A Change of Heart (Psalm 51 outline, study questions)

Psalm 51 is the OT's central text on repentance. It begins on the individual level (1-6) and ends (16-19) by moving to the national level -- the renewed city. The clue to understanding this is to accept the heading: David is the author and the occasion is that of his great sin (2 Samuel 11). The king's sin imperiled the welfare of his kingdom -- and his restoration restored the city's vitality.

Repentance  [Create in Me a Clean Pure Heart; The Marvel of Repentance; A Prayer of Repentance; The Penitent's Prayer; The Way to Confess Sins; The Art of Confessing Our Sins]

1. Efficacy (1-6)
2. Evidence (7-15)
3. Effect (16-19)

David's:

1. Plea (1-12)
2. Promise (13-17)
3. Prayer (18-19)

A Change of Heart:

1. Confession (1-6)
2. Cleansing (7-12)
3. Conviction (13-19)
   

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15)

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord" (Acts 3:19).

"First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalemand in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds" (Acts 26:20).

"This great song, pulsating with the agony of a sin-stricken soul, helps us to understand the stupendous wonder of the everlasting mercy of our God." G. Campbell Morgan.

William Carey, the great pioneer missionary to India, asked that Psalm 51 might be the text of his funeral sermon.

1. The efficacy/wonder of repentance (1-6)
   
1. Sin, grace and cleansing (1-2). Appeal to God's love and mercy.
2. Sin and conscience (3). Confession of sinful conduct.
3. Sin and God (4). God is just and blameless in judging him.
4. Sin and human nature (5-6). Acknowledging (personal sin and) God's desire
2. The evidence/dimensions of true repentance (7-15)
1. Longing to be right with God (7-9)
2. Commitment to newness of life (10-12)
3. Sharing the truth (13-15)
3. The effect/fruit of repentance (16-19): The community of penitents

When Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, his first thesis says, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said "Repent," he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance." All of Christian life should be repentance. Turning from sin and trusting in the good news that Jesus saves sinners is not merely a one-time inaugural experience but a daily occurrence of a Christian. The gospel is for every day and every moment. Repentance is to be the Christian's continual posture.

It is not David's terrible sins that entitled him to be called "A Man After God's Own Heart," but his confession, his repentance, and his prayers that justly entitled him to such an accolade. King David was definitely not one of the habitually wicked who refuse to repent. The saint is the sinner who repents; the wicked man is the sinner who refuses, either to acknowledge his sins or cast himself upon the mercy of God in prayers for pardon.

Ps 51:1-2. Three words describing God.  "Mercy denotes God's loving assistance to the pitiful. Unfailing love [lovingkindness] points to the continuing operation of this mercy. Compassion [tender mercies] teaches that God feels for our infirmities." (Boice)

1. Grace (mercy). The unmerited, undeserved goodness of God.
2. Committed (unfailing) love [cheesedh]: Love as a decision of the unchangeable will of God.
3. Compassion: Emotional passionate love.

Three words describing what God does with our sin.  "The plea, blot out, means 'wipe away', like the writing from a book (cf. Exodus 32:32; Numbers 5:23)." (Kidner) "Out of thy debt-book; cross out the black lines of my sins with the red lines of Christ's blood; cancel the bond, though written in black and bloody characters." (Trapp)

"Wash me thoroughly, Hebrew multiply to wash me; by which phrase he implies the greatness of his guilt, and the insufficiency of all legal washings, and the absolute necessity of some other and better thing to wash him." (Poole) "The word employed is significant, in that it probably means washing by kneading or beating, not by simple rinsing." (Maclaren) "To be cleansed not only from outward defilements, but from his swinish nature; for though a swine be washed never so clean, if she retain her nature, she will be ready to wallow in the next guzzle." (Trapp)

1. Wipe away (blot out) [machah]. Sin leaves a mark which God can see and which he can erase.
2. Launder (wash away) [kabas]. The infection and stain of sin gets right down into the fibers of our nature. God alone knows a detergent which can reach and cleanse away.
3. Purify (cleanse) [tahar]. Mostly used in Leviticus of purifying from some offense that excluded them from the congregation of God's people, i.e. removal of that which separates from God.

Three words dealing with the offense.

1. Rebellion (transgressions). Willful, responsible refusal of God's way.
2. Iniquity. The twist or warp in human nature from whence sin springs.
3. Sin. The specific offence committed, "missing the mark."

Ps 51:3. "To know" is in the sense "to realize, acknowledge." "Knowledge in the typically biblical sense is not just an item in the mind, but a truth so grasped by the mind that it changes the life. Ps 32:3-4 (if it belongs as it could well do to this incident) suggests that for a time David lived by self-deception, and paid the price. "In front of" describes what is a constant in felt experience. Ps 51:3 is saying, "I acknowledge -- and I feel what I acknowledge."

Ps 51:4. The conjunction (that) expresses purpose and should not be weakened in any way. Divine purposeful working is so all embracing that, while God cannot at all be held responsible for man's sin, yet man's sin has its intended place in revealing the righteousness and justice of God. The sinner might cry out, "You can do all things. Why did you not stop me?" The Lord would reply, "Because I purposed that you should come to the place where you would recognise your sin, face the reality of my righteous juystice, stand judged before my holiness -- this is my choicest blessing for the sinner!"

Ps 51:5. David is just tracking sinfulness back to the earliest existence of a moral being. He traces the presence of sin first to the moment of birth, and then, beyond that, to the moment of conception. These verses are important evidences in any discussion of abortion: the infant at birth, and the fetus at conception, is a moral and personal being.

Ps 51:5, 6. The double "behold!" throws these two verses into contrast. The human reality is that sin is a constituent of human nature (5), and is contrary to divine desire (6).

Ps 51:7. David appeals directly to God to apply some hyssop-cleansing (Exo 12:22: Passover - the satisfying of God's wrath, the blessing of peace with God; Lev 14:6ff: the "cleansing" of the leper; dealing with personal defilement; Num 19:16-19: chance uncleanness, by touching a dead body. Hyssop was the means of application throughout.)

Ps 51:8. Sin debilitates the sinner (Ps 32:3).

Ps 51:9-12. Each verse refers to "spirit." Since the topic in v10 is God's creative work, the "spirit" is the new spirit God will create in David (2 Cor 5:17; Eze 36:26). V11 follows v10 in the same way that Eze 36:27 follows 36:26. The new-created human spirit is the work of the divine Spirit. The plea is for intimate personal union. David with God (11a) and God by his Sp[irit with David (11b).

Ps 51:13. The saving instrument is the communication of the truth. "To turn back" links to "bring back" (restore) in Ps 51:12. It is the returned sinner who can lead sinners back. Notice the balance between the desire expresses (13a) and the certainty of return (13b).

Ps 53:14. It is between two verses dealing with the opened mouth of testimony (10-12 and 15). It expresses the hugely important truth that it is precisely as sinners declared righteous ("blood-guiltiness" to "righteousness") that we testify to our salvation. We are living illustrations of the fact that God bothers with sinners only as such can we speak to others. He deals with our sins in his absolute righteousness.

Ps 53:15. Lips that shame would keep silent, the Sovereign Lord will "open" and use! Only he can save; only he can liberate into speech. The Sovereign One opening the lips creates personal responsibility to use the lips he has opened.

Ps 53:16-19. The whole section insists that only when 16-17 are true can 18-19 be true.

Ps 53:16-17. The ritual act of offering a sacrifice as such means nothing to God. What rebellious sinners need to know is God's insistence on a consenting and participating spirit. When sacrifice and burnt offering are mentioned together, sacrifice means the peace or fellowship offering -- they are the rituals specifically that pointed to living for and with God. The burnt offering symbolizes the sinner coming in full consecration to God; the peace offering, God coming in peace to the sinner. They were the sacrifices of getting back together. The life of consecration (burnt offering) and fellowship (peace offering) is not a matter of correct ritual but of getting right with God, knowing and teaching his way with sinners, singing of his righteousness.

Ps 53:18-19. It is not the restoring of walls, but the penitential return of sinners. Sacrifices here are representative of a spirit and heart right with God. "Whole burnt offering" is the single word (kaliyl) emphasizing totality.

Psalms by the Day, a new devotional translation, Alec Motyer

1 Grant me your grace (have mercy, be gracious), O God,

according to your committed love (loving kindness; unfailing love; faithful love);

according to the abundance (greatness) of your compassion

wipe away (blot out) my rebellions (the stain of my sins);

2 abundantly launder me from my iniquity,

and purify me from my sin,

3 because personally I know my rebellions,

and my sin is in front of me all the time.

4 Against you--only you--I sinned,

and what is evil in your eyes I have done,

in order that you may be in the right when you speak,

in the clear when you judge.

5 Behold! In iniquity I was brought to birth

and in sin when my mother conceived me,

6 Behold! It is truth gives you please in what is concealed,

and in what is covered over you will make me know wisdom.

7 Deal with my sin by hyssop so that I may be purified;

launder me, and I will be whiter even than snow!

8 Make me hear gladness and joy.

Let the bones you have crushed exult.

9 Hide your face from my sins,

and wipe away all my iniquities.

10 A purified heart create for me, O God,

and within me make a new and steadfast spirit.

11 Do not cast me away from your face,

and the Spirit of your holiness do not take from me.

12 Oh, bring back (restore) to me the gladness of your salvation,

and with a willing Spirit sustain me.

13 Oh, I would teach rebels your ways,

and sinners will turn back to you.

14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness,

O God, God of my salvation:

My tongue will shout out aloud of your righteousness.

15 Sovereign One, do open even my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 Because you are not pleased with sacrifice --

I really would give it!

Burnt offering you do not accept with favor.

17 God's sacrifices are a broken spirit;

a broken and crushed heart,

O God, you will not treat with contempt.

18 In your favorable acceptance, do good to Zion;

do build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then you will accept with favor sacrifices of righteousness,

burnt offering and whole burnt offering;

Then you will offer bulls on your altar.

OUTLINE    I. DAVID'S PLEA (51:1-12)       A. HIS APPEAL TO GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY (1-2)        1. He pleads mercy according to God's loving kindness        2. He implores forgiveness according to God's tender mercies        3. He begs washing and cleansing from his sin       B. HIS CONFESSION OF SINFUL CONDUCT (3-4)        1. He admits his sin which is ever before him        2. He confesses that he has sinned against God, and done evil in           His sight        3. God is just and blameless in judging him       C. HIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF GOD'S DESIRE (5-6)        1. His expression of sinfulness           a. He was brought forth in iniquity           b. In sin his mother conceived him        2. His awareness of what God's desire           a. God wants truth in the inward parts           b. God wills to make him know wisdom in the hidden part       D. HIS PRAYER FOR FORGIVENESS AND RESTORATION (7-12)        1. He prays for forgiveness, for God to...           a. Purge him with hyssop, that he might be clean           b. Wash him, that he might be whiter than snow           c. Hide His face from his sins           d. Blot out all his iniquities        2. He prays for restoration, for God to...           a. Make him hear joy and gladness           b. Make his broken bones rejoice           c. Create in him a clean heart           d. Renew a steadfast spirit in him           e. Not cast him away from His presence           f. Not take His Holy Spirit from him           g. Restore to him the joy of His salvation           h. Uphold him with His generous Spirit    II. DAVID'S PROMISE (51:13-17)       A. TO TEACH OTHERS (13)        1. He will teach transgressors the ways of God        2. Sinners will be converted to God       B. TO OFFER PRAISE (14-17)        1. If the God of his salvation will deliver him from           bloodguiltiness and open his lips...           a. He will sing aloud of God's righteousness           b. His mouth will show forth His praise        2. For he knows in what God delights           a. Not sacrifice or burnt offering, or he would have offered it           b. But a broken spirit and a contrite heart, God will not              despise    III. DAVID'S PRAYER (51:18-19)       A. FOR ZION AND JERUSALEM (18)        1. That God do His good pleasure to Zion        2. That God build the walls of Jerusalem

Questions:

• Do you agree with this?
  

Sin will take me further than I want to go.

Sin will keep me longer than I want to stay.

Sin will cost me more than I want to pay.

• Consider the reason(s) why you may be unhappy. What do you usually do to resolve your unhappiness?

• What are the costs and benefits of keeping secret something you have done wrong versus admitting it?
  

• Identify a recurring sin that you have not yet eradicated from your life. If so inclined, what plans will you make to rid yourself of that sin?
  

• Describe David's sin in 2 Samuel 11.

• How did Nathan confront his sin in 2 Samuel 12:1-12? 2 Samuel 12:13 is David's response and Nathan's reply. Why do you think David found it necessary to compose Psalm 51 (David's reaction to Nathan's confrontation)?

• Read Psalm 51 slowly and thoughtfully in at least two translations. How would you describe David's reaction? What are some words or phrases that are meaningful to you? What is a verse that you would like to remember?

• What three things does David ask God to do (Ps 51:1-2)? Why did David dare to ask for these things (51:1)?

• What terms does David use to describe himself and his wrongdoing (51:1-5)? What is David's attitude toward his sin (51:3-5)?

• How do you feel about unconfessed sin in your life?

• How honest are you about your sin? Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10.

• As Christians, we know we are sinful. Why then, is it still so painful to be confronted with a specific sin?

• ♥ What role does honesty play in our receiving forgiveness and what part does denial play in our remaining guilty (Ps 32:3)?

• ♥ Are you ever tempted to rationalize your sin? How should you view your sin?

• ♥ Why did David verbalize his sorrow and confession so specifically? What can we learn from his example?  
  

• Why do you think sin has become an unpopular and little-used word today?

• Why is sin that involves another person chiefly a sin against God (Ps 51:4)? Does this make our sin against another person less serious?

• If we are born as sinners (51:5), sin must be something more than doing wrong things. What else is it?

• What does David infer to be the opposite of sin and guilt (51:6)? Can sin and truth coexist in the heart (your inner being)? Why or why not?

• ♥ How would you answer the person who says, "I've never done anything as bad as what David did. Psalm 51 doesn't really apply to me."?

• How does David ask to be restored (51:7-12)? What does David seems to most desire (51:1, 2, 7, 9)? How confident is David that God can do this for him (51:7)? Why do you think David places so much value on being clean, not just forgiven?

• Where does God desire the work of cleansing to begin (51:6, 10)? What is the significance of this? [In Biblical terms, create means to "make something out of nothing" and in Scripture, only God creates (Gen 1:1). In light of these facts, what is the significance of David's request (51:10)?]
  

• What positive things did David expect God to bring out of his whole ordeal (51:13-15)? Is this a by-product of a forgiven life? [What experience have you had with forgiven sin that could help someone else?]

• What are some ways that won't work in dealing with guilt and sin (Ps 51:16)?

• What characteristic is God looking for in us (Ps 51:17)? Why do you think this is important?

• ♥ What do you consider a broken and contrite heart to be (51:17)? What is your experience with this condition? When are you likely to come to God with an "offering" for sin (51:16) instead of a broken and contrite heart? Why?

• First David says that God does not delight in sacrifices (51:16) and then he says that sacrifices do delight God (51:19). What makes the difference?

• Does forgiveness and cleansing mean we will not suffer the consequences of our sin?
  

• What, specifically, does Psalm 51 have in common with 1 John 1:9? Why do you think we are sometimes hesitant to confess our sin, even when we know God will forgive and cleanse us?

• ♥ How often do we need to make good on God's offer in 1 John 1:9?
• ♥ Have you ever struggled with a sense that your sin was so great that you could never be fully forgiven? What hope do you find in David's prayer?
• ♥ On what basis can you plead and claim God's mercy and forgiveness for your sin?

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Soft, Gentle and Kind

The softest, gentlest and kindest man who ever lived is Christ Jesus, our Lord. Men may not like to be regarded as soft. It has the connotation of being weak. But Jesus was soft as in being tender and vulnerable, not weak. Anyone could approach him without feeling intimidated or scared. Though Jesus was soft, he was also the toughest man who ever lived. He stared his vicious enemies in the face and faced his own excruciating demise without flinching. He is tender and tough. He is vulnerable and fearless. He is soft and courageous. Jesus is a man's man.

The Bible speaks volumes about gentleness and kindness, which should reflect the soft heart of God and of Christ toward us fallen, belligerent and incorrigible creatures.

• "Let your gentleness be evident to all" (Phil 4:5). "Let your graciousness be known to everyone" (Phil 4:5, HCSB).

• "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry" (Jas 1:19).

• "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience" (Col 3:12).

• "Your speech should always be gracious..." (Col 4:6, HCSB).

• "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of" (Lk 6:45).

• "Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips" (Eccl 10:12).

• "A soft (gentle) answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Prov 15:1, ESV).

• "Gentle words are a tree of life..." (Prov 15:4, NLT).

• "Gracious (pleasant, kind) words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Prov 16:24).

• "...a gentle (soft) tongue (soft speech) can break a bone" (Prov 25:15).
  

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This Is My Life

What is my life? What is your life?

Billy Joel captures our human sentiments with his song: "I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life. Go ahead with your own life and leave me alone."

By God's grace, I would like my version to be: "I do care what you say, I always want to care, this is my life. Do live your own life and let me walk alongside you." And if you won't, maybe I'll shed a tear.

In The Greatest Showman, Keala Settle sang the Academy Award nominated song "This Is Me" (Benj Pasek, Justin Paul).These are the catchy lyrics:

When the sharpest words wanna cut me down

I'm gonna send a flood, gonna drown them out

I am brave, I am bruised

I am who I'm meant to be, this is me

Look out 'cause here I come

And I'm marching on to the beat I drum

I'm not scared to be seen

I make no apologies, this is me

As a Christ follower, Jesus' words capture my soul more than any other words: "I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance" (Jn 10:10b, HCSB). "My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life" (Jn 10:10b, NLT).

How would I define and express the basic contents of my (hopefully abundant) life?

1. My passion (what I want to live out): Testify to grace (Ac 20:24).
2. My foundation (the basis of what I do): The whole counsel of God (Ac 20:27).
3. My desire (what I want to do): Entrust to faithful people who can teach others (2 Tim 2:2).
4. My hope (what I want to see): Noble people who examine the Scriptures daily (Ac 17:11).

What is my vision for the church?

1. Enjoy reading the Bible (Ps 1:2; 119:97).
2. Engage/encourage each other through studying Scripture (Heb 10:24-25).
3. Enhance each other's lives (Jn 10:10b).
4. Encounter God and fall in love with him (Isa 6:5; Dt 6:5).

How do I live out my one life?

1. Read the Bible (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21; Mt 24:35; Lk 21:33; Ps 19:7).
2. Read books (2 Tim 4:13).
3. Read people to understand them and to be their friends (Jn 15:15; Prov 17:17).
4. Respond to others softly and gently (Phil 4:5).
5. Remember God's grace and kindness (1 Cor 15:10; Rom 2:4).
6. Reflect/review my life often.
7. Reaccess my life often.

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Commandment and Love

Law and love are not in conflict. Love is part of the law, and the law commands love. The command to "love your enemies" became one of the most important moral imperatives ever uttered. Also, the word "commandment" ("commanded" - Mt 28:20) is connected to the word "love," a connection that underscores the costly nature of true love: Jn 13:34-35; 14:15, 21, 31; 15:10. The linkage of the words command and love occurs > 30 times in the N.T., and thus is a significant theme throughout. This connection between costly, Christ-like love and Jesus' commandments is why Jesus calls this imperative the "new commandment."

"Our mission as Christians is to conform ourselves evermore to Jesus as the model of our lives." Pope Francis.

John 13:34: "Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other" (NLT). "Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another" (J.B. Philips). "You must love each other, just as I have loved you" (CEV). Jesus' disciples are to love one another with the same love Jesus had for them during his sojourn. Our love is God's sign to the world (Jn 13:35). This is the mark of genuine Christianity.

"The Johannine talk of love does have practical implications. Love within the community is not merely a matter of warm feelings; rather it is a matter of action." Richard B. Hays. 1 Jn 3:11, 16-18, 23 cover a wide range of activities. There is no sectarian retreat in the new commandment.

"It took me a long time to understand that God is not the enemy of my enemies. God is not even the enemy of God's enemies." Martin Niemoller.

"Loving those we like and hating those we don't like is as common as sin." Scot McKnight.

"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the dividing line between good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being, and who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. [Most violence occurs between people who know each other. A husband, wife, coworker, boss, neighbor, family member, or former friend becomes the target of violence. Also all kinds of categories or stereotypes: blacks, whites, Hispanics, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, Democrats, Republicans, gays, punks, pro-abortionists, pro-lifers, illegal immigrants, dictators, jihadists.]

"What if a man gives way to grief and anger and indulges these emotions (which he should struggle against)? What if he rushes wherever injustice will call him? Such a man does not fulfill the duty of virtue. For he who tries to return an injury desires to imitate that very person by whom he has been injured. In short, he who imitates a bad man cannot be good." Lactantius (250-325), a prominent Roman teacher of rhetoric converted to Christianity.

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Preparing for You a Place of Love (John 14:1-6)

"Don't let your hearts be troubled," Jesus continued. "Trust God--and trust me, too! (Have faith in God and have faith in me)" There is plenty of room to live (there are many places of rest) in my father's house. If that wasn't the case, I'd have told you, wouldn't I? I'm going to get a place ready for you! And if I do go and get a place ready for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, so that you can be there, where I am (so that where I am you might be also). And as to where I'm going--you know the way!"

"Actually, Master," said Thomas to him, "we don't know where you're going, so how can (do) we know the way?"

"I am the way," replied Jesus, "and the truth and the life! Nobody comes to the father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known (recognized) my father. From now on you do know him! You have seen him."

N.T. Wright, The Kingdom New Testament, 2011.

Faith is not alienation but a journey of truth (Pope Francis, Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday. The morning homilies from St. Martha's chapel. 2015)

The journey of faith is not alienation, but to prepare the heart to see the marvelous face of God.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me" (Jn 14:1). In a moment of farewell, these are wonderful words of Jesus from his heart to his disciples. He knows that his disciples are sad, for things are not going to be well. He speaks to them like a friend with the attitude of a pastor. The music of these words of Jesus is the attitude of the pastor, like the shepherd with his lambs. And he begins to talk about heaven, about our definitive homeland.

"Have faith also in me. I'm always faithful" (Jn 14:1b). With the figure of the engineer, of the architect he tells them what he is going to do: "I am going to prepare a place for you. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places" (Jn 14:2). And Jesus goes to prepare a place for us.

What is that place like? What does it mean "to prepare a place"? To rent a room up there? "Preparing a place" means preparing our possibility of enjoyment, the possibility--our possibility--of seeing, of feeling, of grasping the beauty of what awaits us, of that homeland toward which we are walking.

The whole Christian life is a work of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit to prepare a place for us, to prepare our eyes to be able to see... "But Father, I see just fine! I don't need glasses!" That's another kind of vision. Think about those who have cataracts and have to get an operation for cataracts; they see, but after the operation what do they say? "I never thought I could see like this, without glasses, so clearly!"

Our eyes, the eyes of our soul need, they have to be prepared to look at that marvelous face of Jesus. To prepare the hearing to be able to hear beautiful things, beautiful words. And in the first place to prepare the heart: to prepare the heart to love, to love more.

In the journey of life the Lord prepares our hearts with trials, with consolations, with tribulations, with good things.

The whole journey of life is a journey of preparation. Sometimes the Lord must make this in haste, as he did with the good thief, he had only a few minutes to prepare him, and he did it. But ordinarily we have a lifetime to allow our hearts, our hearing, our sight to be prepared to arrive at this homeland, right? Because this is our homeland. "But, Father, I went to a philosopher and he told me that all of these thought are alienation, that we are alienated, that life is this, the concrete, and nobody knows what is on the other side..." Some people think that way. But Jesus tells us that it's not true, and he tells us "Have faith also in me" (Jn 14:1b). What I am telling you is the truth. I'm not tricking you, I'm not fooling you.

Preparing ourselves for heaven means starting to hail it from a long way away. This is not alienation; this is the truth, this is allowing Jesus to prepare our hearts, our eyes for that great beauty. This is the way of beauty and the way of the return to the homeland. Let's pray that the Lord may give us this strong courage, the courage and also the humility to allow the Lord to prepare the place, the definitive place, in our hearts, in our eyes, and in our hearing.

April 26, 2013. Acts 13:26-33; John 14:1-6.

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Love and Obedience (John 14)

Theme: To love God is to trust him (Jn 14:1). When we love and trust God we obey him (Jn 14:15, 21, 23). Our ultimate obedience is to trust God regardless of our situation (Prov 3:5).

Pray that January 2018 may be the month of love. The last two weeks we touched on Real Love (Rom 12:9-21), and  Love at Ten Years (1 Cor 13:1-13)--last Sunday being West Loop's 10th anniversary. Paul says that love must be real (Rom 12:9) and that love is the greatest (1 Cor 13:13). This Sunday, we consider what Jesus says about love and obedience (Jn 14:15, 21, 23).

In 2013, while studying Jesus' upper room dialogues, I preached on John 14 with the title Believe in Jesus. My point was that when we simply believe in God without fear or doubt, all of our problems vanish away. That's what Jesus promised his disciples (Jn 14:1). It really seems cliche and simplistic or even unrealistic to say, "Believe and trust God and you'll have absolutely no problems!"

Yet our lives, even as we profess faith in God, is often inundated with our own frustrating problems and issues that never seem to go away, or that keep recurring again and again. Often without any effort, we keep falling into the same problem over and over: fear, lust, anger, bitterness, resentment, sorrow, unforgiveness, even uncontrollable hatred.

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Love that is Genuine, Sincere and Real (Romans 12:9)

Just how important is love? What is the place of love in Christianity? What is the evidence that you truly love God? What Who When Why How.

Romans 12:9-21 - Love Must Be Real; Love and its manifestations. [The transforming power of the gospel: Christian conduct (12:1-15:13).]

From Rom 12:1 Paul shifts his focus from instruction to exhortation, from theological to practical, from "indicative" to "imperative," and from "what God has given us" (Rom. 1-11) to "what we are to give to God." Yet it must be noted that what we are to give to God cannot be produced independently of God's continuing gracious provision; it cannot be anthropocentric.

Commands are rare in ch. 1-11 (Rom 6:11-13, 19; 11:18, 20). To Paul, what he teaches in Romans has an eminently "practical" significance. For if we take the gospel to heart it will affect our lives in uncountable ways. In ch. 6 Paul makes clear that our union with Christ in his death and resurrection leads to "walking in newness of life" (Rom 6:4) and demands that we "present ourselves to God as those who are alive from out of the dead" (Rom 6:13). Now in 12:1-15:13 he fleshes out these general principles about the transforming power of the gospel by urging Christians to manifest the power of the gospel in specific areas of day to day life.

Ro 12:1-2 is one of the best-known passages in the NT. Its fame is justified. Paul succinctly and with vivid imagery summarizes what the Christian response to God's grace in Christ should be.

12:9-21 is a parenesis. It strings together admonitions of a general ethical content and is characterized by eclecticism (borrowing from many sources). Rom 12:9a is regarded as the heading for the entire section. Genuine love is the overall topic and the underlying motif of the section. In Rom 13:8-10 Paul spotlights again that love is the fulfillment of the law and basic to the section. Paul keeps coming back to love as the single most important criterion for approved Christian behavior.

There is no verb in the Greek in Rom 12:9. Paul says, literally, "sincere love," "genuine love" or "real love." These words are the heading for what follows, as Paul proceeds in a series of clauses to explain just what sincere love is. The addition of an imperative verb in all major English translations is not off the mark, as Paul's purpose is to exhort, not simply to describe.

 

Jesus singled out love for others as the essence of the OT law (Mk 12:28-34), and the central demand of the New Covenant (Jn 13:31-35), which is enshrined as the traditional and characteristic ethical norm of Christianity (1 Th 4:9; Gal 5:13-14; 1 Cor. 13; Jas 2:8-9; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 Jn 2:7-11; 3:10-18; 4:7-12, 18-21; Rom 13:8-10). The love of Christians for others is grounded in, and enabled by, the love of God expressed in the gift of his Son (Jn 13:34; 1 Jn 4:9-11). Love is a necessity and is an indispensable mark of the new creation in Christ.

Rom 12:9. Paul has already reminded us of this love (Rom 5:5-8). So basic does Paul consider love that he does not even exhort us here to love but to make sure that the love he presumes we already have is "genuine." In urging that our love be genuine, Paul is warning about making love a mere pretense, an outward display or emotion that does not conform to the nature of the God who is love, and who has loved us. The Greek word literally means "without hypocrisy," not playing the part of an actor on the stage. This same adjective is applied to love in 2 Cor 6:6, 1 Tim 1:5 and 1 Pet 1:22 (2 Tim 1:5 describing faith; Jas 3:17 describing "wisdom from above").

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