Kennystix's podcast
How Does It Work for Holiness?
The following message was recorded at an event hosted by Desiring God. More information about Desiring God events, conferences and resources is available at www.desiringgod.org. We've got two units left. Actually, they're probably going to break out in more than two because the last one is very large and full of practicality. In fact, the way to think about these sessions today are that those were foundations and these are applications. So this is going to be, I think, a lot closer to where you live than they were last time and I hope that helps you. So my question now is, what are the dynamics of how love or holiness is produced by living by faith in future grace? Because we've argued it's essential to our final salvation, not because it purchases it or is the instrument of it like faith is, but that it warrants it or credits it or validates it or is the evidence of it and so love is absolutely essential. And these are familiar texts from last time. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything but faith working through love. So I just point that out that faith now, and I think I carelessly said, is the agent of love and somebody pointed out, but agents are people. Well, instrument means, you pick your word, faith is working through love here. It's producing love. Same thing in 1 Timothy 1, 5. The goal of our instruction is love. That's an amazing statement of the Apostle, isn't it? The goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith. So this love is coming from faith, just like this love is coming from faith. Now, let's broaden now. We saw those texts, but let's look at another one which may not look immediately relevant to this issue of how does faith in future grace help you love people, especially your enemies, but let's try it. Matthew 5, 43, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies. So there we have this radical, wonderful, beautiful command, and specifically one way to love your enemies is pray for those who persecute you. Now, where do you get the power to do that? Absolutely counter human activity. Humans don't love their enemies. They hate their enemies. Enemies make us mad, really mad. I got mad this week at an email I got. They're not even from an enemy. It's kind of an in-your-face friend. And I thought, what you said like that for? We are wired to be negative towards anybody who's negative towards us. And Jesus comes along and says, love your enemy, pray for them. He just takes our hearts and just says, that won't do. I'm not in the business of confirming your humanity. Not that sinful humanity. Okay, so here's staying with Matthew. Let's go back to the beginning of the chapter and see a dynamic for how it might work. Blessed are those, this is Matthew 5, 10, who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Now we've got a link, remember, we got a link here because theirs pray for those who persecute you. And so he's thinking, love your enemies, especially those who are persecuting you. So we got the same situation in front of us. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That's a big promise. Blessed are you when people insult you, so breaking it down into particulars now, insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. What should your response be? Rejoice. Be glad. That is absolutely ridiculous, absolutely crazy, absolutely counter to all human fallen nature. You are being lied about, you are being persecuted, therefore what? Be happy. That's really crazy. We don't feel the force of how unbelievably counter us. Jesus is how can one be so contrary to what one is by nature. Here's the ground for your reward in heaven is great. Illustration the prophets. Now here's the question in relation to love, which is harder to pray for your enemies or to be authentically happy in the moment of persecution. My answer is it's easier to pray for them because that's an act of my will and I can do it whether I feel like it or not. God they're making me really mad. Then I'm not happy but you told me to pray for them. So I pray to you change those rascals. That's relatively easy to do. What's hard to do is that. That's impossible without the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to that and really believing it. Really believing it. Really believing when you get up and your body is racked with pain that you can rejoice or people are all around your house in a mob and you don't know whether you're going to die or live like an email I got from a YWAM group a couple of years ago saying we're not sure what's going to happen. We still have access to the computer. The house is surrounded by a mob. We believe the Lord wants us to stay because we've got a foothold for the gospel here. Pray for us. Wow that's authentic stuff. Can you rejoice? Not if you're just you. Not without the Holy Spirit putting this ground clause profoundly in your soul and your mind. So here's the point I'm making in pulling together. Matthew 5 43 and 44. Matthew 5 10 to 12. If the key to doing the harder thing is faith in future grace. This is future grace and the key to rejoicing in it is believing it with all your heart. If the key to doing the harder thing is faith in future grace then the key to doing the easier thing is faith in future grace. That's my argument and I think that would hold. In the Sermon on the Mount the key to rejoicing in the face of adversity is your reward is great in heaven. Therefore the key to loving your enemy is great is your reward in heaven. And almost everything I have to say in this unit is just an underlining and a confirmation of that. And you can see then why the battle to fight for faith in future grace is the battle to love. The difference between a legalistic way I think to pursue the Christian life and a faith-based way is that you see the command love and a legalist tends to attack the command directly. Okay there it is I'm supposed to do that. I will now do that. I will try to do that and a faith-based person doesn't attack it directly. The faith-based person looks at and says no way I can't do that. I really get mad at my enemies and they they feel broken they feel helpless they feel desperate they look away to promises Lord you have told me that my reward is great in heaven and therefore I can now have joy. And so I pray now this is the new battle this is the indirect battle I pray that you would open my eyes I pray that you change my heart I pray that you'd incline me to these glorious promises and I pray that joy would arise in my heart so that out of the overflow like in 2 Corinthians 8 with the massive donions I would break forth in liberality even towards people who don't like me. That's a different kind of battle than taking it head on and going straight at it. Let's see how it works in chapter 7 this is Jesus in in 7 Matthew 7 I don't know if you've ever seen this logical flow it's a very familiar text on prayer but look at what it leads to asking it will be given you seeking you will find knocking it will be open to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds into him who knocks it will be open or what man of you when his son asks for a loaf will give him a stone or if he asks for a fish will give him a snake will give him a snake will he if you then being evil Jesus was not into complimenting his disciples if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children and here comes one of those how much logics we saw in Romans 5 10 how much more will you be saved how much more will your father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him to give good things to those who ask him it is going to happen when you are little child and you come to your father and you ask him for what you need is not going to give you a stone you stop your little illustration I really think that that is a great help in unanswered prayer you might think well no that creates the problem for an answered prayer doesn't solve the problem for an answered prayed it really does help solve the problem because notice what it says what man of you who when his son asked for a loaf will give him a stone it doesn't say you give him a loaf just says he won't give him a stone or if he asked for a fish will give him a snake it doesn't say you give him a fish just says he won't give him a snake and when it promises what he will give it just says good things I think I can make this statement without fear of contradiction when you pray trusting God's promises in the Bible like I work all things together for your good or my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory or I will pursue you with goodness and mercy every minute of your life you go and you pray for what you believe you need a job a better marriage help on an exam you will always get what you ask for or something better and the something better may hurt here's the illustration if you've been in this seminar I don't know if I don't if I used it or not my son Benjamin was three maybe I can't remember how old he was but I can picture the scene here's the kitchen table here's the cabinet here's little little Benjamin have a cracker daddy he's asking God for a cracker I'm God to Benjamin he's three and and so I say look see if it's snack time close it open the cabinet pull out the crackers open it and they're moldy they're moldy and I pull one out let's say you can't have this cracker and he starts crying and I say it would be really bad for you it's got fuzz on it and he said I'll eat the fuzz I could I just remember it's so clear I'll eat the fuzz you know what is a what is a prayer answering dad do finds an alternative even if it isn't as good in his mind as that I'm not going to give him a stone a moldy cracker so be careful that you don't elevate the promises of answered prayer to the point where you make yourself the infinitely wise governor of the universe you don't know what you need frankly you don't know what you need God knows what you need you you have desires and longings and little children ought to say that to their father I think it's right to pray about virtually everything in your life and ask for what you believe you need and then trust him but that's not the point I'm trying to make here I'm just setting up the point the point I'm trying to make is this word therefore you ever noticed that maybe it's so in your Bible but it's there in the Greek and in the English in everything therefore treat people the way you want them to treat you for this is the law in the prophets that's the golden rule to another way of saying love your neighbor where does obedience to the golden rule come from what's this pointing to what is therefore point to it points to a God who will how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him therefore you can love your enemy at any cost you can give you can make your desires for happiness the measure of other people's desire for happiness and do unto them as you would have them do unto you even if it looks like today's gonna be a really hard day if I do that in fact if I do this act of love the next five years is going to be a very hard five years and the point of this therefore it says God can handle that every day he will give you what you need every day good things are coming to you from your father therefore in confidence in that future grace love your neighbor do the thing that looks like it's gonna make life hard though it is loving because God's gonna show up tomorrow the next day the next day the next day and fulfill this promise that therefore right there is massively important for living the Christian life how do you do love in your life do you go to promises like this and assure yourself all right everybody around me is telling me that if I go to Baton Rouge and take a week off I won't have as much vacation next summer and I'm gonna come back exhausted and and and and so there's ten reasons not to do this act of love that I feel so compelled to do what do you do at that moment he's kind of roll the dice no you go to promises you say Lord is it true that if your child comes and asks for a loaf and ask for a fish in Baton Rouge and in the subsequent weeks following that you won't give me a stone and you won't give me a stake you snake you you give me everything I need to do my work because I've loved people let's see some more verses pointing in this direction Luke 14 amazing here's the kind of love I want this church to have in your church he went on to say to the one who had invited him to the banquet when you give a luncheon or dinner do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors otherwise they'll invite you in return and that will be your repayment but when you give a reception invite the poor the crippled lame the blind and you will be blessed since they don't have any means to repay you for you'll be repaid at the resurrection set your heart on what is coming to you at the resurrection first Peter 113 hope fully at the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ and therefore be liberated from the need of payback now some people really stumble in understanding my quest for joy my quest for satisfaction thinking like last night that it means health wealth and prosperity now this is the opposite of that the opposite of that don't look for payback now find those who cannot pay you back and pour your life into them by confidence that it's gonna come back to you Jesus gonna show up someday he's gonna look upon you and display more of himself to you because of those acts of love than if you had been a self-protecting person trying to maximize your treasures here don't lay up treasures here lay up treasures there he is the central treasure so let that hope of payback I know that's a risky and that that's a risky language I think it's just taken from the context here doesn't imply salary doesn't imply earning in fact I don't think I wrote it down I don't have it on an overhead but a text from Luke itself that would show you it doesn't imply earning is Luke 1710 remember the story about the laborers who come in the slaves and he said when you have done all that is commanded of you say we are unworthy servants period no dessert here this this is not deserved this is God's free reward because we banked we banked on the hope that he would be better than payback now there's another one Luke 12 32 do not be afraid little flock for your father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom as love this verse is just so full of little your little your your sheep you have a father as well as a shepherd you've got a king shepherd father king and guess what this omnipotent ruler with a father heart and a shepherd care has made a choice and he's done it gladly with all his heart to give you his kingdom now there is no logical connector in the original language here what is it in his mind sell your possessions and give alms give to charity and I you see my little three dots there maybe therefore what's the what it in Jesus mind what's the connection between verse 32 and 33 don't be afraid little flock yes you're little yes you're like sheep yes fears threaten you don't be afraid your shepherd your father your king has made the joyful decision to bring you to his kingdom and make you the beneficiary of everything in it forever therefore how do you get health wealth and prosperity after this therefore maximize your earthly comforts we got a lot to answer for in America to whom much is given much will be required we all live beyond what we need to live we all pad our lives too much me to sell your possessions and give to charity Jesus doesn't seem to mind at all messing us up because he knows good and well that a thousand questions would follow that command oh we mean sell everything can have a house can have a car can have a shirt Jesus I think we just listened to those questions say figured out you get you get the idea you get the idea he's not into prescribing lists he's not into saying which neighborhood which size house owned rent which car used new he's not into given the details he's just into making us feel bad so that we we go to our true treasure to feel good and then it works its way out thank you for listening to this message from desiring God the ministry of John Piper pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis Minnesota feel free to make copies of this message for others but please do not charge for those copies or alter the content in any way without permission we invite you to visit desiring God online at www dot desiring God dot org where you'll find hundreds of sermons articles radio broadcasts and more all available at no charge our online bookstore carries all of pastor John's books audio and video resources and you can also stay up to date on what's new at desiring God again our website is www dot desiring God dot org or call us toll free at 1 888 346 4700 our mailing address is desiring God 2601 East Franklin Avenue Minneapolis Minnesota 554 0 6 desiring God exists to help you make God your treasure because God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him
John Piper | God’s eternal promises don’t just help us gain eternal perspective, but actually empowers us to walk in Spirit-led obedience today.