Entries from February 2008 ↓

At the Truth & Life Conference, John MacArthur spoke on the meaning and implications of the Greek word doulos. Our English versions all translate it as “servant” or “bondservant”, when referring to the Christian and as “slave” when speaking of the social class of the Roman world. He says that it is indisputably agreed upon by all scholars that doulos means slave and can only mean slave. There is an other word for servant - diakonos.

When we apply the concept of slave on the Christian, then we get an intensified picture of the believer’s relationship to Lord. I think we often hear things about the Lordship of Jesus over our lives, but I have not heard about what my position is in light of that. Simply put, we are not our own. We belong to someone else. “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

Thinking of myself as a slave has had some significant impacts on how I view life. I cannot claim any goodness of my own - that belongs to my Lord. I cannot claim my time as my own - that belongs to my Lord. I cannot hang on to speech, ministry, evangelism, obedience, eyes, hands, wardrobe, and relationships, for they all belong to my Lord. This idea has huge implications on the Christian life if we allow it to seep into every corner of our souls.

I am not my own; I am happily a slave to my gracious Master who gave His life in order to pay the price for this rebellious sinner.

I just finished a book by Os Guinness called “The Call” in which he discusses how someone can find and fulfill the central purpose of his life. Overall, the book was clear and biblical. It had a few weaknesses to it and it won’t go on my top 5, but I definitely appreciated somethings he had to say. The book had several good statements and so I thought I’d share them with you. The author quotes frequently from Oswald Sanders, hence the couple quotes from him.

“A time to believe is a time to move from small, cozy formulations of faith to knowing what it is to be called by him as the deepest, most stirring, and most consuming passion of our lives.” - Os Guinness

“If we have never had the experience of taking our commonplace religious shoes off our commonplace religious feet, and getting rid of all the undue familiarity with which we approach God, it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and familiar are those who have never yet been introduced to Jesus Christ.” - Oswald Chambers

“Only grace can dissolve the hard, solitary, vaunting “I” of the sin of pride in each of us. But the good news is that it does.” - Os Guinness

“The New Testament knows no monasteries or monks, only spiritually disciplined disciples in a demanding, everyday world.” - Os Guinness

“It requires the supernatural grace of God to live twenty-four hours in every day as a saint, to go through drudgery as a disciple, to live an ordinary, unobserved, ignored existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people, and this is not learned in five minutes.” - Oswald Chambers

“God calls and, just as we hear him but don’t see him on this earth, so we grow to become what he calls, even though we don’t see until heaven what he is calling us to become.” - Os Guinness

Most of you are probably wondering what in the world I could come up with that would count as marriage advice. I am wondering the same thing. But I actually am not spreading anything original, mainly because I’m not married yet.

Today in chapel, one of the Bible profs interviewed three couples (38yrs, 21yrs, and 10yrs married) on different aspects of marriage and I thought I would share some of the tidbits that I jotted down. Some of them are phrases or quotes from them directly and some may be summary points.

How do you work through conflict and how does it strengthen your relationship?

• Examine your own heart first
• What is the issue my spouse is presenting? Try to understand.
• What do I think, she think, and God think about this issue
• God gave a wife to the man so he can learn from her
• Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. We added this as a vow and have fulfilled during our 38 years of marriage. We don’t go to bed without resolving something.
• Requires Humility! Ask yourself - What did I do? How did I wrong you?
• Seek to Understand before being Understood
• Conflict forces us to come to resolution, which brings us closer to each other and to Christ
• Work hard at listening and repeat things back to your spouse to make sure you understand
• The thing about marriage that you have to understand is: It’s not about you, and it never will be
• Learn what it means to live like Philippians 2, like Christ

What are some blessings and joys of married life?

• Be in the Word together
• When sin reigns, the blessings are few
• Living life with your best friend is the best thing
• Marriage is about sanctification, and children make it more intensely so
• Marriage displays the gospel
• Good friendships take work
• Life is found in losing it - Luke 14

What do you have to say against the concern that marriage is giving up your independence?

• It is much better to be a dependent married woman than a single independent woman; believe me, I’ve been there.
• The joys of marriage far surpass those in independence
• God gives us the grace to be godly people in marriage

What do you do to protect your relationship?

• Cultivate your individual relationships with Christ
• Invest in each other; Don’t take your wife for granted just because you know she’ll be there for you
• If it’s important, you’ll find the way. So if your spouse is important, then you will make sacrifices.
• Knowing is half the battle; know your spouse.
• Practical suggestions:
  • Have a date night
  • Be accountable to other men (have you worked on your relationship this week?)
  • Have undivided attention as a couple after work
  • Be proactive in guarding your mind
  • This person is important, take the time

How do you lead your wife and what can a single guy do in a relationship he is in now to practice that?

• Bring her to the word of God, in devotions and conversation
• Pray for her. I notice a big difference when I pray for from when I don’t.
• Stay away from domineering leadership, instead you must serve her.
• Memorize Philippians 2:3-5
• Be a servant now. Serve those around you now. Practice servant leadership.
• Share with her what you learned in the Word

Although some of these are suggestions, but most of them are based on Scriptural principles and experience. For the single people out there (like myself), this aren’t things to apply right away, but to think about and to build a biblical view of relationships.

At Bible study the other night, I was talking with an older woman and I noticed that it sounded like she had a cold and I asked her about it. She said, “Yeah, I’m supposed to be getting over it, but that’s okay, the Lord knows.” I was initially reminded of Matthew 6 where the Lord says, “For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” That lady understood that principle. She knew that the Lord knew her situation and she completely rested in that.

I have used that phrase before too, but it is important that we understand the implications of this claim to divine knowledge. Someone may say, “So what if the Lord knows. What does that change?” or one might ask, “How can you find comfort in knowing that the Lord knows that you are suffering?”. When the world is in pain, it grasps for something to hang on to. People want to know where they can find sympathy, love, and stability. They try to pin their hope on a person or an event or some possession, but in the end, they all fail to deliver.

The confidence that believers can have in knowing that our God knows our situation is that behind that knowledge stands unfathomable power. Our Lord is not restrained in His ability to accomplish anything. If He wills it, He can do it. So if the Lord knows about the cancer I was just diagnosed with, or the divorce that my parents are going through, or the job that I just lost, or the son who walked away from the faith, or anything else that believers suffer through, then we can rest in the fact that the Lord knows our situation intimately and He has the power to change it with my best intentions in mind.

May we all learn to trust in our Lord with faith that does not doubt His knowledge or power. The more we cast anxiety out the door and welcome in faith, the better off we will be.