What is it to have a god?

In honor of Reformation Week, here is a great quotation from Martin Luther's Large Catechism:

The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods." That is, you shall regard me alone as your God. What does this mean, and how is it to be understood? What is it to have a god? What is God?

Answer: A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart. As I have often said, the truth and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust are right, then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you have not the true God. For these two belong together, faith and God. That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.

Add to Godliness Brotherly Kindness

2 Peter 1:5–9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Thus far in Peter’s exhortation we have learned to employ all diligence as we add to our faith virtue, to our virtue knowledge, to our knowledge self-control, to our self-control perseverance, and to our perseverance godliness. Today we consider his command to add to godliness brotherly kindness.

Webster defines kindness as “the quality or state of being kind; having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others : wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others.”

Having urged us to achieve godliness, Peter now highlights the way that godliness of character is to shape our interaction with other people. And interestingly enough he insists that it should manifest itself in “brotherly kindness”: not in miserliness, not in grumpiness, not in super-spirituality, but in open hands and open hearts, wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

One of the purposeful emphases of the CREC is a commitment to what we call “sunny Calvinism.” Calvinism is simply a nickname which summarizes the biblical teaching that God is the Lord over heaven and earth. He rules and reigns in human affairs and nothing can thwart His purposes or destroy His work. Has he spoken and will he not do it? Has he determined and will he not bring it to pass? God is the Lord – it is He who saves us and not we ourselves; it is he who preserves us and not we ourselves. In ourselves we are hopeless and corrupt, inclined to all evil. But God in His grace and mercy sent His Son Jesus to deliver us from sin and death; sent His Spirit to give us a heart to believe and a mind to understand. Grace, grace, all grace!

So this is Calvinism – and it is glorious good news! What we could not do weak as we were because of our sinful nature, God did in sending His own Son as the propitiation for our sins. So given this glorious good news – ought we not to be “sunny”? Joyful? Grateful? Thankful? And ought not this sunny, joyful, grateful and thankful disposition manifest itself in brotherly kindness? Absolutely!

Too often, however, the glorious truths of God’s Sovereignty, the unity of the Old and New Testaments, and our inability to save ourselves as human beings are twisted into a cudgel with which to beat our fellow Christians and those who don’t know Jesus. God is Sovereign and in control of all things – so let me show how true that is by doubting your salvation if you don’t understand it. God has been revealing His purpose to save the earth from sin and death ever since our rebellion against God in the Garden – so let me show how true that is by being a jerk and thwarting your salvation. We are unable to save ourselves – so let me show you how true that is by refusing to share with you the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection.

As Reformed folk we need to cultivate brotherly kindness.We are called to add to our godliness brotherly kindness - having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others : wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others. So are you looking for opportunities to practice kindness? This is our calling; this is our privilege.

Reminded of our calling and that we often refuse to help others when we are able, let us kneel and confess our sins to the Lord.

Add to Perseverance Godliness

2 Peter 1:5–9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Thus far in Peter’s exhortation we have learned to employ all diligence as we add to our faith virtue, to our virtue knowledge, to our knowledge self-control, and to our self-control perseverance. Today we consider Peter’s admonition to add to our perseverance godliness.

Webster defines godliness as “the quality or state of being spiritually pure or virtuous; devoutness, piety, sanctity.” We might define it more simply as the quality or state of becoming more like God – reflecting the moral character of God in our lives.

Jesus instructs us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are to be perfect even as our Heavenly Father is perfect. We are to become like our Lord – an observation we will consider at length in the sermon this morning. To be godly, therefore, is to enjoy the sum of all virtues – it is the goal of our sanctification: becoming like God. We persevere not for perseverance sake but that we might reflect the character of God.

Godliness is often set in opposition to worldliness – becoming increasingly like the world. Paul reminds us in Titus 2:11–12:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,

God’s grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age. This is one of God’s purposes in salvation. So how do we grow in godliness? As with all graces, we grow in godliness only by the grace and mercy of God. As Paul said, it is the grace of God that teaches us to be godly in this present age. Peter likewise reminds us God’s divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. God is the One who teaches us to be more like Him; He holds us by the hand and shapes us into His image.

One of the primary means God uses to cultivate godliness in our lives is worship. We worship God and as we worship Him we become more like Him, we become godly. Worship fixes our eyes on the Lord and shapes the trajectory of our lives. Just like driving – where you fix your gaze determines where you go.

This is one reason God has given us an extensive collection of psalms in the biblical canon – psalms that we can sing so that we become more like God; psalms that we can imitate as we compose new songs to the praise and worship of the Lord. We are to grow in godliness and God has given us the psalms to help accomplish this.

So how intentional have you been to memorize the psalms, to sing them in times of temptation and struggle, and to use them as you labor against the Evil One? One of the reasons we have psalm sings as a congregation is to enable us to fight more effectively. We don’t sing the psalms just so we can sound pretty or edgy or manly – we sing the psalms so that we can become more godly.

So reminded of our calling to become more like God by worshiping Him, let us confess that we have often taken our eyes off the Lord and drifted toward worldliness. Let us kneel as we confess together.

Marriage and Compatibility

"What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility."

Leo Tolstoy

Depraved Creatures

"Let men therefore acknowledge, that inasmuch as they are born of Adam, they are depraved creatures, and therefore can conceive only sinful thoughts, until they become the new workmanship of Christ, and are formed by his Spirit to a new life... Nor is it any proof to the contrary, that carnal and profane men often excel in generosity of disposition, undertake designs apparently honourable, and put forth certain evidences of virtue. For since their mind is corrupted with contempt of God, with pride, with self-love, ambition, hypocrisy, and fraud; it cannot be but that all their thoughts are contaminated with the same vices... We must, therefore, acquiesce in the judgment of God, which pronounces man to be so enslaved by sin that he can bring forth nothing sound and sincere. Yet, at the same time, we must remember, that no blame is to be cast upon God for that which has its origin in the defection of the first man, whereby the order of the creation was subverted. And further, it must be noted, that men are not exempted from guilt and condemnation, by the pretext of this bondage: because, although all rush to evil, yet they are not impelled by any extrinsic force, but by the direct inclination of their own hearts; and, lastly, they sin not otherwise than voluntarily."

John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis 8:21.

"Then the Lord said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth...'"

Add to Self-Control Perseverance

2 Peter 1:5–9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

We have been making our way through Peter’s exhortation here in his second epistle. He has instructed us to employ all diligence as we add to our faith virtue, to our virtue knowledge, and to our knowledge self-control. Today we consider his exhortation to add to our self-control perseverance.

Webster defines perseverance as “the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult; continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition; steadfastness.”

It is appropriate that Peter places this quality here following his admonitions to acquire virtue, knowledge, and self-control. For it is easy to practice virtue for a day; easy to grow in knowledge by reading the Word of God for a week; easy to manifest self-control for a time. We’re all familiar with our New Years’ Resolutions and how effective they typically are. “I’m going to exercise regularly; lose weight; read my Bible through in a year; pray daily.” We start out well – but soon our resolution is put to the test. Shall we persevere?

Spiritually the same principles apply. By the grace of God, all those whom the Spirit gives new life will most certainly persevere in the faith. Nothing shall overcome our faith – not the onslaughts of the Evil One, not hard trials and providences, not the disappointments of life nor the betrayal of friends nor the dissolution of our local congregation. The Spirit so works within His people that He shall not fail to bring to completion the good work that He has begun in our lives. Thanks be to God!

Therefore, we must be all the more diligent to add to our self-control perseverance – for as we persevere we display the Spirit’s work in our lives. One fruit of the Spirit’s presence is perseverance. To give up, to turn away from Christ, to abandon the faith, to become spiritually cold and lifeless, is to reveal that the Spirit has not been at work in our lives. But to persevere is to display His grace to the world.

So are you weary? Are you faltering in some commitment you have made? Is your marriage challenging? Is your work hard? Is it difficult to show respect to the authorities that God has placed in your life? Then the Word of the Lord comes to you today: persevere! Continue steadfastly in the work of the Lord. Perseverance is “the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult; continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.” Don’t give up.

Reminded of our calling to persevere, let us confess that we often find ourselves giving up in our hearts; we become discouraged and downcast; we have need of God’s forgiveness and the grace of the Spirit to empower us to persevere. So let us kneel as we confess our sins to the Lord.

Add to Knowledge Self-Control

2 Peter 1:5–9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

For the last couple weeks we have been studying Peter’s exhortation here in his second epistle. He has instructed us to employ all diligence as we add to our faith virtue and to our virtue knowledge. Today he exhorts us to add to our knowledge self-control.

Webster defines self-control as “control over your feelings or actions; restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.” While self-control is sometimes an unpopular subject, it is one that is frequently addressed in Scripture – in both the Old and New Testaments. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 16:32, He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. And later in 25:28 he reminds us, Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls. In the New Testament, Paul teaches us that self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit and that a lack of self-control is evidence of a people under God’s judgment.

So let us note a few things: first, self-control is a gift of God’s Spirit. And so if we would grow in self-control we must seek it from God Himself. This reminds us to pray regularly for God’s grace and mercy. When the Spirit is at work in our lives, we will gain increasing self-control. Despite the claims of some, the Spirit doesn’t primarily manifest Himself in miracles and signs and wonders. His primary work is the hum-drum work of equipping us to resist that second bowl of ice-cream.

Second, self-control is a Christian virtue which we are to develop with all diligence. We are to gain increasing control over our feelings and actions, over our impulses, emotions, and desires. The feeling of anger wells up within us – we need to control it. The impulse to spend money and go into debt strikes us – we need to control it. The desire to look at pornography assaults us – we need to control it.

This diligent cultivation of self-control is something that applies to adults and children alike. Parents, one of your primary duties is to teach your children self-control. And children, one of your primary callings is to develop self-control in your youth. You want to lay in bed all day; control your feeling and get up. You want to open your lips and be disrespectful; control your impulse and speak respectfully. Self-control is a Christian virtue which we are to develop with all diligence.

Finally, Peter’s calling to add to knowledge self-control means that we are to use the various means at our disposal to cultivate this virtue. We are to study, observe, and gain knowledge of ourselves and the world, so that we can become increasingly self-controlled. So how are you doing? Teens, are your music choices helping you cultivate self-control? Music is one of the most powerful means for strengthening virtue and, on the other hand, destroying inhibitions, destroying self-control. What is your music doing for you? What do the musicians you listen to want it to do? Concerts are a good indication of the direction the music you’re listening to leads. Study. Think. Consider. Add to your knowledge self-control.

Reminded that we are to be a people who control our emotions and actions, let us confess that we often fail to do so. We are often driven by our impulses, controlled by our feelings, governed by our desires. So let us confess our lack of self-control to the Lord and kneel as we’re able.