. 19:17). The way in which a Christian knows that they know Christ Jesus is if he loves and keeps His commandments (1 John 2:3). Thus they will abide in the love of Christ (John 15:10).

3. Do you love sin? Is there sin in your life that you attempt to hide or make out to seem not as sinful so that you may continue to have it in your life? (Rom. 6:2, Rom. 6:11) And when you do sin, do you acknowledge and confess it to God and trust in Christ for your forgiveness? (1 John 1:6-10)

Christians are to flee all youthful lust (2 Tim. 2:22), to abstain from all forms of evil (1 Thess. 5:22), to keep from foolish and crude talk (Eph. 5:4), sexual immorality, drunkeness, fornication, etc. (Gal. 5:21, Col. 3:5), to present our members as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:13), and to cast away those things which cause us to sin (Matt. 5:29,30). Christians hate sin because God hates sin, and what God hates we must and what God loves we must love.

4. Is every single day for you a battle to deny yourself and to fight sin with all your might? Is your battle with sin non-existent? Though you do not always succeed at defeating temptation do you wage war on it and pray to God to strengthen you against it? (Rom. 6 entire chapter)

The Christian must find their pleasure and delight in Christ Jesus, they must fight sin and strive to enter the narrow gate (Luke 13:24). The Christian must run the race with endurance (Heb. 12:1), fight the fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12, 2 Tim 4:7), and to take on the full armor of God in order to defeat the schemes of the evil one (Eph. 6:11,13). A sure sign of whether or not you are a Christian is whether or not there is a desire to fight the indwelling sin within you. If you do not wage war on sin, or think that it is no big deal because you think God doesn't care, or you think now that you are in Christ you can do what you want, you have made a deadly mistake. See point 3 as well.

5. Is your full trust in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ? Or do you rely on some righteousness of yourself, attempting to work your way into favor with God or with men or impress either? (Rom. 4:2, Eph. 2:8,9)

Whether Christian or not, the one thing that must be understood is that it is not by any works of your own. It is not your decision, your parents decision, your church's decision, its not by your works, by your deeds, even by your faith that you are saved, but by the grace of God Almighty (Eph. 2:8). You receive that grace through faith (Rom. 5:17, John 1:12) and repentance (Acts 3:19). Christian, even as a believer it is not your works that maintain your state of grace, but once again it is God who upholds you in the faith (Heb. 12:2). So then trust fully in Christ for your justification, sanctification, and glorification.

6. Is the worship of God even enjoyable to you (Psa. 99:9)? Is Church on Sunday a burden to you, do you love the brethren and love their fellowship (1 John 3:15)? Is prayer a non-essential (Rom. 12:12)? Is fellowship, communion, and meditation with God and on the work of God in your life present at any time (Psa. 77:12)? Is reading your Bible more of a duty or do you seek to know God more and cherish His word (Josh. 1:8, Psa. 119:105)?

Ask yourself something, Christian, if you cannot stand to be in the presence of God now or in the presence of His people (1 John 4:20), how then will you do it for an eternity? You may not have to worry about it.

7. Do you give all the thanks, praise and glory to God?

This is very important in a man-centered world, and even in a man-centered church, where most theology is how can man do things without God. All thanksgiving must be given to God (Col. 2:6,7), and all praise, exaltation, and worship must be given to God for who He is and what love He has shown you (Psa. 22:23).

8. Conclusion

While there may be others I could have put on here, these are some of the ones I wished to address. To fail at one of these points is not to say you are not a Christian, in fact I do not believe 2 Cor. 13:5 to be saying test yourself at how good you are doing or how bad you are doing, but to test whether or not you rely and trust in Christ Jesus for all of your righteousness, faith, hope, love, forgiveness, redemption, sanctification, perseverance, so on and so forth.

Test yourself. Trust in Jesus Christ. And pray to God to be sanctifying you daily, handing over all to Him and casting yourself at the feet of Jesus, and have faith in Him who is faithful.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."
-Romans 5:1,2-