A Leader's Mature Judgment

This excerpt comes from a 1774 speech by Edmund Burke after his election to represent Bristol in Parliament. He argues that a representative, as he makes laws in a deliberative assembly, is not bound to vote the mandates of those who elected him. Instead, he must exercise his mature judgment, which may lead him to vote contrary to the wishes of his constituency. If he is unable to persuade his constituency of the merits of his action, they may remove him. Accepting the risk of electoral defeat, the representative must lead.

Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents. Their wishes ought to have great weight with him; their opinion, high respect; their business, unremitted attention. It is his duty to sacrifice his repose, his pleasures, his satisfactions, to theirs; and above all, ever, and in all cases, to prefer their interest to his own. But his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.

Observes David Broomwich:

Burke's strictures here contain the germ of a theory of representation that would later be invested with much authority by the American authors of the Federalist Papers. The theory holds that a legislator may gain, from experience in making laws, a knowledge hardly available to those who elect him. The people remain the source of ultimate power since they can turn a representative out of office. Meanwhile the representative is to follow the public good and bring to bear his understanding of the pragmatic means to attain that good. Answerable to the suffrage of opinion, he should be its guide and to its follower.

- Edmund Burke, "Mr. Burke's Speech to the Electors of Bristol" in On Empire, Liberty, and Reform: Speeches and Letters, ed. by David Broomwich (Yale University Press, 2000), 50-57.

"You Led and I Will Follow"

At this time last year Lynne and I visited Monticello Cemetery with our good friends, Matt and Rebecca Harness. I found this poignant grave marker in the Monticello Cemetery, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lucian King Truscott, III (1921-2000): "A SOLDIER. WE HAD A WONDERFUL LIFE TOGETHER AND RAISED FIVE CHILDREN."

Anne Harloe Truscott (1922-1998): "AFTER 52 YEARS TOGETHER, THIS TIME, DEAR, YOU LED AND I WILL FOLLOW."

Happy Anniversary, Lynne!

"She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her."  
Proverbs 31:10-11 


HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, LYNNE!

Charles Hodge (1797-1878)

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Hodge, a prominent figure in American Presbyterianism. We do well to pursue biblical studies and theology with his disciplined passion.

We live in an age that separates head and heart. Careful study of the Bible and exploration of theology are considered chilling intellectual activities that threaten a fervent, heart-felt relationship with God. No better example of this tendency is the sea change in American worship during the last 30 years. In many places, systematic and expository preaching gave way to motivational talks. Short choruses sung over and over again to affective music frequently replaced classic Christian hymns and psalm singing, which require serious and sustained thought. Truth saturated preaching and congregational singing suffer, we are poorer for it.

Sadly, we are becoming strangers to what Christians of previous eras called “the force of truth.” Paul observes that the Romans “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered” (Romans 6:17). Notice the union of will (obedience), affections (heart), and intellect (form of doctrine). In his Word, God appeals to our hearts through the mind. By the presentation of truth – never apart from truth – are emotions engaged and behavior transformed.

Charles Hodge knew the force of truth upon the emotional lives of believers.

December 27 is the anniversary of his birth. His teaching career at Princeton Seminary spanned 58 years (1820-1878). His direct contact with six decades of ministerial students at Princeton, his participation in the ecclesiastical courts of the church, and an extensive written ministry made him the most influential Presbyterian of the 19th century.

His commentaries, journal articles, and three-volume Systematic Theology powerfully and persuasively present biblical truth. The Way of Life, prepared for the American Sunday School Union in 1841, exemplifies the type of devotional writing that understands the indissoluble union between the theological exposition of Scripture and holiness of life.

A February 13, 1820 diary entry reveals Hodge’s approach to teaching: "May I be taught of God that I may be able to teach others also. It is only the heart that has been deeply exercised in divine things which can enable us to preach experimentally to others. Piety is the life of a minister.”

Here are a few selections from the last chapter of The Way of Life. I hope they will provide some material for meditation as you think about the relationship between head and heart:

• "The secret of holy living lies in this doctrine of the union of the believer with Christ. This is not only the ground of his hope of pardon, but the source of the strength whereby he dies unto sin and lives unto righteousness. It is by being rooted and grounded in Christ that he is strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, and is enabled to comprehend the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the mystery of redemption, and to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, and is filled with all the fullness of God. It is this doctrine which sustains him under all his trials, and enables him to triumph over all his enemies; for it is not he that lives, but Christ that lives in him, giving him grace sufficient for his day, and purifying unto himself as one of his peculiar people zealous of good works.”

• “ . . . One hour’s communion with God produces an impression never to be effaced; it renders the soul forever less susceptible of evil, and more susceptible of good. And as the Holy Spirit is ever exciting the soul to the exercise of holiness, and bringing it into communion with God, he thus renders it more and more holy, and better fitted for the unchanging and perfect holiness of heaven.”

• “It is most unreasonable to expect to be conformed to the image of God, unless the truth concerning God be made to operate often and continuously upon the mind. How can a heart that is filled with the thoughts and cares of the world, and especially one which is often moved to evil by the thoughts or sight of sin, expect that the affections answer to the holiness, good, or greatness of God, should gather strength within it? How can the love of Christ increase in the bosoms of those who hardly ever think of him or his work? This cannot be without a change in the very nature of things; and, therefore, we cannot make progress in holiness unless we devote much time to the reading, hearing, and meditating upon the word of God, which is the truth whereby we are sanctified. The more this truth is brought before the mind; the more we commune with it, entering into its import, applying it to our own case, appropriating its principles, appreciating its motives, rejoicing in its promises, trembling at its threatenings, rising by its influence from what is seen and temporal to what is unseen and eternal, the more we expect to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so as to approve and love whatever is holy, just, and good. Men distinguished for their piety have been men of meditation as well as men of prayer; men accustomed to withdraw the mind from the influence of the world with its thousand joys and sorrows, and to bring it under the influence of the doctrines, precepts, and promises of the word of God.”

This Christmas season may we contemplate with renewed interest the birth of our Savior who is “full of grace and truth” (John1:14). Jesus said, “For this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (John 18:37).

As the old year concludes, we prepare ourselves for a new year of devotion to Jesus and his truth. May the mind of Jesus so fill us that, like him, we say: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work (John 4:34) and “I have come to do your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7).

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Two collects from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer:

"Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen." 

"God, who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the birth of thine only Son Jesus Christ; Grant that as we joyfully receive him for our Redeemer, so we may with sure confidence behold him when he shall come to be our Judge, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen."

"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)

P.D. James on Tradition

Justin Taylor posts these reflections from my favorite mystery novelist, P.D. James:

We live in an age notable for a kind of fashionable silliness and imbued with a restless desire for change.

It sometimes seems that nothing old, nothing well-established, nothing which has evolved through centuries of experience and loving use escapes our urge to diminish, revise or abolish it.

Above all every organisation has to be relevant—a very fashionable word—to the needs of modern life, as if human beings in the twenty-first century are somehow fundamentally different in their needs and aspirations from all previous generations.

A country which ceases to value and learn from its history, neglects its language and literature, despises its traditions and is unified only by a common frenetic drive for getting and spending and for material wealth, will lose more than its nationhood; it will lose its soul.

Let us cherish and use what we still precariously hold.

Let us strive to ensure that what has been handed down to us is not lost to generations to come.

- from P.D. James, "Through All the Changes Scenes of Life: Living with the Prayer Book," in The Book of Common Prayer: Past, Present and Future: A 350th Anniversary Celebration, ed. Prudence Dailey (Continuum, 2011), p. 51.

The Marriage Gap and Income Inequality

"The steadily dropping marriage rate both contributes to income inequality and further entrenches it," concludes Ruth Marcus in a Washington Post opinion column.

A Sermon on John (1:14-18)

(A sermon on John, preached December 18, 2011.)

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.[1]

Do you understand what you just heard? Do you understand what it means that “the Word became flesh?” That phrase commemorates the most amazing event in human history – what we celebrate at Christmas: for us and for our salvation “the Word became flesh.” We call it the incarnation, from the Latin “made flesh.” Listen to our catechism on the incarnation; it summarizes the scriptures well: “Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the virgin Mary, and born of her, yet without sin.”[2]

“Word” - one of the names of God’s Son, and the second person of the Trinity. After his incarnation, God’s Son will be called Jesus and Lord. But first, “in the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1).

John leaves no suspense about the Word’s identity; he settles that in the very first verse: “The Word was God” (John 1:1) The Word is fully God. Therefore, everything that makes God God we find in his Son. In the words of our catechism God’s Son is “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.”[3] With the Father and the Holy Spirit, he is “the same in substance, equal in power and glory.”[4] From passages like this emerge our doctrines of the Trinity and the deity of Christ.

The Word was God. What a jolt, then to read, “the Word became flesh.” This is shocking language. Because we’ve read the verse many times it loses its punch; it shouldn’t. The language, if not crude, is at least blunt.[5] “The Word became flesh.”

No doubt, John could have put it more delicately: “The Word became man,” or, “the Word assumed a body.”[6] Both would do. But flesh – that’s tough. In the Bible, flesh is associated with weakness, the devastating consequences of the fall. Weakness and divine omnipotence don’t seem to belong together.

To live in the flesh is to be subject to the miseries of a world infected by sin.[7] The eternal Son of God becomes flesh. From cradle to tomb he experiences what men and women experience. To name a few – piercing hunger and thirst, weariness, tearful sorrow, bereavement, rejection, and the victim of physical violence and a judicial injustice that ends in death. God’s Son is no stranger to the suffering and hardships and temptations of life - he experiences them all, but without sinning.[8]

The Word becomes flesh. If the term “Word” indicates the Son’s full deity, then the term “flesh” indicates his full humanity. He becomes fully man in the incarnation. The Lord Jesus, our Savior, has a divine nature and a human nature, fully God and fully man, one person forever.

Today we meditate on the incarnation of God’s Son, and five words come to my mind – humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity.

Think with me now about the humility of the Lord’s incarnation.

Humility is an ugly word! Or, so most Romans thought. Weakness, the groveling of the defeated before his victor, a human doormat – that’s what it means to be humble. Ancient warriors took their cues from Homer’s Achilles, who as C.S. Lewis points out, “knows nothing of the demand that the brave should also be the modest and the merciful. He kills men as they cry for quarter or takes them prisoner to kill them at leisure.”[9] What of the humble man? Perhaps we should pity him – but admire him? Never!

But Christ’s incarnation turns Roman values upside down. In humility he rescues a hell-deserving people from eternal punishment. A word that Rome despises becomes a cornerstone virtue in the church of God. The word humility no longer conjures up images of defeated foes groveling in the dirt, or human doormats, but the selflessness, strength and courage of the incarnate Christ.

Paul describes the incarnation this way: Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:6-7). No clinging to his favored position as the Father’s beloved – no pleading to avoid Bethlehem and the cross – no protecting himself from humiliation and suffering – no pleasing himself.

Instead, with his mind firmly fixed on your salvation and mine, God the Son adds to himself a human nature, and being conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, he placed himself in the most vulnerable position imaginable. As Dick Keyes observes,

He could not roll over in his borrowed manger without assistance, and he could not hold up his head without a supporting hand. He had to have his swaddling clothes changed for him . . .

Although Jesus was the only one who ever got to decide what family he would be born into, he did not choose the Roman royal family, nobility, or even the Jewish priesthood. He was born into a poor carpenter’s family amid rumors of illegitimacy that persisted all his life.[10]

The humility of Christ’s incarnation.

Today we meditate on the incarnation of God’s Son, and five words come to my mind – humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity.

Think with me now about the sympathy of Christ’s incarnation.

I don’t know about you, but the people I cherish most are those who’ve stood beside me in trials, who have endured hardship with me. Adversity only makes these friends all the more loyal. Sadly, we have fair weather friends – they’re beside us when things go well, but when trouble comes they melt away faster than snow in Alabama.

Our Savior is no fair weather friend. He sees better than we do the ugliness of our sin, yet his devotion to us remains firm. We fail him, but he remains true to us. Our behavior tarnishes the reputation of his name, but he won’t disown us. None of our enemies frightens him. He refuses to leave us broken and without hope.

Look at verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The verse could read, “The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us.” Or, “the word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” The Greek word for “dwelt” can be translated either way. God was present with his Old Covenant people in the Tabernacle, or as it’s also known, the Tent of Meeting.

What a journey that Tabernacle made! Along torturous roads and winding wilderness paths, the Lord is with Israel every step of the way. In barren and harsh places, there’s the Lord in the midst of his people.

In the incarnation of his Son, God comes among his people, journeying with them, subjecting himself to their knocks and bruises, sharing their hardships along the way. God with us – Immanuel – that’s what we celebrate in our Christmas confession, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The incarnation assures us of Christ’s sympathy, and especially the sympathy he has for us as we face temptation. He has been touched with the feeling of our temptations. [11] Because our Lord is sinless, we wonder: how can the divine Son of God, the sinless one, understand temptation? Did he face real temptations? Most certainly he did.

A Scottish Presbyterian cautions:

It is completely misguided to imagine that the agony of temptation overcome is less than the agony of temptation yielded to. On the contrary, to yield to temptation is to escape its full ferocity. The devil never has to do his utmost to secure our fall. A little of his power and cunning will suffice. But Christ did not yield and this made it necessary for the tempter to increase the pressure. Far from being the one who escapes temptation because he is sinless, he is the one who precisely because he is sinless alone experiences temptation in its full intensity. He alone took all the devil could throw at him."[12]

From his incarnation to his death, Jesus was tempted to turn from the road to the cross, to save himself from suffering, and to forsake the Father’s will. But on he pressed, his heart fixed on the Father’s glory and our salvation. “He learned,” says the writer of Hebrews, “obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). Most mercifully, the writer concludes, “we do not have [in Christ] a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:16).

The sympathy of Christ’s incarnation.

Today we meditate on the incarnation of God’s Son, and five words come to my mind – humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity.

Think with me now about the glory of Christ’s incarnation.

Of the incarnate Christ John writes: “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” In the Old Covenant, the glory cloud was a visible manifestation of God’s presence among his people – it led Israel through the wilderness. And that glory cloud “covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34). Now, in the incarnation, the Word tabernacled among us, and the glory of the Lord filled him. John and the other apostles behold his glory.

“We have seen his glory,” says John the Apostle. He and his fellow apostles witness Jesus’ foes – deprivation, hostile enemies, a family ashamed of him, undependable disciples, unjust judges – whatever happens, his step never falters – John says, “we have seen his glory!” Miracle after miracle – we have seen his glory! A tantalizingly brief moment on the Mountain, Christ’s body transfigured – we have seen his glory! The shame and suffering of the Cross for man’s salvation – we have seen his glory! And Easter morning – we have seen his glory! Every step of his life, divine glory rested on Christ.

The other John, John the Baptist, knew also of the glory of Christ. “John bore witness about him, and cried out, 'This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me”’”(John 1:15).

Think about Jesus and John. John was born first; his ministry came first. But there’s no comparison and John knew it! John – bold and courageous and esteemed – was only part of Jesus’ advance team. Besides, the Word, being eternal, existed before John, and is incomparably greater. All glory must go the Word. Later, as the crowds that once flocked to John leave him and go to Jesus, John says of his Lord: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

The glory of Christ’s incarnation.

Today we meditate on the incarnation of God’s Son, and five words come to my mind – humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity.

Think with me now about the power of the incarnation - God’s power to save.

Earlier we thought about sympathy. How encouraging is the sympathizing friend! But there’s one thing a minister learns quickly: having sympathy is one thing, having power is quite another. I can sympathize with the chronically ill, but I cannot heal them. I can have sympathy toward a man whose behavior is destroying himself and his family, but I cannot change him. I have sympathy, but no power.

The Lord Jesus has both sympathy and power. Look again at verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Grace and truth are powerful; they are an omnipotent combination that saves sinners. Grace – God’s salvation given to those who’ve done nothing to deserve it. Truth – God’s absolute faithfulness to fulfill his promises to save. He is a promise-making and promise-keeping Savior.

The Word is full of grace and truth, and “from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). Grace upon grace – an inexhaustible supply of grace, never diminishing, always increasing. This grace is sufficient to save everyone who believes – this grace is sufficient to sustain every believer in every trial. Boundless grace for you and me.

If the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, is incomparably greater than John the Baptist, so too is he incomparably greater than Moses and the law. Look at the contrast in verse 17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Mind you, there’s nothing wrong with the law given through Moses. The law is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). The law displays God’s perfect character and reveals our duty. But the law is powerless to save.

With its threats of punishment, it can restrain bad behavior, but it can’t change the human heart.

Some have said that the law is like a mirror – it can expose dirt, but you can’t wash bathe in it. Others have said the law is like a thermometer – it can measure your temperature, but it can’t generate heat. The law cannot make you fervent to do God’s will.

The law is powerless to save. The law is powerless to change the human heart. The law condemns; only the work of Christ justifies sinners.

Grace and truth – God’s merciful promise of salvation - come only through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must see him and hear him as he reveals himself in the gospel. John writes, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” (John 1:18).

Not enough time remains to give this profoundly moving verse the care and attention it deserves. I’ll only say that it carries us into the mystery of the Trinity. The Word – God’s Son – here called “the only God, who is at the Father’s side,” it is he and he alone that makes the invisible God known. The incarnation demands that we listen to Christ’s words, study his deeds, submit to his commands, and trust the saving power of his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

Today we meditate on the incarnation of God’s Son, and five words come to my mind – humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity.

Think with me, finally, about the dignity of the Lord’s incarnation. As Bishop Ryle observes, “Vile and weak as our body may seem, it is a body which the Eternal Son of God was not ashamed to take upon Himself, and to take up to heaven.” And his promise to us is to raise our bodies from the grave to be like his, glorious and without sin.[13]

Now, it stands to reason that if the Lord’s incarnation testifies to the dignity of the human body, we must not defile it by sin.[14] Indeed, your body is the temple of Christ’s Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), and your life must be characterized by a fierce determination to guard the body that Christ has chosen to redeem and to make his dwelling place.

Humility, sympathy, glory, power, and dignity – these are words of the incarnation, of Christmas. Cherish each of them as you celebrate the mystery of godliness – God was manifested in the flesh.

____________

[1] All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Westminster Shorter Catechism, answer 22.

[3] Westminster Shorter Catechism, answer 4.

[4] Westminster Shorter Catechism, answer 6.

[5] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John (Eerdmans, 1971), 102.

[6] Morris,102.

[7] John Calvin, Commentary on the Gospel of John, vol. 1. Translated by William Pringle (Baker: reprinted 2009), 45.

[8] Hebrews 4:15

[9] C.S. Lewis, Present Concerns (Harcourt: 1986), 14.

[10] Dick Keyes, True Heroism In a World of Celebrity Counterfeits (NavPress, 1995), 151.

[11] Ryle, 27.

[12] Donald Macleod in Michael A.G. Haykin, “The Impeccability of Christ,” Evangelical Times (May 1995), 11.

[13] Ryle, 27-28.

[14] Ryle, 27.

Air France 447

A fascinating article chronicling the final minutes that led to the tragic loss of Air France 447.

49 - Sermons on Exodus (20:17)

(The forty-ninth sermon in a series of sermons on Exodus, preached December 11, 2011.)

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. . . . 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. [1]

A wise professor says, “The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.”[2] He’s right.
A man renounces the Christian faith, but only after cherishing in his heart a way of life forbidden to a disciple of Christ. A murderer robs a woman of her life, the culmination of his heart rage. Only after lust overtook his heart long ago does an adulterer take another man’s wife. The thief’s work begins not by taking, but by fixing his heart on what belongs to another.
“The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart,” and the tenth commandment takes aim at the heart of the matter. Coveting begins in the sinful human heart.
What does it mean to covet? Noah Webster defines, “To desire that which it is unlawful to obtain or possess.”[3] Says one writer, “wrong desires enthrone in the heart what God has forbidden.”[4] Therefore, the Lord thunders, “you shall not covet.”
The commandment begins, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.” The word “house” does not mean just “dwelling place,” but a man’s family and possessions.[5]
The commandment continues by spelling out details. A man’s house includes his family, and especially his wife. Domestic happiness and godliness depend upon a man’s faithfulness to his wife, and a wife’s faithfulness to her husband. Therefore, “you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.”
A man’s house includes his possessions, and especially those essential for economic success, namely, his servants and work animals. An Israelite mustn’t crave in his heart what belongs to his more affluent neighbor.
The final words of the tenth commandment spell out the radical heart holiness God commands: “you shall not covet . . . anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Were it possible to banish covetousness from the heart, the desire to sin would end. Our lives would be marked by satisfaction – satisfaction with God and his commands, his provision, and his gifts – this would mark the life of the Christian man or woman. We call that satisfaction contentment, and a contented heart is the sole cure for covetousness.
Sadly, perfect contentment can’t be ours this morning. True, we’re redeemed, but we’re redeemed sinners. Our perfection – and that includes our perfect contentment - awaits Christ’s second advent. But here’s the good news - a considerable measure of contentment can be yours right now. Why? Contentment can be learned. Does Paul not say as much when he writes: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Philippians 4:11)?
Contentment is learned. No one has to learn how to be discontented. You and I know too well how to stoke the fires of bitterness and complaining. Human misery begins with discontentment. Our first parents are placed in a perfect environment. Yet, the serpent comes to Eve and insinuates that God’s not really so good. He offers her a “better deal.”[6]
Think about your discontentment: never enough money, your spouse never measures up (and neither do your children); you complain about your church, you complain about your job, and when unexpected gifts come your way, you wonder why you didn’t get more and sooner. Hardship comes and past kindnesses are quickly forgotten. Complaining, grumbling, worry, and bitterness mark the life of the discontented man. No one had to teach him how to be discontented.
But how do we learn contentment? That’s the question of the hour.
Contentment means, first, learning to live by faith in Christ.
Consider this morning’s New Testament lesson from Philippians, a prison letter. Paul, under arrest in Rome, writes without self-pity. Instead, he bids Christians to do what he does: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Paul’s joy is non-circumstantial, that is, his joy doesn’t depend on his geographical location. After all, God ordained Paul to serve him in a prison, not a choice assignment by anyone’s standard.
But what counts is not where Paul is, but where Jesus is - risen from the dead, ascended into heaven and seated at God’s right hand. Wherever Paul is, he knows that he is in the Lord. Justified by faith, he has peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He rejoices in the Lord.
Right now, believer, you are in Christ; you are “in the Lord.” Justified by faith in Christ, your sins are forgiven. Rejoice in the Lord!
Contentment means learning to live by faith in Christ.
Contentment also means learning to trust our heavenly Father’s provision.
Focus on Philippians 4:13, one of the most misused and abused verses in the entire Bible. Paul writes: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” I have heard people, especially youth leaders and motivational speakers, claim this verse as the basis for the conviction that you can overcome any problems that you face if you just have enough faith. Have faith and all obstacles will fall before you, like a line of dominoes. It’s not true.
If you believe that faith will vanquish every obstacle in your path, you’ll one day be disheartened. There is no promise of this kind here, or anywhere else in Scripture. The promise is that when mountains on every side hem you in, God will neither leave you nor forsake you. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” says David, “I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4). Wherever God places you, he provides; his care and comforts are at hand.
You may find yourself in intractable situations - circumstances that won’t change. A chronic illness – a rebellious child – an uncaring spouse – a difficult job you can’t leave. Most Christians find themselves at one time or another in painful circumstances impervious to change. When you do, go ahead, pray for God to change the situations; he may well do it – his mercy and compassion are great. But for his glory, and the good of his kingdom and your own good, he may say “no.” Whether yes or no, he provides, and contentment can be ours.
Don’t you feel Paul’s confidence in God’s provision? “I can do all things through him who strengthens me?” Still in prison; nevertheless, content.
No trace of coveting appears in these verses. Paul doesn’t resent the freedom of others, as if their liberty came at his expense. No grudges against those enjoying the comforts of life while he faces the hardships of prison. His joy doesn’t depend on the family and possessions of his neighbor. He’s content in his heavenly Father’s provision.
Listen to his testimony. “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Philippians 4:11-12)
How remarkable!
Godly contentment must be learned in times of want. “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low . . . I have learned the secret of facing . . . hunger . . . and need.” When there is little or no money - when a relationship seems irreparably broken - when our life circumstances weigh us down - when we pray and nothing changes – that’s when we must learn contentment.
Learning contentment in times of hardship doesn’t mean we don’t try to improve our circumstances, but it does mean we will not complain. We choose to trust God. And if circumstances do change for the better, we fervently pray that the lessons of contentment learned by suffering will not be forgotten.
Trusting and complaining don’t go together. We can either trust God or complain against his provision. It’s either one or the other. Times of want reveal just how much we trust.
But just as remarkable is the other half of Paul’s testimony. Godly contentment must be learned in times of plenty. “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. . . . I know how to abound. . . . I have learned the secret of facing plenty [and] abundance.” Wealth and health do not make a heart content. No matter how favorable our circumstances, we can always complain that things aren’t better. Remember the famous financier who was asked, “How much money is enough?” He replied, “One more dollar than I have.” Our appetites, unless controlled, will always exceed our capacity to fulfill them. Truly, “the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.”
Contentment can be learned, and it is learned as we live by faith in Christ, and trust in our heavenly Father’s provision. Next, contentment is learned by submission to God’s sovereign will.
The Bible assures us that God ordains whatever comes to pass, that he “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). When God’s obedient people find themselves in hard places, they can count on one truth: the situation is no accident; it is the good will of their heavenly Father who works in all things for his glory, the good of his church, and the good of his people. For his glory and your good and the good of God’s church, he may speedily deliver you from your trial, in a seemingly miraculous way. Praise him for your deliverance!
Or, he may choose to leave you where you are and as you are, but again for his glory, and the good of the church and our good. Praise him for his sustaining grace!
Think about Paul in prison. In his hardship, he rejoices in Christ. A dark place is turned into an arena of God’s grace. Paul learns that Christ is sufficient, and those who watch him see Christ’s sufficiency too. There is evangelistic power in godly contentment. How many Christians have turned their hospital rooms or difficult marriages or chronically poor health into an occasion for powerful Christian testimony?
My Aunt Martha struggled with poor health for the fifty years I knew her. I never heard her complain. A teacher, the time came when she could not spend an entire day in the classroom. So, she found work as a part-time GED instructor, helping poor dropouts obtain the equivalent of a high school diploma.
Eventually, the government could not longer fund her position. She met with her supervisor, and told him she would continue to teach without pay – if she could invite the students to come an hour earlier for a voluntary meal and Bible study. He agreed and students came. When her health required her to leave her position, some of her students continued to come to her home for tutoring. My Aunt Martha turned every setback into an opportunity to witness - something contented people do instinctively.
As we wrap things up this morning, two words to keep in mind as you learn contentment”
First, adversity – expect it. “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). We are delivered through tribulation, not from it.
No small part of the discontentment pervasive in modern America emerges from our conviction that we are entitled to a trouble-free life. David Wells puts it like this:

In the older world we left behind, people thought of adversity as inevitable. Adversity was a consequence of the fall for those of a Christian outlook. But even for non-Christians it was never seen as an unexpected intruder in life. It was never thought that life should be without pain. Pain, disease, setbacks, disappointments, and wrong done to us were all seen as part of our life in this world, part of its texture, a thread woven with all the other threads through the fabric of our daily experience. Adversity was seen, even, as a necessary component in life. Today we resent adversity as an interruption in our pleasure seeking, a rude disruption of our opportunities and our sense of calm. It is a gross injustice. Why should bad things happen to good people? Where is the justice of that? We are entitled to better. Indeed, we are demanding better! Adversity of any kind is unacceptable.[7]

Unless we acknowledge – even embrace – adversity, we cannot be content. We have no reason to expect that it won’t be our constant companion.
In adversity, we’re tested. When the pressure’s on - when the pain is intense – that’s when we put our faith to work. Things get tight, and we choose to entrust ourselves to God in Christ, convinced that he is at work in us and through us.
Jeremiah Burroughs writes, “Exercise faith, not only in the promise that all shall work together for good to them that fear God, but likewise exercise faith in God himself; as well as in his Word, in the attributes of God . . . What can you do by your faith? I can do this: I can in all states cast my care upon God, cast my burden upon God, I can commit my way to God in peace: faith can do this.”[8]
Two words to keep in mind as you learn contentment. First, adversity. Next, envy – don’t envy the good that comes to your neighbor. Our catechism reminds us that the tenth commandment forbids “the envying or grieving at the good of our neighbor.”[9] How easy it is to become bitter when we see others receive what we desperately want.
Make no compromises with envy; slay it before it rules your heart. And the best way of slaying it is by rejoicing with others. “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:12). Are you struggling to find employment? Rejoice with those who find work. Do you have a rebellious child? Then rejoice with other parents whose children are godly and mature. The remedy for envy is celebrating the joy of others.
Are you hurting because you’re childless? Don’t be ashamed of the hurt; take your cares before the Lord in prayer. But by all means – rejoice at the birth of every child; celebrate with happy parents. The remedy for envy is celebrating the joy of others.
Are you sad because you’ve wanted to marry, but the years have gone by, and it hasn’t happened? You be sure to rejoice with your friends as they marry. The remedy for envy is celebrating the joy of others.
Embracing adversity and repudiating envy are indispensable in winning the war against covetousness.
Three and a half centuries ago a Puritan pastor, Jeremiah Burroughs, wrote The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. It was rare then and it is rare now. But by God’s grace may it be found more and more in our congregation as we learn the great secret of godly contentment. Only contentment drives covetousness from the human heart. And it’s the heart that counts, for now as always, “the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.”
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[1] All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Dr. Henry Krabbendam of Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
[3] Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Retrieved on December 6, 2011 at http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,covet
[4] John L. Mackay, Exodus (Mentor: 2001), 355.
[5] Mackay, 354.
[6] I’m certain I owe this observation to someone else, but I’m not able to identify the source.
[7] David F. Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World (Eerdmans, 2008), 161.
[8] Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth), first published 1648, reprinted by Banner of Truth 1992), p. 219]
[9] Westminster Shorter Catechism, answer 81.

48 - Sermons on Exodus (20:16)

(The forty-eighth in a series of sermons on Exodus, preached December 4, 2011.)

Exodus 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. . . . 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.[1]

False witness is the malicious work of the human tongue, and the Lord forbids it. “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 12:22).
Sometimes we make the commandment read: “You shall not lie.” This is wrong. “False witness” is correct. True, the Bible condemns lying; there’s no mistaking that. But the commandment’s immediate concern is not lying in general, but a particular form of lying, namely, the lie that is told in the courtroom. “Courtroom justice” is the focus.[2] When you go to court to testify, you must tell the truth. You mustn’t be a false witness.
As one writer points out, the administration of justice in ancient Israel was a simple process.[3] No DNA samples, no fingerprints, no forensic teams, no video recordings. What counted was eyewitness testimony. In the witness’s hand rested the fate of the accused. The stakes in capital trials could not be higher: the witness’s words meant life or death. To give false testimony was a monstrous violation of the law of love.
In our own day, the courtroom is a remote and mysterious place. Most of us will never stand accused of a crime, nor will we ever testify or face cross-examination.
Ancient Israel’s system of justice was neither remote nor mysterious, but a public event, visible to all. Cases were decided at the city gate. Strolling in and out of town you watched justice administered. First-hand, you witnessed what was at stake in legal proceedings – accusation, testimony, judgment, and, if the crime’s severity merited it, execution. Every bit of the process unfolded before your eyes.
Joachim Douma asserts that two principles must govern our thinking.[4]
Principle number one: we must hate false testimony. No one should suffer at the hands of a false witness. In the Old Testament, Naboth was found guilty and killed, on the basis of false testimony (1 Kings 21:13; Matthew 26:59-61). In the New Testament, Jesus’ judges found false witnesses, and on the basis of their false testimony, handed our Lord over to death.
The false witness destroys lives. We must hate false testimony.
Principle number two: we must protect our judicial system by prizing the truth.
In the 1990s an American president lied under oath. His lie was one of the exploits that brought about his impeachment and, potentially, his removal from office. Many Americans were dismayed. Why? After all, his lying covered up private personal behavior that was none of our business.
What these Americans failed to recognize is that he lied under oath. There were certainly other issues, but none more important than false testimony. Any lie, any false testimony, strikes at the heart of our legal system; its punishment is justly severe.
Legal systems are corrupted in numerous ways, but the outcome is always the same: falsehood supplants truth. If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we won’t let this happen.
Let’s think briefly about the biblical legal system. Justices must not pervert justice by showing partiality or by accepting bribes (Deuteronomy 16:18-20, nor give preferential treatment either to the rich or to the poor (Leviticus 19:15). If an accuser bears false witness and his perjury is discovered, then he must receive the punishment that would have fallen on the falsely accused, even if it means his death (Deuteronomy 19:16-19). No mercy for the malicious witness.
If we are to be just, our courts – civil, criminal, and church – must prize the truth. “The whole truth and nothing but the truth” characterizes the godly witness.
But now we move from truth in the courtroom to truth in every area of life. Christians are God’s witnesses to the world (Acts 1:8). Because we have believed “the word of the truth, the gospel,” we are saved (Colossians 1:5). Only as we speak the truth do we have the integrity to declare the truth about God’s character, the God who cannot lie (Hebrews 6:18). We are witnesses to the gospel of God’s Son, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). So, of all people, Christians must use their tongues to speak God’s truth. Nothing compromises a Christian’s witness or tarnishes the reputation of God’s church more than a lie. A lie, any lie, betrays the God who delivered us from the dominion of falsehood. How can a liar represent the God “who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4)?
Let’s begin by looking at the assumption that underlies the ninth commandment, which is this: we should strive to protect the good name of our neighbor. His reputation should be of paramount concern. As Martin Luther warned, “reputation is something quickly stolen, but not quickly returned.”[5]
So, our duties include not bearing false witness against our neighbor, refusing to participate in gossip that is false, and, just as steadfastly, refusing to participate in gossip that is true.
Whoa! Wait a minute, you say. Of course I shouldn’t spread untruths about our neighbor. But what’s wrong with telling unpleasant truths about my neighbor? After all, it is the truth.
Here’s where we must stop and think about our duty to love our neighbor. A loving Christian must be able to say hard things. Love motivates him to speak to him about some of his sins. “Brother, if you can’t control your anger, you’re going to lose your job.” “My dear friend, if you don’t stop wasting money you will hurt your family.” “Sister in Christ, I’m concerned about your bitterness. Let’s talk.”
Love also moves us to overlook many of the sins of others, because life would be unbearable if we made a major issue over each of our sins and shortcomings.
Love compels us to confront the particularly destructive sins of others, even as we hope our neighbors would have courage to speak if we were putting ourselves into harm’s way. But love never compels us to talk about the sins of others to third parties in gossip sessions.
Think carefully before you decide it’s no big deal whether you participate in gossip sessions where the truth about another is being exposed. Don’t you have sins that you don’t want broadcast to the world? Don’t you have weakness that you would rather not see trumpeted in the streets? You expect discretion on the part of your friends. Therefore, you be discreet.
Our Larger Catechism puts it beautifully: We are required by God’s law to maintain a “charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, an unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them” (Westminster Larger Catechism, answer 144). We wouldn’t want less than this from our neighbors, and we shouldn’t give less to our neighbors.
One of my Christian heroes is Charles Simeon, Anglican minister of Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge, England from 1782-1836. Throughout his adult life he contended with two great temptations to ungodly speech. On the one hand, he was quick to anger, and in the heat of the moment was tempted to say things that could damage the reputation of Christ and his church. On the other hand, he continually faced hateful criticism because of his deep commitment to the evangelical faith. What a volatile situation: a man with a short fuse in a hostile environment!
Well aware of the temptation to what he called "evil speaking," Simeon wrote in a July 1817 letter words immediately relevant to you and me.

"The longer I live, the more I feel the importance of adhering to the rules which I have laid down for myself in relation to such matters.
"1st To hear as little as possible what is to the prejudice of others.
"2nd To believe nothing of the kind till I am absolutely forced to it.
"3rd Never to drink into the spirit of one who circulates an ill report.
"4th Always to moderate, as far as I can, the unkindness which is expressed towards others.
"5th Always to believe, that if the other side were heard a very different account would be given of the matter.
"I consider love as wealth; and as I would resist a man who should come to rob my house so would I a man who would weaken my regard for any human being."

The ninth commandment also forbids rash judgments.[6] Too often we make judgments about another person based upon scanty information. This sin can be as simple as taking sides in a troubled marriage, uncritically accepting the complaints of one marriage partner, and demonizing the other. We hear only one part of the story, and that part is probably intended to put your friend in the most favorable light and his spouse in the most unfavorable.
Rash judgments are tempting during political campaigns. The You-Tubing of American politics: A small part of a candidate’s speech is captured on video by his opponents, and put on the Internet. Do a little research and find that the words have been lifted out of context. We need to withhold judgment until we have the facts.
Church elders, civil judges, and employers are among the many who hold positions that require the careful evaluations of the words and behaviors of others. Duty demands we listen and refrain from snap decisions based on shoddy research.
Even the most careful and godly person will err in some of his judgments, which all the more points to the need for every Christian to be serious about the words he speaks. If the wisest among us fail, how cautious should that make the rest of us! How much each of us needs Christ’s forgiveness and the renewing work of the Spirit of truth to be at work in our life.
The ninth commandment also requires accuracy in what we say. Inasmuch as possible, our words must be accurate, conforming to the reality they describe.
One pastor reminds parents how important it is to demand accuracy from our children. He writes:

The temptation to lie is always present; the opportunities surface very early in the life of a child. Once a child begins to lie, habits of lying develop quickly. And not just telling outright lies, but also sinful words that distort the truth, such as exaggeration, flattery, and self-disparagement for personal advantage. Distorting the truth becomes second nature to the child. Therefore, it is imperative to teach young people to describe events clearly and accurately - always. [7]

Like every other virtue, accuracy of speech is a habit that is acquired through careful practice. And it’s a habit we should prize, for God has redeemed us to be a truth-telling people. His word commands: "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another" (Ephesians 4:25). We have been saved to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15)!
Finally, the ninth command requires that we keep the promises we make. We talked about this obligation more extensively when we studied the third commandment. So, only a brief review here.
We must keep the promises we make, and teach our children how important promise keeping is. It’s not easy. Few children learn quickly that every promise made is a point of honor. Their reputation and the reputation of God in the eyes of unbelievers depend upon their keeping them.
Without habits of truth telling, words like honor, integrity, and virtue are hollow indeed, and the course of one's life is set toward moral and spiritual destruction. Promise keeping is indispensable to the life that pleases God.
This concludes a very brief study on the obligations of truth. Control of our tongues may well be the most difficult demand of God’s law. I’m left with gratitude for my Savior - for his life of obedience and his cross. Aren’t you? His unyielding obedience to the obligations of truth he was won our righteousness. His shed blood God’s provision for the repentant lawbreaker, including the liar and those careless with the truth.
Forgiven people are changed people. As we trust in God’s grace, let us renew our own commitment to truth and to our neighbors whom God has called us to love. Join the Psalmist as he prays, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).
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[1] All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] For this observation and much of what follows I am much indebted to J. Douma, The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life. Translated by Nelson D. Kloosterman. P&R: 1996.
[3] Douma 314.
[4] Douma, 315.
[5] Douma, 317.
[6] Douma, 317.
[7] Kent Hughes, Disciplines of Grace.

2011 Huntsville Marathon

Thomas and I ran our third Huntsville Marathon together today. It was a pleasant day for a run. I met my two  goals - finishing before the course was shut down and not being transported by HEMSI.

Brian, Daniel and Michael McFadden showed up at the starting line to encourage me. What a surprise! Go Army!

I saw fellow Rotarians  Jeff and Christine Jones and Sandy Patel as I passed the Jones' house at mile 5. I almost quit the race when Jeff offered me breakfast.

I was satisfied with my performance today, which I attribute to my life coach, Lynne Wingard, who fed me fantastic lasagna last night. I also found Katy Kirkwood's chocolate ginger bread toffee cake to be a performance enhancing dessert.

As always, I met interesting people. A couple from Cabot, Arkansas celebrated their 20th anniversary today by running the marathon together. Their son attends school in Conway, the city where I was born.

I also met a retired school teacher from Fayetteville, Tennessee. Today's marathon is her 62nd since 1994. She has run at least one marathon in every state.

December 7, 1941

Seventy years ago today Japanese forces bombed American military installations in Hawaii. A day later President Franklin Roosevelt requested Congress for a declaration of war with Japan. 
 Listen to his speech.

His speech concludes:

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. 

With confidence in our armed forces- with the unbounding determination of our people- we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God. 

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

The Halifax Explosion - December 6, 1917

Ninety-four years ago today the largest man-made explosion prior to World War II occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two ships collided in the harbor, one carrying 2,300 tons of wet and dry picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton and 35 tons of benzol. The subsequent blast killed 1,900 people, and 10% of the city's population was injured. Read more about a tragedy that is largely forgotten in the United States. (Photos courtesy of CBC.)