History is filled with influential and successful people who were underestimated.

For example, Albert Einstein was considered “a slow learner.” Thomas Edison was told by teachers that he was “too stupid to learn anything.” Walt Disney was fired from a Missouri newspaper because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” And Theodore Roosevelt, who was encouraged by doctors to avoid physically demanding activity, instead went on to become a U.S. president, lead a year-long scientific expedition in Africa, and survive a gunshot wound to the chest.

Over the centuries, countless men and women have been underestimated. But none have been underestimated more than the one true God.

It’s understandable, though. Our sinful nature deceives us about who He truly is,
and so we fail to honor Him as we should, which is sin. Yet God is patient and gracious, and in His great love, He corrects us, so that we may truly know and trust Him.

But we must accept that correction.

This exchange between Jesus and others recorded in Mark’s Gospel – which is also present in the books of Matthew and Luke – helps us understand how. Jesus is confronted by these respected Hebrew teachers who underestimated God. Specifically, they didn’t believe in the future resurrection. And what He tells them holds a message for us today. In effect, Christ says don’t place the limitations of the present order on God’s unlimited power, and don’t overlook the implications of the covenant promises in His trustworthy Word.

Now, in this passage, Christ is approached by the Sadducees. They didn’t believe in a future resurrection, as Mark says here. First century Jewish historian Josephus tells us that the Sadducees did not believe that the soul exists after death, nor did they believe in rewards or punishments after death.

I’ll clarify why in a moment, but for now, notice their strategy for disproving Jesus’ teaching on the resurrection. Verse [19] “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.”

They’re bringing up instructions from Deuteronomy 25 in the OT. This rule was a way to maintain property rights in the family line of the deceased man. This preserved a man’s name, inheritance, land allotment, and family line in Israel. The Sadducees use this to set up a “straw-man” argument. It’s not a real situation; it’s a hypothetical.

Verse [20], They say, “There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. [21] And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. [22] And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.” This imagined woman followed the law of Moses and was widowed seven times. She never bore a son. Is it possible? Technically. yes. Is it likely? Probably not.

But the Sadducees believed they could undo the credibility of Christ and the belief in the resurrection with this little scheme. Notice verse [23]. They add, “In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” They think they can discredit Jesus, but they underestimate Him.

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? They are deceived, first of all, because they don’t know the Scriptures, and also, because they don’t know the strength and ability of God. Jesus speaks first to their ignorance of God’s power.

Verse [25], Jesus says, “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” They assumed the doctrine of marriage could undercut the doctrine of resurrection. Jesus basically says, “After the resurrection, there will be no more marriage.”

In this one respect, humans will be like angels: we will not marry or be married. It makes sense, because there will be no procreation after the future resurrection. The Sadducees’ strategy points to one way we underestimate God: we take the boundaries of the present age and we impose them on the future.

Imagine trying to explain the internet to someone who lived in the 1800s. You might tell them that with the internet, you can instantly communicate across the world, you can access libraries of information in seconds, you can see images from anywhere.

They might respond: “So, it’s like a really fast telegraph?” Are you familiar with the electrical telegraph? The signal was sent along an electrical cable, and the message was a series of dots and dashes. It was Morse code! The person in the 1800s can’t help reducing something radically new to simply a slightly improved version of what they already know.

The Sadducees assumed that if resurrection in the future age was real, it would have to operate by the same structures as this present age. But the future resurrection is not simply “This Life 2.0.” It’s not just an upgraded version of what we now know. Every indication is that, while similar, it will be far beyond what we can even imagine.

How is this possible? In Ephesians 1, the apostle Paul refers to the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. In Ephesians 3, Paul describes the triune God as “Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.” In the OT, the prophet Jeremiah prays, “Ah, Lord GOD! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

Don’t place the limitations of the present order on God’s unlimited power. Don’t allow your belief or hope in the future resurrection to be confined to your current grasp of what God is capable of. Philippians 3 says that Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Those in Christ now will one day have immortal, resurrected bodies like Christ had when He left the tomb, and like He has right now in heaven. 1 Corinthians 15 says that on that Day, believers “shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised” to a state that is incorruptible, immortal, and imperishable.

The Sadducees underestimated the power of God. Perhaps some later changed their minds and believed Jesus. We don’t know. But have you underestimated God? Don’t stay there. Repent of that. Reject that. Trust Him who loved you and gave Himself for you. Go to Christ. He is full of love and power.

Well, Christ was not done with the Sadducees just yet. Remember, they know neither God’s power nor His Scriptures. To make His point from God’s Word, and defend the reality of the resurrection, Christ goes to the book of Exodus – to one of the first five books of the OT

This part of Scripture was commonly known as the Torah or the Pentateuch. These are books that were written down by Moses. The Sadducees only accepted the Pentateuch as God’s Word. They only believed Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They rejected the rest.

So Christ references the Pentateuch to prove them wrong. Look at verse [26]. He says, “And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [27] He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” Why does Jesus bring up this event in Exodus 3, where God spoke to Moses from within the burning bush?

Because there, God expressed that He was presently the God of the patriarchs. God had made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – promises that would ultimately be fulfilled through the person and work of Jesus Christ. And for those men to enjoy the fulfillment of those promises – for them to receive what God had guaranteed to them – they would have to be alive. According to Jesus, there, at the burning bush, God proclaimed to Moses that those men were not dead, but still alive.

This brings up an important point. The resurrection is not just a New Testament doctrine. It’s not merely a development that emerged when ancient Israel was sent into exile. It didn’t suddenly appear during the life of king David or the life of Moses. Rather, resurrection was in view when God spoke to Abraham.

This is very important. The resurrection is a necessary implication of God’s promises. The covenant relationship with God is ongoing. You may think, “I understand how we could live on as souls. But why must we be raised with a new body?” It’s because humans are not just souls trapped in bodies. We were created – body and soul together – by God And in the end, God will not just preserve the soul. He will restore the whole person.

Again, Abraham must inherit what was promised to him: a land, an inheritance, and blessing in the land God made. Abraham and all the children of Abraham must live on – and not just spiritually, but also, bodily. Therefore, resurrection is required.

If there’s no resurrection, then death is not fully defeated.

If there’s no resurrection, death defeated the human body.

But Christ defeated death in its totality. Resurrection is the completion of God’s saving work.

Picture a father who promises his son a great inheritance. The dad says, “Son, one day, this will all be yours. The land, the house, all of it.” But then, tragically, the son dies before he receives it. Can the father’s promise to the son be fulfilled if the son remains dead? No.

Don’t overlook the implications of the covenant promises in His trustworthy Word. If Abraham is still dead, God’s promises to him are incomplete. But the one true God does not make incomplete promises.

Now, we’ve all made promises. Some are rather unimportant, where you didn’t even use the word “promise,” but it was implied. You said, “I’ll call you later,” or “I’ll do it tomorrow,” or “I’ll fix that soon.” Whenever you give someone assurance that you will definitely do something, you are, by definition, making a promise. You’re offering a guarantee.

Have you ever failed to deliver on a guarantee? Sure, you have.

Numbers 23 in the OT says, “Has [God] said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?” We’ve broken promises; God never has. His promise-keeping is an essential part of His sinless character.

Now, we, of course, are not sinless. That’s one reason why we fail to keep every guarantee we make. But there’s another reason why we don’t always keep our word. It’s because sometimes, we promise what simply isn’t within our power to do. Haven’t you, at some time, said you would do something, and perhaps you were well-meaning, but later you realized, “I can’t do that! I’m not able.”

The one true God doesn’t have that problem. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live on – and one day, they will rise again, to inherit what God promised – not just as souls, but as whole men. And so will their descendents – so will their heirs. But who are the heirs? In Galatians 3, Paul says, “it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Then just a little further down the page, Paul adds, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Christ died, and on the third day, God raised Him from the dead. According to God’s unlimited power and trustworthy Word, Christ arose! His resurrection began an entirely new order of redemptive reality. Christ was the first, and when He returns, those who belong to Him will rise like Him. This is our hope as we journey in this world. This was the hope of the apostles as they endured suffering for the gospel.

For example, in 2 Corinthians 1, Paul told the churches, “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. [10] He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

Will you set your hope on His and on the power of His resurrection? As we go now to His table, let’s continue to consider these things.

Please bow with me in prayer.

Imagine that you’re in need of serious medical treatment. Actually, you need surgery. It’s a delicate procedure, and the quality of the rest of your life depends on it.

You would want someone trained, tested, and trustworthy. You wouldn’t be concerned with your surgeon’s outward, superficial qualities. You would just want to know that the surgeon could take you where you need to go.

Typically, before a procedure, a capable surgeon will tell the patient about the surgery. “We’re going to do this, then this, then that. It should take about this long. And when we’re done, here’s what you can expect.” You want to be confident that the surgeon knows the way. You want to know that the person leading the surgeon has been this way before. You want someone who is qualified and capable.

We should have the same expectations of those who lead God’s church. There are certain characteristics we should look for. But the best leader is not always who you might think.

People are naturally drawn to outward, superficial qualities, to a certain look or sound, to dynamic personality, to those who have a great amount of outward success, and in many cases, who are attractive to the world. The apostle Paul knew that. He knew that even believers can choose poorly when it comes to leaders in the church. And so, guided by the Holy Spirit of God, Paul gave criteria.

Christ has a different set of standards. He calls for leaders who fit His definition of success. These are men fit for their role in what Christ is doing in and for His people.

In this part of his letter, Paul tells us that a man who oversees the church must display a certain kind of fruit in his life – evidence that Christ has greatly affected the man’s heart, home, and habits. This part points to where qualified overseers lead. Yes, to where. After all, the term “leader” implies a destination. It indicates a journey of some kind. Overseers must lead the church to somewhere – or more specifically, to Someone.

Qualified overseers lead God’s people to Christ Himself. And as they do this again and again – Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day – Christ produces godly hearts, homes, and habits among all His people.

The image of the shepherd is helpful here, because a shepherd has a certain defined and essential responsibility. He watches over, protects, and guides the sheep to food, water, and rest. The overseers are the shepherds of the church. and our spiritual food, water, and rest is Christ the Lord. Shepherds or overseers are not Christ – we merely lead people to Him. So let’s look closer at this criteria.

See verse 1 again. Paul says, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” This was apparently a well-known statement. The desire to be an overseer is commendable. It’s not inherently prideful to want to be one. It’s not necessarily a power grab, although it can be. Not all men who aspire to this office have good motives. So some hesitation is a good thing, because it is such a high calling. The man should look inward and examine himself. It’s not something to take lightly.

It is an “office.” A man must be appointed to the position. And clearly, in light of what we saw in chapter 2, the office is for men only. There’s no other way to interpret chapter 3 in light of what Paul just wrote in chapter 2 about the roles of men and women in the home and in public worship. Women should not teach or exercise authority over men in the church. This pattern is rooted in the original created order.

Now, I said in my previous sermon, Paul uses “elder” and “overseer” interchangeably. For example, In Titus 1, he writes, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. [7] For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach.”

So look at verse 2. “Therefore an overseer (or elder) must be “above reproach.” Blameless. Perfection isn’t required, otherwise only Jesus could fill the office. But there should be no obvious case against him in regard to any of God’s moral law. There can be no easy accusations toward him. He must be “the husband of one wife” or “a man of one woman.”

This doesn’t mean single men are disqualified. In fact, elsewhere, Paul commends singleness. What Paul has in mind is sexual purity, marital faithfulness, and monogamy. Along those lines, an overseer must be “sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable.” So, he can’t be unrestrained or gluttonous. His words and behavior must demonstrate discipline. He must be modest, admirable. People should have great respect for him because they recognize his well-ordered life. Again, this is not by any means a perfect man, but he is one who, by God’s grace, is stable and steady.

God’s people are drawn to a man like that, and as they are, he must willingly receive them. See there, he must be “hospitable.” The man must be warm, inviting, and welcoming. This is the kind of leader who people are blessed to follow. And they’re eager to hear what he has to say. He walks with God. Christ has done a great work in his heart, so people who want to know Christ listen to the man.

That’s why it makes sense, then, that he should be, “able to teach.” An overseer or elder must treasure God’s Word and the rich doctrines of the faith. He must be skillful in explaining God’s Word to the church. Teaching is both a skill and a gift. It’s a spiritual gift given by Christ. An overseer must possess this gift. He must be a man whom believers can look up to. Even those older than him must be able to admire him and accept him as one who is gifted and skilled to teach them God’s Word.

Therefore he can’t be someone, verse 3 says, who gets drunk, flies off the handle, or is controlling or manipulative. He must be strong, but also gentle, firm and resilient. He shepherds the people of God, therefore, there must be a tender place inside of him.

He should be patient and “not quarrelsome,” Paul says. He can’t be contentious, or argumentative, or antagonistic. An overseer can’t be a hot-head. And notice that he can’t have a lust for debauchery or power, or control, or money – really for what the world calls “success.” This means that an overseer/elder/shepherd must be a content man – satisfied with what the living God has entrusted to him.

Now, that’s a tall order, isn’t it? The only way a man could ever meet these qualifications is if Christ has done a great work in his heart. In fact, these qualifications demand that this work has been ongoing for some time. The man has had some failures and trials, but God used those trials to shape his faith and character.

There were many Lord’s Days of Christ working faith in him through the ordinary means. There were many times of Christ assuring the man that grace that covers all his sins, and Christ strengthening the man to obey even when disobedience seemed easier. The man is qualified to lead God’s people to Christ because he has been to Christ, and he continually goes to Christ. It’s not the overseer/elder/shepherd who changes people. but he leads God’s people to Christ, who produces godly hearts.

Have your expectations of church leaders been shaped by the world or by the Word? An overseer is not the equivalent of a board member for a company. Yes, overseers make rulings, but the goal of those rulings is the pursuit of a godly heart. And only Jesus Christ can form and fashion such a heart. A shepherd who cannot lead the pursuit for hearts shaped by Christ is no good for us.

Now look at verse [4], “He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, [5] for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?” This is more support for the office of elder/overseer/shepherd being men only. Who is the head of the home according to Scripture? The husband and the father.

This is an interesting method of argument. We see it repeatedly in the Bible. It’s an argument from the lesser to the greater. For example, “If he can’t do that, how will he do this?” Paul argues this way because this is like that, but on a larger scale.

The behavior of a man’s children – especially as they get older – tells us a great deal about the man’s leadership in his home. Children are always learning and absorbing, and they display what they’re taught. No man should think he can consistently behave in an ungodly manner privately – while putting on a godly front publicly – and get away with it forever. The truth will come to light, if nowhere else than in his children.

So an overseer – as the head of his home – must be able to manage and lead well
in his own house if he would be entrusted to oversee those in God’s house. How should he manage his home? Look back at verses 2 and 3 again. He should be, “sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable…not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”

Hear me clearly – all Christian men should aim to lead their homes in this way. It reiterates what Paul says in Ephesians 5. Men are called to be the leaders of their homes, but it’s not about male domination. Men should lead like Christ – laying down themselves for their wives and children. Overseers must be models for this in the body of Christ. And as Christ changes a man’s heart there will be evidence in his home.

I don’t mean that the man no longer sins against his family. He’s a sinner. He will sin. But when he does, because Christ is shaping his heart, he will humble himself. He will ask for forgiveness. And he will stand up to his children and correct them. He will guide his children not just with the help of Christ, but with the heart of Christ.

It’s not easy for a man to humble himself before his wife and kids. How can it be done? Well, the man must first humble himself before Christ. and Christ gives the strength and the faith to seek forgiveness. Grace and faith are transformative in the home. But they come only from Christ.

As the Vine gives life to the branch, so Christ gives life to His people through His appointed means. A man is qualified to lead God’s people to Christ because he has been to Christ, and he goes to Christ, and the result is an increasingly godly home. Qualified overseers lead God’s people to Christ, who produces godly homes.

If the church was meant to be a successful business, we would simply appoint overseers who are good businessmen. Doesn’t a company get people on its board of directors because they’ve had business success? This is not a business. This is the covenant community of the only true God. We are only in covenant with God because of Jesus Christ. And it is Christ whom we need. Therefore our leaders must be qualified to shepherd with hearts formed by Christ. And God gives us this test among others – the nature of their home.

Now look at these final verses. “He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.” When authority is given to a man who is spiritually immature, he will likely become boastful and self-centered. And notice the phrase again: he may “fall into the condemnation of the devil.” In other words, he may fall into what Satan fell into, which was pride.

Now verse 7 comes full circle with the necessity to be above reproach or blameless. Paul says, an overseer “must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.” If a man brings disgrace on the name of Jesus and His church, he can’t be an overseer. The man can’t speak or behave in a way that will cause people to say, “Oh see there, Christianity is nonsense. Their leaders don’t even do what they say they believe. If they believe those things, where’s the proof of their belief?”

The young convert hasn’t had a long enough season of being changed by Christ. An overseer must have a time-tested testimony of faith. What do people in the church think of him? What do people outside the church think of him? Has Christ produced evidence of godly habits in the man?

That’s what we’re after here in the covenant community. We want hearts changed by Christ, which leads to homes changed by Christ and habits changed by Christ. People can affect behavior. Again, only Jesus can change the heart. Only Christ can change our loves. Qualified overseers have been recipients of this heart-changing, home-changing, habit changing work of Christ and His glorious gospel. And then they lead God’s people to Christ, who produces godly habits in them.

Where do you desire change in your own life and habits? We live in a society consumed with self-improvement. And many people get results. But those results are temporary; the results Christ achieves are everlasting. And you know, often, the change you desire in your habits is more-achieveable and longer lasting if Christ has first changed what you love, thereby influencing what you worship and where you place your hope. We don’t need leaders who lead efforts for worldly change. We need leaders who guide the change only Christ can achieve.

These are the qualifications of an overseer. And their necessity is never more apparent than in public worship. Because here, Christ is offered to the people through His appointed means. Again, how can overseers offer Him unless they have first received Him?

Sadly, much of church leadership has turned into people running an organization or building a brand or perpetuating a legacy or upholding a tradition. But church leadership is simply about showing the way to a Savior. And through all we do, He is the goal, for only He can give us the life we need.

Will you receive the life Christ gives today? Trust in Him now. Admit your sin to God. Despise your sin and follow Jesus. Whether you have trusted Him today for the first time, or you are renewing that trust today, as we go now to His table, we see a picture of how He changes us: He gives Himself, and we receive Him.

Let’s bow in prayer.

Before we look at the passage for today, I thought it would be helpful to give some background on the book of James. The epistle of James is part of the New Testament commonly referred to as the General Epistles.  The General Epistles includes Hebrews - Jude. Unlike Paul’s epistles, which were intended for a specific church/audience, General Epistles refer to the books of the NT with a broad audience, potentially multiple churches or regions. The epistle of James was written by the James who was the half-brother of Jesus. Scholars date the writing of the book of James between A.D. 40 and A.D. 60, with most agreeing that the letter was likely written around the mid 40s A.D.

Among the most important themes in the book of James is the theme of perseverance in the midst of trials. It is important to understand the context of the audience that James is writing to in order to understand why the theme of suffering and perseverance are a major focus.

James identifies his audience as the 12 tribes of the dispersion. The dispersion refers to Jewish Christians as well as to Gentile believers (Acts 12) who lived outside of Israel due to persecution from Jewish leaders who were antagonistic toward Christ followers. Most scholars believe the Dispersion of the twelve tribes refers to churches spread throughout Asia minor, or modern-day Turkey.

In context of the dispersion, the circumstances were difficult. There were trials and suffering that believers were facing. In his letter, James calls believers to patiently persevere in faith. In doing so, he has much to teach us about persevering through trials.

I want to begin with a simple question this morning. Do we face trials in this life? It may help to clarify what I mean by trials. I am speaking of any type of difficulty, or hardship, or adversity - generally anything that causes mental and or physical distress. Trials can come in all shapes and sizes. They encompass both everyday difficulties like sickness, loneliness, financial hardship, and social discrimination, as well as more severe things like loss of loved ones or a difficult health diagnosis. Trials can also include situations such as persecution or tragic experiences where faith is severely challenged.

 Trials are part and parcel of living in a fallen world. We all face them. And if we’re honest, most of us have a default response when trials come into our lives: We ask “Why?”

You see, we don’t naturally embrace trials, and we certainly don’t naturally rejoice when we experience suffering and hardship. Our tendency is to resent trials because we prioritize comfort and ease over difficult things even if those difficult things may lead to spiritual growth and maturity. We often fail to see and trust God’s purposes in allowing us to undergo trials and we struggle to believe that God could actually be doing something good in the middle of our trials and pain.

But we must understand that God's people have always faced trials. We see that all the way back at the beginning in Genesis 3. From the beginning of redemptive history, God has used the trials of his people to cause them to look to Him, to rely on his strength, and to strengthen their faith. And as God's people have done this, he has produced perseverance in them which He uses in their sanctification, and their growing in completeness.

Still, we struggle to face our trials with a Christ-centered perspective. We struggle to look beyond the trial to the God who controls and purposes all things. But Scripture teaches us that God uses our hardships, our trials and sufferings, to form Christ in us, to grow us in spiritual maturity.

Therefore, believers should embrace trials with joy because God uses them to produce spiritual maturity and Christlikeness. How can we respond to our present trials in a way that reflects trust in God’s purpose to mature us?
 
Here in the beginning of the book of James, he shows us how to respond. We do this when we: regard our trials from a Christ-empowered perspective, when we recognize that trials have a Christ-centered purpose, and when we receive our trials as part of the Christ-forming process.

 Before we look closer at these verses, I want to make something clear here at the beginning. James's instructions about counting it all joy when we face trials in no way minimizes the difficulty of trials, and the feelings that we experience when trials happen. It is not wrong to be saddened and grieved when we are hurt, or when we experience the loss of a loved one. It is not wrong to be perplexed when we lose a job, or don't get a promotion, or things do not work out the way that we planned. It is not wrong to feel betrayed when a friend mistreats us.

So please hear me. We are not to pretend trials and grief do not hurt us; it is natural and normal that they do, and it would be a denial of our humanity to think we should be immune to the pains of hardship in our lives and in the lives of others. Pain is our reflex reaction to trials, and it is entirely legitimate. Nor is James saying we should go out looking for hardship: that we should deliberately create situations in which we will suffer. No - suffering in and of itself is not a good thing. James is saying that it is what God can accomplish through suffering that is good, not the suffering itself.

We see examples of this throughout Scripture. We see this in Job and we also see this expressed in the Psalms by David. David's son Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 3:4-5 there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, “4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

I know there are many of you who have experienced deep loss and heartache. We will all experience difficult trials at some point. We must understand that it is ok to hurt. We must also understand that we are to take our heartache to God. To walk toward him with our feelings, and not away from him. That being the case, there is a way to think about our trials that can affect our attitude toward them. That is how James instructs us here in our passage this morning. So, let's look at these together.

James starts out by calling himself a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So in other words, James is saying that he is a Christian, a believer, someone who has been redeemed by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. We see Paul echo this same thing in Galatians 2 when he writes, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

All that follows in James's letter is based on and flows from this fact - that he belongs to the triune God. James has much to say about way that we as Christians live in response to our justification. Much of what James writes centers on Christian ethics, or Christian morality. He teaches us that the way that we live gives evidence of who we are. So, the first thing we must understand as we read and studied the book of James, is that our obedience does not earn justification before God, and at the same time, how we live and the character that we have does give evidence of our justification.

James sets the tone at the outset. His identity is in Christ. With this established, he moves right into the heart of the matter in verse 2.

Notice that word “count.” It is a verb that means to evaluate, to reckon, to deliberately consider something in a certain way. The NIV and other Bible translations render the word “consider.” I think that helps us understand the sense a little better.

James is not saying: pretend this is fun. Nor is he calling us always to have a stiff upper lip. He is not telling us what to feel—rather, he’s telling us how to think. The sense here is to think about something intently. In other words, joy in trials does not come naturally—it comes through a renewed perspective.

And notice—he doesn’t say “count it joy if trials come,” but “when” they come. Trials are not rare interruptions in the Christian life—they are normal features of it. And they come in “various kinds”—different shapes, different sizes, different seasons. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.”

So, when James writes count it all joy, he does not mean pretending the trial is pleasant. It does not mean denying pain or sorrow. It means recognizing that God is doing something good—even when the situation itself is hard.

Think of it like an optical illusion. Have any of you ever seen an autostereogram? They are commonly called Magic Eye Pictures. If not, they are pictures that at first look like very odd pattern of colors. But if you stare at the picture in the right way, you can see an image appear in the picture. I used to love those things. It was so the rewarding when you're finally able to see the picture clearly. Initially, though, it can be very frustrating. At first glance, it just looks confusing—random shapes, meaningless lines. But once you figure out how to refocus your eyes and see what’s really there, suddenly everything changes. You see it differently. The picture didn’t change—your perception did.

At first glance, trials look like chaos, like interruption, like burdens. But through the lens of faith, we begin to see something else: God’s hand at work. Counting it all joy when we go through trials means that we rejoice in the opportunity to suffer without pretending that it is not painful. Here joy does not serve as a synonym for happiness; it is an evaluation of the situation according to God’s truth that says that trials are for our ultimate good even though the challenges themselves are unpleasant. Joy is not found in the pain itself—it is found in what God is doing through the pain.

And we must understand that this is only possible though union with Christ. It is only by the grace that comes through a relationship with Christ that we can “count” our trials this way, with joy. It is a Christ-empowered perspective. It is God’s desire that we could regard our trials from a Christ-empowered perspective.

James then tells us why we can count it joy in verse 3. Because something is happening. “The testing of your faith…” This word “testing” carries the idea of refining—like metal placed in fire to prove its genuineness and remove impurities. Your faith is not being destroyed—it is being developed.

James wants us to know that trials purify and refine our faith. As we continue trusting God’s promises during our suffering, we grow more confident in His faithfulness and are more able to believe that He can do what seems impossible to us. We grow more steadfast and less thrown into disarray by our trials.

The Apostle Peter echo’s this 1 Peter 1. He writes in verse 6, “6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

So, there is purpose in the testing of our faith, in the testing that trials bring. God uses it. But what does the testing of our faith do? Look at the second part of verse 3.

The Lord uses trials to test, prove, or purify our faith to produce steadfastness in us. And notice this: “produces steadfastness.” This is not random. This is not accidental. This is productive. God is doing something intentional in your trial—He is producing endurance. He is building spiritual resilience. He is strengthening your faith so that it doesn’t collapse under pressure.

In Romans 5:3, Paul writes, “3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” Later, in James 5, James reiterates this same command, “10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”

Faith in God should deepen over time and grow stronger so that we find it easier to trust the Lord in difficult times and waver less in our confidence in our Father. To put it another way, trials purify our faith so that we steadfastly persevere.

I have been fascinated for a while now with elite level military training. I think it’s just amazing to see and hear how those individuals are able to push themselves, both physically and mentally, to such lengths. My understanding is the examination for entrance into the Navy Seals, known as BUDS, is one of the most rigorous of the rigorous. For six weeks, recruits are pushed to their absolute limits—physically, mentally, emotionally. It looks brutal from the outside. Why would anyone design something like that? Because the goal is not to break them—it is to build them. Without that pressure, they would never become the kind of people who can endure in the moments that matter most.

In the same way, God uses the pressure of trials to produce something in you that comfort never could: steadfastness.

The pressure you feel is not pointless—it is productive. So one thing we can do to begin to recognize that trials have a Christ-centered purpose is instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?”, begin asking, “What is God producing in me?”

Again, this is only possible as we look to and rely on Christ in faith.

Lastly, James urges us to receive our trials as part of the Christ-forming process.
Look at verse 4. James gives us a command: “Let steadfastness have its full effect.” In other words—don’t resist the process. Don’t short-circuit what God is doing. Because the goal is: “That you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” As important as perseverance is, however, James wants us to persevere not as an end in itself but so that we “may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

What is James saying here? This doesn’t mean sinless perfection—it means maturity, wholeness, spiritual completeness. Perfection and completeness here refer to a well-rounded character that displays all the Christian virtues in their maturest form. God acts to redeem us not merely to rescue us from sin and death but also to make us a new kind of people, a new humanity patterned after the Lord Jesus Christ. God is working to make us like His only begotten Son.

This is how the Christian life works; Faith grows through learning to persevere in hardship. The apostle Paul says something similar in his letter to the Roman church: “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; Perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 3:4)

God is not just trying to get you through the trial—He is using the trial to grow you up. But that requires endurance over time.

Think about a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. As it struggles to break free, it looks like it’s fighting for its life. And sometimes, people try to help—by cutting the cocoon open.
But when they do, they actually harm the butterfly. Why? Because the struggle is what strengthens its wings. Without that struggle, it will never be able to fly. What looks like unnecessary suffering is actually essential development.

In the same way, if we constantly try to escape every hardship, we may be resisting the very thing God is using to strengthen us. If you remove the struggle, you remove the strength. Faith needs the pushback of trials for us to grow spiritually. Trials and hardships are an opportunity to cling on to the promises of God more tightly. This is a humbling lesson for us, because it reminds us that we need maturing as Christians.
Ultimately, this passage points us beyond ourselves—to Christ. He endured the greatest trial imaginable. The cross was not just suffering—it was injustice, agony. And yet, it was not meaningless. The crucifixion of Jesus was the very means by which God accomplished salvation.

Hebrews tells us that “for the joy set before Him,” He endured the cross. God was working all along. And if you are in Christ, that changes everything about your trials.

Your suffering is not meaningless—it is transformative. Your pain is not pointless—it is purposeful. God is using it to make you more like Jesus. We are not made right with God by our possession of Christian virtues but only by the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. Yet Christian character is always produced in those who have trusted in Jesus alone for salvation. Persevering in faith leads us to seek to become more and more like Him. Jesus is your strength - He walks with you in the trial. He sustains you through it. And He guarantees that it will not be wasted.

By God’s grace working through that relationship, you can regard your trials from a Christ-empowered perspective, you can recognize that your trials have a Christ-centered purpose, and you can receive your trials as part of the Christ-forming process.

We are called to consciously direct our perspective and vision above and beyond the present suffering, so that we look forward to the good that God will, over time, produce through them. It is as we do this that, alongside the deep pain, we can have a sense of the presence and goodness of God and be assured that we are in his hands and that he is at work within us.

Above all, we can relish the promise that God is using such trials to make us more and more like Jesus Christ. That is God’s purpose in our trials and it is our joy.

Let’s pray together.

I want to begin with a socially and culturally provocative statement: men and women are very different. It’s true! But seriously – men and women obviously have various different God-determined traits and characteristics.

Of course, in so many ways, we're the same. For example, both men and women are sinners in need of Christ. Neither gender is more sinful than the other. Corruption has touched every part of our being, and we break God’s law in so many of the same ways.

But the effects of sin also come to bear on our particular traits and characteristics, so that in some ways the corruption manifests itself differently in men and women. Those differences are on display all the time, and they were on display in the central gathering of the church in Ephesus – the public worship service in the covenant community.

Worship on the Lord’s Day is the primary event God uses in His heart-changing work.

This is why, as Acts 2 in the NT says, the believers, “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers,” “The breaking of bread” was more than simply sharing meals together. In public worship, they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, as Christ Himself had instituted and commanded during His earthly ministry.

Also, in Acts 20, Luke writes, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.” The Lord’s Supper was celebrated, and the Word was preached.

In city after city, the apostles established these worship services. Churches were founded like the one in Ephesus, where Paul left Timothy to lead. Timothy’s role in Ephesus was like the role Paul gave to Titus on the island of Crete. In Titus 1, Paul tells Titus, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order.”

That could be translated as “set in order what was absent or lacking.” Paul immediately states what was lacking and needed. He writes, “and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” Paul was concerned with God’s intended order of things in His church.

Now, as we work our way through these next verses, keep in mind Paul’s concern about this order in the church and in public worship. Issues arose related to the behavior and roles of men and women. God’s design for manhood and womanhood are in view.

Christ redeems men for godly, biblical manhood and women for godly, biblical womanhood. Those who are saved and being sanctified by Christ should reflect this. That is what God intends for His people in Christ. We must embrace this to abide in Christ and grow in His grace and knowledge. That’s why God commands this in His Word. So let’s look closer.

In the previous section, Paul commanded all kinds of prayer for all kinds of people. This was an instruction for public worship. All believers – men, women, and children – should practice prayer. But the context of this chapter reveals that the congregational assembly is in view.

Now Paul says, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray.” In “every place the church gathers for worship…the men should pray.” Everyone will be praying private, silent prayers, but before the congregation, it is men only who are instructed to lead.

Why only men? In Galatians 3, Paul says, “there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Yes, in Christ, men and women are absolutely equal in value, dignity, and in their inheritance of every spiritual blessing in Christ. But “equal” doesn’t mean “same in every way.” “Equal” doesn’t mean “called by God in all the same ways and all the same roles”

This was the case in the Old covenant community, and so it was in the New covenant community. As it was in the synagogues, so it must be in the churches, that the calling and responsibility for leadership was assigned only to men. All God’s people gather, but men lead. As we’ll see shortly, this order is rooted in creation and the home.

But notice that a certain kind of male leadership was necessary. See the rest of the verse, “the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.” Why might the men be quarreling or getting angry? About positions and authority, of course. Men must lead the church, but they should not be competing for prominence through power or position. Humility must characterize the men who lead God’s church. They should model godly, biblical manhood.

Now, what’s the significance of “lifting holy hands?” This same language is used in the book of Job – having “clean hands” before God. And in Psalm 24, King David sang, “Who shall ascend the hill of Yahweh? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” When a man comes before the congregation to lead God’s people, he must be holy, which is only possible because of God’s grace. And in thankful response to that grace, the man should seek faith to obey God’s law.

The men who lead God’s people to His throne of grace must never lose sight of the appropriate posture of the heart in worship as well as how Christ made it possible for sinners to approach the holy God. After all, His Word says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Now look at verse [9]. Paul writes, “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel.” The men should adorn themselves with humility. In a like manner, the women should as well. But something different is emphasized. See the next phrase “with modesty and self-control.” Their style of dress should reflect prudence and sober-mindedness.

Of course, worship is not a yardwork or cleaning day at church. No one expects women to dress for that type of occasion. But neither is worship a beauty pageant or a debutante ball. Paul says that very elaborate hair, makeup and clothing is out of place. That’s the principle of these instructions.

Paul writes, “not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire. The wording translated “braided hair” actually refers to many different hairstyles. These were very embellished first century stylings that took a long, long time to create and signified wealth or prestige or might be used to achieve maximum attractiveness. Think of the Met Gala, or the Oscars, or a formal event or a country club cotillion. This kind of appearance may fit other public settings, but not worship.

For worship, women should adorn themselves – see verse 10 – “with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” A certain kind of fashion may be appropriate at a gala or a formal, but the fashion for worship is faith and righteousness displayed through modesty and reverence. Godly, biblical womanhood.

For a congregation to be sound and healthy, to effectively proclaim Christ, these instructions must be followed, because in public worship, God intends for behavior to reflect biblical manhood and womanhood.

Men shouldn’t be preoccupied with being powerful, and women shouldn’t be preoccupied with being pretty. The men shouldn’t be power-tripping; the women shouldn’t be preening.

Notice again that Paul used the word “likewise” to begin verse 9. Both genders are prone to pridefulness, but in different ways. Both tend to be consumed with their appearance, but in different ways. Both sets of instructions address sinful efforts for prominence – one gender leveraging authority, the other leveraging beauty. And in both cases, they caught up not in the glories of Christ, but in self-glory.

Scripture repeatedly states what is “becoming” or “unbecoming” for God’s people. Christ redeemed us for godly behavior as men and women in the church. To go against these commands is not godly – it’s worldly.

Next, Paul moves to the subject of teaching and learning in worship. The preaching of the Word; the public reading of the Word. Look at verse [11]. Paul writes, “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.” Paul uses similar language in Ephesians 5 when discussing marriage.He says wives submit to your husbands as the church submits to Christ.

Of course, husbands are commanded to love, nourish and cherish their wives, to give themselves for their wives as Christ did for His church to sanctify her. But there is an authority dynamic here. There’s an order. However, I do want to point out that was notable at that time to encourage women to learn and approve their right to learn.

Now, Paul speaks differently about authority in 1 Corinthians 7 when discussing physical intimacy in the marital relationship. He writes, “the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” But that’s a different setting – the marriage bed. Again, the setting Paul has in mind in 1 Timothy 2 is public worship, and the positions of authority are ordained for men only.

Notice verse 12, he says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” In other words, women are not allowed “to deliver a teaching discourse” that includes men or “to govern or exercise dominion” over men in the church.

Obviously, then, men are to teach and exercise authority in worship and the church.See the rest of the verse. “Rather, she is to remain quiet.” Of course, men who are not leading will be quietly learning also, but Paul’s command speaks to the posture of women in God’s order.

Now, these next verses are essential, because whether this command is given in the first century or the 21st century, precedent is helpful! What’s the reason? The precedent for this order of authority is rooted in creation and the first home. Paul goes to the book of Genesis, to the beginning of things.

Paul recognized – as Christ did – that God made all things in the space of six literal days and that Adam and Eve were real, historical persons. Here at this church, we believe this as well, as we teach no other view. We do believe that humankind began with these two people, created by God. And there was an order in which they were created, see verse 13, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve.”

As a potter shapes clay, so the triune God “formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” This was the first man. He was the first father of humankind.

But “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Eve, the first woman and first mother of humankind, was literally “one who helps.” Adam existed without her, but things were not yet “good” for him. Yet, with the addition of the woman completed creation so that it was “very good.” That order is God's order of authority in marriage and the church.

In Ephesians 5, Paul writes, “the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is
the head of the church.” The husband is not better than the wife, he is not of more value than the wife, but in their roles as man and woman in home and church, he is prominent as chief,and very great are his responsibilities to the wife.

He is to lead her well, to protect her, care for her, love her, support her, defend her, strengthen her, nourish her toward spiritual maturity, and be tender with her. The man is to be Christlike, for his role is Christlike. Though he is the head, he must not be harsh.
Though she submits to him, he must always be serving her according to God’s order.

Now look at verse 14. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” Paul points out the order in which Adam and Eve sinned. The serpent deceived Eve. She transgressed God’s covenant first.

However, God made the covenant of works with Adam. In Romans, Paul explains that it was Adam’s transgression through which sin came into the world. Sin and death came in and reigned because one man sinned. Adam was the head of his marriage to Eve; he was the head of mankind. The order of leadership and authority in the church reflects that of the marriage.

Imagine if, when the serpent came to Eve to tempt her, Adam had stepped in. Men must step up to their God-ordained role as head in the home and church. Adam did not. He acquiesced to his wife. Dr. Bill Barcley has a helpful insight here. Barcley observes, “How does this fact support Paul’s case that a woman is not to teach or have authority over a man? Precisely in this, that the serpent slid around the structure of authority that God had instituted for the first family.” Barcley goes on to note that “Genesis 3:6 seems to indicate that Adam was present during the temptation. But he did nothing to intervene to stop it.”

Now, I want to add that these verses are sometimes wrongly interpreted as being a command unique to Ephesus and not to be applied in all the churches. But listen to this statement made by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. He writes, “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says.” “The Law” refers to the law of Moses, specifically to Genesis. The command for authority is rooted in the created order, even before the Fall into sin.

Now look at verse [15]. Though Eve sinned first, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” “She” is Eve. God was no less gracious to Eve than he was to Adam. Both looked to the Redeemer who would descend from them. But Eve would give birth, and from her, eventually, Christ would come into the world.

But notice the word “they?” This shifts from Eve to women in general. Now clearly, Paul is not promoting works-based salvation. We know that for sure. So let’s think through this. Generally speaking, it is women who give birth. It is the female gender only. That is their unique role in the created order. Of course, that is not what saves them from their sin. Faith in Christ – demonstrated through progressive sanctification – is necessary.
So what does this mean?

Paul’s reference to childbirth is shorthand for the uniqueness of biblical womanhood. Again, the reference to childbirth is shorthand for the uniqueness of biblical womanhood. It speaks to the exclusive role of women, with their distinct traits and characteristics. Women have a unique vital role in the home, marriage, and church, just as men do. Their uniqueness is to be treasured and championed in the home and church.

But to keep the interpretation in context, I added verse 1 of chapter 3, “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” This connects with Paul’s instructions to Titus in Titus 1 that I read to you earlier. Titus was to appoint elders. Timothy had the same responsibility.

These were to be qualified men who would exercise oversight and authority. Paul uses the titles of “elder” and “overseer” interchangeably. In Acts 20, Paul addresses the elders of the Ephesians church as “overseers.” Naturally then, elder or overseer is an office to be held exclusively by men in the church.

In public worship, God intends for roles to reflect biblical manhood and womanhood. Installing women as pastors or elders is contrary to God’s order of things. It’s not a philosophical difference. It’s a theological error. Dr. Barcley states this helpfully. He points out that egalitarianism in church roles is evangelical feminism. In the home and church men and women are equal in Christ but we have different roles.

But you may think “What difference does it make?” Well, apparently the differences matter to God because He created them. He established them, and in His Word He clarifies that there must be mutual love, respect, and honor. And we can’t fulfill our God-ordained roles as men and women in the home and church if we obey society’s attempts to erase all of our differences.

Christ redeems us – He brings us into spiritual union with Himself – to produce obedience that glorifies God and blesses us. Rightly ordered life in the home and church is one way Christ has overcome the world.

Have you trusted in the power of Christ as the only effective way to overcome sin? Have you believed on Him alone to satisfy God’s wrath against sin which you deserve? Receive Jesus today by grace through faith. No achievement on your part is required. Only believe. Believe, and turn from your sins to walk in His ways for they are the best ways to live.

Paul's instructions in 1 Timothy 2 are not intended to elevate men or diminish women. The goal is that men and women saved by Christ will enjoy the blessed order of things. In this way, the redemption Christ has accomplished will be displayed.

Sin has distorted God’s good design for humanity, but through His own person and work, Jesus Christ our Lord is restoring His people. And when His church gathers for worship, God’s grace and power are on display as the behavior and roles of men and women reflect that redeemed order.

Let’s bow in prayer.

There are many themes throughout the Old and New Testaments. The same ideas come up again and again. One of those themes is the surprising reach of God’s grace. His saving mercy extends far beyond the boundaries we naturally draw.

The OT prophet Jonah was disgusted that God would spare the evil Ninevites. The Pharisees couldn’t understand why Christ would interact with immoral social and religious outcasts. Another example is in the Lord Jesus’ parable about workers in a vineyard, where those who arrive early to work complain about those who come at the end of the day but receive the same paycheck. And then in His parable about the prodigal son, an older brother is furious when his corrupt younger brother is shown grace after leaving home with his family inheritance and returning with nothing.

Many who you think could never come to Christ will, in fact, before the end. In Matthew 8. Jesus says, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness.” And in Matthew 21, Jesus tells the Jewish chief priests and elders, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”

You may think you are beyond God’s grace. You may think others are. We naturally think God only saves a certain kind of person. But Isaiah 55 notes that God doesn’t think like we do. He extends His grace to people from every nation and every station in life. God’s Word confirms that reality, and it must shape and inform our prayers.

But with this knowledge shaping our prayers, what will happen?

These next verses in 1 Timothy tell us that as we pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people, God’s power will be displayed, His purpose will be fulfilled,
and His Son will be glorified. And as those things happen, we will see just how far God’s grace can go.

Now, after addressing false teaching and Timothy’s pastoral charge in chapter 1, Paul moves into instructions for worship, leadership, and life in the covenant community.
Look again at verse 1. He writes, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made.”

It’s no coincidence that Paul begins with the subject of prayer. The Shorter Catechism explains that biblical “prayer is an offering up of our desires to God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Jesus Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.”Prayer would be central to Timothy’s pastoral work. It would be central to the life of the church. Prayer is not secondary in the work of ministry.

Notice that Paul uses four different terms for prayer here. Why is that? Well, a “supplication” is a request based on an immediate need. A “prayer” is a general term for words addressed directly to God. An “intercession” is a petition made on someone else’s behalf. And “thanksgivings” are expressions of gratitude to God for all the blessings He gives. Various kinds of prayers are to be prayed regularly by and with God’s people.

Notice Paul’s next phrase. He says various prayers should be made “for all people.” This is the first time in this chapter that we see this important phrase. Now, to this, Paul adds, “for kings and all who are in high positions.” The sense here is that no group of people is exempt. No one should be seen as unworthy of prayers: Jews and Gentiles, subjects and rulers, poor and rich, men and women.

But then Paul gives part of his rationale for the command to pray for rulers. He says, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” God’s work in and among the powerful and influential – such as kings and other leaders – would benefit all people, and especially the life of the church and the proclaiming of Christ.

Yes, God works in times of persecution, but He also works in times of peace. Even today, when God changes the hearts of powerful leaders, or when evil leaders are removed from power, new doors open for the gospel. What Paul has in mind here is, as Dr. Bill Barcley puts it, “All kinds of prayers…offered for all kinds of people.”

As the shepherds and members of the church pray these prayers, immediate needs are met, and God works in us and those for whom we pray. As we pray these prayers, our hearts are transformed by the Spirit as we address God with praise and thanksgiving. We proclaimed earlier that we have “encouragement to pray” and should display “boldness, strength, and hope of the acceptance of our prayer” because of who Christ is and what He has done for us.

God works through prayer. He changes hearts through prayer. And as you pray, the first heart you can expect to see changed is your own. In Philippians 4, Paul told the church, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

As we pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people, God’s power will be displayed – in our world and in our hearts. Please listen closely, because this is biblical Christianity: our desires begin to align with the desires of God, our pride dwindles, and humility takes its place, fears and worries give way to a strange but assuring peace within, the Holy Spirit of God transforms our affections, so that we love what He loves, and deep spiritual communion with the living, triune God occurs, and all we did was pray.

We prayed for people from every nation and every station in life. God calls all of us to pray, both separately and together. Prayer is perhaps the most underestimated of God’s ordinary means of grace. The effects of prayer in the world are not quickly measurable. This is one reason why special seasons of prayer are sometimes called for.

But fervent prayer is to be a regular part of covenant community life. Long pastoral prayers from the pulpit in the worship service, as well as times of confession and thanksgiving from everyone present. Times of gathered prayer, like our weekly time in Sunday morning Bible study, and our biweekly times of Life Group prayer, as well as other times with believers, and your daily and continual “offering up of your desires to God, for things agreeable to His will, in the name of Jesus Christ, with confession of your sins, and thankful acknowledgment of His mercies.”

My friends, we must pray. Do you hope to see God’s power displayed? Then you must pray.

Now look at verse [3]. Paul writes, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior.” Important to note: he’s referring to the prayers for all kinds of people. Yes, God is glad for us to have “peaceful, quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way.” That won’t always be the case, but all works together for the good of God’s people.

Scholars agree that Paul is continuing his urging toward prayer. He says, “God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Many mistaken claims have been made using this verse.

For example, it’s often used to make a case for universalism – the belief that every single person will ultimately be saved. The idea is that God desires everyone to be saved, so in the end He will save everyone. We reject that belief on biblical grounds. The whole of Scripture refutes that belief. In fact, just two chapters after this, Paul says God is the Savior of those who believe.

Now, this verse is also used to make the case for synergism – the belief that salvation from sins is a cooperation or working together of God and human beings. The idea is that God desires everyone to be saved, and so the choice to accept or reject Christ is left up to the will of the individual. We reject that belief on biblical grounds.

The whole of Scripture refutes that belief, but two passages in particular come to mind: John 6, where Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,” Romans 9, where Paul says, “it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy,” and Ephesians 2, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

However, dealing only with this verse, to make a case for either universalism or synergism requires isolating this sentence from its context. We must understand Paul’s words here within the rest of his words, before and after. And when we do that, the meaning becomes clear. Paul commands prayer for all kinds of people because God’s saving purpose extends to all kinds of people.

God desires for all types of people, from all walks of life, from all races and nationalities “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The gospel was not only for the Jewish people, or only for the common people, but “for all people,” even “for kings and all who are in high positions.”

Many other places in the NT inform our understanding of the meaning of “all.” For instance, in Luke 2, Luke writes, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” “All the world” meant the Roman world, not every single person on planet Earth.

And in John 12, Christ speaks of His own crucifixion, saying, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” Yet we know that not every single person who has ever lived has been drawn to Christ. However, we also know that God draws people from every nation and station in life. All kinds of people – even the ones we see as beyond the reach of God’s grace. Even evil leaders.

One wicked ruler was the Roman emperor Nero, who ruled at the time Paul wrote this. Nero was a tyrant. Infamously cruel. He took enjoyment from inflicting pain on others. Not long after the writing of 1 Timothy, he began severe persecution of Christians. Yet Paul urged the church to include emperors in their prayers. And if the church must pray for a man like Nero, then no person should be left out of our prayers.

All kinds of people – even the ones we see as unsavable or unworthy. None of us are worthy. But in Revelation 5, the apostle John writes these words of a song sung in heaven: “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

The God of the Old and New Testaments is the only hope. Look at verse [5], “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

This further refutes universalism. A ransom is a substitutionary payment that redeems a specific people. John 10 and Ephesians 5 expressly state that Christ died for His sheep – for the church. Not every person will be saved. In Matthew 7, Christ says many will perish.

Verses 5 and 6 also further refute synergism. A ransom is not a potential payment merely making release possible. Christ did not just create the possibility of redemption. He accomplished redemption. If the work of Christ only produced the possibility for the salvation of everyone, then it didn’t actually secure salvation for anyone.

A ransom is a price paid that actually and effectively secures release. In Romans 9, Paul affirms this – which the OT repeatedly demonstrates: God has mercy on some and gives others over to their desire to harden their hearts.

But Christ has saved many, and will save many more. All types of people, from both Greeks and barbarians, with good reputation and bad reputation, from the worldly successes and the worldly failures, from the so-called good and the bad, from the supposed innocent and the guilty, from those who are addicts and those who are clean, from those who are mentally sick and those who are mentally well, from those whose lives are in order and those whose lives are in ruins.

This is the redemptive purpose of God, Revelation 7: “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, [10] and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” For this God calls us to pray.

And as we pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people, God’s purpose will be fulfilled. In Matthew 24, Jesus says, “This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations.” Do you hope to see God’s purpose fulfilled? Then you must pray. By ourselves, and together, we must pray, my friends.

Now look finally at verse [7]. Paul adds, “For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” What is “this” for what was Paul “appointed?”

It was His apostolic ministry to another type of people – the non-Jewish ethnicities, generally referred to as “gentiles.” Paul literally says he was “made” a preacher and apostle. By whom? By Christ. Christ made him a preacher to all kinds of people – to all types.

Now, notice the parentheses. He writes, “I am telling the truth, I am not lying.” That’s an interesting statement to put in a letter to a friend who is your protege. But as I said before, this letter would be read to the church and other churches, and it’s likely that Paul’s credentials were questioned by the false teachers.

He was an easy target for questioning, given his shameful background. In Acts 7, the Lord’s servant Stephen proclaims Christ and is put to death by stoning. Luke writes that “Saul approved of his execution.” This is Saul who would later be known by the Greek form of his name, Paul.

After Stephen’s death, Acts 8 says, “there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem...Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” But then in Acts 9, Saul is converted. He comes face to face with Christ, his eyes are opened, and he believes. He trusts in Christ. He then repents of his sins.

Now we have no explicit evidence in Scripture that the church was praying for Saul, but we do know that during times of intense persecution in the early church, they prayed intensely. In fact, in Acts 9, when God calls Ananias to minister to the recently-converted Saul, Ananias was likely praying. And God tells Ananias to go to Saul, and that when arrives, he will find Saul praying.

So, we can’t say for sure that the believers were praying for Saul before His conversion, but we can say for certain that during his ministry, Paul called the believers to pray for people like him. Christ had done a great work in him. The Spirit of God had regenerated his dead soul. God had opened his eyes, showing him mercy and grace. And Paul longed to see this same work done among the non-Jews, among every type of people, because you see, Christ was glorified before Paul’s very eyes during a time when he was not the type of person to whom you would expect God to extend His grace.

As we pray all kinds of prayers for all kinds of people, God’s Son will be glorified.
Do you hope to see Christ glorified before the lost? Then you must pray. By ourselves, and together, we must pray.

So there are many reasons to pray for those least expected to be saved. But there is no greater reason than this: praying for them causes you to reflect on who you would be apart from God’s grace. After all, your only hope was a mediator, and there is no other mediator but Christ.

Some people think they are too sinful for Christ to save them. Others think they are too respectable to need saving. But if the suffering of Christ was so severe, then how high the price must have been!

Why would you not trust only in Christ today? He paid your price. He broke the power of sin, so that you have peace with God and live His way. And because of Christ there is no more price to pay, but there are prayers to pray. All kinds of prayers for people from every nation and every station in life.

And those who are in Christ can be confident that in and through Him, our prayers are heard, and God has determined to use our prayers as accomplishes His holy will in our world and in our hearts.

Let’s bow in prayer together before we go to the Lord’s table.

Have you ever wondered, “Why do some church leaders fall?” Why do some act out in a way that disqualifies them from ministry? Sadly, it happens. Nationally, we hear of many every year. It can be hard to understand.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul writes, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Paul has in mind a level of understanding that recognizes the sin of pride – of thinking highly of ourselves. Scripture tells us that it’s dangerous to believe that we could never fall.

So, why do so many church leaders fall? Those who should know the Scriptures – and who were set apart to proclaim Christ – how can they behave as if they never knew Him?

Well, for sure, people are complex. There are always many factors at play, and no two situations are exactly the same. I want to be clear that pastoral ministry is not the ultimate thing. Ministry positions can be lost, but union with Christ cannot be lost. Those who truly belong to Jesus cannot finally fall away.

But the reality is that all believers are capable of falling in some form or fashion because we’re prone to let down our guard against the sin lurking both within and around us. Ministers and members can reject the life and strength that flows to us from Christ. All of us can – to translate Paul literally here – “thrust ourselves away from” our sense of what is right and wrong.

Do you ever choose wrong over right? Then you can fall. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it’s possible. And when we let down our guard against sin, we stop fighting it. It’s like wandering around a battlefield – bullets flying, bombs going off – with little or no sense of caution or awareness or self-protection from the danger.

All believers are capable of it. But we’re also capable of standing firm against sin.
Christ supplies all we need for life and godliness. Some weeks ago, I said we must continually receive union with Him as the guiding reality, defining message, and liberating power for our lives. That applies here. As we remain consciously aware of and actively engaged in that living union with Christ – drawing on Him through the means He has appointed –  we will receive what we need for caution, awareness, and self-protection from the dangers of sin.

We can thrust ourselves toward Him who thrust Himself to death for our sins – and we can enjoy the life that flows to us from Him, because He keeps and carries us.

However, doing so is not always easy in this life. As Paul says, we must “wage the good warfare, holding to faith and a good conscience.” Otherwise, disaster lies ahead.

So how do we remain strong in Christ and keep from falling? How do we receive union with Him as the guiding reality, defining message, and liberating power for our lives? How do we abide in or remain in Christ?

Well, two basic Biblical truths stand out from what Paul says here: by returning to Christ for grace, and relying on Christ for faith. With these powerful metaphors,
Paul helps us understand how to wage war and avoid wreckage. So let’s look at these.

At the beginning of chapter 1, Paul says he left Timothy in Ephesus to correct and eliminate false and useless teaching in the church. Here, he describes again the “charge” he “entrusted” to Timothy. It was a command for stewardship.

Pastoral ministry is the management of what doesn’t belong to the pastor. A congregation of believers belongs to God and is precious to Him. He entrusts the congregation’s care to the shepherds He calls. The Ephesian Christians were entrusted to Paul, and now to Timothy.

Like a father raises and teaches a son, Paul had prepared Timothy for the work. Then it has been handed over to Timothy by Paul, look at verse 18 again, “in accordance with the prophecies previously made about” Timothy. What were these prophecies?

Paul’s words in chapter 4 help us understand. There he says to Timothy, “Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.” This is a reference to Timothy’s pastoral ordination.

The early church modeled what we still practice today. When a man demonstrates God’s calling to pastoral ministry, and when he has been prepared to enter the ministry,
and when God has presented a specific ministry call or position for him, he is set apart before the congregation through the laying on of hands and prayer. The elders publicly affirm God’s calling to a work through this biblical ritual. With the prayers and other things that are said before the congregation, the elders pronounce or utter aloud what God will do through this man.

That’s the meaning of “prophecy” here. It’s the utterance of God’s will. That’s what happened with Timothy. The elders acknowledged God’s gifts given to him for pastoral use, and they confirmed that he possessed faith, character, knowledge, and skill.
And based on that, Paul appointed Timothy to this work in the city of Ephesus.

Now notice the next phrase in verse 18, “that by them you may wage the good warfare.” It’s very important to recognize that Timothy’s gifting and calling – along with all his training and preparation – plus the elders’ confirmation of the call and public proclamation of it – should all be seen as God’s grace toward Timothy.

Of course, his salvation was God’s grace toward him, but also, the call to pastoral ministry was God’s grace as well. Yes, the prophetic utterances at his ordination proclaimed Timothy’s competence, but that competence, from start to finish, is God’s grace toward the man. And in accordance with that grace, Timothy should “wage the good warfare.”

Picture a good soldier fighting for a cause. His duty and ability are God’s grace toward him. That any mere man could faithfully serve as a pastor is a gracious work of God. We are sinners saved by grace. We have hang ups and habits as well. So you can see why pastors must be urged to reflect on God’s grace towards them. As undershepherds of Christ encounter temptation and conflict, we have to reflect on God’s gracious calling.

But how does this relate to each of you? What about those who aren’t called as pastors or as church officers?

Well, like Timothy, when you professed faith in Christ, you accepted a call. Everyone who is born again by God’s Holy Spirit has been effectively called by God. And that effective call – meaning that you not only heard but also responded – that effective call was entirely and unequivocally God’s grace toward you. And, like Timothy, those who are called to salvation are also called to serve.

Of course, not all will be pastors or officers; in fact, most will not. But Ephesians 4 helps us understand this. Paul says some believers are called to ordained roles in church leadership, and they are tasked with “equipping the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” A saint is simply a believer in Christ. So, every believer receives a gracious call to salvation and to service – a call from the one and only God to receive His grace and renewal and to use the gifts and abilities He graciously gives you
in the opportunities that He graciously provides.

As Timothy fulfilled his call in Ephesus, Paul acknowledged that it would be a battle. Timothy would have to fight what Scripture calls “the world.” In 1 John 5, John writes, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” What is this “world” that believers have overcome?

John Calvin clarifies the meaning. He writes, “The term “world” has here a wide meaning, for it includes whatever is adverse to the Spirit of God: thus, the corruption of our nature is part of the world; all lusts, all the crafts of Satan, in short, whatever leads us away from God.” The war Timothy was called to wage was against sin. Sin both around him and within him.

“War” might seem like excessive language, but it’s appropriate. Calvin goes on to talk about the seriousness of this battle. He writes, “Having such a force to contend with, we have an immense war to carry on, and we should have been already conquered before coming to the contest, and we should be conquered a hundred times daily, had not God promised to us the victory. But God encourages us to fight by promising us the victory.”

In the war against sin, we already have the decisive victory because of who Christ is and what He did for us. There will be ups and downs in your earthly life, but because Christ has overcome, and you have union with Him by grace through faith, you also have already overcome the world. Therefore, you can rise each day to fight sin, for you already have victory in Jesus.

Paul tells Timothy to fight in the same way he was enlisted: by grace. In Colossians 2, Paul wrote to the churches, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” How did we receive Christ? By grace. It was all grace. There was none of our power. Paul says it wasn’t our own doing; it was the gift of God.

Why do church leaders fall? Yes, it’s often complicated. But whatever the cause or causes, whatever the circumstances or character flaws, the church leader who falls – and any believer who falls – has lost sight of the call to wage war by returning to Christ for grace.

It’s a call not only for leaders, but for all believers. Anyone who falls into sin at some point began to turn somewhere other than Christ. Do you ever do that? Of course you do. So you should know that you could fall. For Timothy to succeed in his calling – and for each of us to continue in ours – we must be sustained by Jesus, returning to Him for grace. Return to Jesus today.

But now look at verse 19. Paul changes metaphors, from a soldier in battle to a ship on the sea. He tells Timothy to “wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.” Timothy must hold to faith – to biblical faith. What is biblical faith?

Scripture tells us that Biblical faith is a settled inner conviction that is rightly grounded in God’s promises and that confidently embraces gospel realities that aren’t presently visible. What has God promised to His people?

First, He promised that the work of Christ alone is sufficient to save us from sin and death, and that salvation is ours by grace through faith. Also, He promised to form Christ in us, conforming us to His likeness. He will make us more like Jesus, again by grace through faith. To wage war against sin, Timothy needed to trust God continually for these.

But also, he would need to have “a good conscience.” He would need a sound understanding of right and wrong according to God’s law, loving what is right and despising what is wrong. That is “a good conscience.”

Not all of the leaders in Ephesus had maintained this faith and conscience. See the rest of the verse. “By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith.” Some leaders had cast off caution against the sin lurking within and around them. They had thrust away the practice of constantly returning to Christ for grace. They had put aside biblical faith and God’s standards of right and wrong.

Certainly everyone has heard of the disaster of the RMS Titanic – “the largest and most luxurious passenger ship of its time…reported to be unsinkable.” The Titanic was travelling from England to America in 1912 when it struck an iceberg. More than 1,500 passengers and crew died in the shipwreck.

Interestingly, the captain received many warnings of icebergs ahead but continued, though today he’s not considered to have been reckless or negligent. His knowledge, and the nautical technology at that time, was limited compared to what sailors now possess. But still, historians agree that the disaster could have been avoided, and after the Titanic sank, everyone took note. They were more aware than ever of the dangers of icebergs at sea because of the tragic example of the Titanic.

There were multiple leaders who wrecked their faith in Ephesus, notice verse 20. “Among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.” This was an act of church discipline – removing from the congregation and from membership professing believers who have fallen into grievous sin and refuse to repent. Among the purposes are the protection of the purity of the church and helping the fallen believers take their sin seriously so they will return to Christ.

We saw last week that Paul was once a blasphemer. He had slandered Christ. Hymenaeus and Alexander were apparently doing the same. We actually don’t know if they later repented and were restored. We hope they were. But Paul literally says they were put out of the church to instruct and discipline them. It was not an act of punishment. It was an act of love. It was an act of love for them and for the body of Christ.

Those who are truly saved will eventually see the light. Those who are born again, who have that union with Christ, will eventually return to the faith, because you see, that’s what was put aside when they descended into sin. Biblical faith was cast off. Not that they lost their salvation, but that their conscience became insensitive to sin. They indulged and fed the desires of the sinful nature. The world was no longer their foe. Instead, the world became a friend.

Why do church leaders and believers fall? Again, it is often complicated. But whatever the cause or causes, any believer who falls has lost sight of the call to avoid wreckage by relying on Christ for faith. Timothy would need to rely on Christ for strong faith to persevere.

We don’t muster faith. We don’t get it through human inspiration or strategies. In Hebrews 13, the writer of that sermon prayed that God would “equip [the people]
with everything good that [they would] do [God’s] will,” and that God performs this
by “working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ.”

As we come to Christ in worship – both publicly and privately, in the church building and the home, using the means He has appointed – He strengthens our faith. That’s our only hope to avoid wreckage on the dangerous sea of life.

The battlefield is real. The sea is dangerous. Any believer who stops watching and fighting will drift toward wreckage. But we continue with Christ the same way we came to Him: by grace through faith. The same Jesus who secured our victory by grace now sustains us by that same grace.

So examine your heart today. Where have you grown casual with sin? What pulls you away from Christ? If you are fearful of falling, be confident in Him. He can sustain you. If you have fallen or sense that you have been falling, be confident in Him. He can restore you. Return to Him for grace, rely on Him for faith, wage warfare and avoid wreckage.

Let’s bow in prayer.

We all have strategies for success in our lives. What do I mean?

I mean ways we go about getting the outcomes we want. Habits, methods, and systems we rely on. We have ways of doing things.

How do you keep your house clean? How do you maintain your yard?

How do you get to work on time? How do you care for your children?

How do you keep up your car or your personal appearance?

How do you get people to like you? How do you fit in within others?

How do you go about doing whatever it is you do? Strategies or plans of action.

Most of the time, they’re not written down. They're just in our heads. We’re usually open to new and better ones, though in some cases we’re very committed to our tried-and-true ways. But in areas of life where we struggle or feel ineffective or unsuccessful, we’re particularly open to new strategies.

How do you deal with unwanted thoughts, feelings, or emotions?

How do you feel better? How can you be better?

It seems like today we have more strategies available than ever before. You can watch a video, read a book or an article, talk to a counselor. You can ask AI. There are endless options for learning what to do and how to do it.

It’s often assumed that worship and preaching are just additional channels for learning effective strategies for living. You may pick up some of those, but that’s not the primary purpose. You see, worship and preaching confront and comfort you with life’s greatest realities. Here, we revisit the everlasting and abiding truths that shape the whole person.

Now it’s sometimes said that while that may be helpful, that’s not practical. Someone may ask, “Okay – but what do I do now? What are the strategies? What are the methods? How do I change, and how do I affect change in my world?” Those are good questions – questions we need to ask – but we naturally go wrong in our approach. How so?

Well, we move on from God’s great truths and rely on our own methods and strategies. But you must understand – Scripture reveals that for all the effective strategies and methods for changing our behavior or the behavior of others,
our methods cannot change the human heart. Only God can change the human heart. Only He can change what we love and desire.

In this next section of 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul speaks concisely to this reality. He describes the complete hopelessness of sinners in our natural state, but then proclaims that God shows mercy and grace to hopeless sinners. God changes hearts. He causes us to be spiritually born again, bringing us into spiritual union with Christ. And then, through that union, He accomplishes lasting heart change through the means He has ordained.

Without the change that only God accomplishes through Christ, our strategies and methods may bear some pleasant results, but they will ultimately fall short of producing the lasting change we desire.

However, as God does His heart-changing work, we will be able to discern His good will in all things. When the great truths of God inform and shape our whole lives, we will be able to choose and apply the best strategies and ways for living. And here Paul highlights three aspects of this great truth. Notice the outline. Paul tells us that:
We are, by nature, ignorant unbelievers and hopeless enemies of the one true God. (vv.12-13)
No one is beyond the sovereign God’s gracious forgiveness and restoration. (vv.14-15)
God's saving work magnifies the patience and power that He alone possesses. (vv.16-17)
These are the facts that must govern a believer’s whole life. So let’s look at each one.

In the previous section, Paul states that God gave the law because we are sinners. All of us break His moral law and stand guilty before Him. Paul speaks generally, but then gets more specific. Notice he says God’s law was given “for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, [10] the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.”

Then he contrasts all sinfulness with what He describes as, “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” It may sound as though Paul is elevating himself above others. God chose to do a great gospel work through him, so naturally that might elevate the people’s opinion of Paul, and it might also elevate Paul’s opinion of himself.

But based on what Paul says next, he seems to anticipate that response, whether the thought is “He’s better than us,” or “He thinks he’s better than us.” Look again at verse [12]. He says, “I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service.” This shouldn’t be read as Paul expressing that he deserved his role as an apostle.

Actually, Paul is amazed that Christ “considered him one useful for his purpose,” “decided to involve him in this ministry,” “chose to enable someone like him” – given Paul’s history and reputation. The Lord essentially said to Himself, “I will perform my work through this one.” Paul thanks Christ because he wasn’t able within himself to believe, much less to perform such a ministry.

Like all sinners, Paul was not morally neutral. God chose to save and sanctify Paul, he says, notice verse [13], “though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent.” He slandered faith in Christ. He harmed those who believed. Paul was not indifferent to the faith; rather, he was pridefully against it.

However, see the rest of verse 13, “But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief.” Now, this could be easily misunderstood. Paul is not saying that his ignorance somehow made him worthy of salvation or ministry. He’s not saying, “God showed me mercy because of my ignorance.” He’s saying, “Because of my ignorance, God’s mercy was my only hope.” He’s saying he could not have been saved without mercy. He’s saying, “I was an ignorant unbeliever, therefore God had to grant me
undeserved favor.”

Undeserved favor was his only hope. Like all sinners, Paul deserved judgment, but God mercifully chose not to cause that judgment to flow over him. Instead, verse [14],”...the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”

Overflowing isn’t usually a good thing. When a river overflows after torrential rain, it’s dangerous. When the sewers overflow and fill the streets, it’s a mess. If you pour a drink or fill a bowl and you pour too much, it’s a clean-up situation. In every case, an overflow means there’s too much. There’s a super-abundance.

But here, overflow is a good thing. There was a super abundance of God’s kindness and favor toward Paul. That’s why he was saved. That’s why he was called to be an apostle. Not because God saw some small bit of righteousness in Paul’s soul, but because “the LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”

As you choose your strategies for living, as you go about your daily life, following Jesus Christ begins with this fact: We are, by nature, ignorant unbelievers and hopeless enemies of the one true God. But we don’t stop there. Look at the beginning of verse [15]. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance” or “complete acceptance.”

This is a phrase that Paul uses at various times. It’s a formula. Dr. Bill Barcley says that Paul wherever employs this phrase, whatever comes next “faithfully represents the gospel message.” What follows is true to the message of Christ, and Barcley adds, “All who claim to be believers must wholeheartedly accept this saying and apply it to themselves.” Let me clarify – not only should we accept it as true, but also, true of us.

Now see the saying – “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am the foremost.” I said in my previous sermon that when we read Paul’s list in verses 9 and 10, we might feel pretty good about ourselves by the time we get to the end. You’re a lawbreaker, but you haven’t done these heinous sins on this list. But that would be delusional on our part, because while there are various sins in God’s law that you can say you’ve never committed, James the brother of Jesus writes, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

God’s moral law is not like the civil and criminal laws of the United States. If you break one U.S. law, you aren't as guilty as the worst criminal. That’s not the case with the moral law of God. Romans 3 says, “There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yes, earthly consequences differ. In human terms, it’s worse to kill someone than to simply want to do it in your heart. But before God, we all stand condemned.

Also notice here that even though Paul is saved and sanctified in Christ – even though he serves God and continues to grow in holiness – he’s still comfortable referring to himself as a sinner. In fact, it’s a healthy practice according to the apostle.

Paul’s letters reveal that throughout the course of his Christian life, he increasingly saw the depths of his own sin. Early in his ministry, in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul calls himself “the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle.” Later on, during the middle of his ministry, in Ephesians 3 he says he is “the very least of all the saints.” And then here, in his later ministry, he says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, our awareness of our sin grows, and our wonder and amazement at God’s grace grows as well.

Were there sinners at that time that had done more heinous things than Paul? Yes, of course. He knew that. But he realized the truth: there had been no hope for him apart from the mercy and grace of God in Christ, but no one is beyond the sovereign God’s gracious forgiveness and restoration.

Do you see not only the grossness of your sin, but also the grace of the Savior?

And notice Paul’s logic in verse [16]. “But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”

Both the Old and New Testaments describe the “longsuffering” of God with sinners. He puts up with and endures the continual lawbreaking of those He later saves! Do you know how it feels to put up with someone? God puts up with us. And by saving us, Christ shows His patience with those whom the Father gives to Him. Paul recognized God’s intention to demonstrate His grace by saving and sanctifying “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of Christ the Lord.

In Acts 9, when from heaven Jesus confronted Paul, who at that time went by his Hebrew name “Saul,” Scripture says “he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” [5] And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Was Paul pursuing Christ? Yes – to do harm. But Christ pursued Paul, not to harm him, but to heal him.

In His grace, God credits us with Christ’s righteous record and adopts us as sons. How should that make us feel? How did it make Paul feel? Look at the final verse. [17] “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Paul gives all praise to Christ. He says nothing about having chosen Christ or found Christ. He says nothing about God looking into the future to see that Paul would choose Christ.

No, Paul saw himself as a hopeless sinner in need. But Christ saved Him. God chose to turn the tables on Paul’s awful ways and reputation. God possessed both the power and patience needed to save Paul. The same is true for all those He saves through Christ. And God's saving work magnifies the patience and power that He alone possesses.

These are the greatest realities of all realities. These are the most amazing of all truths. Like the surgeon who operates so that someone may see clearly, God changes how we see our strategies. Like the surgeon and staff who perform an organ transplant, God removes the defective heart and installs a healthy one. And like the professional who gives the treatment and medicine we need to heal, God administers what produces true and lasting change within us. Human strategies can produce behavioral modification, but only God’s means of grace can generate Spirit-wrought heart renewal.

It is with this perspective – abiding in the message of Christ – that we should approach all our strategies and methods for living. Whatever it is, see it in the light of the cross. However heavy it feels, compare it to the great glory of the person and work of Christ!

May Christ be formed in you! May His strength and life flow to you through union with Him, as life and strength flows from the vine to the branch! And as His life flows to you, see what fruit is born. Then you will be able to discern His good will in all things. May this great truth inform and shape all of life. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today. Trust in Him and be saved. And turn from your sins to follow Jesus Christ. He will not just walk with you; He will carry on.

Let’s bow in prayer.

I want you to think about some scenarios as I read each one.
First, picture a child who’s told not to touch a hot stove.
Before the command, the stove wasn’t interesting, but once it’s forbidden,
they feel curiosity and the urge to resist. The command triggers their defiance.
Or imagine someone who donates to charity, volunteers at church,
and avoids scandalous sins, but in their heart they compare themselves to others,
and they feel secure with God because they aren’t like “those people.”
Now picture someone who publicly insists on correct doctrine and keeping moral rules,
but privately at home, they are harsh, unkind, and unrepentant.
They check religious boxes but neglect to love others.
Or imagine someone who constantly corrects others’ behavior,
and can even speak knowledgeably about biblical standards,
but they do so mainly to appear knowledgeable or to gain influence.
So, the rules are a way to elevate themselves in the eyes of others.
Now, finally, picture someone who enjoys listening to sermons, but still justifies their sin. Knowledge soothes their conscience but doesn’t change their life.
Each of these scenarios demonstrates ways sinners misuse God’s moral law.
We all naturally do this in some way.
We view His law as a way to justify ourselves, or to control others,
or to manipulate how others see us,
or we view His law as a threat to our freedom and happiness.
Various passages of Scripture – both OT and NT – describe these tendencies.
And in light of how our sinful nature reacts to God’s law,
you might conclude that His law is somehow bad or unholy.
RHF: But on the contrary, God’s law is holy and good,
and He graciously saves and sanctifies His people through Christ alone
so that we may use His law properly and glorify Him in our lives.
MP: Our goal must be to handle His law properly, as He intends.
AQ: But how do we do that? How do we use God’s law lawfully in our own lives,
with our children, with our spouse or family or friends?
Well, it begins with understanding three things about the law seen in these verses.
You can see them listed there for you.
1. God's law reflects His holy character. (v.8a)
2. God's law condemns lawbreaking sinners. (vv.8b-10)
3. God's law serves His glorious gospel. (v.11)
With a grasp on each of these truths, we will use the law as God intends.
So let’s look at each of these.
EXP:
Previously in 1 Timothy 1, we learned that some individuals in the Ephesian church were misusing parts of the OT in attempts to appear knowledgeable and spiritual.
Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to put a stop to it.
He said these people desired “to be teachers of the law,” specifically the Mosaic law –
the part of the OT given to Moses. This is the first five books of the OT,
often called the Pentateuch or the Torah. It contains a great deal of redemptive history,
and also the moral, ceremonial, and civil laws of ancient Israel.
Let me explain briefly the difference in these kinds of law.
The ceremonial laws were details about how to approach God and worship Him.
These laws were later fulfilled by Christ and done away with through Him.
The civil laws were instructions for how to function as a nation.
Those laws expired with the discontinuation of Israel as a covenant nation-state
under the Mosaic covenant, since those laws were given to govern
that particular people in that particular redemptive-historical setting.
But the moral law of God – summarized in the Ten Commandments –
still applies today as God’s enduring standard for right and wrong.
Notice the first part of verse [8] again, “Now we know that the law is good.”
If the sinful nature is inherently resists God’s law –
if we innately twist it to justify ourselves, control others,
or even turn against God as we interact with it – how can the law still be good?
Theologians have recognized what are typically called “the three uses of the law.”
I’ll say more about them here shortly, but they rest on a simple truth:
God's law reflects His holy character. God’s law is good because He is good.
ILL:
Paul deals with this in Romans 7. He writes, “What then shall we say? That the law
is sin? By no means!...if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.
For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness…sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
APP:
This is our first lesson in how to use the law and the whole OT.
It is from God and about Him.
It’s a record of His righteous ways and redemptive plans that culminated in Jesus Christ.
God gave the law, therefore it cannot be bad.
The problem is not God’s law. The problem is the sinful human heart.
The law is still useful – in fact, extremely valuable to us – if we use it, first of all,
to know God more. The law is not just about rules; it reveals the character of God.
EXP:
Now look at the rest of verse 8. “if one uses it lawfully.”
There’s a right and a wrong way to handle the law of Moses, and really the whole OT.
It must be declared properly, according to the rules.
The speculative stories and lessons drawn from the OT by foolish teachers in Ephesus were not useful. Their approach to the law lacked understanding, see verse [9], “understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners.”
They treated the law as though it were not meant for sinners in their need.
And by doing so, they sidelined the true purpose of the law.
ILL:
God’s law is for speculation and controversy; it’s for redemptive and moral instruction.
It’s for conviction of sin and pointing to the need for Christ.
And this brings us back to the subject of the three uses of the law.
God didn’t give the written law because people are righteous.
He did so because people are sinners. The law addresses our sin,
and it does so by functioning in three ways: as a mirror, a bridle, and a guide.
God’s law acts as a mirror in that it shows us our sin.
None of us are just before God on our own merit; we are “lawless and disobedient… ungodly and sinners.” God’s law shines the spotlight on our sin for us.
Also, it acts as a bridle restraining evil, As bad as the world is, it could be much worse.
By introducing His written law, God articulated what the human heart knows to be true.
And so people often refrain from evil, not out of love for God or neighbor,
but because of the external consequences of breaking His moral law.
This restraint doesn’t change the heart, but it does limit the damage sin does.
The third use of the law is its function as a guide.
God’s law shows us how to live and glorify God,
how to walk in His ways and not wander from Him, which is the best way to live.
EXP:
Now, look at the next part of this passage. The law is laid down by God “for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, [10] the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine.” As Paul continues His list, you might feel increasingly righteous.
But that would be delusional and not helpful for you.
ILL:
In Romans 3, Paul says, “There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God.” He quotes the OT Psalms, “None is righteous, no, not one…no one does good, not even one.” This is every person after the fall of Adam and Eve –
except for the Lord Jesus Christ who came from heaven.
For sure, there are various sins in God’s law that you can say you’ve never committed,
but in James 2, the brother of Jesus writes, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails
in one point has become guilty of all of it.”
APP:
To use God’s law lawfully, you must first understand that it reflects His holy character, and then, that it condemns lawbreaking sinners, which includes you.
Paul didn’t write this with a judgmental heart. If we continue reading to verse 15
as we will next week, he states, “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am
the foremost.” God's law condemns lawbreaking sinners – and each of us is one.
EXP:
So we’re learning how to handle the law. We’re seeing how to read the OT.
It’s useful for showing us that God is holy and we are sinners.
But, of course, we know that’s not the whole story.
The Bible records redemptive history. It’s the history of salvation in and through Christ!
Luke 24 says, “Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Christ] interpreted to
[His disciples] in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Luke later says that “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” point to
the person and saving work of Jesus Christ.
Notice the end of verse 10 again. God laid down the law – He appointed His law –
to clarify “whatever…is contrary to sound doctrine.”
This could be translated as “healthy doctrine.”
The local covenant community is a body. To be healthy, sound doctrine is necessary.:
Paul then adds, verse [11] “in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.” Paul and others preached Christ.
Him they proclaimed.
ILL:
In Acts 20, when Paul addressed the Ephesians elders, he said that he had declared
to them “the whole counsel of God.” This included God’s law.
The OT was Paul’s Bible. He proclaimed Christ from the Law and the Prophets.
And this leads us to another aspect of the three uses of the law.
As a mirror, God’s law shows us not only our sins, but also our need for grace.
As a bridle, God’s law not only restrains evil,
but also shows that rules cannot change the heart. Gracious heart-change is required.
And as a guide, God’s law shows us not only how to live, but also,
how Christ lived in our place. The law not only directs us away from sin,
but to Christ – for grace.
We need grace not just to be saved, but to obey.
To use God’s law lawfully, understand that God's law serves His glorious gospel.
The law supports the gospel by showing us our need for His grace.
APP:
Today, some see the OT as less directly for the NT church.
When they venture into the OT, they only see moral lessons and laws.
Yes, the OT is filled with lessons about what we should and should not do.
But these lessons don’t hold the power to change – even for those who are born again.
Christ saves and sanctifies His people to enable us to obey God,
but we don’t then muster that ability from within.
No, that ability flows from Christ – from union with Him.
Not from self-effort, self-analysis, or self-understanding,
though we do take a hard look within and make efforts.
But His finished work and powerful resurrected life in the power.
The gospel tells us that obedience to God is not the basis for right standing with Him.
Rather, obedience to Him is the fruit of His grace towards us.
CLOSING:
We face issues with right and wrong everyday.
One place this is always on display is in the family.
Parents correct their children daily, spouses and children correct each other.
How can we handle the law lawfully in our families and homes?
Yes, everyone will sin, and we do need to hear the rules.
But sin shows us not only our need for change, but also, for Christ and grace.
A child’s sin is always an opportunity to teach that child about Christ.
Your sin is always an opportunity for you to learn Christ.
If your child gets in trouble, of course you correct and discipline them.
But also, you must say “See, you need Christ, don’t you?”
Then you must offer them Christ.
And when you sin, look in the mirror and say, “See, you need Christ, don’t you?”
Both His law and His gospel declare the glory of our blessed God.
Do you have the assurance of peace with Him through the Lord Jesus Christ?
Not based on your feelings but on the facts of who Christ is and what He’s done?
Trust in Him today. Believe in His ability to make you right with God.
Believe in His ability to change you within, to transform your heart.
Put your faith in Jesus alone today.
Not what you can or should do, but in what He has done.
Christ will make you able, along and along, to conform your ways to His ways.
Begin your journey with Christ today.
Or if you’ve already begun that journey, renew your trust in Him.
Yes, His law condemns your thoughts and desires and behavior.
But you use His law lawfully for growing in His grace and walking with Him.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Well, if you’re like me, you’re ready for warmer weather! You know it’s coming when you see new buds on the trees and bushes – the first signs of new life. Of course, those new buds aren’t the finished product. They’re only the start.

New spiritual life in Christ is similar. Being born again is only the beginning. The apostles spoke at length about growing in Christ. They pictured maturity – the completeness brought about in a believer’s life as Christ is formed within.

For example, in Colossians 1, the apostle Paul says, “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Paul proclaimed the glorious news of who Christ is and what He’s done not only to lead people to salvation, but also, for their ongoing sanctification. He declared the wonders of Jesus’ sacrifice, grace, love, power, and goodness for the spiritual growth of God’s people.

Listen again. “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” As we know Christ more, and our thoughts and desires are transformed by the grace and knowledge of Him, we mature in Him. We receive what He gives, and we change.

And for this maturity Paul speaks for all the church leaders when he says, “Him we proclaim.” This was why Paul left his protege Timothy with the Ephesian church. The focus of some was drifting away from the person and work of Christ. They were focusing on things that didn’t promote spiritual maturity. And the movement was gaining traction among the people.

It’s not hard to understand why. All of us are drawn to what pleases our sinful nature and avoids Christ. We’re interested in what’s “shocking or new” over what’s “timeless and true.” We don’t naturally want to take a hard look at our own sin. We’d rather be puffed up with pride. We’d rather get some pointers for self-help.

But those aren’t the goals of sound preaching and teaching. Good preaching and teaching helps us look within, pursue humility, and treasure the timeless realities of Christ and His gospel. Good preaching and teaching will glorify the Savior, not gratify the sinful nature. It will direct us to Christ, not distract us from Him with other subjects and ideas.

That was a major issue in Ephesus. But the church needed the sound preaching and teaching that proclaimed Christ that does three things described in these verses. Notice the outline on page 6. It reflects faithful stewardship, results in genuine love, and rejects empty talk. This is still true and needed in the church today. And as God’s people receive it, He produces salvation and sanctification.

Now look again at verse [3]. “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus.” Paul established this church in Ephesus (in what is modern day Turkey). Timothy came along later. Then Paul went to Macedonia (modern day Greece), across the Aegean Sea, leaving Timothy in Ephesus. Here he says why: “so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine.”

There were believers, maybe leaders, deviating from the sound proclamation of Christ. How exactly? Verse [4], “nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.” This gives a little bit more detail. This and the following verses indicates that these myths, genealogies, and speculations were Jewish in nature.

Let me give you a potential example. In Genesis 39 in the OT, Joseph encounters Potiphar, an officer of the Pharaoh. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers, but he found favor with Potiphar. And Potiphar made him an overseer in his house. Then at some point, Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph into adultery with her. When Joseph rejected her, she accused him of trying to seduce her. After that, Joseph’s opportunity in Potiphar’s house was over.

Now, this is all we know about Potiphar’s wife. Scripture doesn’t even record her name. But Jewish interpretive traditions would sometimes expand on biblical narratives, especially where Scripture is silent. One kind of expansion could be imagined backstories about figures like Potiphar’s wife.

Is it interesting? Sure. Is it true? Who knows. But these stories weren’t worthy of inclusion in God’s Word. They didn’t support the redemptive history that points to the person and work of Jesus. And so this is the kind of speculative story passed down in Jewish tradition that Paul is warning against. However, his concern wasn’t just false stories, but teaching that distracted from Christ and hindered faith and godliness.

Notice again that these stories and speculations were contrary to “the stewardship from God that is by faith.” The shepherds (or leaders) of the church are managers of God’s truth. They are stewards authorized to watch the doctrine of the church closely. This is why they must be trained, examined, and held accountable.

This is why we have confessional standards as a church: summaries of our beliefs. The shepherds of the church take vows to teach and practice these things. They are not to add to or take away from what they have vowed to uphold. They are to preach and teach the whole counsel of God.

They’re like managers of a city’s water, making sure it flows clean and steady, or managers of the power grid, making sure the current is strong and uninterrupted,
or dispensers of medicine, making sure the prescription is accurate and unaltered. Sound preaching and teaching that proclaims Christ reflects faithful stewardship.

Timothy was authorized to declare Jesus for seeing disciples made and matured. The shepherds deliver those means of growth which God has ordained. But those means can be undermined. They can be neglected or corrupted. That was happening in Ephesus. It still happens today. The stewards must be diligent to protect the purity of the preaching and teaching.

Now notice verse [5] again. “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” What’s the goal of this command that Paul gives to Timothy for the church? It’s not right doctrine as an end in itself. The goal is love. “Him we proclaim” so that God would produce true love in every heart.

Notice from where this godly love arises. First, “a pure heart.” Even once we’re born again, the sinful nature still attempts to control us each day. It wants to drag us back into the life from which Christ redeemed us. It can no longer make us powerless against sin, but it wants to make us complacent.

The sinful nature wants us to be ineffective and unfruitful. Sin creeps up on us from deep within. But the gospel tells us that God has put a new heart in those whom he saves. We were His enemies because of sin, but He loved us, and sent Christ to save us. As that truth sinks in, we begin to change within, and godly love gains momentum.

Notice from where else godly love arises – “a good conscience.” Dr. Bill Barcley writes that “The conscience is the arbiter of the rightness and wrongness of a person’s actions.” This is the moral consciousness of a person. Barcley says, “The conscience evaluates and controls behavior, but does not serve as an independent determiner of right or wrong actions…The conscience can be informed…the conscience can be corrupted.”

Dr. Barcley notes that a good conscience is one that has been transformed by God and informed by His Word. It can be seared and defiled by sin, or it can be sanctified and directed by the Savior. “Him we proclaim” so that you would love what is true and hate what is false, and develop an increasingly “good conscience” – one that treasures the person and work of Christ. As that occurs, we change more, and godly love grows within.

But notice from where else godly love arises – “a sincere faith.” The faith that is in Christ alone for righteousness and salvation is a gift from God. Paul says this is the case, “so that no one may boast.” Salvation by grace through faith. He says it’s “not your own doing…not a result of works…We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

As we contemplate the great gift of faith in Jesus – through the preaching and reading of the Word, through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and through prayer – we change even more, and godly love grows even more.

“Him we proclaim” so that your faith may grow strong, so that you would marvel at the fact that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you!

“Him we proclaim” so that faith in Christ would affect how you see yourself and every part of your life.

“Him we proclaim” that you may truly believe and say “Yes!” when you hear, “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This is how God produces genuine love in our hearts. Sound preaching and teaching that proclaims Christ results in genuine love.

Now see verse [6], “Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion.” They were missing “the stewardship from God that is by faith.” They were missing “a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” They were getting caught up in other subjects – getting sidetracked, and verse [7] says, “desiring to be teachers of the law.”

They wanted to appear knowledgeable of the OT Scriptures, especially having information not present in the Scriptures perhaps having keen insights that were theirs alone. But it amounted to “vain discussion;” in other words, “empty talk.” It had no value for producing real godliness. It actually produced the opposite.

You might think, “Well, what difference does it really make? What’s the big deal?” The Christian life is like going upstream on the river in a Jon Boat with a trolling motor. As long as your little motor is running, you’re moving forward, against the current. But if you switch your motor off, you quickly begin to drift back. You can’t remain still against the current. The sinful nature is the current. The motor is the ordained means through which we receive the life of Christ.

Today, we may not hear any Jewish legends in our Evangelical Protestant churches. What you may hear instead is moralistic teaching and preaching that amounts to, “Try harder. Do this, don’t do that.” Yes, we must pursue holiness, and yes, there are things to stop doing or start doing as we follow Jesus. But it’s “Him we proclaim…that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Christ pursued holiness for you, and He accomplished it. Christ loved what was true, and He despised what was false, in your place. It’s “Him” and His achievements, not us and ours, who “we proclaim…that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

Also, in many Evangelical Protestant churches, you may hear what amounts to messages of self-help. Things like “Believe in yourself,” “Follow your heart,” “Live your best life,” “God just wants you to be happy,” “You are enough just as you are.”

You may hear messages on certain Bible passages that amount to  “Be like Moses, be like Abraham, be like David.” Or for other passages, you may hear, “Don’t be like Moses, don’t be like Abraham, don’t be like David.” You may draw some good wisdom from their examples or mistakes, but that’s always a secondary point. The primary point of those passages is to help you see why you needed Christ to come into the world, how His coming came to pass, and what He accomplished.

Sir Francis Bacon famously said, “Knowledge is power.” What did he mean? He meant that rightly gained knowledge of creation equips people to act fruitfully in the world and improve human life. And of course, that’s true in so many situations.

But that’s not the case for moral obedience to God. Even for those who are born again, knowledge of the right and the wrong is not enough. Knowledge of God’s moral law by itself is not the power to obey the law. Paul refutes the idea that if you’re born again, and you know what’s right, then you’ll do what’s right. Think of all the ancient Israelites saw and knew. Yet still they desired to sin.

People often say, “Oh, well if I saw those things, I would believe, and I would obey.” Actually, in your natural state, no you wouldn’t. Your heart must be changed. The OT repeatedly says this. Deuteronomy 30 proclaims the need for circumcised hearts. Psalm 51 proclaims the need for a clean heart. Ezekiel 36 proclaims the need for a new heart and Spirit. Jeremiah 31 proclaims the need for the law written on the heart. Therefore, “Him we proclaim.”

With self-help talk, you feel empowered just by hearing and comprehending it. You may feel helped before you’ve actually done anything. This is why self-help is a billion dollar industry today. But if the idea that “knowledge is power” is used to urge morality or produce Christian maturity, it can subtly suggest that sin is mainly just intellectual error, or that sanctification is mainly done by information, insight, and understanding, or that obedience results simply from instruction and trying harder.


But sanctification is a work of God’s grace. It flows from Christ through union with Him. That union is effectually established by the working of God’s Spirit. The Holy Spirit then maintains and deepens our participation in Christ throughout the Christian life. Teaching is absolutely essential. That’s clear from what Paul says here. But we must return each day to Christ Jesus, to His glorious person and His redemptive work.

That seems too “basic” to the natural self. We think, “Give me more application points for life. Tell me what to do” The apostle Peter said, “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

“Him we proclaim,” because our hope is not that when we hear a good moral lesson, we will either: a. pat ourselves on the back because we are performing well, or, b. pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and do better. No, “Him we proclaim” because our hope is: C-h-r-i-s-t. Our hope is our living Lord.

He sits at the right hand of the Father, ruling His church by His Word and Spirit. He holds all things together, having secured every spiritual blessing for His people. He’s always appealing to the Father on behalf of sinners He came to save. And anyone who claims to be a preacher or teacher of God who doesn’t faithfully proclaim Him desires to be a teacher – see the end of verse 7 – “without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.” Sound preaching and teaching that proclaims Christ rejects empty talk.

It always points to Him – the vine that gives life to His branches. Trust in Christ today for your salvation and for your growth to maturity in Him. Lay your heart bare before Him. Come clean, admitting your sins. There is grace. There is forgiveness even for you. You can start again. And as we go to His table now, He uses what we see with our eyes and hold in our hands and hear with our ears to spiritually strengthen our souls.

Let’s bow in prayer together.

The apostle Paul makes a hard-hitting statement about when sin entered the world. He says, “The creation was subjected to futility.” Our world was put under a kind of emptinessness that brought tragic limitations. Think about it: our planet is so majestic, yet something holds it back from all it could be. Beautiful plants and awe-inspiring animals are subject to disease and death.Natural disasters can destroy everything in their path.

But why is the world this way? Paul says, “because of Him who subjected it.” Certainly, Adam broke the covenant with God, and sin entered the world. But in this verse, Paul is referring to a different “him.” Paul says it was God who put the world under the effects of sin –  though not without purpose. He says God did so “in hope” – hope “that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption.”

This means that when God cursed the world, He didn't do so in a hopeless way. He did so with redemption in view: with the expectation of freedom from the curse for the creation and for sinners. This freedom comes only through Jesus Christ. And God calls us to live by faith in Him and put our hope in Him.

But that’s not always easy, is it? Where do you place your hope each day? One way to tell is to ask yourself what you are most afraid of losing in this life. Often, we aren’t hoping in Christ as much as we’re hoping in success, prosperity, or comfort. But even with success, prosperity, and comfort – and we’ve all had some – life still has so many struggles, and it winds down in a difficult and often tragic way. We suffer, we hurt, we fear, – eventually, we die.

It’s interesting, though – when we feel the futility, we try to manage it somehow. We try to distract ourselves, or throw ourselves into achievement. We focus on things we can control in our lives, or we just tell ourselves that things will eventually work out. But those strategies don’t remove the futility. They only mask it.

However, we can be hopeful, and we can live by faith. We have not been subjected to sin’s futility without hope. God provides what we need to keep looking to Christ, living by faith, and hoping in Him. These opening verses of 1 Timothy emphasize that God has provided two things: ordained leaders to shepherd His people toward Christ, and covenant blessings to save and sanctify His people through Christ.

Look again at verse [1]. Paul says he is, “an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” An apostle was a man set apart by Christ, an eyewitness of His ministry, and someone given authority from Christ for a foundational role in the church. Ephesians 2 says that the church is “the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”

“Apostle” is a church office that is now closed. There are no more living apostles, but their ministry carries on through the NT church they established and the written Word of God they recorded. We refer to the time in which they ministered and wrote Scripture as “the Apostolic era.” That era is over. The foundation is laid and now complete.

And since that time, Christ has been building on the foundation. He does so by His Word and Spirit, and through His people. And He gives shepherds to His people to care for and lead them because we are prone to forget, prone to drift, and prone to look for hope in the wrong places – even after we believe.

Notice again Paul says he’s an apostle “by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” “Command” could be translated as “decree.” Paul is referring here to the first and second persons of the triune God – the Father and the Son, who are, respectively, the Source and the Mediator of salvation.

The apostle Peter also speaks this way. For example, in 1 Peter 3, he writes, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.” Of course, Christ is God, but only the Son serves between God and mankind.

Now, interestingly, Paul calls the Father “our Savior.” Over and over, we see that God the Father sent the Son to save His people. If you wonder why Paul says “God” and not “the Father,” it seems that Paul means to use language here that keeps monotheism in view while also honoring the distinct roles of the Father and Son in our salvation. We worship one God, yet the one true God exists in three distinct persons, each fully God, equal in power and glory.

So, God the Father is our Savior, and “Christ Jesus [is] our hope.” This means that Christ is the source of our expectation. So what do we expect? Well, in Christ, we expect that along with creation and all God’s people, we will be redeemed on the Last Day.

This also means that Christ is the source of our confidence. What are we confident in? We are confident that we have been set free from sin’s curse. We are confident that the wrath of God is no longer against us. We are confident that we are no longer dead in our sins. We are confident that we have a spotless record before the holy and only God.

Paul’s apostleship was authorized by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But maybe you wondered, “Why doesn’t he mention the Holy Spirit here?” Where’s the third person of the Trinity in this introduction? Paul honors the Spirit later on in the book, but a Trinitarian roll call isn’t necessary every time. The Spirit’s role in our salvation is the application of it, as we proclaimed earlier. He applies the redemptive work of Christ. He spiritually unites us with Christ. Paul seems content only to acknowledge the Father as the Source of salvation, and Christ as the One who performed that saving work, but the full Trinitarian work is assumed here.

Now look at verse [2]. Paul says, “To Timothy, my true child in the faith.” Since we’re beginning a new book of Scripture, let me give you some background. Paul wrote this letter from Macedonia to Timothy, whom he had left in Ephesus to help establish the church, and to guard it against false teaching while he continued gospel ministry elsewhere.

Timothy was from a smaller town called Lystra in the region known as Galatia – (modern-day central Turkey). His father was a Gentile and his mother was a Jew. It seems that his father didn’t become a Christian, but his mother and grandmother did – and they had a tremendous influence on him, as moms and grandmas often do.

Paul doesn’t appear to have led Timothy to Christ, but God raised up Timothy as a representative prepared by Paul to serve in the church in at least four places:
Thessalonica, Corinth, Philippi, and Ephesus. Paul and Timothy's relationship was a pastoral mentorship-type relationship. It’s important to remember that as we read this letter. This was the nature of their father/son type bond, and through their relationship, we learn a great deal about what a pastor is and does.

But also, there are signs that this letter was to be read to whole congregations. And so the truth contained in 1 Timothy belongs to all the people of God, though some commands are given only to the shepherds of the church. This letter was intended to strengthen the hope of Timothy and the church.

In Ephesus, where Timothy was, even with their successes, prosperity, and comforts, life was difficult. They too suffered, hurt, feared, struggled, and eventually, would die. And so Paul wrote this to strengthen their trust in Christ,and to help them live by faith, and so to strengthen their church. This is why Paul assigned Timothy to Ephesus.

Even the greatest athletes need a coach. Even the best students need a teacher. Coaches and teachers are essentially servants in place to help others grow. God’s ordained leaders are servants as well. Paul and Timothy were servants, as so are the shepherds of the church today. And like the person who brings the mail, or the waiter who brings your meal, or the doctor who prescribes your medication and treatment. God’s ordained leaders are servants authorized to deliver to you what you need.

Faithful ministers are not called to generate hope for you. Rather, they fulfill their calling to point you again and again to the hope that is in Christ. The shepherds of God’s people – these men set apart to lead the church – lead God’s people to where they are nourished – to Jesus. This is God’s design. He gives ordained leaders to shepherd His people toward Christ. And like Paul and Timothy, God’s ordained leaders today are a key provision of God to help His people look to Christ, live by faith, and hope in Him.

During the life of the OT prophet Jeremiah in ancient Israel, spiritual leadership had really decayed. The shepherds of God’s people were mostly corrupt. But God promised to restore faithful spiritual leaders to His covenant people. In Jeremiah 3, God says, “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.” God has kept His word. He gives ordained leaders to shepherd you toward Christ.

It’s a good exercise to ask yourself after any worship service, “Where did they seek to lead me today? Was it to the hope that is in Christ? Did they acknowledge the actual, Biblical realities for God’s people in this life, and did they take me to the hope of Christ as I face those realities?”

You see, they had shepherds in ancient Israel; they just weren’t good shepherds. They led the people into man-centeredness and idolatry. They led the people into the foolishness of the surrounding nations. They led the people further into the futility of sin. God’s people need good undershepherds who lead them to the Chief Shepherd.

Now notice the rest of verse 2. Paul adds, “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul’s letter to the Ephesians opens in a very similar way, and actually, that opening helps us understand this one. In Ephesians, Paul writes, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Believers possess spiritual blessings that are secure with Christ in heaven.


What are these blessings? Well, things like God’s grace, mercy, and peace. We could go into great detail about each one, but simply put, God’s grace is His undeserved favor toward us in Christ, God’s mercy is His compassion toward His people in Christ, and God’s peace is reconciliation with Him through Christ. We are no longer His enemies because of Christ. All of this was secured for us by Jesus Christ.

These spiritual blessings are ours through spiritual union with Christ. To be united to Christ means that your standing before God does not rise and fall with your performance, feelings, or spiritual consistency. How can that be? Because your life is hidden with Christ.

Can you see these blessings or hold them in your hands? Well, you can see and experience many results of these blessings. You may not always have a warm fuzzy feeling inside, but these blessings are always secure with Christ. There will be days when you may not feel hopeful at all. But your hope doesn’t rest on your emotional state – it rests in Christ. He doesn’t change, and so your hope doesn’t change – even when your feelings do.

You see, grace, mercy, and peace from the Father and the Son are not just vague concepts. They are real benefits provided by God to those in covenant with Him.

Notice that these are benefits which can be enjoyed in any earthly circumstances. In times of prosperity or times of need – grace, mercy, and peace are ours in Christ. You may feel unworthy of His grace or undeserving of His mercy, but if you are in Christ, they are yours. You may not have a feeling of peace within, but if you are in Christ, you have peace with God through Christ the Lord.

These blessings and more flow from Christ through spiritual union with Him. These and more constitute the spiritual nutrients provided by God for spiritual growth. His ordained leaders administer His ordinary means of grace to you: the Word, sacraments, and prayer, and you are to use the Word and prayer in your daily life, that Christ may strengthen you to live by faith and hope in Him.When we gather to hear the Word preached and read, when we pray, and when we receive the sacraments, we aren’t merely performing religious activities.

Through these, Christ has promised to meet us and strengthen our faith. His benefits are readily available. They aren’t affected by economic downturn or financial strain. God’s grace, mercy, and peace don’t decay like our earthly health or possessions. They don’t fail like our character or our wisdom or our self-discipline so naturally does. In Philippians 1, Paul wrote, “I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

How could Paul make such a hope-filled statement? Because God grants covenant blessings to save and sanctify His people through Christ. These spiritual blessings are secure – they are sure – as sure as the life and power of Jesus Christ Himself.

If we could gather today, we would have gone to the Lord’s table together. We will do that next week. But I’ll still say this about His table: at the table, we come to be fed by Christ and to feed on Him. We receive the meal to be spiritually nourished by Him, as we are also nourished through His Word and prayer. We don’t use any of His ordained means to prove ourselves worthy, but rather, to receive what Christ freely gives. And as we do, we will experience the hope that is in Him.

I began today referencing Romans 8, and I noted that when God cursed the world, He didn't do so in a hopeless way, but with redemption in view. In the next verses of Romans 8, Paul writes, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly.”

Do you feel the burdens that produce that inward groaning? Of course you do. We all do. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He says, “not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption
as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [24] For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

The goal of our hope is the future and final redemption of our bodies and the world. The object of our hope is Christ. He achieved that redemption for us. He secured God’s grace, mercy, and peace for us.

Trust in Jesus Christ today. Believe in Him, and turn from your sins to follow God’s way. To trust in Him is not first to resolve to do better, but to receive what He has done. To trust is to receive Him as your righteousness, your life, and the object of your hope.

Let’s bow in prayer.

There’s a common practice today that’s happening now more than ever: people are wearing their earbuds all the time. How do you feel about that? Some people wear them everywhere – grocery store, gym, even walking through a parking lot. Other people find the whole habit kind of off-putting.

And they can definitely cause some difficulty in communication. This happens at my house all the time. One person is talking to another, but won’t get a response because they don’t realize the other person can’t hear them.

When you put in the earbuds, you’re in your own world. It’s just you. If we’re not careful, we will begin to approach our spiritual growth in a similar way: isolated, self-contained, and disconnected from everyone else.

See, we’re prone to treat our spiritual growth as mainly an individual project. It’s often assumed to be something personal – between a person and God. And in one sense, it is personal. But according to God’s design, the church plays an indispensable role in you becoming a mature disciple. God’s plan for your spiritual growth is not just you. It’s “we.” Scripture consistently describes church leaders and members as vital for our growth.

That’s an unpopular declaration in this age of individualism. In fact, the age in which we live is often called an age of “radical individualism” in which the individual is the highest authority. “I belong to myself. I decide what’s true for me.”

You may hear that and think, “Oh yeah, there are some very mixed up people out there.” But man-centered individualism is always creeping in here – in subtle ways. For example, do you treat Christ more like your personal assistant than your King? Does He exist to help you cope, or succeed, or feel better, and reach your goals, or do you exist to obey, worship, and follow Him?

Or think about this: do you conceal your sins and suffering from fellow church members, carrying your burdens alone because they are “your business.” By doing so, you subtly reject the role of the body of Christ in bearing our burdens together.

Or when it comes to our worship service, is this a time when you can explore your own thoughts, daydream, doodle, be entertained or educated, or is this the unique time when – with God’s people and led by His shepherds – you contemplate Christ, and confess to Christ, and cherish Christ more in your heart?

Yes, God calls each of us to personal faith and personal obedience and worship, but we can have those only through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, and Christ redeems us from isolation and self-reliance to bring us into fellowship with Himself and with His people. We have communion with Him and each other, which is essential for spiritual growth.

Biblical proof of this is all over the Scriptures, but perhaps the most comprehensive reference is in Ephesians 4. Here we see the system through which Christ generates our spiritual growth. Notice the outline. This is how disciples are made. Christ gives His church leaders to administer the means by which He saves and strengthens us, Christ gives Himself spiritually to strengthen His whole church for service, Christ the Head stabilizes the Body (His church) against deception and drift, and the Body speaks truth in love to reflect our union with Christ the Head.

Now, for a little background on the book of Ephesians and the church in Ephesus,
the city was on the west coast of what is now Turkey. The famous temple of the Roman goddess Diana was there. It was known as one of seven wonders of the ancient world. Therefore, Ephesus functioned as a major center for the worship of Diana.

The city kept her cult thriving, and in turn, it profited off those who came to worship. So, as a result, Ephesus was seen as a city “nourished by” Diana. The Ephesians took great pride in this.

But when the apostle Paul proclaimed Christ, he taught that Diana was a false deity with no powers to care for the people. However, Jesus Christ did possess such power. Paul said that Diana – also called Artemis – did not actually nourish and cherish the Ephesians; however, Christ the Lord does nourish and cherish His holy bride, the Church – who are, as Paul says in chapter 5, “members of His body.”

Head and body, husband and wife – these are how Paul described the union between Christ and His church. The people of Ephesus imagined a life-giving connection between them and Diana. Paul renounced that belief, but he preached that such a life-giving connection was available – to the one true God, made possible by grace through faith in Christ.

Paul proclaimed that message according to the command of Christ in Matthew 28, which we looked at last week as we continue to revisit the mission of our church.
Good Shepherd exists “to join God on mission by producing mature followers of Jesus Christ for His glory and our joy.” We participate in God’s disciple-making work. We saw last week that it is Christ who makes disciples, and now, let’s see how.

Look at verse [11] again. “And he [Christ] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.” We understand that Christ gives Himself spiritually to His people through what we refer to as the “ordinary means of grace.” These are the ways ordained by Christ to strengthen our faith in Him: God’s Word (especially the preaching of it, but also the reading and teaching of it), along with the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and baptism, joined always with continual prayer in various settings (public worship, private and family worship, and other formal or informal gatherings of God’s people).

These practices are the instruments Christ has appointed, set apart, and blessed. Through them, God saves His people and then strengthens their faith in the person and work of Christ. Through them, we grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, increasingly behold His glory, and are transformed in our inner being.

Understand that Christ doesn’t just command maturity – He supplies it by grace.
And in light of Christ’s command in Matthew 28 to His apostles, coupled with this passage of Ephesians (and many other passages as well), we understand that these means of grace are rightly administered by His officers.

Verse 11 is a list of these officers. These are church “offices” established by Christ. Now, the first three were functional only for the apostolic era, but the last two continue to this day. Yes, the influence of the first three still looms large. The apostles wrote the NT on the authority of and by the power of God. They – along with NT era prophets and evangelists – carried the gospel far and wide. Churches were established but entrusted not to more apostles, but to elders.

These elders function as a group of “shepherds and teachers.” What do they do? They preach, baptize, teach, lead the church in worship, care for the people’s spiritual needs, and make major decisions for the church – but always and only under the authority of Christ within the jurisdiction He has given. Christ rules His church by His Word and Holy Spirit, which guide the shepherds and teachers as together they perform the duties of their holy office.

Notice again that Christ “gave” these offices. Earlier in chapter 4, Paul says Christ “gave gifts” to His people. Of course, elsewhere Paul talks about each person’s spiritual gifts, but here, the “gifts” are the officers themselves. He gave these offices to His church. This is how disciples are made: first, Christ gives His church leaders to administer the means by which He saves and strengthens us. In Romans 10, Paul writes, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

Now look at verse [12]. Christ gave His officers “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Every church member’s role is championed with this phrase “the work of ministry.” We could translate it as the work of “service.”  

This includes many different categories of serving in the church: “mentoring” (Acts 18), “training” (Titus 2), “instructing” (Romans 15), “encouraging” (1 Thess. 5), “edifying” or “building up” (Romans 15), “admonishing” (Romans 15), and even “teaching” (Colossians 3) – though there is a difference between the church’s official teaching authority and the ministry every Christian can do for every other Christian.

These works of service – in all their various forms – are absolutely essential. The apostles command them in Scripture, and the Westminster Confession summarizes the Bible’s teaching on this, as we read and proclaimed earlier in our worship service. To what end? What is the result intended by Christ for us?

See verse [13], “until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” You see, there is a sound, biblical pattern – an order – established by Christ our King. He gave apostles, prophets, and evangelists to establish the church and write down the Scriptures. He gave and continues to give shepherds and teachers to lead His church and administer His ordinary means. And through those means, Christ gives Himself spiritually to strengthen His whole church for service.

Notice the focus on the person and work of Christ in verse 13. Faith in Him, knowledge of Him, and the fullness of Him. Listen closely to me: nourished by the spiritual nutrients that come from His very person, we grow stronger. Fed by Him – and feeding on Him – we become like Him. This is how true and lasting growth from God occurs. We grow up into Christ. This is the language of our “union” with Him.

And this is how we avoid being pushed around by the changing opinions of our culture, look at verse [14]. Christ does all this “so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

Consider again for a moment life in first-century Ephesus. The city was filled with deception dressed up as power and wisdom. Death disguised as life. Poverty masquerading as prosperity. Diana was a major figure in Roman mythology. False teachers said she nourished the city, and it was true that much of their economy was driven by that false religion. The city was thriving in the ancient world – thanks to Diana, they said. But it was all nothing more than a deceitful scheme.

Of course, in our life and times, where we live, Diana is no longer proclaimed. But there are false religions – and always, there are the winds and waves of what one scholar simply calls “public opinion.”

We hear so many “progressive” beliefs spouted by persuasive voices – maybe in a viral clip that “redefines” Jesus, or perhaps in a faith “deconstruction” story presented as “courageous” and “honest.” Like the wind, the direction is always changing.

Now in the ancient world, people would give praise to whatever god might help them. They rode the winds and waves, tossed about, unstable. Today, we are inundated with a steady stream of ideas and claims, with more to come that will surely surprise us. And if we’re subject to all of it, we will always be tossed about and unstable as well.

But Christ has a plan to keep us and care for us and make us stable and secure. As His officers perform their roles, and each member performs theirs, the whole congregation grows strong together in Christ. Again, we are fed by Him, and feeding on Him, we become like Him.

This reflects what Jesus said in John 15: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Nourishment flows from the Head to the whole Body – from the vine to the branches – and Christ, the vine, the Head stabilizes the Body against deception and drift.

But there’s one more essential part to consider in this “system” Christ created. Look at verse [15]. The true church fed on Christ won’t be tossed around by lies. “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, [16] from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Truth without love is harsh. Love without truth is hollow. But biblical truth spoken from a heart of love is how the body grows up into Christ. Again, the whole congregation needs one another and grows together, feeding on Christ through His ordained means of saving and strengthening us. Again, this is Word, sacraments, and prayer, enjoyed and shared with God’s people, with shepherds and teachers serving as the stewards of God’s truth.

Notice again, “we” speak the truth in love and “we” grow. God places each one of us in a certain role, but He is no “respecter of persons.” What I mean is, God doesn’t treat individuals as more valuable or accepted because of title, or office, or education, or social standing, or influence, or spiritual gift. The offices are real gifts and responsibilities, but they are not a badge of superiority. We have different essential roles in the body, but equal standing before God in Christ.

For example, though I’m the pastor, I’m not the wisest or most knowledgeable person in the church on every subject. I’m not the “best Christian” here or the “most mature believer” here. Yes, I’m gifted and knowledgeable in certain important things. I’m called to lead in certain unique ways. I teach and preach and instruct and guide. But I learn from the dear brothers and sisters of this congregation all the time. I learn from the adults and the children. After all, a disciple is a “learner.”

We are all learning from Christ, and learning Christ from and with each other. That’s why this passage doesn’t say only pastors speak the truth in love. It says we do. Christ the Head stabilizes the Body against deception and drift. His life flows to us and transforms us. And the Body speaks truth in love to reflect our union with Christ the Head. Nourished by the spiritual nutrients that come from His very person through His established order, we grow stronger together, and stronger individually.

So, this is, from the broadest vantage point, is how disciples are made: by Christ, through His officers authorized to administer His ordinary means, as Christ saves and sanctifies His elect. Every believer contributes to the disciple-making work, serving the church and speaking the good news of Jesus Christ to others.

The system Jesus established is elder-led, member-supported, with each believer using their gifts and applying their training and knowledge to serve the mission of Christ through His church. This is how we grow with the good growth that is from God.

Numerical growth as a church isn’t the first kind of growth we should seek. This growth – in the grace and knowledge of Christ – must come first. He graciously brings us to sit under His Word, come to His Table, pray with His saints, and speak His truth in love to each other.

Will you grow with us? And will you trust in Jesus Christ today? Trusting in Him, will you turn from your sins? When you do, He will shape you into His mature follower, living in healthy harmony with His people, for His glory and your joy.

Let’s bow in prayer.

As the new year begins, many people are making new efforts to get in shape. They’re going back to the gym, running in the neighborhood, or working out in the garage or living room. As they do this, they use words like “effort,” “discipline,” routines,” methods,” “training,” and “accountability.”

People also seem to think and talk about discipleship primarily in the same way.

But Scripture describes discipleship less like the gym and more like the hospital. At the gym, progress depends mostly on the consistency, effort and strength of a person. But in the hospital, progress depends mostly on the skill, ability, and knowledge of the doctor.

Discipleship isn’t self-improvement – it’s divine intervention.If it were mainly a human endeavor, the New Testament would sound very different.

But instead, we read statements like this one from Acts 2: “The Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Or Romans 6, which says we were “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “united with him,” and 1 Corinthians 1, which says that “because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus.”

In Colossians 1, Paul says he labors to proclaim Christ and teach everyone, “struggling with all [Christ’s] energy that He powerfully works within me.” And in Philippians 1, Paul says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion,” followed by these words in Philippians 2: “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

And Hebrews 12 says that it is Jesus who is “the founder and perfecter of our faith.”

I stressed last time that discipleship is fundamentally a divine work. It is the triune God who makes disciples. But here in Matthew 28, we see Christ instructing the apostles to go “make disciples.” Yet even these verses are evidence that it is ultimately the Father, Son, and Spirit who makes disciples.

Notice the outline on page 6 in the WG. We should understand that it is God who makes disciples because disciples are made at the direction of Christ (v.16), under the authority of Christ (vv.17–18), for incorporation into Christ (vv.19–20a), and by the power of Christ (v.20b).

Yes, God’s people play roles in disciple-making and we make efforts in our own discipleship. We’ll learn more about that next Sunday as we look closer at how disciples are made. But we must never lose sight of the God-centeredness of the work.

Now, last Sunday I directed you to page 2 of the WG, to the first sentence of the second paragraph, to our mission statement: Good Shepherd exists “to join God on mission by producing mature followers of Jesus Christ for His glory and our joy.” God involves His church in His disciple-making mission. We answered the question, “What is a disciple of Jesus Christ?” Someone who follows the teaching of Christ about Himself as the Messiah revealed in the Old and New Testaments.

And discipleship is a state or condition of learning from and being transformed by Christ as we behold His glory and grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Jesus defines discipleship primarily by an inward, relational reality. Spiritual union with Him is necessary. External behavior is secondary. The outward evidence of a true disciple flows out of being in Christ and having Christ dwelling within.

And this union with Him is received, not achieved. Ephesians 2 says, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” By grace through faith – a result of the Holy Spirit’s work within us – we are united with Christ and then able to repent, learn, obey, and follow Christ.

Matthew 28:16-20 implies the centrality of union with Christ in discipleship. Look at verse [16] “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.” Back in Matthew 10, Jesus chose 12 apostles. But by ch.28, Judas was gone. He had betrayed and deserted Christ.

In ch. 26, Jesus promised to meet these men in Galilee. He also instructed Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to tell them to meet him there. So clearly, these eleven have come here at Christ’s direction and what they do after will be done at His direction.

In times of war, a general is said to “win the battle,” though soldiers do the fighting. In state government, a governor is said to “build roads” or “pass laws,” though workers construct roads and legislators draft laws and cast votes. And in a company, a CEO may “launch a company-wide initiative,” but managers and teams do much of the work.

In a similar way, disciples are made at the direction of Christ. To this day, disciples are made by His appointment. Therefore He makes disciples. But what Christ does is much greater than a general, or a governor, or a CEO.

Look at verse 17, “And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” This occurred after His death and resurrection. Jesus was apparently at a distance, but when He came closer, as verse 18 says, they saw that it was Him and all were convinced.

Verse [18], “And Jesus came and said to them.” To whom? To the eleven. In Matthew 10, they are referred to as “disciples,” and then as “apostles.” At that time, Jesus had many disciples or followers, but these men were unique. What made them different from all the other “disciples?”

Well, these men were disciples first and eventually became apostles. Matthew 10 says, “And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. [2] The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; [3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; [4] Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Biblically speaking, an “apostle” is “an authorized representative.” Christ selected them from among His disciples for a special office to carry His message and lead His church. Christ was the chief Apostle, sent to speak with authority from the Father, and He gave this disciple-making commission directly to His eleven.

After Judas Iscariot fell away, only two men are presented in the NT as being added to the apostolic office: Matthias, who restored the number of the Twelve, and Paul, who was uniquely appointed by the risen Christ. While others are occasionally called apostles in a broader sense, no further additions to the foundational group are described.

So what about the next generation of apostle-like leaders? Well, they are not called apostles. Rather, in Scripture they are called “elders.” No other men were entrusted with this foundational authority. In the early church – and now – the only apostolic authority is the Bible. Elders submit to it, and “to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

The apostle Peter makes a statement that supports our understanding here. In 1 Peter 5, he says, “I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you.”  The apostles were the first elders of the church. They were the first "presbyters."

They received the Great Commission to make disciples. So it was specifically to this group that Christ gave instruction for disciple-making, though it’s obvious later on that they are to involve the whole church in the mission.

But how does this apostolic commission continue after the Apostolic Age? In line with the work of the apostles, “making disciples” is clearly portrayed as evangelizing, baptizing for inclusion into the covenant community, teaching, and establishing churches by elders who continue the apostolic work. Even though the Apostolic Age has been discontinued, the work of making disciples continues because the apostles appointed elders in all the churches to carry on the work.

Notice in verse 18 Christ says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” “Given?” Yes. It was given to Christ in His mediatorial role between God and mankind. Christ is saying this in his resurrected, immortal state. And notice He makes a specific point to express this “authority.” Why?

William Hendriksen explains, “So that when He now commissions His apostles to proclaim the gospel throughout the world, they may know that moment by moment, day by day, they can lean on him.” Hendriksen calls this “the great claim” that introduces “the great commission.” It is founded on the authority of Christ.

This is the authority of God Himself: the sovereign power and holy will of the One whose commands must be obeyed. This is the sinless, gracious, just, kind and loving authority of the only true God. It’s never in question or subject to revision, approval, or negotiation.

Imagine a building inspector who enforces the plans drawn by an architect. The inspector has real authority, but the inspector’s authority is derived. The inspector can’t change the design or approve something the architect forbids.

The elders of the exercise real authority in disciple-making, but that authority is only derivative. It is to be always governed by Christ’s holy Word and led by His Holy Spirit. Disciples are made under the authority of Christ. Therefore He makes disciples.

Now see verse [19]. Jesus says, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Going to the nations was always the plan in God’s covenant of grace. His gracious salvation would move outward. It would be worldwide. With this great commission from Christ, the blessing of the nations as stated in God’s covenant with Abraham is now ready to begin in full.

Being a disciple goes further than repenting, being converted, or changing your mind. Hendriksen says, “It is necessary that sinners learn about their own lost condition, God, his plan of redemption, his love, his law, etc. This, however, is not enough. True discipleship implies much more. Mere mental understanding does not as yet make one a disciple. It is part of the picture, in fact an important part, but only a part. The truth learned must be practiced. It must be appropriated by heart, mind, and will, so that one remains or abides in the truth. Only then is one truly Christ’s “disciple.” And he references John 8:31, which we studied last week.

The result of spiritual union with Christ is ongoing change in the whole person. As I said last week, “A true disciple is someone who receives union with Christ as the guiding reality, defining message, and liberating power for his or her life.”

Look at the rest of verse 19. Christ says to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Now, both grammatically and logically, baptizing and teaching are subordinate to “make disciples.” And as you can see, it was the eleven – the apostles – who were given this task. They were to baptize under the authority of and “in the name of” Christ, which means to be “brought into vital relationship” with Christ. Scholars note that “into the name of Christ” is a valid translation here also.

We see another place in the NT where people are “baptized into” someone else. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul writes that when the Israelites were led out of Egypt, they “were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” What does this mean?

This is the language of union. It describes incorporation. The Israelites identified with Moses as their leader and mediator. In a similar yet greater way, disciples identify with Christ as our leader and mediator.

Of course, as was also true “in Moses,” baptism into Christ doesn’t guarantee true faith. Baptism doesn’t create the vital union. Saving faith is necessary, but baptism marks someone as part of the community. One Reformed scholar says “the rite of baptism as such” doesn’t bring “a person into vital union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But, according to Scripture the following are true: (a.) circumcision was a sign and a seal of the righteousness of Christ accepted by faith (b.) baptism took the place of circumcision; and (c.) therefore baptism, too, must be regarded as a sign and a seal of the righteousness of Christ accepted by faith.”

So – baptizing them and teaching them. Disciples must be taught, before and after baptism, depending on the circumstances. Those outside the church – when they are received by their profession of faith – should receive this baptism and additional teaching, though they likely have had some teaching already. So they are taught, baptized, and taught some more. Those received to the church by way of their believing parents are baptized then taught.

Since the early church – even the mid-first century – a person coming into the covenant community would have to demonstrate true understanding of the faith and a desire for genuine repentance of sins. We still require this today when we receive members into our church body.

Notice again that Jesus says, “teaching then to observe.” There is so much to learn, understand, and apply – for the rest of our natural lives! And see that Jesus adds, “all that I have commanded you.” This clarifies the order of making disciples: first to the apostles/elders/ordained teachers, then to the whole church, and every true member then testifies about these great truths to the world. Every true disciple can bear witness to the truth of the person and work of Christ.

Disciples are made for incorporation into Christ. This is more than mere instruction, more than moral formation or mission activation. It’s more than getting people to come here, stay here, and behave in certain ways. It’s more than giving your money and your time. Christ authorized His apostles to fulfill their ordained role in proclaiming Him,
and baptizing and teaching so that people from every nation could be received into a real, covenantal, living union with the risen Christ Himself!

When we are incorporated into Christ, His life becomes the source of our obedience, His holiness becomes the pattern of our growth, and His power becomes the strength of our perseverance. This transformation happens not because we try harder or do more, but because His life is at work in us.

It is Christ who makes disciples. This doesn’t dismiss what the apostles did or what the rest of the church would do. Instead, it frames it in a sound and healthy, Christ-glorifying way.

Now look at this final phrase. Christ says, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This is our comfort. This is our great assurance. First of all, Jesus says, “Behold” with force. In other words, “Pay close attention!” In disciple-making, Christ is with His officers, and with all His people. He abides with us through our union with Him and by the presence of His Spirit.

Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” Christ assures us that He is with those who proclaim Him under His authority. Christ is with those who teach His will. Christ is with “the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.” He abides with us by His Word and Spirit, therefore, disciple-making is ultimately a work of His power, not ours. Disciples are made by the power of Christ.

As we go to the Lord’s table now, I want to give you one more image. In John 15, Jesus speaks directly to the eleven, after Judas departed. And He says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, it is he that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Yes, the ordained leaders of the church lead the work of disciple making. First it was the apostles, now it is the elders of the church. And yes, every member plays a necessary role in the disciple-making work. But truly it is Jesus Christ who makes disciples.

Will you be His disciple? Will you identify with Him publicly through baptism and the profession of your faith, and will you be taught and observe all He has commanded? He brings His people into life-giving, soul-soothing union with Himself – union which He secured for us through His saving work.

Let’s bow in prayer.

This week, I went out of town on vacation with family and friends, and I used a navigation app for directions to the house where we were staying. And on not one but two occasions, I still missed my turn! However, the app I used wouldn’t only give me directions, it would also adjust the directions to get me back on track. If I drifted off course, it would correct me, to keep me headed the right way.

That’s something like what happens every Lord’s Day in worship. God directs us back to the person and work of Jesus Christ. And at the beginning of each new year, we do something similar when we revisit the mission and vision statements of our church. These statements clarify our purpose and how we go about fulfilling that purpose. They remind us of “where we want to go” as a church.

On page 2 of the WG, in the second paragraph, you can read our mission statement. We exist “to join God on mission by producing mature followers of Jesus Christ for His glory and our joy.” God commands His church to participate in His disciple-making mission.

What is a disciple? A basic definition is “one who follows the teaching of another.” A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who follows His teaching about Himself as the Messiah revealed in the Old and New Testaments. The state of being a disciple is commonly referred to as “discipleship.” Today and for the next two Sundays, we’re going to examine biblical discipleship: what a disciple is, who “makes” a disciple, and how a disciple is made.

The term “discipleship” isn’t present in the Scriptures, but throughout the OT and NT, God’s people are called to follow His teaching. In Deuteronomy 4 in the OT, Moses receives instruction from God and tells the people, “...listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them…”

Discipleship comes into focus even more vividly in the New Covenant era. There is a cost, as Christ says in Luke 14, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

In light of what Scripture says, Charles Dunahoo gives this definition of “disciple:” “someone who thinks God’s thoughts after Him and applies them to all of life.” That’s a good description of a “mature follower of Jesus Christ.”

Here at GS, we want to think God’s thoughts after Him and apply them to all of life. And to do that, we should note how Jesus defines discipleship in John 8:31–32. Look at verse 31 once more. “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him.”

This is very interesting. In the verses that follow, Jesus says these people would turn on Him and seek to kill Him. They didn’t possess genuine faith. They believed that they were qualified to be His disciples, but they weren’t prepared to do what He would demand of them because they didn’t see their own spiritual need.

Spiritual blindness is natural. None of us naturally sees his or her need. Even once we’re born again – once we possess genuine faith – we’re still prone to spiritual blindness apart from the ongoing transformation of Christ. Regeneration ends total spiritual blindness, but not our susceptibility to that blindness.

And it’s not enough just to be disciplined or vigilant. Those are good and necessary, but without the change only Christ can bring, discipline and vigilance produces self-righteousness like what Jesus exposes here.

These people believed that they already had peace with God. They didn’t believe they were naturally enslaved to sin, or that they needed Christ to set them free from sin and death, or that they were spiritually blind because of their sinful nature. And so they failed to see that they needed to be spiritually unified with Jesus Christ.

God must graciously reveal this need to us. And we must receive His great provision for our need. That provision is Christ. Those who are saved are unified with Christ. God has ordained His means of grace – the Word, sacraments, and prayer – for our continual awareness of our need and for our spiritual growth to maturity. As Christ works in us through these means, we are formed into mature disciples.

To be clear, discipleship is fundamentally a divine work. Our role is responsive. God generates growth; we participate. Or, in the words of Christ in John 8:31-32, we abide. Disciples abide – or remain – in Christ’s word.

But what does that mean to abide?

The meaning gets to the heart of what a disciple is. Notice the outline for you there. According to what Jesus expresses here, a true disciple is someone who receives union with Him as the guiding reality of his or her life, the defining message of his or her life, and the liberating power for his or her life. The mission of this church is to join God in producing true disciples. So let’s look closer at what Christ says defines a true disciple.

Notice Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” He says they must remain in His teaching. What did He teach them? Well, many things. He taught them about Himself, equating Himself with the great I AM. He claimed the divine identity and authority of the eternal, self-existent, one true God! He also taught them about their true, sinful condition, and that they shouldn’t place confidence in their ethnicity or nationality for salvation. Additionally, He taught them that apart from Himself, they were doomed.

These people assumed that they were united with God because they descended from Abraham and because they were members of the covenant community. Their hope was in family history and birthright. These were the guiding realities of their lives, shaping their very identity. In other words, these realities formed who they understood themselves to be. But apart from Christ, they were still enemies of God because of sin.

“Abide in My word” corrects all the false identities that we generate.

“Abide in My word” causes us to acknowledge our helplessness without Christ.

“Abide in My word” moves us from false security to true security – in union with Him.

You see, a true disciple receives union with Christ as the guiding reality
of his or her life. Again, Charles Dunahoo’s definition of a disciple: “someone who thinks God’s thoughts after Him and applies them to all of life.” Norman Harper gave a similar definition. He wrote that a disciple is “someone who self-consciously strives to live all life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

Is union with Jesus Christ the guiding reality of your life? If someone took away your family role, job title, achievements, or reputation, who would you be? What shapes your decisions and reactions day to day? “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” That is not mere rhetoric. It’s not a metaphor. It is the reality of life in union with Christ – the guiding reality of a true disciple. Now look at this next statement.

Jesus says, “And you will know the truth.” Obeying Christ by relying only on Him to make you right with God – by receiving union with Him as your guiding reality – is what it means to abide. William Hendriksen writes, “This makes one a true disciple of Jesus and leads to genuine knowledge of the truth (God’s special revelation which has its heart and center in the work of Christ).”

Follow the logic of Jesus here. Knowing the most essential and everlasting truths comes only through submission to Christ and union with Him. Jesus is saying that you cannot truly understand life apart from Him and His message.

Without Christ as your light, you will grope in the dark, chasing one identity after another. Without Christ as your sight, you will wander blindly from one false security to another. We live from what we abide in. A true disciple receives union with Christ as the defining message of his or her life.

What is the message that defines your life today? What message (or argument) has ultimate authority in your life? We live in a world with many “voices.” So many opinions. So many strong suggestions. Love this, need this, buy this, wear this, watch this, listen to this, believe this. Become this, give your life and yourself to this. Work for this.

What message has the final say over you and your life?

You know what you need – what would actually help you sort through it all? The truth. Wouldn’t the truth help? Jesus said, “Abide in my word, and you will know the truth.” Who Jesus Christ is and what He has done defines the life of true disciples, because their lives flow from union with Him. Now look at this last statement.

Jesus then adds, “And the truth will set you free.” This builds on what He just said. Only through union with Him – and with Christ as our guiding reality and our defining message – can we be set free from the sin that naturally rules us. Only in and through Him can we be set free from spiritual blindness and have the power to face that blindness as it reasserts itself daily in our lives.

But without Christ and the life He gives, there’s only bondage. Only slavery. Those who are dead in sins are enslaved to it. Those who are born again are prone to wander from Christ return to slavery. But in Him we are free. And William Hendriksen puts this well. He says, “One is free, therefore, not when he can do what he wishes to do but when he wishes to do and can do what he should do.”

In our day and age, so many people campaign for individual autonomy. Free the self! Live and let live! Follow your heart! Be true to yourself! Live your truth! Free yourself from cultural restraints, sexual restraints, relational obligations, moral restraints. Get free. Free yourself! But Jesus said, “Abide in my word, and you will know the truth, and that truth will set you free.” A true disciple receives union with Christ as the liberating power for his or her life. Freeing power is in and from Christ.

Are you still trying to liberate yourself? You can’t, but Christ can. If you are in union with Him, He has set you free. Be strengthened by His liberating power! How are we made strong? The strength flows from that union with Him. The power is not in our discipline, or our resolve, or our determination, but in Christ Himself. Christ is our power – at work in all those who abide.

His disciples know the truth such that the truth has an ever-increasing hold on them. Discipleship is a state or condition of learning from and being transformed by Christ as we behold His glory and grow in His grace and knowledge. Union with Him is the cause, not the result. Union with Him is what makes true discipleship possible. And true disciples are what we desire to join God in producing in this church, participating in His mission according to the roles He gives each of us.

Will you trust in Christ today, and receive the life He alone gives?

Let’s bow together in prayer.

As we approach the beginning of another year, it is somewhat customary to ponder what we want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Many people will make New Year’s resolutions, a list of things they want to accomplish in the upcoming year. There are the consistent standards: try a new hobby, start exercising, start a new diet, read more books, and the list can go on and on. It is fun and even beneficial to make resolutions. I often, though not every year, make them myself. If you have ever made New Year’s resolutions, have you ever considered your spiritual growth? Have you ever thought to yourself, “What is God’s will for my life in the upcoming year?”

It doesn’t have to be connected to the beginning of a new year; it can be anytime we are making a decision or making a change. Have you ever asked that question? I think most of us would answer yes. It is an important question, yet one that many believers struggle to answer. Granted, in most cases, we are looking for a specific answer to specific questions. Should I marry this person? Should I date this person? Should I take this job or that job? Should I move? Should I buy this house or that house? Should I rent? We are faced with so many questions like these, and we frequently want God to reveal his will to us with specific answers to those questions.

Do you know that God does provide an answer? Do you know that God does reveal his will to us? It may not be in the form of a specific answer to those questions but His answer does help us when we make any decision.

In today’s passage, Paul gives us a clear and concise answer to that question. Simply put, God’s will for our life is our sanctification. Sanctification is growth in holiness. Sanctification is growth in obedience to God’s Word. Or to state it another way, it is our growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and walking (aka living) in a manner that is pleasing to God. God’s will for us always and at all times, as those who have been saved by grace through faith, is our sanctification.

However, we struggle to pursue continual growth in holiness that truly pleases God. We often struggle to progress in sanctification. You see as Christians we can quietly assume that once we’ve come to faith, the Christian life is mainly about maintaining—holding onto what we already have. We become complacent. But Paul writes to believers who are already walking faithfully and still says, “Do so more and more.”

What we must understand is that God’s will to sanctify His people is fulfilled through their union with Christ, who not only commands a life that pleases God but provides the grace and power by His Spirit to grow in holiness, to progress in sanctification.

And because God has revealed His will for His redeemed people, believers are called to pursue continual growth in holiness that pleases Him. We are called to be sanctified.

But how? How can we pursue continued growth in holiness? Or to ask another way, how can we walk in the way we ought in a manner that pleases God? Here in 1 Thessalonians 4, I believe Paul teaches us three truths that can help us to pursue holiness and grow in a life that pleases God. You can see them there on page 6 of the WG. We grow in a life that pleases God when we understand: our obedience flows from our relationship with Christ, God has clearly revealed His will, and sanctification is God’s declared will for His people.

Sanctification is a lot like a young child learning to walk. When children are learning to walk for the first time, the parents don’t say after the first step, “That’s it, you’re done. You have mastered walking. You can stop.” No. They encourage the child to continue. And walking is only the beginning. You see growth means moving forward—still stumbling, still learning, but steadily advancing. In the same way, as Christians we are to be being sanctified.

So, let’s look together now at these truths so that we may be encouraged and renewed to grow in a life pleasing to God.

Look at verse 1. The Apostle introduces this section by asking and urging something of the Thessalonians. Paul praises the Thessalonians for their progress in learning how to please God, but he also challenges them to excel further. You see Paul recognized the constant need for growth and for straining forward (Phil 3:13-14 - But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus).

But look at what he connects his urging to. Paul asks and urges the Thessalonians “in the Lord Jesus” (4:1). This qualifying phrase makes it clear that Christ Himself is the grounding for what Paul is about to say, that He is involved at every point with Paul’s teaching. In other words, Paul is going to be appealing to the Thessalonians on the basis of the command of Christ. He is setting before them the desires of the Lord for His people.

But this is not bare moral instruction—it is relational exhortation. Paul wants the Thessalonians and us to see that obedience flows from union. Sanctification is not how we get into Christ; it’s how life in Christ grows outward. In other words, our growth in holiness and obedience does not earn our salvation. Growth in holiness and obedience are a product of our salvation. (faith + works equation?)

In John 15, Jesus uses the illustration of a vine and branches to teach this point. A branch doesn’t strain to produce fruit—it bears fruit because it is connected to the vine. Disconnect it, and effort is meaningless. It must first be connected.

One of the first things we must understand about our growth in holiness is that it can only happen if we are “in Christ”. Connected to the One who supplies the grace for continued sanctification. WSC 35, that we read earlier, reminds us that sanctification is the work of God’s free grace. It is a work, a progress, but it comes by way of God’s free grace. Progress in sanctification can only happen by grace. That grace only comes through Jesus.

This is what Paul teaches in Ephesians 2 when he writes that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for goods works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. We were created “in Christ Jesus.” For what? To do good works. To obey God’s commands. To pursue holiness. But we were first created in Christ Jesus, a.k.a. saved.

We must remember the person and work of Christ if are to grow in a life pleasing to God, if we are to grow in holiness. Are you in Christ? If not, I urge you today to turn to Christ in faith. If you are in Christ, I urge you to look to Him as your source and strength for sanctification.

But if growth flows from relationship, it also depends on clarity about what God desires…

Look at verse 2. Paul reminds them: “You know the instructions we gave you.” The Greek word translated “instructions” refers to orders received from a higher authority and passed along to subordinates.

He explains that they know the instructions, the way of salvation and sanctification, that Paul and his companions gave to them. In other words, they have been clearly told God’s will, which was given through God’s Word to them. God’s will here is not hidden or mysterious. As we will look at more closely in the next verse, God’s revealed will was their sanctification.

But we must first understand that His will is revealed in His Word. The same Word we have contained in Scripture. WSC 2 states - What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him? The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. The Word of God gives us all we need to know to grow in a life that pleases (glorifies) God.

But Paul doesn’t only write that they know the instructions that they gave them, but they also know the origin. Look at the second part of verse 2. He says it came “through the Lord Jesus.” Paul stresses that the authority for his instructions is not his own and not of human origin, but from the risen Lord. He has received these instructions from the highest authority of all—God Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ—and he is handing them on to those who are called to obey that authority.

We can see Paul reiterating both of these truths in II Timothy 3:16, where he tells us - 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Here Paul reminds us that the Word, the instructions, are from God and that the Word is clear and profitable in its teaching.

Paul emphasizes that the instructions he shared with them, the Word of God, was not ambiguous or difficult to understand. It was clear what God required. We see this summarized well in WSC 3 which teaches us that the Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man.

This is the plain teaching of the Scriptures as a whole and it grounded in the person and work of Christ. Paul writes to the Corinthians these words, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

Paul taught about salvation through Christ, as well as obedience through Christ. That was God’s clearly revealed will.

In most, if not all, team sports plays are an important part of the game. Coaches develop formations and movements that they believe will be successful and typically compile them in a playbook. But how successful would the team be if the coach never showed or told the players about the playbook?  A coach doesn’t keep the playbook secret. He tells them about the plays and explains them as clearly as possible. Then he requires the players to execute the plays.

God has clearly revealed the “plays.” In the same way as the illustration above, God has clearly revealed His will, what he requires, “the plays.”  

We have to simply be reminded of what God has said, His “instructions,” the “plays.” That is why we engage in the ordinary means of grace. That is why we engage in public worship, to be reminded of God’s will and to engage in those means that help us grow in holiness.

And Paul doesn’t leave sanctification vague or abstract…

In verse 3, Paul reminds us that we grow in a life pleasing to God when we understand sanctification is God’s declared will for His people.

What is God’s will for his people? Paul answers plainly: “Your sanctification.”

Chapter 13 of the Westminster Confession of Faith begins, “They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, . . . are further sanctified, really and personally, . . . by his Word and Spirit.”

Sanctification is the process by which God's Holy Spirit transforms believers’ thoughts, motives, and behaviors to conform to the holiness of Christ himself. It means being set apart for God, to be increasingly shaped into Christlikeness. It means to die more and more to sin and live more and more to righteousness. Paul even uses that language back in verse 2. He says, “just as you are doing.” He affirms the Thessalonians’ progress before calling for more. And yet, he clearly says that growth is expected. Sanctification is growing—not instantly perfect but progressively changed.

Simply put, sanctification is not optional. Growth is expected, not exceptional, for the Christian, and God has laid out what he expects in the pages of Scripture – it is the sanctification of his people. So, his will in any given situation would be one that avoids those things that his Word has said to avoid and do those things that his Word has said to do. As long as our options fit those parameters, we are free to do what seems best to us, or what our heart desires, or what we enjoy.

We must also understand that the means that Christ uses to sanctify His people are His Word and Spirit. We need God’s truth to be godly. Godliness does not take place in a vacuum. In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus prayed for His disciples with these words: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” One cannot be sanctified apart from the work of the Holy Spirit applying the truth of the Scriptures to our hearts. Our sanctification flows out of salvation in Christ and is revealed to us in God’s Word.

A garden doesn’t become fruitful overnight. When seeds are planted, nothing seems to happen at first. The soil looks the same day after day. But beneath the surface, roots are forming. With sunlight, water, and time, growth begins—slow, steady, sometimes uneven, but growth none the less.

Sanctification works the same way. God plants new life in us through Christ, but holiness grows over time as we walk with Him. The Christian life isn’t about instant maturity—it’s about ongoing cultivation. God is not disappointed that you’re growing slowly—He is concerned only if you stop growing altogether.

Are you growing in a life that pleases God? Are you being conformed to the image of Christ as you give yourself to the use of the means of grace?

At this point, the danger is clear: If sanctification is God’s will, we might hear this as pressure rather than promise. And so, if obedience feels crushing, the problem is not the command—it’s disconnection from the gospel. But Paul grounds everything “through the Lord Jesus.”

Christ is not only the example of a life that pleased God, but He is the source of our sanctification. He lived in perfect obedience where we have failed. He fulfilled God’s will completely on our behalf. He bore our guilt so our growth would not be driven by fear. He pours out His Spirit so sanctification becomes possible. We do not pursue holiness to become accepted. We pursue holiness because we already are accepted in Christ. The same grace that justifies us also sanctifies us.

God’s will for your life is not hidden, complicated, or unattainable: as believers we are called to walk in Christ, to please God, and to grow more and more holiness.

Not by self-effort. Not by fear. But by grace-fueled obedience flowing from union with Christ. The more you pursue sanctified living by the power of the Spirit through the means of grace, the more you will delight in His goodness. And the more you delight in His goodness, the more you grow in a life pleasing to God. The One who calls you to grow is the One who supplies everything you need to grow. “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it.”

Let’s pray.

“Time flies when you’re having fun” and “A watched pot never boils.” You’ve heard these sayings. They remind us that time doesn’t always feel the same.

Scientists have studied the relationship in the human mind between time and emotional factors. So, when we’re under emotional distress, time seems to go by much slower, but when we’re stress-free emotionally, time passes at a fast rate.

Troubles seem to consume your attention, don’t they? To an extent, it’s how we survive. We focus on a problem, and sometimes, we can get it resolved. But many times, we do everything we can, yet very little appears to change. And while trouble remains, time seems to drag on, doesn’t it?

It’s understandable for you to be focused on the difficulty of the moment, but what does that focus produce in your heart and mind? Worry, fear, doubt, anger, resentment, hopelessness, or some kind of idolatry of the heart? Perhaps the sin you confessed earlier. Sooner or later, our focus on our troubles leads us to sin.

It’s a trap, and we’re all subject to it.

But Christ came into the world to free us from that trap. You face trials at this very moment that may consume your focus. But Christ was born. He is our access to the hope that lifts us above our troubles. He’s our access to the hope of Habakkuk described here in chapter 3.

What was Habakkuk’s hope? Well, Habakkuk had hope that Yahweh would remember His great mercy toward His people, demonstrate His great power for them, and bestow His great joy upon them. And in Christ, we have that hope as well. Christ was born so that God’s mercy, power, and joy could be our hope. And like Habakkuk and the OT people of God, we must remind ourselves and each other of this. Habakkuk created a song to do that. And we’re going to look closely at his song.

Notice verse [1] again. “A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.” “Shigionoth” and “Selah” are thought to be musical terms. Various features of this prayer are comparable to the OT Psalms, which were the songbook of God’s people. So, chapter 3 was used in worship. They most likely sang it. I reformatted it to fit in the WG, but it’s formatted as a psalm. That’s how it was written. And look down verse 19, “To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” More evidence that this was an ancient hymn.

Now see verse [2], Habakkuk begins, “O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear.” This is the invocation, like our prayer of invocation before our first song in worship. Habakkuk expresses that he’s heard about Yahweh’s character and ways. He’s heard about how God dealt with Moses and the Israelites long ago. But now, in light of all God has shown him in this oracle – in this vision – he calls out to God to please, please act on behalf of His people again.

Habakkuk writes, “In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk had stood before the LORD and received the vision in chapters 1 and 2. We read his complaints to God on behalf of himself and God’s faithful ones, and then we saw God’s shocking replies concerning both Judah and Babylon.

So now he asks God to sustain them “in the midst of the years” – in the time of their tribulation, the time the Babylonians conquer Judah until the time the Babylonians are conquered with reciprocal justice. He says “revive” Your great and gracious power again, oh God. “Show us mercy even as wrath comes.” Show us grace, help us, carry us. Strengthen us to endure and even rejoice as we walk through this trial.

Hasn’t this always been the cry and the song of the people of God? Yes, it has. Because of God’s covenant promise, Habakkuk had hope that Yahweh would again remember His great mercy. And if you have Christ, then you have the covenant promises of God, and therefore Habakkuk’s hope is your hope, and His song is your song.

When we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we celebrate God’s mercy in the midst of lives affected by God’s judgment against sin. What is the source of all this trouble in the world? It’s the corruption of sin. Not only are the wicked touched by the corruption. The redeemed are touched by it, too. But even in the midst of it, God is merciful to us. He lifts us up. Christmas is a celebration of that, but we must celebrate it all year long.

Now, verses 3-15 are the song. They look back on Yahweh’s works in the past. Habakkuk recalls different times that God appeared through supernatural deeds. Verse [3], “God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran.” This pictures Yahweh coming to Mt. Sinai to lead the Israelites to the promised land. “Teman and Mt. Paran” are specific locations that refer to the wilderness journey. God’s people wandered for a time in the wilderness, led by God. And during that time, God acted like a divine warrior on a march into battle.

Elsewhere in the OT, God is described as a warrior coming to His people’s aid, leading His people to the land. “His splendor covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise.” [4] His brightness was like the light; rays flashed from his hand; and there he veiled his power.” God’s holy presence was often manifested by light – light so bright that it had to be veiled. It was the glorious presence of the one true God.

Verse [5] Before him went pestilence, and plague followed at his heels. These refer to the curses for disobedience outlined by Moses in Deuteronomy 21. The Israelites were warned of these curses for covenant breaking. They had been warned for ages, in fact. So, they knew who God was, so to speak. Habakkuk learns that now these covenant curses will be fulfilled. God will show His wrathful side to His chosen people.

Verse [6] “He stood and measured the earth; he looked and shook the nations; then the eternal mountains were scattered; the everlasting hills sank low. His were the everlasting ways.” Mt. Sinai was a theophany; in other words, His presence was made visible. Exodus 20 says that at Sinai, “when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” They feared God.

Verse [7] “I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble.” This refers to the enemies of Israel during those former times. There were groups who invaded Israel and sought to oppress God’s people. Those groups were eventually subject to God’s judgment. What would play out for the southern kingdom of Judah would be like that.

Verse [8] “Was your wrath against the rivers, O LORD? Was your anger against the rivers, or your indignation against the sea.” Yahweh struck the Nile and the Jordan River. He struck the Red Sea. “when you rode on your horses, on your chariot of salvation?” Like a powerful warrior with horse and chariot – with His great power. This is poetic language that mirrors many of the psalms.

Verse [9] “You stripped the sheath from your bow, calling for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers.” When God did powerful works of the past, He acted with full force. He meant business. The bow was taken all the way out. The sword was drawn completely, ready to wield.

Verse [10] “The mountains saw you and writhed; the raging waters swept on; the deep gave forth its voice; it lifted its hands on high. [11] The sun and moon stood still in their place at the light of your arrows as they sped, at the flash of your glittering spear.” This is a reference to Joshua 10. God controls the whole cosmos. With poetic language, Habakkuk exalts God’s sovereignty over nature. Yahweh is the Power of all powers! He is Him! Truly, one of one. And He exercised His power not only over nature, but over history.

Verse [12], “You marched through the earth in fury; you threshed the nations in anger. [13] You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. [14] You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret. [15] You trampled the sea with your horses, the surging of mighty waters.” God delivered justice again and again for His people. Habakkuk – and all who would sing this song – would look for God to do so once again.

Notice in verse 13 he writes, “You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked.” “Your anointed” calls to mind King David and his royal line that ultimately, according to God’s covenant in 2 Samuel 7, produced an everlasting King. This is King Jesus, descendant of David who sits on the throne forever. Genesis 3:15 was the first glimpse of the Anointed who would crush Satan.

You see, because of the covenant promises and past demonstrations of power, Habakkuk had hope that Yahweh would again demonstrate His great power. And if you have Christ, then you have the covenant promises of God, and therefore Habakkuk’s hope is your hope, and His song is your song.

God soothes us with His mercy and sustains us with His power. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we celebrate God’s power in the midst of a life affected by God’s judgment against sin. Life’s troubles are the result of sin’s corruption, but our God is powerful. He carries us. Christmas is a celebration that Christ conquers all of His and our enemies.

Now verse 16 is the other bookend, along with verse 2, for Habakkuk’s song. He writes, “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me.” Habakkuk was told that Judah would fall to a wicked nation. It was devastating news.

Understandably, he was terrified and saddened. It was hardly what he wanted to hear. It wasn’t the future he longed for. But he proclaimed – and song is evidence that as God’s prophet he led the people in proclaiming – “Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.”

This is real trust in the goodness and wisdom of the one true God.

This is a picture of real Christianity.

This is trusting that God will judge wickedness at the proper time.

This is reflecting on who Yahweh is and all He’s done and then relying on His character and His ways when the path is terribly, terribly difficult.

What difficult road has the Lord called you to travel down? Do troubles indicate that you aren’t faithful or that God is not real? Look again at verse 17.

Keep in mind as we read this verse again that wicked people caused these things. A wicked army would invade Judah. Verse [17], “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls.” The agricultural economy of Judah would be devastated. These natural resources would be lost, and therefore, all the luxuries they produced. Palmer Robertson writes, “Habakkuk openly recognizes the coming loss of…luxuries as well as life’s necessities, but believes nonetheless.”

It’s important to note that the whole nation would suffer this – even those like Habakkuk who had remained faithful to Yahweh. But still, the people of God must trust Him, look at verse [18], “yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Yet I will “triumph.” I will triumph in Yahweh. I will celebrate and show great delight in the God of my salvation.

For He has delivered me from sin and death. As bad as the circumstances may be, it would be far worse to be His enemy. It would be far worse to not know God and to not have peace with Him.

Verse [19] “GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.” Habakkuk has a very important choice of words here. We normally see “LORD” in all capital letters. When you see that, you know that in Hebrew, the tetragrammaton is used. The Hebrew letters Yod-He-Vav-He, which we transliterate as Y-H-W-H, and with vowels added later, we pronounce “Yahweh.” This is the personal, covenant name of God.

But here, GOD is in all caps, Lord is in small caps. Actually the Hebrew here reads, “Yahweh Adonai is my strength.” “Adonai” is the Hebrew word that means “lord” or “master.” What does this mean? It means that it’s not wealth, success, or prosperity that causes God’s people to triumph. Habakkuk says we will triumph – we will rejoice and take joy – because we are assured that Yahweh is our Master and our Warrior forever.

He is our great wealth, even in poverty.

He is our great health, even in sickness.

Times of trouble do not mean He does not love us. Times of pain do not mean He is not with us and guiding us. Times of sorrow or uncertainty do not mean He is not transforming us. In fact, the opposite is true. That was the hope of Habakkuk.

Yahweh causes us to endure, even though, at times, we may fall apart. He will see us through it all. He will bless us and keep us to the end. Yes, we should depend entirely on Him. We should trust in His ways and plans. But even when we fall short of that – when, under emotional distress, time seems to drag on, and sin is appealing, our gracious God does not turn His back on us. This is the comfort and hope of all who know Jesus Christ.

Christ Himself lifts us above our greatest trouble, which is hostility with God. Romans 5 says, “[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Yahweh did remember His mercy, demonstrate His power, and bestow His joy – when He sent Jesus Christ into the world to save His people. And Yahweh will once more remember His mercy, demonstrate His power, and bestow His joy when Christ returns on the Last Day.

Will you trust God with whatever troubles you face today? Will you rely on Him with whatever causes time to seem to move so slowly? You can, but you must have Christ. Or perhaps, to be more theologically accurate, Christ must have you.

Call out to Him today. Reject your sinful ways and cling to Him.

Let’s bow in prayer.

Are you ever discouraged at the things people seem to “get away with” each day? Some months ago, I was working here in the office and a police detective stopped by. He said there was a burglary at a business down the street, and he thought that the thieves may have parked their getaway car in our parking lot. So he asked if he could see our camera footage. We previously had months and months of otherwise useless footage, but I had to tell the officer that, unfortunately, our camera batteries had recently died! The crooks got away with their crime.

Of course, that goes on a lot. I’m sure criminals like it. But it frustrates law-abiding citizens, doesn’t it? We want to see justice served. Scripture teaches that justice will be served by God – finally and completely – but sometimes it appears that justice isn’t served at all. Many victims don’t get justice for the wrong they endure. That may include you. Perhaps someone has “gotten away with” something at your expense.

We naturally struggle to trust that every wrong will be made right, that every trespass will be accounted for, and that no injustice will be ignored. But in His Word, God assures us that justice is certain.

Now we learned last week that it may seem slow, but God’s justice will be right on time. In today's passage, we learn that His justice will also be right on target. It will be absolutely sufficient and completely fitting. Wherever punishment is due, it will be delivered, and it will fit the crime.

Christmas is a reminder of this. Have you ever thought of Christmas in that way? If not, you should. As you imagine Christ the Lord lying in the manger, you should understand that His birth was a pronouncement of joy and judgment. The birth of Jesus is evidence that every sin will be paid for down to the last penny. No one’s debt to God will be waived.

How does this relate to Habakkuk ch. 2? Well, Habakkuk’s words here in chapter 2 address his immediate circumstances, but as is often the case in the OT, they foreshadow or point to greater biblical realities. Notice the outline for you on page 6. In verses 6-20, the realities foreshadowed are that Jesus Christ is the incarnate fulfillment of divine justice and the incarnate arrival of divine deliverance.

And so it’s only as we look to Christ – knowing, understanding and worshiping Him – that we can rest in the assurance that total justice will be served. These verses help us know, understand, and worship Him.

Now, this section of Habukkuk is often referred to as “the five woes.” The English word “woe” means “distress” or “trouble.” There’s another Hebrew word which is normally translated as “woe,” but that isn’t the word used here. The word used here is perhaps most literally translated “Ah!” or “Ha!” It’s exclamatory. The sense is that Babylon will not “get away with” anything. They may believe like they are, but really, they aren’t.

Scholars agree that Habakkuk’s tone here is a taunting tone. Some call this a “taunt song.” The Chaldeans are being mocked. What came to my mind is what we typically call “talking trash.” There’s a sinful, immature, ego-driven component to competitive trash-talking. That’s not what’s going on here at all. This is not sinful. It’s God-glorifying.

You could think of it like this: Habakkuk is not trash talking before or during the game; he’s taunting after the outcome has already been settled.

But wasn’t this written before the Chaldeans conquered Judah? Yes, but even before their victory, their defeat was already sure. Even before their awful crimes, their downfall was certain. History proves this to be true. The Babylonians conquered Judah in 586 B.C., but then they fell to the Medes and Persians in 539, not even 50 years later.

You may have noticed as I read this aloud earlier that Habakkuk says that the things the Babylonians do to others will be done back to them. That’s the common theme in verses 6-17. Palmer Robertson calls it “reciprocal justice.” For example, see verse 6, “Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own—for how long?—and loads himself with pledges!” This refers to heavy debts the Babylonians demanded from their captives. Verse [7] “Will not your debtors suddenly arise, and those awake who will make you tremble?” Then you will be spoil for them.” The Babylonians took money and possessions from the people they conquered. But one day, it would be the Babylonians' turn to pay.

And notice verse [8], “Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you.” It’s reciprocal justice – punishment to match the crime. Verse [9] “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house, to set his nest on high, to be safe from the reach of harm!” Ancient kings always wanted to establish a dynasty. They wanted their name and fame to live on even after their death. The way to do this was to establish their “house.” In other words, their lineage. They wanted to keep the power in their family line.

This was – and still is – often done through sinful means. Kings would harm others to preserve their own life and their name. But notice verse [10] “You have devised shame for your house by cutting off many peoples; you have forfeited your life.” Through their evil deeds, though they seemed to be succeeding, they were actually failing.

You may remember back in 2011 when the actor Charlie Sheen gave a TV interview in which he famously and humorously proclaimed that he was always “winning.” Charlie exuded confidence. He claimed he had “tiger blood.” But he was deep in debauchery, immorality, and addiction. His public behavior was erratic. His mental state was broken. But he said he was perfectly fine – better than most people in fact – and no one could tell him different.

Just this year, though, he gave another interview, and when he was shown the footage of that 2011 broadcast, he regretted it, even saying, “I don’t know who that is.” He thought he was “winning” when, in reality, he was “losing.”

This was the case for the Babylonians. If they didn’t repent and turn to Yahweh after their evil deeds, they would be destroyed just as they had destroyed others. Habakkuk continues, look at [12] “Woe to him who builds a town with blood and founds a city on iniquity!” Towns and cities were built in homage to a king’s great power. It was a demonstration of wealth and influence to establish a city. And it was prestigious to name one.

The Babylonians built their cities through sin and bloodshed. But their self-centered work would be in vain. Look at verse [13] “Behold, is it not from the LORD of hosts that peoples labor merely for fire, and nations weary themselves for nothing?” What does this mean? Habakkuk is saying that because of the reciprocal justice of Yahweh, their hard work would burn up and turn to nothing.

Have you ever worked hard to accomplish something, then someone comes along and quickly undoes all you did? It can be maddening. That’s the fate of anything built or done apart from the will of the one true God. It will not last. It doesn’t matter how good it looks at the moment. It may provide pleasure now, but it will produce pain later on.

All the Babylonian labor was an effort to perpetuate their own fame and glory – so that people would know about them and revere them. That may happen for a little while, but not long. See verse [14] “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” This is Yahweh’s world. In the end, people will know and revere Him, not Babylon.

And look at 15-17. [15] “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink—you pour out your wrath and make them drunk, in order to gaze at their nakedness!  The Babylonians treated their captives in a sadistic manner. Robertson says, “The Babylonian king is not satisfied with making himself drunk; he can rest contentedly only when he has forced his degradation on others.” Both drunkenness and sexual perversion are in view here.

The Babylonians were godless, and they spread their godlessness far and wide. But see verse [16] “You will have your fill of shame instead of glory.” Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision! The cup in the LORD’s right hand will come around to you, and utter shame will come upon your glory!” This cup of Yahweh is His wrath toward sins. This is His divine retribution. “Uncircumcision” is a nod to the Babylonians' separation from the one true God. They don’t know Him, and it shows.

Does your life demonstrate that you know and follow Christ? Do your words and actions glorify the one true God or yourself?

Now, the final verse in this section refers to Lebanon. Lebanon was a rich land, famous for its beautiful cedar trees. Robertson compares these to the majestic California redwoods. The Babylonians were happy to destroy the beauty of any land they conquered, and they would even kill not only people but defenseless animals as well. Look at verse [17], “The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you, as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them.” This is reminiscent of the end of the book of Jonah. At the end of the book, God expressed compassion for the Ninevites and their cattle. The Babylonians showed compassion for no one.

Now, as I said earlier, these events are typological in redemptive history. They point to greater realities. Greater justice was yet to come. Here’s why this is significant for us today. It could be argued that what was later done to the wicked Babylonians would not be sufficient for all they had done to others. You may feel this way about some injustice done to you.

If you’ve lost something or endured something severe, what would it take for you to feel that reciprocal justice was truly served? What would it take for you to believe that your offender paid sufficiently for their sins? Even if you could design their suffering in this life, it won’t give you back what you lost.

This is why revenge is useless. Revenge feels like “winning,” but it’s really “losing.” The only way to feel whole is to recognize and revere Jesus Christ as the incarnate fulfillment of divine justice.

You have to put all your hope in Him to serve absolute justice. When we think of Christmas, we usually think only of the result for God’s people: peace with God, joy, hope. But there was also a result for God’s enemies: His wrath for their sins. Christmas is consolation for the redeemed, but it’s a warning for the wicked.

God the Son came to earth in human form, born as a baby, and grew to be a man to impute perfect divine righteousness to those who trust in Him and to deliver perfect divine justice to those who reject Him.

How did Jesus fulfill divine justice, and why was his incarnation necessary? The answer is rooted in the OT book of Genesis. In Genesis 15, God bound Himself to His covenant with Abraham through a death oath. God pledged to bear the curse for covenant breaking. He bound Himself to pay the price for the sins of His covenant people.

So, divine justice wouldn’t be ignored – it would be satisfied. That satisfaction came through the incarnation, humiliation, and exaltation of Christ, because God Himself had sworn to pay the debt, and because only as a true man could He bear the judgment that justice required. It was at the cross that Christ fulfilled the covenant oath made by God long before. Therefore, God dealt justly with the sins of His people. Christ paid for them.

However, for God’s eternal enemies – those who don’t trust in Christ – their sins are not paid for. They must pay for their sins themselves. Jesus justly acquits those who trust Him, and justly condemns those who reject Him.

Now look at these final verses. The focus of the fifth and final “woe” is a bit different. This really gets to the heart of all the previous sins described. Verse [18] “What profit is an idol when its maker has shaped it, a metal image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation when he makes speechless idols! The Babylonians believed that if they pleased their gods, they would be successful. And when they succeeded, they would say, “See, we told you so!”

But their success was simply the fulfillment of the plan of the one and only true God. Their downfall would be as well. Their idols were never actually helping them, even when they thought they were. That’s part of the deception of idolatry. We think it’s working for us. We think we're “winning” but really we’re losing. See verse [19], “Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake; to a silent stone, Arise! Can this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in it.”

The same is true of anything we would trust in other than the one true God. The same is true for all the ways we hope in that are contrary to His ways. The same is true of every single path that is not the Lord’s path for us. And the same is true of every vain source of righteousness that is not Christ alone.

All other gods are powerless. We may foolishly bow our hearts to our false god, but they won’t help us in the end. However, there is one God who is able to help. Notice where Habakkuk says this God resides, verse [20], “But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” False gods are mute. The one true God speaks.

Hebrews 1 says, [1] Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

The Babylonians trusted in false gods who would appear to be trustworthy – but not for long. False gods would not deliver them the destruction they deserved. But Christ can deliver. He can save. God came to earth to save His people from sin and death. He is the incarnate arrival of divine deliverance.

Of course, like His fulfillment of divine justice, this deliverance occurred in a completely opposite manner from what humankind would anticipate. That small child who brought justice and deliverance was not born into a powerful family, and he wasn’t raised to be a great military leader.He didn’t gather riches and resources during his earthly campaign. But He accomplished the justice we long for and the deliverance we need.

His name is Jesus Christ. He is both fully God and fully man. Have you trusted in Him to give you peace with God today? Do you rely on Him to make you right with God, sinful as you are? Do you believe that He is sufficient for you to be forgiven? Are you confident in Him to provide that grace of God which is enough for you?

Believe in Him, turn from your sins and follow Him. Don’t let the reciprocal justice you deserve fall on you; let it fall on Christ. As we go to His table now, we’re reminded again of what He did for us.

Let’s bow in prayer.

With so much immorality and injustice in the world today, it can be tempting to question why God would allow such things to continue. You may have even found yourself wondering, “Where is God?” or “Why is God letting this happen?” or “Why does God seem silent?” Few struggles test our hearts more deeply than the feeling that God is silent when life is unjust. When the wicked succeed, when suffering continues with no explanation, when the world feels upside down—our theology collides with our experience. Inundated as we are with disturbing news and images from around the world, the sheer scale of the problem will appear overwhelming if we do not view it in light of the gospel.

Think of a child waiting for a parent to return from a trip. The parent promised, “I’ll be back,” but the hours stretch, night falls, and fear whispers, “Maybe they won’t keep their word.” For the child, waiting is not merely a matter of time—it is a test of trust.

That is where Habakkuk stands. He knows God is holy. He knows God is just. But what he sees with his eyes contradicts what he knows in his heart.

You see, like Habakkuk, we struggle to trust God’s justice and timing when the wicked seem to prosper and He appears silent. But God assures His people that His appointed justice will surely come, and He calls them to live by faith—a faith ultimately fulfilled and modeled in Christ, the Righteous One who trusted God perfectly and secured God’s final victory over evil.

Because God’s justice is certain even when it seems delayed, His people must live by faith in His sure promises rather than by sight of present circumstances.

So how are we positioned to see God and His ways clearly amid the evil and injustice that surround us? It is when we live by faith, even when it appears God is silent. This passage gives us four ways to live by faith when it seems God is silent. You can see them printed for you there on page 6 of the WG. We live by faith when we remember God’s unchanging character, when we bring our honest struggles to God, when we trust God’s appointed timing, and when we reject pride and embrace humble dependence on God for deliverance.

These verses in Habakkuk teach us that God’s character is trustworthy and his timing is perfect. Therefore, as we live by faith, we can trust that God will deal justly with all unrighteousness. Let’s look together at these verses now.
 
Habakkuk begins here in verse 12 by confessing what he knows, not what he feels. He sets out what he is sure of, which is God’s unchanging character.  He states that God is “from everlasting, the Holy One, and the Rock.” Even as he laments about the evil that is around him and how God uses it for His purposes, he anchors himself in God’s character—eternal, holy, unchanging, faithful.

Habakkuk’s questioning does not indicate a weak faith but more like a perplexed faith. Why? If Judah suffers the same fate as the northern kingdom of Israel, what will happen to the nation as God’s covenant people? Habakkuk knows of the covenant God made with Abraham. The promises of a great nation, a land, and a people. If Judah is destroyed by the Chaldeans, will those promises fail? Despite his sincere concern, the prophet bolsters his confidence by focusing on the character of God.

Sailors in ancient times navigated by the North Star because it alone did not move. In storms, when clouds parted for a second, one fixed point gave them orientation.
Habakkuk’s theology, specifically his knowledge of God’s attributes and character, is his North Star. To state it more precisely, God is our North Star because of His character.

We too must be oriented or positioned to see clearly and respond appropriately to what we don’t understand about the outworking of God’s providential decrees. We are able to do this by being anchored in the truth about his character.

Where do we discover His character? It is revealed in His Word, which we have recorded in the pages of Scripture. In other words, we must be students of God’s word.

As we encounter God in His Word, we learn what WSC 4 summarizes about God. It states that, “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”

The truths about God that Habakkuk mentions here are:
God’s eternality – “2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Ps. 90:2); 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Rev. 1:8).
God’s holiness - 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15).
God is referred to as the Rock, which communicates God’s strength and permanence – 4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deut. 32:4).
 
This is the God of the Bible. This is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the Creator and Sustainer of all existence. This is our God. These attributes of God lead Habakkuk to proclaim there in verse 12, “We shall not die.” Scholar and author O. Palmer Robertson writes, “The prophet here conjoins the covenant people with himself. Yahweh is their God. Therefore, it is impossible that they could perish.” Habakkuk has trusted in God by faith. He is a part of the covenant community, and he remembers God’s covenant promises to His covenant people. Those promises combined with God’s character help Habakkuk live by faith, even when God seems silent.

It is the same for us. When God seems silent, we must preach God's character to our own heart. We must look to His Word and be reminded of His promises and character.
Circumstances change; our feelings change; our fears change—but God does not.

But knowing God’s character doesn’t mean we always understand His decrees. Because of our finitude, or finiteness, we question why certain things happen the way they do. Faith is not the absence of questions…so we also see that we live by faith when we bring our honest struggles to God.

In verse 13, Habakkuk reiterates His knowledge of God’s character. He says, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong.” He knows God is pure and holy and cannot tolerate sin and evil. So, we can understand and even empathize with Habakkuk’s confusion here. He essentially says, “You are a God who is holy and just. You condemn sin, therefore I know that you must judge and punish all wickedness. But that isn’t what I see happening here. It seems You are just standing back and even using these evil Chaldeans. Where is the justice?”

But notice something here, Habakkuk doesn’t suppress his confusion—he brings it to God. He says, “Why do You look at evil? Why are You silent? How long will this continue?” He knows God character, so he questions God’s actions. But he doesn’t walk away in cynicism; he walks toward God in lament.

We see this throughout the Scriptures, especially in the Psalms. We see David, a man after God’s own heart, struggle with and question God when evil and wicked men pursue him. Yet, what he records in the Psalms, in places like Psalm 43, shows that his hope is in the Lord. He says, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”

The descriptions Habakkuk uses for the wicked in verses 14-17 reveal the depth of depravity of the enemy as well as their strength. He uses the vivid imagery of fishing, which was a very common vocation, and which many were intimately familiar with. He equates the Israelites to helpless fish who are caught by the wicked and who are easily destroyed. The wicked even worship their nets, their strength as it were. They live happy and full from their wicked deeds. “How can this go on?” Habakkuk asks. “How can You seemingly remain silent while this continues, God?”

Maybe you can relate? Are you discouraged by the presence and proliferation of wickedness? If God is holy and just, why does it seem He often allows evil to continue to and the wicked to prosper? Do you find yourself thinking, “Why is God not putting a stop to this?”

As believers who have the Holy Spirit, we recognize wickedness and have a desire for God to enact His justice upon all that is evil. However, in our haste for God to deal swiftly with sin, we think we have a higher and better sense of justice than God. We think we know what God should do and how He should respond better than He does.

But we would do well to see and remember what Habakkuk does next. Look at verse 1 of chapter 2. After lamenting, he says he is going to take a stand at his watchpost. This is military terminology for those who stand guard or on post. They are the lookouts. Habakkuk says, I will wait and see what the Lord says. It is the stance of expectant faith. He positions himself to listen, to see how the Lord responds. Convinced that the events of history were not determined by blind fate but by the righteous and holy God of Israel, Habakkuk expectantly waited on the Lord until he received an answer.

We are allowed to lament the evil we see and even appropriately and respectfully bring our concerns and questions to God. God is not threatened by our questions. But even as we do lament, we understand from Scripture that we must ultimately wait on the Lord and trust in His plan and His timing.

So how does God answer the prophet’s cry for justice?

Look there at verses 2 and 3. God tells Habakkuk: “Write the vision.” “It will not lie.” “Though it seems slow, wait for it.” “It will surely come; it will not delay.”
In other words: God’s justice is never late. It only seems slow to us. You see we live by faith when we trust in God’s appointed timing.

If you’ve ever tracked a package that says, “out for delivery,” you know the restlessness of waiting. But the driver is not lost; the schedule is precise. Delay is not abandonment.

Or have you ever been in a situation where you had an idea of a timetable for something to occur, realized that timetable was not going to be met, became frustrated and annoyed, only to find out later that if the thing would have happened when you wanted it to, things would not have gone nearly as well? We all can probably think of examples of that.

God’s timetable is not aligned to human impatience. His justice is not forgotten—it is scheduled. We see this promise of justice back in places like the book of Zephaniah. In verse 8 of chapter 3, Zephaniah writes, 8 “Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.”

In fact, all the way back in Genesis, in chapter 3, we see God’s promise to deal with sin when He said He would crush the head of the serpent. In other words, Christ would defeat Satan, sin, and death. Justice would be delivered.

So we too must remember God’s promise to deal with sin and evil. Faith waits because it knows God works on a clock calibrated to eternity, not our immediacy. We must trust in God’s timing.
And that leads to our final point.

God doesn’t just contrast “now” with “later.” He contrasts two kinds of people. Look at verses 4-5. We see the unrighteous contrasted with the righteous. Habakkuk describes the unrighteous by saying, “Behold, his soul is puffed up, it is not upright within him,” and then in verse 5, “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”

The proud trust in themselves—their strength, success, weapons, wealth (2:5). Babylon sacrifices to its own “net,” its own power (1:16).

Then he describes the righteous. And here is the center of the book: “But the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Few phrases of Scripture have had as far-reaching an impact as the Lord’s declaration to Habakkuk in verse 4. The apostle Paul references it several times in the New Testament. This single line becomes the heartbeat of New Testament Christianity—quoted in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. Martin Luther adopted it as his watchword during the Protestant Reformation of the early 1500s. It is the verse that set the church free from the shackles of corruption and empty religion.

What is it teaching? Contrasted with the unrighteous who trust in themselves, the righteous do the opposite: they trust God when they cannot see God’s justice yet. Faith is not wishful thinking; it is dependence on God’s promised redemption. And what is that promised redemption?

Those whom God regards as righteous do not find life by doing the right things, although doing the right things is important. Instead, they find life by trusting wholly in the Lord to act according to His character and keep His promises to His people. The Apostle Paul fleshes this out in his epistles, telling us that fallen human beings are not regarded as righteous in God's courtroom except by faith alone, and that it is this faith that leads to the imputation of a righteousness that is not our own, which in turn leads to eternal life.

Like Habakkuk, Paul also confirmed that true life is only possible in a relationship of total dependence on the Lord. Such dependence, based on the faithfulness of our God, transforms our existence in this world, filling our lives with joy in the certainty of God's gratefulness to his promises. Have you trusted in the Lord? If not, I urge you today to trust in Him and live in dependence on Him. Here in Habakkuk, we realize that trusting in the Lord and living in dependence on Him only occurs as we live by faith in Christ.

You see Habakkuk hears, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
But the gospel reveals that no one lives by perfect faith—except One.
Christ is the Righteous One who lived by faith His entire earthly life.
He entrusted Himself to the Father when evil seemed to triumph.
He faced injustice not only unexplained but undeserved.
He endured silence—not imagined but real—as He cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

And His faithfulness becomes our righteousness. He trusted fully where we trust weakly. He waited perfectly when we despair quickly. He secured the final triumph of God’s justice by bearing it in Himself on the cross. And He rose to guarantee that every promise of God will surely come. Our faith rests not in our ability to wait well, but in Christ’s perfect trust and God’s completed redemption.

Habakkuk teaches us that: When God seems silent—He is still holy. When evil seems triumphant—He is still sovereign. When justice seems delayed—He is still faithful.

Habakkuk live by faith in God and in God’s promises. But what Habakkuk looked forward to in faith, we can look back to in faith. We can look back to the birth of Christ, who is the fulfillment of God’s promise. When Christ entered the world, the promised Messiah had arrived. He was the embodiment of God’s justice.

So above all, we look to Christ—the One who lived by faith perfectly, who bore injustice completely, and who guarantees that God’s justice will surely come. It is Christ who positions us to see clearly, so let us look to Christ and live by faith in Him today.

Let’s pray together.

Have you ever been troubled or confused by what God seems to be doing – or not doing – in your life? It’s a burden that weighs heavy on the heart and mind – a very common burden, in fact, among God’s people.

During the Christmas season, that burden can intensify for many believers. This is a season of hope and joy, yet we can’t help but think, “Why is God doing this?” Or, “Why is God not doing that?” But though that burden can loom large during this time of year, something else looms ever larger: God’s absolute sovereignty and His perfect character.

Put differently, the one true God is entirely powerful and entirely good.

The prophet Habakkuk was troubled by what God seemed to be “doing or not doing.” It was a heavy burden; in fact, that’s the meaning of the word “oracle” in verse 1. This book is the utterance of Habakkuk’s burden. This is his cry from a troubled spirit. He carried a heavy weight, and he made that weight known to God, for the benefit of God’s people both then and now.

From today until the Sunday before Christmas, we’re going to explore his oracle. It’s a short book of the Bible – just three chapters. But over just a few pages, God speaks to the hearts of those who wrestle with His will.

The first verses set the trajectory for the whole book. They form the lens through which we should read and understand it. Habakkuk sought an answer from the LORD. I’m sure you do, too. He was a man of faith, but even those with the firmest faith carry burdens that can only be eased by an answer from God.

God’s answer, however, can be startling. It is sometimes unsettling. And yet, His answer can only be good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So let’s begin Habakkuk.

Now, we just finished the OT book of the prophet Jonah. Jonah and Habakkuk didn’t live during the same time or in the same place. Jonah lived and prophesied in the 8th century B.C. – the early 700s. Habakkuk lived and prophesied later, in the 7th century B.C. – the late 600s. So Jonah lived a long time before Habakkuk.

But they had much in common. Both served as God’s prophets and both served under wicked kings. But they lived in different kingdoms. How’s that?

Well, during what we might call the “glory days” of OT Israel, the covenant community of God was united. They were one nation under Yahweh. This was the case under King David and his son and successor, King Solomon.

But shortly after Solomon’s death, the nation split. They divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom was called Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Jonah lived in the northern kingdom, Habakkuk in the southern kingdom. Jonah lived about 200-250 years after David, Habakkuk about 350-400 years after David. So both prophets lived and served God well after the “good old days.”

What made those days so good was not just the unity but also the leadership over the covenant community. Times were good under a king who led the people to follow God’s law. Habakkuk actually experienced a little bit of that early in his life. He lived during the reign of King Josiah – a direct descendant of David – and Josiah was a very good king.

But Josiah’s successor was not. Habakkuk’s prophetic ministry began during the reign of that king. His name was Jehoiakim.

This is a crucial detail for understanding Habakkuk’s burden. King Josiah had brought great reformation to the southern kingdom. According to 2 Kings 22, he “did what was right in the sight of the LORD.” So, he got rid of false worship and instructed the people according to God’s law. But he died abruptly in battle, and when his son came into power, he undid all the good that his father had done.

2 Kings 23 says Jehoiakim “did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” He let idol worship back in and he put God’s Word to the side. But you see, Habakkuk had experienced how things could be and should be. Under Jehoiakim, because of his leadership, wickedness was everywhere, and Habakkuk grieved severely over this.

You should understand that by this time in history, the northern kingdom, where Jonah was from, had fallen captive to the Assyrian empire. That happened back in 722 B.C. God repeatedly warned them, but Israel didn’t turn from their idolatry, and time ran out.
So Habakkuk understood that if Judah didn’t turn to God, their time would run out also.

Throughout the southern kingdom of Judah – which was God’s covenant community –  godly people were suffering while evil people prospered. And God allowed it to go on. And this troubled Habakkuk so much. He knew it wasn’t right. He’s like all of us in that way. Our confidence wavers when what we see contradicts God’s holy character and ways.

Look again at verses 2-4. Habakkuk says, [2] O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? [3] Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. [4] So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. According to God’s law, curses and judgment were in order for what was going on in Judah. Habakkuk didn’t understand the holdup. He was confused by what he saw. Judah had laws from God that weren’t being kept, and there was no righteous king to lead the law-keeping.

Our confidence wavers when what we see contradicts (or we might say, seems to contradict) God’s holy character and ways. Think of this only as it relates to what goes one within the covenant community today: within the visible church.

We see sin and conflict unchecked; we see the compromising of the truth.

How many cases of ungodly leadership can be found?

How many cases of humble believers suffering at the hands of ungodly people in the church can be found today?

How many cases of the local church abandoning our true mission?

How many churches where Christ is not preached faithfully, where worship is thoroughly man-centered and unbiblical, where the governance of the church is in obvious violation of the Scriptures?

Many. It’s rampant today. Why won’t God do something? Well, God is doing something. That’s what he tells Habakkuk.

Look at verse 5. God says, “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.
Surely, Habakkuk would think, “Alright, here we go!” Verse [6], God says, “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own.” This is not the answer Habakkuk was looking for!

Let me speak for a moment to how this answer came to Habakkuk – to the manner in which he received this “oracle.” He was, of course, unique as a prophet. Verse 1 is clear that God gave him a supernatural revelation. The verse says he “saw.” What did he see?

Well, the nature of what he writes seems to reveal that Habakkuk received this message from God in his inner consciousness. But clearly he experienced the presence and the power of the living God – as did all of God’s messengers and those who recorded His written Word. Habakkuk speaks to God and hears from God on behalf of all the faithful.

He learns that God is “raising up the Chaldeans.” This was the Babylonian empire. They were on the rise at that time. Assyria was in decline. The Babylonians/Chaldeans would eventually overtake the Assyrians around 612 B.C. and then Judah would fall to the Chaldeans in 586 B.C.

The Chaldeans were a lot like the Assyrians. They, too, were godless. Look at verse [7]. God says, “They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves. [8] Their horses are swifter than leopards, more fierce than the evening wolves; their horsemen press proudly on. Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. [9] They all come for violence, all their faces forward. They gather captives like sand. [10] At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it. [11] Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!”

Have you ever asked someone a question and they replied, “Do you really want me to answer that? Can you handle the truth?” What God tells Habakkuk here is only what He had been telling the Israelites for generations.

What’s difficult for Habakkuk is not that God will bring justice. It’s how God will bring that justice. The Chaldeans would overtake Judah, and yet the true people of God would be made confident in God’s power and character. They would know that God does what He says He will do. They would know that God’s redemptive plans were still in full effect.

You see, our confidence wavers when what we see contradicts God’s holy character and ways, but God restores our confidence by the startling revelation
of His redemptive plans. Habakkuk was shocked at God’s reply to his questions. But the redemptive plans of God are shocking.

The way God saves is not the way you would expect.

The way God defeats sin is not the way we would design.

The way He purifies and transforms His people is not the way we would choose.

But the way God carries His redemptive plans forward demonstrates His absolute sovereignty and His perfect character. With total control, God remains merciful and just.

What God was going to do in Judah would foreshadow His greater work to come. It still shocks us that God would use the wickedness of men to accomplish His good will. In Acts 2, the apostle Peter says, “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” What they intended for evil against Christ, God intended for good.

Christ came into the world in a shocking manner, did he not? Conceived supernaturally, in the womb of a young virgin. Born not in a mansion, but in a manger.

We can take all of our questions and needs to God. In Psalm 55, king David wrote, long before the life of Habakkuk, “Cast your burden on Yahweh, and He will sustain you.” Habakkuk’s oracle reads much like those Psalms of David. Peter echoed those words, in 1 Peter 5, where he told the churches, “Humble yourselves…under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”

How do we know He cares for us? Look at His shocking reply. Look at the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer and the restorer of our confidence.

Have you trusted in Him and turned from your sins to follow Him? Believe in Him today. As we go to His table now, this ritual is God’s shocking reply to our cries.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Often our sinfulness is revealed by God’s blessings. Our corrupt nature is shown as God gives us His good gifts. Let me give you some examples.

You finally get a restful day off. What a blessing, right? But when your spouse asks for a small favor – just a little bit of your precious time – you snap back selfishly.

Or let’s say you receive some unexpected money. That’s a blessing. However, when the money is in hand, instead of being excited to give generously, you only feel the urge to buy things or hoard it.

Or how about when someone in your life serves you by repeatedly handling a simple chore that makes your life easier. What a blessing! But the moment they leave it undone, you demandingly lash out at them in frustration.

Or imagine that you’re enjoying a somewhat calm and ordered season of life. It’s the fruit of your labors and good decisions – by God’s gracious blessing, of course. But when a troubled person (maybe a family member) disrupts your peaceful life, you seethe with anger instead of showing pity.

In each case, sinfulness brought to the surface by blessing. That was the case in Jonah’s life, and in the covenant community of ancient Israel, and that’s the case in the covenant community of the local church today: we’ve been graciously set apart and blessed by God, and we’re prone to sins that seem to grow out of His blessings.

To be clear, the blessings aren’t the problem. They just expose our corruption. This has always been the case for God’s people. We need Him to root out that sin, and He’s committed to that work. God changes us as we behold His glorious grace, and He providentially appoints circumstances that bring our sin into view. Jonah and ancient Israel needed to see the sin that grows in those set apart in covenant with God. And we need to see it too.

But what kind of sins?

Jonah is our case study. We should look at his life and think about our own. Notice the outline on page 6. Three sins tied to his covenant status are selfish enjoyment of God’s provision, overreaction to petty concerns,and lack of compassion for the godless.

Now at the beginning of the chapter, Jonah is appalled that God would have mercy on the wicked Ninevites, and God corrects his foolishness. But Jonah shrugs it off. He goes to the outskirts of the city and makes a shelter with whatever he could find, to sit in skepticism of the Ninevites’ repentance. He’s going to wait to see if it’s real, apparently hoping to see God destroy them.

It seems that his little shelter isn’t sufficient to keep out the hot sun. And so, graciously, God helps him out. Look at verse [6], “Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant.” This is a huge blessing! Imagine being in the hot Middle Eastern sun without good shelter, sunscreen, or AC!

God did a fine thing for him, especially given the state of his heart. The LORD God had looked out for Jonah and blessed him his whole life. Jonah was born into the covenant community. He was taught the truth from childhood. He knew the promises, the history, and the ways and morals of the one true God. God saved him from sin, saved him from death, and gave him a wonderful and holy calling to be a prophet.

Every good thing Jonah had ever enjoyed was a gift from above. But here was the reality: Jonah was sitting under this plant in sin. He enjoyed God’s shade with hatred in his heart. The first sin tied to his covenant status was selfish enjoyment of God’s provision. He doesn’t take the opportunity – out of the scorching heat – to consider his own ways. He just reaps the benefits of grace.

There’s one word that succinctly describes Jonah: entitled. In his mind, he deserves the blessing of the plant. But his mind is clouded by sin. And when sin clouds our thoughts, our discernment is hindered. Sin deceives us, our hearts grow insensitive to our sin, and we enjoy God’s gifts while being inwardly unaffected by His grace.

When grace is affecting us, it moves us out of ourselves. When we see our sin to a greater and greater degree, grace is magnified for us. And our self-centered enjoyment of God’s provision will begin to decrease. How have you been selfishly enjoying the gracious provision of God?

Now look at verse [7]. “But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered.” Jonah spent the night in God’s AirBnB. But just before the sun rises, God changes things up on Jonah. He takes away the plant; so, he takes away the shelter it gives. See verse [8], “When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Here Jonah goes again. wanting to die. But over what? A plant. If the sun is so harsh, go back into the city Jonah! Obviously you’re welcome there! But that’s the last thing he wants to do. And see God’s response in verse [9]. “But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” In other words, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant dying?” Was it right, seeing as how it was a total gift from God in the first place?

The plant dying further reveals how twisted up Jonah is inside. His response shows that his idolatry in is deep. “And [Jonah] said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” Talk about doubling down! He fires back this reply to God.

When we gather in worship on the Lord’s Day, God is speaking to us. He’s exposing our sins, showing them to us, opening our eyes to things great and small. It’s very similar to what God is saying here to Jonah. “Is it right for you to do that, to think that, to feel that?” God graciously, patiently, kindly puts it back to us to consider, as if to say, “Is that really how you want to live?” And here, Jonah boldly replies, “Yes, it is.”

When have you replied to God that way? We all have – undoubtedly, on many occasions. In particular, notice Jonah’s pettiness here. He wants to die because the plant is gone. Does such a small thing justify wanting to die? Absolutely not.

Another sin tied to our covenant status and blessings from God is an overreaction to petty concerns. Getting bent out of shape over trivial matters – over things of little importance. It’s a common human experience: unimportant things seem larger than life,
while the things that truly matter seem unimportant and expendable. In Jonah’s case, things like God’s mercy on wicked people, things like an evil city of people being reconciled with the God of grace, things like ruined lives being restored by the power of the only true God, things like people coming to a saving knowledge of the truth.

How have petty concerns begun to consume your thoughts and energy, while the things that truly matter according to God’s kingdom work are an afterthought? This happens to all of us who are set apart and blessed by God. Without honest reflection and repentance, we get sidetracked.

Now look at these final verses with me. God has the last word. Verse [10] “And the LORD said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night.” This ties together what God means to teach Jonah. The LORD says Jonah had “pity” for the plant. Jonah suffered inwardly over the loss of the plant, which is to say, he had compassion for the plant.
By the way, Jonah did nothing to earn or produce the plant. God gave it, and God took it away. It had always been an undeserved gift.

But notice verse [11]. God adds, “And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Jonah pities the plant – but he doesn’t pity Nineveh. He’s worked up over something minor, but couldn’t care less about something monumental.

Notice again the phrase, “who do not know their right hand from their left.” This foreshadows what Paul says to the Ephesian church – to Gentiles like these Ninevites. Paul tells the new Christians in Ephesus, “Remember that you were…separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

The Ninevites were not just disadvantaged. They were godless. Their morals were completely upside down. They were to be pitied. They had no foundation of God’s truth. They had no knowledge of His ways. Like a city full of blind people, they groped along in the dark!

Titus 3 in the NT comes to mind, where Paul writes, “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” God asks the prophet Jonah – a member of the covenant community – “Should I not suffer inwardly for Nineveh, like you do for the plant?” “Should I not have compassion for Nineveh, like you do for the plant?” “Should I not show them grace, like I’ve done you, Jonah?”

The members of the true church need to take this message to heart. Like Jonah, we observe people toward whom righteous anger is valid. In our country today, there are various repulsive ideologies. There are many systems of belief that are contrary to God’s truth. Do they please us? Absolutely not. Do you affirm them? Absolutely not. God did not affirm or tolerate the wickedness of the Ninevites. He said that morally they did not “know their right hand from their left.” And He pronounced judgment on them if they didn’t turn from their evil.

So He didn’t validate their ignorance or depravity. Neither should Jonah, and neither should we today. But at the same time, we must have pity in our hearts. Another common sin of those in covenant with God is a lack of compassion for the godless.

If you’re in Christ, and God has brought you out of the condemnation for your sins, called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, have you become an uncompassionate elitist?

Have you become ingrown, numb, unconcerned about the plight of the godless because you’re just better than them, in your mind?

Is Christ your Savior and Lord, but you find yourself becoming preoccupied with petty things, having lost sight of the big picture, becoming skeptical of people professing faith or beginning to change?

Have you begun to justify your grudges? Have you developed a miserable mindset born out of self-absorption? Do you value trivial things over people – over what truly matters? Have you become centered on yourself and your temporal needs and desires?

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of those, congratulations – God has opened your eyes! If you answer ‘no’ to them all, pray that God would open your eyes, because if you don’t see these kinds of things in your life, you don’t see Christ. You don’t see Him who was lifted up for the sins of His people – who was lifted up for the corruption in the hearts of the very people that He came to save and sanctify!

God is set apart and holy in His character. He sets His people apart in and with Christ to make us holy. Christ is our righteousness. Therefore, we can acknowledge that like Jonah and ancient Israel, we have selfishly enjoyed God’s provision, we have overreacted to petty concerns, and we have lacked compassion for the godless –
all because we have loved our God’s blessings more than we have loved our God.

But there is plenty of grace for us today. God’s grace abounds to sinners. At every point we fall short, Christ succeeded in our place to fulfill the law of God for us. Will you renew your trust in Jesus now and follow Him? Will you trust in Christ today if you never have, and turn from your sins? Jesus imputes the fullness of His perfect righteous record to those who trust in Him. He brings us in and blesses us, and even as those blessings reveal more of our sin, He gives us more grace and knowledge of Himself.

Let’s bow in prayer.

The first commandment is, “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Westminster Larger Catechism question 105 describes in great detail the sins this commandment forbids, listing things such as atheism, idolatry, and unbelief. And embedded in the long list is the word “presumption.”

One dictionary defines “presumption” as, “Behavior perceived as arrogant, disrespectful, and transgressing the limits of what is permitted or appropriate.” It’s crossing a line. Theologically speaking, the line between creature and Creator.

Presumption involves thinking or acting as if we know better than God – believing that we are justified in questioning His ways and plans. It’s positioning ourselves in a place of judgment over God, believing that He owes us an explanation for what He does. Presumption is the belief that your wisdom is greater than His, that you have a standard by which He falls short, and that your goodness, justice, and understanding is more reliable than His.

Every single one of us has been guilty of this on many, many occasions. We think, “What God let happen wasn’t fair.” “I’ve been faithful – my life shouldn’t be harder than theirs” “She shouldn’t be forgiven that easily.” “God shouldn’t bless him after what he’s done”

“God owes me something better.” “He shouldn’t let righteous people suffer like this.” “He’s taking too long. He should have answered by now.” “God needs to give me a reason.” “He expects too much of me in this situation.”

“God says “forgive,” but I won’t forgive this person.” “Obeying God’s command would put me at a disadvantage.” “This Scripture (or this sermon) doesn’t apply to me.” “It overstates the seriousness of my sin.” “God is against me. He’s being too harsh. He shouldn’t treat me this way.”

“If God would do what I want, things would be better.” “This shouldn’t be happening in my family, in this nation, in the world.” “I could do a better job than God in designing and ruling the universe.”

We’ve all done this, as if we were wiser or more just than God, and for it we deserve His condemnation and wrath.

Christ came into the world to free us from that condemnation. He took God’s wrath for our sins of presumption on Himself, as if He had the line in arrogance and disrespect. And in Him, we are forgiven by God and we can reject presumption.

But we need to recognize the warning signs. They’re on display in Jonah’s life at the start of chapter 4 (and before that, really). You can see them listed for you. When we are harboring self-righteous pride, resenting free grace, and resisting clear correction we’re guilty of presumption and we’re in danger. Those who are in Christ can’t lose God’s love and eternal favor, but we may suffer and fall into many sins because we think we know better than God. Jonah’s response is a warning for us.

Now, Jonah preached faith and repentance for sins to the wicked Ninevites – and, amazingly, they obeyed Yahweh. However, notice verse [1] again, “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.”

Jonah saw God’s mercy toward Nineveh as an evil thing. It horrified him. They were godless people; they had terrorized many nations, including his own. And in Jonah’s eyes, they didn’t deserve God’s mercy. They had gone too far.

It does seem that for Jonah, this was personal. They didn’t have the right to say, “Yahweh is our God.” Yahweh was for Israel only. And Jonah seems to fear what this will mean for Israel, which had been warned about its own idolatry and continually failed to repent. He feared God’s judgment of Israel, and rightly so.

And so here is Jonah, who not long ago openly defied God, thinking that he’s morally superior to them. Richard Phillips writes, “Jonah simply thought that there were sinners, and then there were sinners.” But God doesn’t categorize the way that humans do.

True, some sins are more heinous than others with greater earthly consequences. But James the brother of Jesus clarifies what the OT teaches, when he says, “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” The first sign of presumption in Jonah’s life – the first indicator that he thought he knew better than God – was harboring self-righteous pride.

It’s understandable for spiritual conceit to rear its ugly head in your heart and mind. These thoughts and feelings are natural for sinners. But you cannot nurture them. Your sinful nature is – as C.S. Lewis said – putting  “God in the dock.” Putting God on trial – with you as the judge.

This kind of sin is especially insidious. It’s harmful in a slow, subtle, hidden way. We let it hang around, because whoever we’re judging has an obviously guilty record. That much is black and white. And so justify how we feel.

It’s reminiscent of the parable of the prodigal son and his older brother. The younger brother – the prodigal – was clearly guilty. No one was denying that. What the older brother couldn’t stand was the father’s mercy and grace towards him. Do you harbor self-righteous pride in some situation? Don’t let it just hang around.

Now notice verse [2] And he prayed to the LORD.” Hold on here a moment. This is actually an improvement. The first time Jonah was upset with God, he ran. This time, he prays. Jonah’s repentance in the belly of the great fish was genuine. But his idolatry is in deep. These circumstances really push his buttons.

So he prays, but he says, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”

We looked at this statement back in our very first Jonah sermon. Jonah left for Tarshish because he didn’t want the Assyrians to turn to God. His philosophy was, “Grace for me, not for thee.” He wanted his people to repent and be blessed by God. He didn’t want the Assyrians to be blessed by God. They didn’t deserve it – which was true, but neither did the Israelites.

What would the Assyrian repentance mean for the Israelites? Another famous OT prophet named Hosea came along after Jonah. Hosea prophesied that God would use the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their idolatry and wickedness. One scholar points out, “Jonah probably realized that his actions in calling the people of Nineveh to repent would ultimately result in the destruction of his own nation,” which, in 722 B.C., about 50 years after Jonah’s life, is what took place. So yes, this was personal.

And it’s important to point out again what I said last week – that it was often the case that prophecies such as this would have implicit conditions built in. God was willing to withhold destruction when people responded in faith. Jonah could have prayed for that. He could go back to Israel and call his people to trust Yahweh and repent.

That’s not what he wants to do, though. Look at verse [3]. He says, “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Many people feel this way when God doesn’t do what they want Him to do. Many people feel this way when God demands something they don’t want to give.

Take, for example, the rich young ruler who approached Jesus. Mark writes that the man “ran up and knelt before [Jesus] and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” [18] And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. [19] You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” [20] And he said to [Jesus], “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

The man had a false sense of righteousness. He had hidden spiritual conceit, which Christ exposes. Mark says, “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” [22] Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” The young man walks away from God.

And this is what many people do. Rather than wish for death, they wish God dead. They attempt to cut God out of their lives. They think, “If this is how God is, then I don’t want to believe in God.” Jonah’s interaction and various experiences with Yahweh wouldn’t permit atheism. God had spoken to Him and miraculously delivered him from death. So he wasn’t going to wish God dead. Instead, he wishes to die.

Jonah would rather die than live in a world where God operates in this way. Why? Well, if we boil it down, if we really simplify it, based on the facts at this moment, what has actually happened? All that has happened is that Jonah’s enemies have humbled themselves before God and dodged His wrath. They haven’t come for Israel or done any more harm to anyone. All they’ve done is receive God’s free grace.

This is the second sign of presumption in Jonah’s life. Another indicator that he thought he knew better than God was resenting free grace.

In Luke 15, Jesus talks about the joy in heaven over one sinner repents. Here’s a whole city! So, great rejoicing in the heart of God; zero in the heart of Jonah. In Jonah’s mind, God got this one wrong. He forgives these people? What’s He going to do next, bless them? Is He going to give the covenant promises to them and teach them how to worship? Jonah doesn’t pray, “Oh God, send me back to teach them your ways!” “This is a wonderful start, LORD, what’s next?”

Now, granted, it’s difficult to see our enemies enjoy the mercy and blessings of God – when our hearts are hard. This is why Jesus teaches us to pray for our enemies. In Matthew 5, Jesus says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” This doesn’t mean that Jonah has fallen out of covenant with God. But he should be ashamed, and since we understand that Jonah wrote this, we understand that at some point, he was ashamed of his behavior here.

Ask yourself, “Where in my life do I quietly resent God showing kindness to someone I think doesn’t deserve it?” Ask yourself, “Who do I struggle to rejoice over when God blesses them?” “What person or group would I rather see judged than redeemed – and what does that reveal about my heart?” “Do I love receiving free grace while resenting when others receive it just as freely?” “Can I genuinely pray for God to bless the person who has hurt me – or do I prefer to hold on to their guilt?”

Now look at God’s response. Verse 4, “And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?” This could be translated as “Is it right for you to be angry?” Is it good?

This is similar to what God said to someone else previously in the OT. When Cain, who later killed his brother Abel, gave a poor offering to God, Genesis 4 says, “[6] The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? [7] If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.” Cain was not doing what was right. He resisted God’s correction, and he later killed his dear brother.

Jonah was not doing what was right. He too resisted God’s correction, and the next verse proves it. Verse [5], “Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city.”  This backs up in time a little bit, to before the end of the 40 days and the deliverance we saw at the end of Jonah 3. Jonah is not only skeptical of the Ninevite response to God’s call. He’s resentful and prideful, and he shrugs it off when God calls him out. This is the third warning sign of presumption in Jonah’s life: resisting clear correction.

Is there clear correction from God’s Word that you are currently resisting? Is there a command of God that you keep ignoring because of what it requires? Is there any place in your life where you functionally believe God’s way won’t work – so you’re choosing your own way instead? Who do you avoid because you don’t want to hear the correction they may speak? Do you get angry, defensive, or withdrawn when God or His people confront you?

God is willing to transform your thinking, desires, or habits – but you’re resisting. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I asked God to show me where I’m wrong – and I meant it?” Do you think you know better than God?

We’re going to the Lord’s table now, and as we do, we come face to face with the God who is far, far wiser and just than we are. And yet He’s made a way to remain just while letting sinners come to Him. He is both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Jonah thought, “How can God just let their sin go?” He let it go on Christ. That’s why we can forgive. It’s how we are forgiven. Will you humble yourself before God today, and trust in Jesus Christ? The more we look to Jesus, the more we come to know and love Him, the weaker our presumption will become.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Picture a workplace where many employees have been around for years. Their work has become mechanical. They cut corners, ignore certain safety rules. Not in rebellion, but simply because everything feels routine and familiar.

Then a new hire arrives. This person listens closely in training and follows every procedure carefully. They ask questions. They take the work seriously. And with their arrival, something becomes clear: the long-time employees have grown complacent. Familiarity has dulled their seriousness and sincerity about the work.

This is something like what took place in ancient Israel. The Israelites had God’s covenant and promises and all the things of God, but their hearts had become numb to the truth and to their own sin.

All believers are prone to this. The members of God’s covenant community can grow numb to His commands and dull to His grace. And when that happens, God will expose that numbness by displaying His grace in the lives of those on the outside.

When we see God at work transforming the worst – and really, even before we see that – we should humbly renew our commitment to God. We should express our faith and also demonstrate the change in our lives. That message comes through in Jonah 3:6-10, where God's saving work in Nineveh indicted the hard-hearted Israelites and us as well, because When the worst truly repent, hard hearts are exposed. (vv.6–9) and when the LORD freely relents, His grace is disclosed. (v.10)

We saw last time that when Jonah obeyed God with his second chance to preach to Nineveh, there was true belief and repentance in that great city. Jonah was a messenger transformed by grace, and God bore good fruit through him.

In verse 6, Jonah’s message reaches the king. It’s interesting that it’s the king “of Nineveh,” which was a city. This probably isn’t the king of Assyria (the nation), but rather, the city’s leader. He issues an edict for the city and not for the whole nation. But still, he was a man of tremendous power and influence, and in many ways was responsible for what was going on in the city.

Now, how bad were the Ninevites? Palmer Robertson says, “Archaeology records that the kings of Nineveh regularly cut off the noses of people they conquered, and literally skinned them alive.” But look at the passage. “He arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.” It’s very extraordinary that he responds this way.

Some scholars speculate about his reaction and Jonah’s timing. They wonder if there had been other occurrences that primed the king’s heart, such as a total solar eclipse (which was very alarming at that time), or an earthquake or famine or flooding or the threat of another country invading. These are all possible; we couldn’t say for sure. But it’s true, isn’t it, that when God works true faith in someone’s heart, difficult circumstances are often surrounding that event?

At any rate, the king and people of Nineveh saw the greatness of their need. They accepted that they were evil. They were able to admit their wickedness. These people were the worst of the worst, but here is God offering mercy. Often it’s these people who are aware of their need, while the self-righteous are not.

So the king “issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh.” This is a total fast for every living creature, which is meant to show the totality of it. Don’t eat, don’t even drink, grieve your sin and “call out mightily to God.” And look at the last part of verse 8. The king says, “Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands.” He knows they are all guilty.

And he adds, verse 9 “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” Jonah had preached that if they didn’t turn from their sins, they would be overthrown. Their great city would fall to destruction. This would no doubt come through some kind of violent means. It might be another nation invading or a natural disaster. But their lack of repentance would be their undoing.

If you were go back and research ancient Israel’s history, God had told them this many times and given them many, many chances to repent – but to no avail. There was always a remnant who trusted in Yahweh – a small number who were faithful to God – but on the whole, they rejected God. Most of them wouldn’t humble themselves and turn from their wickedness. But here’s even the king of Nineveh repenting in humility.

Do you know what king failed to do this? Jeroboam II, the present king of Israel. This is an indictment of him. The Ninevite repentance put a spotlight on his guilt. Israel’s kings were a major part of their problem. They had the covenant and the promises and all the things of Yahweh, so they thought they were fine. But they weren’t.

Do you rest on your external credentials or accomplishments or titles in the church, while protecting your pet sins because you know God’s grace abounds? Don’t – be – fooled. Scripture tells you to take regular account of your actual inward and outward life.

Consider how you treat people, the words of your mouth, your private thoughts. Examine your behavior. Do you manipulate people, do you belittle them, do you start gossip or join in when others do it?

Do you talk about others behind their backs while being nice to their face? Does jealousy guide your thoughts and actions? Do you disregard the feelings of others? Do you justify the hatred of your enemies?

Do you really aim to glorify God in your work? Do you constantly complain? Do you have to put others down to build yourself up? Is life a “zero sum game” for you – i.e. others must fail for you to succeed, others must be hurt for you to be happy?

Do you allow sin to remain rather than putting it to death in your life because you have the covenant and the promises? You have grace, so no big deal? Soft hearts toward God shine the light on hearts that are hard toward Him. Regret your ways and return to God, or there will be a price to pay.

Sadly, the Israelites would pay a heavy price for their failure to repent. And what is sad is that repentance was right there. God is gracious and merciful toward sinners to come to Him. He puts whole lives back together where sin has brought its ruin. With true faith and sincere repentance, anyone can start again. We cannot undo the past, but we can move forward with hope because we’re moving forward with God. We’re moving forward by faith, and He leads.

I want to tell you about Steven Parker. He’s currently an inmate at Bibb County Correctional Facility in Alabama. Steven committed multiple murders, including his stepmother and almost his father. He was considered one of the most dangerous men in the AL prison system in the early 2000s. He was part of the Alabama Arian nation as an inmate in the brutal Holman Correctional Facility.

But while in solitary confinement, someone gave Steven a Bible, and he started reading. At some point, a black inmate shared the gospel with him, and he trusted in Christ and repented of his sin. He’s now been released to a medium-security prison, and he’s done theological studies with Birmingham Theological Seminary and Ligonier’s Prison Outreach.

I want to share with you what he says in a video posted by Ligonier. Steven says, “I would not surrender my identity as a Christian to be free. I'm more than a prisoner. I'm a Christian and that means everything. So I see in God's sovereign providence that because of my own waywardness and my own willingness to sin that he brought me here so that my light might shine.

Right theology and right thinking about God, it changes your attitude and it has an effect from the inside out. Jesus has taught me to love others, to love others as I love myself, because I see the awful sin in myself. I can look at the next sinning man and I can say like Charles Spurgeon said, if not for the grace of God, there I am.

I love to help guys know Jesus better, grow in the Lord. I like to see the Lord work in their lives and my concern is to see Christ honored, to see the glory of the Lord. And my hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ when this life is over and I see Jesus face to face.

Hope to me looks like salvation. My hope is not getting out of prison or getting rich or having a lot of friends or being really respected by other inmates. My hope is that I'll finish the course well and my Father will say, “Well done.”

That’s an indicting testimony, isn’t it? Do you have this kind of humility before God? When the worst truly repent, hard hearts are exposed. (vv.6–9)

Now look at verse 10. God responds. “When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” When they turned, God turned, as the king had hoped. This would seem to have occurred at the end of the forty days. Forty days came and went, and the city was not overthrown.

It was often the case that prophecies such as this would have implicit conditions built in. God was willing to withhold destruction when people responded in faith. But interestingly, where the Hebrew text says God “relented,” some translate that as,
“God repented.” To repent means “to change one’s mind.”

Now, from a human perspective, that’s what God did. But it’s important to note that in verse 10, the phrases “they turned” and “God relented” use two different words that might be translated “repented.” The Ninevites turned from evil to good. That’s the meaning of “turned” there. Of course, God did not turn from evil. His “turning” signifies the turn from judgment to compassion. He said he would destroy unrepentant Ninevites, so from His perspective,
he didn’t change.

Now, the word used about God’s repentance signifies the suffering of grief. Richard Phillips writes, “God literally suffers in repenting from judging our sins.” One scholar notes that it could be stated that God “was moved to pity.” He was moved to compassion, which always has with it a type of pain. God suffered pity – He suffered compassion – for them.

But these people were clearly guilty. They deserved punishment; they had earned judgment. How could God justly forgive them?

You heard the answer earlier in this worship service as I read from Romans 3. Paul writes that, “in His divine forbearance [God] had passed over former sins.” God passed over the sins of the Ninevites in divine forbearance – in anticipation of the atoning work of Christ. God truly forgave them, and there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. No forgiveness apart from Christ.

Nineveh experienced divine mercy and relief of threatened judgment. Whether each individual was justified eternally the text does not specify. The likely reality is that much like today, while many professed faith, some were genuine and some were not. But the LORD shed His grace on Nineveh.

If you look back at Romans 3, notice verse 26 says, “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” What is the “it” referring to? It’s the public display of God’s righteousness in the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

Up until the cross, God had “passed over” sins, forgiving people who trusted in Him – though no sufficient sacrifice had yet been made to accomplish that forgiveness. The death of Christ showed the righteousness of God. It showed that He was just even as He relented and did not judge those He forgave. This is how God could be and still is “just and the justifier.”

Most Christians would agree that God is the same today, yesterday, and forever. And yet, some seem to have the idea that OT believers were saved some other way. But you must understand – by faith through grace has always been the only way. We know the faith of the Ninevites was real. In Matthew 12, Jesus said to the hard-hearted Jewish Pharisees and scribes, “The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah.”

The Ninevites believed God. Ancient Gentile forgiveness – like ancient Hebrew forgiveness – was grounded in the future work of Christ. God’s relenting in Jonah 3:10 is an historical instance of His merciful forbearance. When the LORD freely relents, His grace is disclosed – revealed and magnified.

This is a warning and reminder to us today. We who are in close proximity to the truth, who are familiar with the covenant and promises, who have our religious routines and history, who have our Christian achievements, titles, reputations and rights as members of the covenant community, who espouse Christian beliefs and values, we can be blind to our habitual sin and numb to the love of God.

We can be cold to the compassion of the Lord, numb to the pain of others, and content in the comfort of our sins, and for this, we deserve God’s judgment, but He directed that judgment to His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, the spotless sacrificial lamb of God, whose life and death reveal God’s righteousness and the true standard of obedience.

We who claim to be Christians, to trust and follow Jesus, will we be condemned on the last day by the faith of the Ninevites? Admit your sin to the living Jesus today, and turn from it to follow Him. By His grace He will carry and sustain you.

And for those who trust in Him, you receive His whole righteousness as your own, and therefore His testimony before God is yours.

Let’s bow in prayer.

Imagine a fitness coach who lectures on healthy habits, but secretly eats fast food every night.

Or a physician who warns patients about high blood pressure and poor diet, but hasn’t exercised in years and skips their own checkups.

Or a parent who lectures their child about self-control, but only moments later loses their temper in traffic.

Or a coach who tells players to stay humble after victories, but then gets boastful when his own team wins.

If humans are anything, we are inconsistent. Hypocrisy is everywhere.

And the prophet Jonah was no exception. He didn’t live out what he believed – at least not until he had a transformational encounter with the God of grace. That encounter involved a daunting command from God, exposing the idolatry of his heart, repeated refusals to turn back, public failure, and terrifying distress.

But God was committed to His servant. In fact, it was through these events and the repentance God graciously granted that Jonah’s life – though still far from perfect – began to align with what he believed. No believer – not even ministers – naturally lives out what we believe. We’re all hypocritical because our corrupt nature still influences us.

But God, in His mercy, will not allow us to remain content with that. Christ came into the world and perfectly lived out God’s will, so that through Him we might increasingly live out what we believe. There were no inconsistencies in Christ the Lord. He fulfilled all righteousness on behalf of those who would trust in Him.

This is why all believers – and especially the Lord’s servants – must rest not on credentials but on Christ. We must find relief from our weariness in Him. Our souls must rest in Jesus. Scripture calls us to come to Him and to keep returning to Him. Only Christ gives us the hope and power to live out our beliefs, and only through Him can we encounter the God of grace. When we do, He transforms us.

And by God’s design, ministers must lead the way in this. Those who administer the Word and sacraments must be transformed by grace. And when that happens, it will be evident – in three ways shown here: the message proclaimed, the boldness displayed, and the fruit produced.

Before we look at these verses, I want to clarify something doctrinally. It’s true that every believer learns about grace through the book of Jonah just as every believer learns from Paul’s pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus. But we must be aware that the pastoral calling of those who preach God’s Word is not the same as the general calling that every Christian has to speak about Christ.

Scripture describes a clear distinction between the ministerial office and mutual ministry – and if when the difference is ignored, the church not only loses sight of the authority and responsibility Christ gives to His ministers, but also of the fact that every believer, in their own way, participates in the work. And for our roles, we all need a transformation encounter with the God of grace. So let’s look closer at this together.

See verse [1] “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, [2] “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” God’s preacher receives another chance. His behavior was disappointing but not disqualifying.

To be clear, God never removed Jonah from his prophetic office. Sometimes ministers are removed from their ordained role according to God’s Word. Jonah was disciplined by God but not deposed from office. Rather, these events were how God shaped the prophet’s heart.

Jonah now has an addition to his story that he didn’t have before. He’s experienced grace in a deep and real way. So there’s a difference in the message and in the messenger. That difference is hinted at in the Hebrew text. How so?

Well, there is a subtle difference in the wording. Verse 2 can be translated as “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” The Hebrews words are different from Jonah 1:2. ESV translators didn’t handle it that way, interpreting it as the “functional equivalent” of the wording in Jonah 1:2 In other words, they viewed it as two different ways of saying the same thing, which is not invalid.

But many scholars feel that the difference, though subtle, is significant – especially given what had taken place in Jonah’s life. Jonah was different now. Much of his self-righteousness had been stripped away. He now realized that he wasn’t really different from the Ninevites. He knew he desperately needed God’s forgiveness and grace – just like them. He knew he desperately needed deliverance from God’s condemnation – just like them.

Good acoustic guitars sound better as they age. Did you know that? When one first comes from the workshop, the tone will be bright but a little stiff. However, after years of playing, with time for the wood to dry and settle, a warmer, richer sound will emerge that only time and tension can produce. A weathered, experienced guitar gives a wonderful, deep tone.

The LORD’s servant is similar. Time and tension can affect his sound. Like the guitar, the preacher’s composition changes. Same man, but different. And you can literally hear the difference. When the LORD transforms His servant by grace, it will be evident in the message proclaimed.

Listen closely to a minister’s message. Not so much his style, but his content. Take his message as a whole. Has grace affected him? Is it now affecting him? Where does his confidence lie? Where does his hope lie?

Now look at verse [3] “So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. [4] Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

It’s not necessary to read this as saying that the width of Nineveh was a three day walk as the crow flies or in a straight line. For three days Jonah zig-zagged around the huge city calling the people to trust in Yahweh and turn from their sins.

It’s not unusual to see “40 days” in the Scriptures. Richard Phillips points out that it always signifies a time of preparation or warning. So, the time before the great flood when God spared Noah, the time that Israel was tested while Moses was on the mountain with God, and the time Jesus was tested in the wilderness. It’s a definite amount of time after which will come either judgment or grace.

The same is true here. 40 days is new to Jonah’s message, however. Apparently God told Jonah that as well. Picture the man Jonah, walking around the streets of godless Nineveh. It’s possible that his appearance was affected by being in the great fish, but it’s only speculation; there is no evidence in the Scriptures. For three days he criss-crosses the densely populated heart of the Assyrian empire.

There was all manner of wickedness and immorality in that place. And Jonah, who had run in the opposite direction, now preaches throughout the city with confidence and courage. Why was he so bold? Being inside a great fish can affect a man, but it was more than that!

Often, one who has failed before is the best one for the assignment. Jonah felt the sting of failure, but then was restored. He knew the pain of regret, but then was redeemed. The great apostle Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times. He was devastated and ashamed. But after the resurrection, Christ came to Peter and reassured him, telling Peter, “Feed my sheep.” After that, empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter was fearless for Christ. The grace of God strengthened his heart.

The pulpit, where the whole counsel of God must be preached and where worship is led on the Lord’s Day, must be marked by boldness for the truth. The preacher who will not call a spade a spade will not do. Without a true preacher, you cannot have a true church. But what must be the source of this boldness?

It can’t be self-righteousness. And it can’t be self-confidence. Those wouldn’t help Jonah. It’s really very simple, but still it eludes many preachers. The great Puritan minister Jeremiah Burroughs wrote, “Those cannot preach to the hearts of people that have not had Jesus Christ preaching to their hearts before.” Training and gifting aren’t bad – they’re essential – but they aren’t enough.The man must be changed by grace. And when the LORD transforms His servant by grace, it will be evident in the boldness displayed.

This is a confidence not in credentials or charisma, but in Christ crucified. Confidence not in methods or in the man, but in the message of the cross. In Romans 1, Paul boldly declared, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” If our ministers do not believe in the power of the pure gospel – in the power of the risen Christ Himself – what are we doing? Where is our hope?

Now look with me at this final verse. [5] “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” This is fascinating, and it should have been shocking to the Israelites in Jonah’s day and to first century Jews when Christ came on the scene because the language of belief here is like that describing Abraham in Genesis 15 when he believed Yahweh.

This is true faith – it is real trust in God – and it’s rightly followed by a sincere demonstration of repentance. The Ninevites mourned their sin. They grieved over what that had done.

How’s your attitude toward your sin? When you hear the message of the cross, if your heart is not pricked with regret and godly sadness, either you have never truly had a life-changing experience with God’s grace, or you’re so far removed from that experience that you have forgotten it, or your false hopes have assumed the first position in your heart. And if you’re content to rebuff the call to repent, that’s very dangerous. Remember, sin is very deceptive. It will trick you, and it can ruin you.

Jonah had a message to tell. It was a message of God withholding final judgment for a guilty sinner. It was a message of pursuing that sinner, rescuing him from the clutches of death, and restoring that sinner to favor with God Himself. But Jonah didn’t just say the message. He was living the message.

His life presented the message. Richard Phillips says Jonah was “a living sermon:” a theologically sound, spiritually vibrant, sincere, God-centered sermon. And with a sermon like that, God will bear fruit according to His will. Acts 5 in the NT says, “God exalted [Christ] at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And then in Acts 11, “When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Only God gives the increase. Only God sovereignly controls when and where fruit is produced. But He bears the fruit through the ministry of a transformed servant. And when the LORD transforms His servant by grace, it will be evident in the fruit produced.

So today, where do we encounter this grace? Where is this grace found for ministers and members of the body of Christ? It’s not so much “where” as it is “Who.” It’s with Christ. Grace came to us – and continually comes to us – through Christ. “From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

True Christianity doesn't just confer with principles or philosophies. We commune with a Person. And as we stand before His table now, to meet with Him here, will you be like the Ninevites? Will you put true faith in Yahweh, grieving your sin and turning from it to do His will? Christ receives all who come to Him in true faith, and to them He gives us the strength and wisdom to live according to what we say we believe, and to fulfill our roles in the building of His Church.

Let’s bow together in prayer

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed a list of statements to the door of the Wittenberg church in Germany, hoping to start a discussion that would reform the Roman Catholic Church. He saw many false doctrines and corrupt practices, and he called for a return to the truth of Scripture alone and trust in Christ alone. Instead, Luther was cast out, and the Protestant Reformation was born. That day – October 31, 1517 – marked the Reformation’s official beginning.

But this morning I want to take you to another day: April 16, 1530. It was the Saturday before Easter, almost thirteen years later. Luther’s ministry partner Philipp Melanchthon was preparing to defend the Protestant beliefs at an assembly by presenting the Augsburg Confession.

For safety reasons, Luther couldn’t attend, so he stayed at Coburg Castle, and when he arrived, he preached a sermon to his fellow Reformers. It was a message centered on Christ, reflecting the spirit of the Reformation by presenting the gospel of Christ from the whole counsel of God.

By that time, the Reformers had endured many years of hardship for Christ. And Luther spoke to them about the inevitability of suffering in the Christian life. He gave assurance that it was not accidental, but necessary. He said: “Each one must bear a part of the holy cross; nor can it be otherwise. [In Colossians 2], Paul…says, “In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.” It is as if he were saying: His whole Christendom is not fully completed; we too must follow after, in order that none of the suffering of Christ may be lacking or lost, but all brought together into one. Therefore every Christian must be aware that suffering will not fail to come. It should be, however, and must be the kind of suffering that is worthy of the name and honestly grips and hurts, such as some great danger of property, honor, body, and life. Such suffering as we really feel, which weighs us down; otherwise, if it did not hurt us badly, it would not be suffering.”

Their suffering was necessary to change the Church – and to change them. Conflict and pain which bring sorrow, but they are also part of how God brings change in us as He makes us more like Jesus Christ. God uses distress to reform us, though we don’t naturally see it that way.

It’s troubling, distracting, disappointing, tiring – but it’s one of the tools God uses. You may not see it as something useful for your reformation, but God does. Both the OT and NT testify to this.

The great distress Christ endured on the cross was required to change our standing with God and to reform our lives and future. Jesus understood the role of trials in the accomplishment of God’s plan, and He endured true tribulation so that we could experience true reformation. His distress revealed perfect righteousness; ours reveals the need for grace.

But distress is only an instrument for change – the agent for change is God’s grace. Of course, God changes us through many good things too, but through our distress, God shows us what Jonah calls our “vain idols.” Where grace is at work, trials expose our false hopes, drive us to Christ, and refine our faith like the refinement of gold in intense heat. And by His grace, we can renounce those false hopes, and a cry will rise from our hearts like Jonah’s cry from within the great fish.

Notice the outline printed there for you. As we learn to see distress as something required for reformation, grace will form a desire to praise God with thanks, strengthen a commitment to praise God continually, and manifest a conviction to praise God as sovereign. These were among the results of the Protestant Reformation. These are among the results when the truth of God changes a human heart. So look with me at the first part of verse 9.

Jonah says, “But I with the voice of thanksgiving.” In verse 8, he said that those who cling to false hope leave true Hope. When we depend on vain idols, we leave grace. In the belly of the fish, Jonah finally began to reckon with the idolatry of his heart.

Back in verse [2], he said, “I called out to Yahweh, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of the grave I cried, and you heard my voice.” Yahweh had saved him from drowning and withheld final judgment for his sin. So, Jonah was shown grace in distress – and a change occurred. You might say he started to “get grace.” Grace began to “click” for him.

We’ll see later in the book that the idolatry isn’t completely rooted out of his heart, but he’s dealing with it and he’s learning about God’s grace. Of course, God had always been gracious, and Jonah knew this in his head, but it seems to have never reached his heart in this way. Jonah’s time of trouble was God’s time of teaching.

Tribulation, suffering – whatever you want to call it – has a way of doing that. Hopefully, when we endure trouble, we begin to take a good, hard look at ourselves. Will you look within as you suffer, or will you only try to numb the pain?

Verse 2 says Jonah cried out with a “voice, but here, he cries out with a different voice. It’s the same man – sound coming from the same mouth – but a different sound now. It’s the sound of thankfulness. Jonah wasn’t thankful for grace as he ran from God, but now he is. What came first from within Jonah was a cry of fear in trouble, but grace brings out a cry of joy in gratitude.

You see, grace works through distress to form a desire to praise God with thanks. A person who has been truly affected by God’s grace realizes what could have been, should have been, and would have been if God were not gracious and merciful.

Jesus later taught something along these lines. It was the principle that a person who realizes that they have been forgiven much by God will love God very much, whereas a person who doesn’t see themselves as having been forgiven much by God won’t really love God that much. This is very much about how we see ourselves.

Do you see yourself as being in desperate need of grace? Does it affect you? Not just that you know you’re a sinner – but do you despise your sin? However, rather than despairing over it, are you thankful for God’s comfort and relief? Where grace is transforming the heart, there will be a desire to give thanks to God.

Now look at the next part. “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay.” Jonah is saying this attitude change won’t be short-lived. This is not a one-time deal. Picture someone who seems to have a moment of clarity during a time of trouble, and they promise that they’re going to change their awful ways. But it turns out to be only an emotional experience.

What Jonah says here reveals that he knows people can be that way. Perhaps as a prophet, he had seen the Israelites do that before. But Jonah is vowing that he won’t be that way. He’s making a pledge. You might say he’s recommitting his life to God. Some might say he’s rededicating. Incidentally, there’s no need for him to receive the covenant sign again. That’s not what God wants. God desires love and obedience from Jonah.

He wants Jonah to offer true worship – not because God is lonely or needy, but because worship is the reason for which Jonah was created. Heartfelt worship founded on truth was what Jonah needed. Jonah was made to bring glory to God. So are we. Grace is changing his heart, so he wants to worship and praise God from now on.

You see, Grace also works through distress to strengthen a commitment to praise God continually.

It’s important to note that Jonah said he would sacrifice. This was part of their worship in the OT era of God’s covenant of grace. But how do we apply that principle? Well, Christ has made one final sacrifice for sins. So it makes sense why the writer of Hebrews tells us to look to Christ. We don’t sacrifice Christ. He no longer sacrifices Himself. There is no more sacrifice to make.

Instead, Paul says in Romans 12, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Paul is describing reformation. It’s the change God accomplishes in His people. May God perform this great work in your heart. Believe in Christ today!

Now look with me at this final part. “Salvation belongs to the LORD!” I’ve mentioned before that the word “LORD” in all capital letters tells us that here, in the Hebrew manuscripts, the tetragrammaton was written. These are the Hebrew letters Yod, He, Vav, He. We transliterate this “YHWH,” and with the vowels added later by Jewish scribes, pronounce it “Yahweh.” And this has an essential bearing on the meaning of this sentence.

In Exodus 3, when God revealed His divine, covenant name to Moses, “Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” [14] God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” I AM equals “YHWH” – Yahweh.

The name “I AM” presents God to us as self-existent, self-sufficient, and unchangeable. He depends on no one for His being or power. He simply “is.” He’s not becoming something; His existence isn’t contingent on anything.

Also, His existence and will are the foundation of all reality. All of this necessarily communicates sovereignty. If all else depends on Him, then nothing can exist or act apart from His will.

His name also implies how He reigns over all He has made: with total and unchangeable power, with all knowledge and wisdom, with absolute holiness and goodness, and in full accordance with the truth. Yahweh’s dominion is all-encompassing.

Jonah knew this before, but with his thinking clouded by sin born of idolatry in his heart, He had tried to get away from God! It was foolish, irrational, and unfounded. God inhabits His whole creation – though to be clear, pantheism is a false teaching. The universe and God are not identical. They are distinct.  God is everywhere, but everywhere is not God. His power pervades creation, but His essence remains distinct from it.

How do these attributes of God relate to what Jonah says here? Well, Jonah was saved both physically and spiritually. His life was spared from death and his soul was spared from further rebellion. He was delivered – and it was absolutely no thanks to himself. Jonah contributed nothing to the situation but his sin.

The circumstances brought to the surface the dark parts in his soul. But the distress that resulted wasn’t in vain. It had meaning and purpose. Through it, his heart was transformed into a heart that gave all glory to God. Grace works through distress to manifest a conviction to praise God as sovereign.

Now Jonah was convinced of God’s absolute supremacy and dominion. He knows that Yahweh is the Lord of his salvation. He had knowingly run from and rejected God, but God had been gracious to him. Therefore, thanks be to God, continual thanks be to God, and all thanks be to God – for physical and spiritual deliverance – that is Jonah’s belief. And that belief is manifested or displayed in Jonah’s life by what he says here,
and by what he does next.

So, distress is guaranteed, but where God shows mercy, grace is guaranteed as well.
And while the amount of your trouble may be huge to you, it is nevertheless limited. However, the amount of God’s grace to His people is without limit.

In 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul recalled how he pleaded with God to take away a source of his distress. And Paul writes, [9] “But [God] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul then says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God provides all that is required for our reformation, because above all, He has provided the grace that comes to us through Jesus Christ. Turn from it to cling to Jesus today. Follow Him, and God will do a great work of reformation in your heart and life by the power of His grace.

Let’s bow together in prayer.

Last time in Jonah we looked at his wonderful prayer recorded in ch.2, vv.2-9 – a prayer that poured from his heart when he finally turned back to God in humility. Jonah had run from the God of grace in foolish rebellion, but God didn’t abandon him or issue final judgment to him. Instead, God pursued Jonah and received him back – and as a result of this profound experience of grace, Jonah was given the strength to recommit himself to God by faith.

We looked closely at verses 2-7 of his prayer, but as I said at that time, there’s so much “meat on the bone” in verses 8 and 9 – so much to consider. On the next Lord’s Day, next Sunday, which is also “Reformation Day,” we’re going to look in depth at verse 9.

But today, verse 8, and with this verse, we’re going to talk about idols. Jonah obviously refers to himself when he says, “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” Apparently, Jonah had been paying regard to vain idols. But what does that mean? Was he bowing down before little statues in worship?

Well, typically when we see the word “idol” in the Scriptures, we think of these carved or “graven” images set up and worshipped by pagan nations. Jonah didn’t have any of those. He was a good Israelite prophet. But he did have idols.

Now – full disclosure – the Hebrew word translated here as “idol” isn’t one of the Hebrew words most often used in Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and other OT books in reference to false gods. But “idols” is a very sound and biblical translation of Jonah’s word choice, and it helps us understand the heart behind his irrational behavior after God called him. Jonah’s regard for his idols was the cause of his behavior between the time of God’s call to Nineveh and the time of his entry into the belly of the great fish.

How irrational was it? Jonah went it the opposite direction from God’s commanded will (in other words, he did the opposite of God’s clear Word to him), and he got on a boat to sail to the other side of the known world in an effort to flee, Scripture says, “from the presence of Yahweh.” So he left his home and his nation, and he paid good money to do this.

What did Jonah think would come from that effort? What did he think the result would be? Did he really think he could accomplish that?

Have you ever done something foolish – something clearly contrary to God’s Word – and later on someone asked, “What were you thinking?” Or maybe later you came to a point where you asked yourself, “What was I thinking?” Here’s the thing about the idols of Jonah’s heart: as long as paid regard to them or clinged to them, he wasn’t thinking – not clearly. His thinking was clouded by sin.

Scripture teaches that every person possesses a sinful nature. We read a summary of the Bible’s teaching on that early in worship. To further explain, John Calvin defined the sinful nature as “a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls “works of the flesh,” Works of the sinful nature: desires, thoughts, and behaviors contrary to God’s holiness.

The sinful nature causes us to hope in anything over and above God. Jonah’s sinful nature produced decisions guided by false hopes; in fact, that’s what we should understand Jonah to be saying in verse 8. “Vain idols” could be translated “empty vanity” or “false hopes.” So, put differently, Jonah says, “They who cling to empty vanity” or, “They who operate on false hopes.”

But you see, Christ saves us from our false hopes. Christ lived, died, and rose to redeem the people of God in both the OT and NT eras from devotion to false gods and to devotion to the true God. Jesus restores us to true hope.

When a person is dead in sins, he or she is ruled by the sinful nature and therefore helpless against this habit of idol-making. When a person is born again, he or she is not ruled by the sinful nature, but they are still influenced by it, and so the habit for idol-making is still there. This is why Calvin wrote, “Man’s nature…is a perpetual factory of idols.” Our hearts grasp at all kinds of things in which to put our hope.

But as the apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1, “According to [God’s] great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” And for that reason, we need to talk about idols – we need to think about and pray about our false hopes and how they affect us, so that by the power of Christ and His gospel we may reject them and hope only in Him.

We can take away two important truths from Jonah 2:8 that will help us. You can see them printed for you in the WG on page 6. Jonah’s experience shows us that, first of all, great danger awaits those who cannot recognize their false hopes, but also, deep satisfaction awaits those who cling to the only True Hope.

Now, how can you identify the idols of your heart? It helps to think about what causes you to sin in your desires, thoughts, or behavior. What pushes your buttons, and what’s going on in your heart at that time?

To clarify, the idol is not the sinful nature; rather, the idol is what the sinful nature influences you to lay hold of in place of God. For Jonah, one idol was his great pride in being an Israelite chosen by God. Another was his own comfort. Going to Nineveh wouldn’t be comfortable. Another was reputation. What would his fellow Israelites think of him for preaching to their enemies? These led him to these absurd efforts to try to leave God.

In what ways do you aim to break free from God’s commands? Try working backwards, starting with the clear sin in what you think, feel, or do. What circumstances produce irrational desires, thoughts, or behaviors in your life? What are those things that, if something or someone comes between you and it, you would get angry or depressed? What pushes you toward walking by sight rather than by faith? What is in – in your heart – that you really want and believe that you need to live?

Here’s something else to get you thinking. I’ve spoken before about two lists in the NT, one composed by the apostle Peter, the other by the apostle Paul. Paul says “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Similarly, Peter says that believers should aim to grow in moral goodness, moral wisdom, self-control, faithfulness to God in our sufferings, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. This list is Peter’s version of the “fruit of the Spirit.”

These two lists are in total agreement and they compliment one another. They give us a good picture of what false hopes do not produce in believers. So you should think about what produces the opposite of those in your life. Idols of the heart produce other results.

Here’s a short list for you to think about. Each one is an effort at human autonomy: ways we try to break free from God.

One idol of the heart is the exalting of self-will over God’s will. The goal is autonomy in making decisions. In your heart, you say, “I know what’s best for me; I don’t need God’s direction.”

Another false hope is exalting inner comfort over God’s truth. So the goal is autonomy in finding peace. In this case, your heart says, “I just want to feel comfortable, even if it means avoiding what’s true.”

Another idol would be exalting worldly acceptance and relevance over faithfulness to God. The goal is autonomy in finding approval. So, the heart says, “I’d rather be liked by people than to stand apart for Christ.”

Another false hope is exalting personal control over full trust in God. The goal is autonomy in managing outcomes. So the heart says, “If I can manage every detail, I won’t have to depend on God.”

Another idol is exalting unity over principle. The goal is autonomy in keeping the peace. The heart says, “It’s better for everyone to be happy than to risk conflict for the truth.”

I’ll give you one more. It’s the heart idol of exalting worldly pleasures over holiness. The goal is autonomy in the pursuit of happiness. The heart says, “I just want to be happy; obedience to God won’t make me happy.”

Like Jonah, we need to identify our vain idols. Each one results in these attempts to live life apart from God. Each one results in efforts to get away from God’s good will and way. Hopefully you can see how what Jonah did was a result of the idolatry of his heart. False hopes caused him to go against God, but he couldn’t see them at the time.

Great danger awaits those who cannot recognize their false hopes. The idols of your heart will drive you to do things you shouldn’t do. They will compel you to live in a way that is not the best way for you to live. They will lead you in the opposite direction of God’s way for you.

In the belly of the fish, Jonah had some God-ordained time for self-reflection and self-examination. We need to take time to do that as well. Worship together on the Lord’s Day is meant to aid you in this. Our other times of teaching and prayer and fellowship help also. And then there’s your opportunity to draw near to God daily, to behold the glory of Christ and to grow in the grace and knowledge of Him.

By God’s grace, we recognize our false hopes, admit them to God, and renew our hope in His grace. And as a result, we can avoid the danger. But Christ secured so much for His people than just avoiding the dangers of false hope. He enables us to enjoy the deep satisfaction in knowing and following Him.

Look at verse 8 again. “Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.” There’s a logical progression here. When we cling to false hope, we leave true Hope.

What is this “steadfast love?” This is a common OT phrase. It’s Yahweh’s love for those to whom He had bound Himself in His covenant of grace. This is covenant love. It is, therefore, unfailing love – but you must understand that this love is unfailing because of God, not because of us. In the fuller picture – in light of the NT and the person and work of Christ – this steadfast love is God’s all-sufficient and ever-abounding grace towards us.

Those who live based on false hopes leave grace. But notice that Jonah did not lose grace because He had never earned grace.Jonah didn’t choose Yahweh; Yahweh had chosen Jonah. In and through this unearned covenant love, Jonah had God forever, and therefore, he had access to real Hope. Deep satisfaction awaits those who cling to the only True Hope.

When you let false hopes dictate what you feel, think, say, or do, you’re turning from the gracious love of God. The sinful nature causes this. Even the people of God do this! But by the gospel’s power – by the power of Christ Himself, who is the gospel – we can recognize our false hopes, and we can turn from them and cling to Jesus.

All the fullness of true hope dwells in Jesus Christ our Lord. Have you trusted in Christ alone? And will you turn from your false hopes today? Jonah realized that by doing what he did, he had rejected what he needed most. What he needed most was a deep, life-changing knowledge of God’s grace toward him.

As we go to the Lord’s table now, we need such a knowledge on the forefront of our hearts: that we can and should set our hope fully on Christ, on the steadfast love of Yahweh, which is hope only in God’s power and wisdom – hope in the ways and will of God as revealed in the Word of God and to which we are graciously guided by the Spirit of God.All of this was accomplished through Jesus Christ who loved us, and He invites us to His table.

Please bow with me in prayer.

I don’t know how often you think about signs and the purpose of signs, but I have thought about it more this past week than I think I ever have. I don’t think it is an over statement to say that signs are everywhere. And that makes sense, doesn’t it? Because signs are generally very beneficial. I remember having a conversation just the other day with Gretchen about the Bridge Ices Before Road sign. Evidently, that can be a confusing sign, depending on whether you consider it from a time standpoint or a spatial standpoint. I mean, I never knew. Regardless of how you feel about that particular sign, the fact remains that signs are useful. They provide us with useful information – often directing us where to go or what to do or warning us about something. However, we must remember - the thing about signs is they have no power in themselves; they direct us to the reality behind them. Another way to say that is there is normally a substance to the sign that is greater than the sign itself.

In Scripture we see God using signs as well. God has providentially decreed the use of signs throughout redemptive history to teach the His people things. In the OT, those signs – as WLC 34 reminds us - were in the form of promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover, and other types and ordinances. Much like signs are used today, the substance of those signs that God used was not in themselves but pointed to something greater. What was it? What did the signs God ordained point to, what was their substance? WLC 34 gives us the answer: they did all fore-signify Christ then to come, and were for that time sufficient to build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they then had full remission of sin, and eternal salvation. Simply put – the substance was Jesus.

The issue we often face when we encounter a sign in Scripture is we can be tempted to marvel at the sign, argue about the sign, or trust in the sign—rather than trusting the One to whom it points. In other words, we fail to see Christ behind the signs, or we forget the power and wisdom of God that is manifested in the Substance of the signs. Either way, we need to be reminded as Jesus reminded the crowd here in Luke 11, that He is the Substance, the power and wisdom of God, displayed in the biblical signs. He is the Substance, prefigured by the sign of Jonah and exemplified in the wisdom of Solomon, the death and resurrection of Jesus. Since Christ was the Substance of the signs, we must not seek or trust in the signs and wonders themselves but in Christ alone.

So how can we do this? How can we avoid missing or doubting the Substance of the signs? You see two ways we can do this printed there on page six of the worship guide. We must realize that the Substance of the biblical signs is greater than the signs themselves. We must receive and rest on Christ alone, who is the Substance of the biblical signs and greater than the signs themselves.

Let’s look together at how these verses display this. Starting there in the first part of verse 29. We see that Jesus called the crowd that had gathered an “evil” generation. The word there for evil conveys a sense of intensity. Other translations use the word “wicked.”  Why does Jesus call the crowd evil? He said it is because they seek a sign.

Just a little earlier, in Luke 11:16, we saw that the people wanted a sign, and Jesus rebukes them for it. And then just prior to our passage, they saw Jesus heal a demon-possessed man. They had watched Jesus through his ministry; raising the dead, turning water into wine, stilling the storm.

As R.C. Sproul explains in his commentary on Luke, “He had given one sign after another, indicating a power that only God could manifest. Yet the people weren’t satisfied, they still wanted another sign. These people had witnessed multiple miracles performed by Jesus, yet they wanted more. They were not content, which ultimately spoke to their unbelief. They are wicked because they have the testimony of the OT, the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, and yet they did not believe.”

So, it is not like there were no signs. Going back to the Garden, there were many signs. I remember a song that was popular circa. 1990 by the band Tesla named “Signs.” It was a cover of a 60’s song by a band named Five Man Electrical Band. I remember part of the chorus went, “Signs, signs, everywhere signs.” We could certainly say that about the signs which pointed to Jesus or accompanied Jesus’ ministry.

And how does Jesus respond to the crowd asking for a sign? He replies in in the second part of verse 29 by saying that no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.

Now what was Jesus referring to here? What was the sign of Jonah? Luke gives us some insight in the next verse. He says just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

Most scholars agree that it was a combination of two things. It was a sign of the preaching of the Word of God by Jonah to the Ninevites. However, it wasn’t merely the preaching of Jonah that was significant, but it was also Jonah himself. There was something extraordinary about Jonah that gave witness to the people of Nineveh that he was a messenger sent from God. We often think of Jonah’s being swallowed by the great fish as a punishment by God, but it was not. The punishment was being thrown into the sea. Jonah was rescued from the sea by the fish, who then delivered him safely on the dry ground.

But why this sign? What made the sign of Jonah significant? It is because of what the sign of Jonah represented. The sign of Jonah prefigured or fore shadowed the resurrection of Christ. Jesus himself pointed this out in the parallel verse in Matt. 12:40: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” This is obviously an allusion to the resurrection. Jonah was a sign to his generation, and Jesus will perform a sign even greater than Jonah’s, for Jesus’ sign will be his resurrection. It is the resurrection of Christ that confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was who he said he was. The Substance of the sign of Jonah was, in fact, Christ.

But Jesus doesn’t stop with the sign of Jonah. Look at verse 31. Jesus says, “The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”

What was significant about the queen of the South? The queen referred to here is the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon as recorded in 1 Kings 10. Jesus tells his audience that in the final judgment, that this queen will arise alongside the men of his generation who are rejecting him, she will condemn them. Why? The Queen of Sheba acted on what she heard, without any external confirmation. Jesus’ point is clear: the generation that was listening to his words did not have as much faith as some Gentiles who listened to the words of God in previous eras. Therefore, even Gentiles will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it. She had been prepared to make a long and difficult journey to hear the wisdom of Solomon. At the judgment (i.e. on judgment day) the men of Jesus’ generation would stand condemned by such an example. They had no journey to make, for Jesus was in their very midst.

Again, we see the Substance of the wisdom of Solomon was personified in Jesus. The crowd Jesus’ spoke to had one greater than Solomon speaking to them, and they did not realize it, much less the ears to hear and the eyes to see Him. So, Jesus uses two signs with which the majority of the crowd would be familiar, Jonah and Solomon, to demonstrate that they did not realize He was the One to whom both pointed. He was the Substance of the signs. And we can tell that Jesus expected them to realize that.

How about you? Do you realize, do you understand, when you read and hear about the promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the Passover, and other types and ordinances, that they are, as Colossians 2:17 says, “a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” They fore signify Christ. And we have the benefit of seeing how they all were fulfilled in Christ through the testimony of the New Testament. You see, realizing that Christ is the Substance of all those signs testifies to the glory and power and wisdom of God through Christ. Realizing that gives the unbeliever confidence that they can put their faith and trust in Jesus because Jesus is who he says he is. Have You trusted in Christ? See here in Luke, Jesus says you have been given the signs in Scripture, and I am their Substance. Believe in me and you will be saved.

In a similar way, realizing that Christ is the Substance of all those signs strengthens the faith of believers. What can happen as believers is we say, “Oh yeah, I don’t always remember that the grace and mercy and power of God that saved me through Jesus is the same grace mercy and power that sustains me in Jesus.” Remember the Substance of the biblical signs today and have your faith renewed. As Pastor Stacey often reminds us, this is a covenant renewal service. And Christ is the fulfillment of God’s covenant with His people.

Now let’s look quickly at the last verse. Verse 32 says, “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.

What did the men of Ninevah do at the sign of Jonah? The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of the prophet. The Ninevites repented at the preaching of Jonah. But Jesus says now One who is greater than Jonah, is here. How can you refuse to hear his message? How can you not repent and believe in the greater Jonah?

Now before we go casting aspersions or judgement on Jesus’ audience, let us consider if we have any tendencies toward seeking for a sign from Jesus. I think this happens in two ways: those who seek a sign so that they might put their faith in Jesus initially or those who seek a sign to continue or strengthen their faith.

Which one of those categories represents you? Are you someone who hasn’t been around church much and don’t really know much about Jesus or salvation? You think – This Jesus I have heard about needs to prove to me He is real. He needs to give me a sign and then I’ll consider trusting in Him. Maybe you are someone who has been around church for a while and has not yet surrendered your life to Christ? You have said to yourself, “I believe Jesus is real but I’m not sure I can trust Him. I just feel like I need more assurance that He is trustworthy.”

Or are you the other category?  Would you say that you are a Christian? That you have surrendered to Christ and He is your Lord and Savior, but you find your faith waning or growing weak and you think – I need you to show me you are near me, that You have not left me or forgotten me. I just need a sign, a little more reassurance. Now we may not ask for a sign from Jesus explicitly, although that is sometimes the case, but we do act as though the revelation we have been given through the means of grace (the Word, sacraments, and prayer primarily) is not good enough. This is evidenced often times by a lack of trust. Our trust in God to provide and care for us falters. Our trust that God is working all things out for our good wanes.

Whichever category you place yourself in, the remedy is the same – you must receive and rest on Christ alone, who is the substance of the biblical signs and greater than the signs themselves. The person and work of Jesus is your only hope. Jesus saves, and he saves fully and forever. You need look no further than Christ, he who was dead and buried and who on the third day rose again. He who the sign of Jonah pointed to and the wisdom of Solomon testified to. If we are in Christ, we have the assurance that he will never leave us or forsake us. God says of those who are in Christ, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”. The grace and love and mercy displayed on the cross and confirmed by the resurrection tell us everything we need to know about Jesus.

As commentator William Hendriksen writes, “Rescued Jonah and resurrected Jesus are signs. Take a good look at rescue Jonah. Does he not signify the amazing power of God, his ability to rescue a man who, in the normal course of events, should certainly have died? And does he not also signified the grace of God, his willingness to use a man who, by going West when God had directed him to go East, and by his attempt to hide from God, as if that were possible, had stubbornly defied God's command? And rivet your attention on Christ, resurrected from death. Does he not signify in his very person the might of God? And also his covenant faithfulness to all those precious messianic prophecies and promises? This is what Simeon meant when he said, “34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign.’”

Let us not miss the Substance, Jesus, as we read, hear, and study the signs. And let us not look to the signs as ends in themselves (a moral lesson or good example to follow) but look to the One to whom the signs point.

Let’s pray.