Studies in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Well, we're here.  The introductions, helpful as they are, are behind us and we've come to look at the first of the Beatitudes, which really sets the tone for the whole rest of the Sermon on the Mount.  The Lord Jesus begins His pronouncement of blessedness by saying this: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). 

The first thing to be aware is a point MLJ draws on early in this chapter: "As I have already indicated in our last study, it is not surprising that this is the first, because it is obviously, as I think we shall see, the key to all that follows.  There is, beyond any question, a very definite order in these Beatitudes" (Studies, 33).  We're certainly not dealing here with any randomized word placement.  Just because we don't have all of Paul's (helpful) connecting "therefores" and "fors" doesn't mean that we shouldn't be keenly aware of the fact that the Lord of Glory is speaking and each word is placed in perfection.  So if this is what we're exposed to first, there is a spectacular reason for it.  Here's what Lloyd-Jones thinks about how these words open up to the rest of the Sermon: "This, of necessity, is the one which must come at the beginning for the good reason that there is no entry into the kingdom of heaven, or the kingdom of God, apart from it.  There is no one in the kingdom of God who is not poor in spirit. . . . We cannot be filled until we are first empty" (Studies, 33).

This reality about conversion and Christian living isn't "popular."  For my part, "breaking the ice" regarding sin with someone I'm sharing the gospel with isn't easy or, for the most part, a natural topic of conversation.  It has to be intentionally driven at, kindly, lovingly, and tactfully.  But it still has to be there.  There are some folks very much aware of their sinfulness and some who have seared their consciences so terribly that they won't even acknowledge an objective morality.  But somewhere on that spectrum of personal awareness, something has to be said to - at the very least - bring the point home that the person outside of Christ is a person with an account brimming over with sin.  And when that account gets cashed in, they're going to collect on it in hell for an eternity.  This is very bad news.  But, if we come to the Sermon on the Mount, and hear what the Savior is saying here, those bankrupt in personal righteousness are nearest to knowing their need for a righteousness that comes from outside of themselves.  Not doing better, not putting in more time at church, not promising to do differently.  But seeing the terrible reality that we've got nothing to bring before God except a need for forgiveness, a gaping hole of righteousness that needs to be filled, and pleas for mercy to grant both - seeing that and coming to God in all of our bankruptcy, that's the early goings of a miracle that sees dead men brought to life.

Knowing that the Sermon on the Mount begins with this kind of pronouncement should sober us to what follows.  We're not dealing here with calls for pulling ourselves up by the old moral bootstraps.  Instead, the Sermon on the Mount "comes to us and says, 'There is the mountain that you have to scale, the heights you have to climb; and the first thing you must realize, as you look at that mountain which you are told you must ascend, is that you cannot do it, that you are utterly incapable in and of yourself, and that any attempt to do it in your own strength is proof positive that you have not understood it.'  It condemns at the very outset the view which regards it as a programme for man to put into operation immediately, just as he is" (Studies, 34).  This is a call to recognize bankruptcy and come to the only one who can do anything about it - the King whose Kingdom those poor in spirit, in the real, evangelical sense of the term, are promised to inherit. 

Like the tax collector who could not even lift his eyes to heaven, for shame of his sinfulness, but only beat his chest and ask God for mercy on his sinful self, the Sermon on the Mount begins by declaring that the front door to real blessedness, to real happiness, to the very Kingdom of God, involves seeing our own desperate estate.  Lloyd-Jones gives us a helpful definition here to think about "poverty of spirit": "It means a consciousness that we are nothing in the presence of God.  It is nothing, then, that we can produce; it is nothing that we can do in ourselves.  It is just this tremendous awareness of our utter nothingness as we come face-to-face with God. . . . It is, I say, to experience to some extent what Isaiah experienced when, having seen the vision [take a look at Isaiah 6], he said, 'Woe is me! . . . I am a man of unclean lips' - that is 'poverty of spirit'" (Studies, 40-41).

At this point, I think one thing is very clear that the previous chapters have made clear, for good reason: what we find in the Sermon on the Mount is not a mere roadmap for "moral living."  Some may say they know a nice, upstanding guy who proves you don't need to "go to church" to be a good person.  How does he relate to this - poverty of spirit?  I'll venture to say that some of the hardest hearts in the world belong to those who see no need for a perfect righteousness, because they think theirs is pretty acceptable.  The poor in spirit inherit the Kingdom not because they wallow about, but because they know where their account stands.  True poverty of spirit is evangelical - that is, it has everything to do with the Gospel and what the Gospel does to us.

Let me close with these practical remarks from Lloyd-Jones.  How do you become poor in spirit?  MLJ: "The answer is that you do not look at yourself or begin by trying to do things to yourself.  That was the whole error of monasticism [where we got "monks" from]. . . . The way to become poor in spirit is to look at God. Read this Book [the Bible] about Him, read His law, look at what he expects from us, contemplate standing before Him.  It is also to look at the Lord Jesus Christ and to view Him as we see Him in the Gospels. . . . Look at Him; and the more we look at Him, the more hopeless shall we feel by ourselves, and in and of ourselves, and the more shall we become 'poor in spirit'" (Studies, 41-42).  This reminds me a lot of one of the most helpful sermon take-aways I can remember, dealing with the issue of humility.  Instead of answering the question "Are you humble?" with a proud "Yes" or a deceitful "No," John Piper directs us to declare this: Christ is all.  Humility does away with the mirror and looks to God, in all of His glory and greatness, and forgets about self-importance.  True humility is concerned to glorify God.  And true poverty of spirit is brought about graciously by God in the hearts of His people.  It is God-glorifying, through and through.

Poverty of spirit is not a one-time event - it's a characteristic that keeps with us, in greater or lesser degrees, throughout our Christian life.  It's not wallowing in self-pity, navel-gazing, or any other self-centered kind of business.  It is, as Lloyd-Jones said, a matter of beholding God, beholding His holiness and goodness and righteousness.  It's seeing, at the first, that our unholiness and sinfulness and wickedness has earned us only wrath.  But let me say this - after coming to know Christ, it means seeing that God's holiness and goodness and righteousness are all disposed to you for your good, as God has claimed you as His own and bought you - sinful me and you! - with the blood of the Son of God.  It is seeing the depths of our undeservedness and the sin that still dwells so closely within our hearts and feeling how utterly empty our hands are to bring anything but Christ as our Righteousness, clinging to Him, and finding that our poverty has been alleviated and our emptiness has been filled by Him.  As MLJ closes this chapter, "Then you say to Him,

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling.

Empty, hopeless, naked, vile.  But He is the all-sufficient One -

Yea, all I need, in Thee to find,

O Lamb of God, I come" (Studies, 42).

Lord willing, we'll move to the second Beatitude - concerning the blessedness of "mourning" and what that means - in the next couple days.  May you rest all the more in Christ's sufficiency to satisfy.

To God Alone Be the Glory,

-Chris

Parents: Keep Reality Before Your Children (Part II)

Our Vizio TV would seem to be conspicuously out of place in this picture.

A number of months back, I posted about "keeping reality" in front of our kids.  It's been just about a year since I posted that and, while being late isn't always better than never, in this case it is.  I hope.

So what was that post from the distant past about?  Essentially, it had to do with being aware of ways in which we might assume our kids aren't "catching" things.  Hey, Winnie the Pooh is great.  But if my littlest girl grows up thinking that she's missing her tail and will be really bummed out until she finds it, she's been influenced more than she should have been.  The thrust of that first post was largely in the negative: thinking about things that might be harmful.  And because each family has different convictions about what's appropriate for their children, I think it suffices to say: at least think about what might be influencing your children away from thinking God's thoughts after Him.

What I do want to focus on, though, is something I think is incredibly exciting and, I trust, a blessing for families young, old, or not yet started: how do we help our kids think about things in a God-centered way?  That's a big question and I'm not going to pretend you'll sever your boy's attachment to video games overnight.  And you're not going to remedy the princess obsession in three easy steps.  Parenting is designed by God to be a constant labor and it doesn't stop.  That might be scary for some of us and it might sound taxing.  But I'm convinced that, hard as it is, appealing to God for grace - sufficient, sustaining grace - our thinking about walking a harder path than DVRing Sesame Street and checking out can go from mental groans to excitement, anticipation, and thanksgiving.  Think about it like this: If we believe that we don't drum up our own resources to obey God's commands, but depend wholly on His grace, then that promise of grace extends to His commands to love and care for our children.  So, "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord" is, by the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, more than something that we know we should do, but only feel it hanging over us.  It's a gracious command for those who are in Christ.  So with that - and the myriads of other examples and commands in the Scriptures that call parents to love their kids by keeping Scripture before them - I'd like to start looking at some ways we can do this.

Before getting to specifics, let me just say: this is some untamed territory for a lot of us.  For various reasons, this generation of Christians has not had a consistent, beacon-like example of "practical godliness" in the home.  We've become so focused on ourselves and seeing family life as something to be "defended," that we've lost our bearings about what we should be proactively doing.  And while I'm all for saying what families "aren't," the church needs to get back into the business of encouraging them to be something special, holy, and reflect the calling God has on them.  So, here's to going forward and setting a positive course for honoring God in our homes.  I'm really encouraged to see a reviving of this throughout the church, as families crave more of what is so special about being a family that seeks to glorify and enjoy God together.  Movies like Courageous are gently cattle-prodding dads to take responsibility for their families and walk in accountability with each other.  Young men are catching a fresh vision for cultivating "family worship time" in their homes throughout the week, helping to avoid the Sunday to Sunday disconnect that is so common with busy lives and demanding jobs.  Praise God for this trend!

It's my hope that the posts to come about serving our kids in the spirit of Deuteronomy 6 - to keep God's Word before them when we're sitting down together, when we're out walking in the woods or at the mall, taking a walk or going to bed - will help you to consider some really practical ways to shoot for this in your home.  And along with talking about these things, I want to give you some steps to try walking in as well, little goals to aim for, that might help you put things into practice that, over time, might grow to be one of the greatest blessings you enjoy together as a family and something that your kids will give thanks to God for when they're starting families of their own.  

Before closing, let me add a special note here for those whose kids are grown and gone and those who aren't able to have kids or who aren't married yet: you've got a church full of families who want to get things right.  And when we do things like child dedications, we're committing together, as the church, to serve these little ones together.  While you might have heartache over time lost or time not had, I'd encourage you to think about how you might serve the families around you.  Not just by babysitting.  That might help.  But say hi to the little guy who looks like he's having a rough day.  Ask him what he thought of the sermon.  Ask how you can pray for a family or invite them over for dinner.  Teach Sunday school.  There's a man at our church whose primary ministry is greeting people and teaching "the darlings," none of which are his own children - but he loves to teach these little ones and interact with them.  The lines aren't always as bold between young and old, married and single, families with kids and those without, as we might think.

Lord willing, in a day or two we'll tackle our first family tool: Scripture memory.

To God Alone Be the Glory,

-Chris

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount: An Introduction to the Beatitudes

     Chapter three of Studies in the Sermon on the Mount is, like the previous chapters, another "introduction" of sorts.  I assure you, there's more to the book than introductory remarks!  Nevertheless, those remarks are helpful and give us good perspective and an orientation to the Sermon on the Mount.  I can't stress enough how important it is to flush as much sediment out as we (reasonably) can before coming to a passage like the Sermon on the Mount.  Because we're so prone to approaching this passage of Scripture and parceling it up, running away from it without finishing it, or separating it from the broader scope of the Gospel of Matthew, the New Testament, and the Bible as a whole, it helps.  Really.  So let's get going with a discussion of chapter three.

     The chapter title is "An Introduction to the Beatitudes."  Most of us know "the Beatitudes."  A good question to ask before approaching MLJ's discussion is "What are the Beatitudes?"  A beatitude, by definition, refers to supreme blessing, bliss, or happiness.  The Greek wording that stands behind each of our "Blessed are..." has to do with happiness, not simply a "good saying" or eulogia, from which we get our English word "eulogy."  We're not just talking about a blessing of good words.  We're talking about a state of supreme happiness and bliss.  While it's probably over-simplistic to substitute the word as such, "happy are" might help you make better sense of the "blessed are" statements that run throughout the first handful of verses in Matthew 5.  The Beatitudes give us a snapshot of the kind of character that marks out those happy in Kingdom blessedness.  And again, blessing isn't just what we get in a bank account.  It has to do with delight in God and belonging to Him, which the Beatitudes certainly help us understand and correct views of blessedness that stop at the wallet.

     Here are some helpful remarks from MLJ in the early goings of this chapter:

"Happiness is the great question confronting mankind. The whole world is looking for happiness and it is tragic to observe the ways in which people are seeking it. The vast majority, alas, are doing so in a way that is bound to produce misery. Anything which, by evading the difficulties, merely makes people happy for the time being, is ultimately going to add to their misery and problems. That is where the utter deceitfulness of sin comes in; it is always offering happiness, and it always leads to unhappiness and to final misery and wretchedness (Studies, 24)."

Though these sermons were delivered in the mid-20th century, things have only gotten worse in the vacuum of Western culture.  Fulfillment is encouraged in any other form, by those in positions of cultural authority, than satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The empty and perverse range of ways this plays out - from overwork at the promise of more money to the abuse of our own bodies in supposed self-fulfillment - is easy to see all over the media and hard to think about without cringing at, with so many promises of happiness that ultimately go unfulfilled and pave the way away from delight in God and harden the hearts of all manner of people.  It's sad and grieving.  And it's the reality of sin and its deceitfulness.

     As Lloyd-Jones says above, all of humanity wants happiness.  One of my favorite tracts comes from John Piper and Desiring God (whom I have benefited immensely from and would encourage you to give them a look if you're not familiar with them), called Quest for Joy.  The tract opens with this statement from the French mathematician/philosopher Blaise Pascal: 

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means theyemploy, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."

Pascal hits it right on the head here.  When I was in junior high and high school (those days that not many of us like thinking about), I was really mopey.  I didn't get what I wanted and because of it, I threw myself pity parties and tried to convince others that I deserved their attention.  And you know what?  Though I would have denied it at the time, because I wasn't truly converted until just before college, my pursuit of moping around and self-pity was a way of seeking happiness.  Like the sad last line of Pascal's quote, even those who appear to pursue things in abject misery still pursue what they do because, given any set of options, they choose what they want out of a sense that it is their best and happiest option.

     I think this is where we can get a better sense of the "happiness" in view here.  The happiness of the Beatitudes has much more to do with "bestness" than the smiley-faced sense of happiness we often think of.  "Blessed are" proclaims a state of preferment, bestness, and holy joy over those whose lives are characterized by what follows.  MLJ says: "The Sermon on the Mount says, however, that if you really want to be happy, here is the way.  This and this alone is the type of person who is truly happy, who is really blessed.  This is the sort of person who is to be congratulated (Studies, 24-25).  This is seriously practical stuff, folks.  Joy, happiness, fulfillment, contentment - things that elude us in the pursuit of stuff are said to belong to those who are described in the Beatitudes.

     One of the biggest problems with how people come to the Sermon on the Mount is the idea that "if I do such and such, I'll have God's favor" or "this person appears to be poor or humble, even though they aren't a Christian - this describes them as well."  And introducing the Beatitudes, MLJ continues to be vigilant about saying: No!  That is not the way it is.  Rather, if we consider the placement of the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, we discover this: it stands at the headwaters of conduct.  And the Beatitudes don't say: "Be humble and you'll get this."  Instead, they say "Blessed are..."  So let's be rid of the idea that we shoot for a beatitude and then it describes us and we have deserved the blessing of the Beatitude.  So MLJ says, "It is not right to say some are meant to be 'poor in spirit,' and some are meant to 'mourn,' and some are meant to be 'meek,' and some are meant to be 'peacemakers', and so on.  No; every Christian is meant to be all of them, and to manifest all of them, at the same time.  Now I think it is true and right to say that in some Christians some will be more manifest than others; but that is not because it is meant to be so.  It is just due to the imperfections that still remain in us. . . . Indeed, I think we can even go further and say that the character of this detailed description is such, that it becomes quite obvious, the moment we analyse each Beatitude, that each one of necessity implies the other" (Studies, 26).  From what I've read to this point, Lloyd-Jones does a very good job of keeping the context together and showing how the Beatitudes "work together."  Ultimately, "The Beatitudes are a complete whole and you cannot divide them; so that, whereas one of them may be more manifest perhaps in one person than in another, all of them are there.  The relative proportions may vary, but they are all present, and they are all meant to be present at the same time" (Studies, 26).  This is helpful to note - and to help us not to excuse ourselves in squelching out one area and favoring another.

     What MLJ continues with is, I think, the most important take away from this chapter.  The post is already getting a bit long, so I want to start sewing things up by bringing this out for you to think about and internalize, both to avoid a wrong view of what real poorness of spirit (and other things talked about in the Beatitudes) looks like and to glorify God for the genuine article and seeking Him for its presence in our own hearts.  Here's, then, what I think is extremely important for us to remember, not only about the Beatitudes, but the whole Sermon on the Mount:

"None of these descriptions refers to what we may call a natural tendency. . . . I cannot emphasize this too strongly.  No man naturally conforms to the descriptions here given in the Beatitudes, and we must be very careful to draw a sharp distinction between the spiritual qualities that are here described and material ones which appear to be like them.  Let me put it like this.  There are some people who appear to be naturally 'poor in spirit'; that is not what is described here by our Lord. . . . These are not natural qualities; nobody by birth and by nature is like this (Studies, 26-27)."

Now, how familiar does the following sound?

"This is a rather subtle matter and people are often in difficulty about it in this way. They say, 'I know a person who does not claim to be a Christian, never goes to a place of worship, never reads the Bible, never prays, and frankly tells us he is not interested in these things at all.  But, you know, I have a felling that he is more of a Christian than many people who do go to a place of worship and who do pray.  He is always nice and polite, never says a harsh word or expresses an unkind judgment, and is always doing good' (Studies, 27)."

Here's Lloyd-Jones' response:

"That is the kind of confusion that often arises through failure to be clear at this particular point. . . . Some of us are born aggressive, others are quiet; some are alert and fiery, others are slow.  We find ourselves as we are, and these nice people who are so frequently brought forward as an argument against the evangelical faith are in no sense responsible for being like that. . . . As people differ in their physical appearance, so they differ in temperament; and if that is what determines whether a man is a Christian or not, I say it is totally unfair.  But thank God, that is not the position at all.  Any one of us [referring to the Christian], whatever we may be by birth and nature, is meant as a Christian to be like this.  And not only are we meant to be like this; we can be like this. . . . [The Gospel] can take the proudest man by nature and make him a man who is poor in spirit. . . . Here are characteristics and dispositions that are the result of grace, the product of the Holy Spirit, and therefore possible for all.  They cut right across all natural states and natural dispositions (Studies, 28-29)."

     I don't know about you, but this is refreshing for me personally - because I know that there are those Beatitudes I identify more with and those I don't.  And the great reality is that I can appeal to God and say, "I'm not like this - my heart is callus in this way - and I need my heart worked on, to change it and make it more like what I'm saved to be, what is spoken of here."  It's not about self-effort or resigning because we aren't naturally one way or another.  I hope this is hope for you.  Because I want to be meek and I know I'm not prone to it "naturally."  The seed for meekness is already present, because we who believe "have died and our lives are hid with Christ in God."  And wrapped up in Jesus Christ, my old, sinful self is decisively put off, even as it is still being put to death, including my non-meekness.

There's a lot more in this chapter - and I hope you've read it or will read it.  Let me leave you, though with some closing remarks by MLJ, that serve for a good closing application/question section.  (As an aside, let me be clear: it's not only "do I want to be like this" that designates genuine Christian life - but it accompanies a faith that rests in Christ alone as our Righteousness, having come to a point where we have turned from our sin and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.)

"There, then, is the general account of the Christian which is given in the Beatitudes.  Do you see how essentially different he is from the non-Christian?  The vital questions which we therefore ask ourselves are these.  Do we belong to this kingdom?  Are we ruled by Christ?  Is He our King and our Lord?  Are we manifesting these qualities in our daily lives?  Is it our ambition to do so?  Do we see that this is what we are meant to be? . . . My immediate reaction to these Beatitudes proclaims exactly what I am.  If I feel they are harsh and hard, if I feel that they are against the grain and depict a character and type of life which I dislike, I am afraid it must means I am not a Christian.  If I do not want to be like this, I must be 'dead in trespasses and sins' . . . But if I feel that I am unworthy and yet I want to be like that, well, however unworthy I may be, if this is my desire and my ambition, there must be new life in me. . . Let every man examine himself (Studies, 32)."

To God Alone Be the Glory,

-Chris

In Praise of Precious Little Girls

     I love being a dad.  And I love being a dad of two little girls.  Now, one reason I can love being a dad of two little girls is that my wife is the best mother I know and takes care of these little ones remarkably well.  God has made my wife to do this and she shows it in the patience, care, and steadiness she has with our Lydia and Susannah.  So before I talk about my little girls, let me offer praise to God for the best wife and mother I know, my sweet Rosalie.

     While I'm not Mr. Northwoods, I'm still a man who likes watching the NFL Draft, college basketball, and This Old House.  I appreciate Bob Uecker's ability to narrate a homerun.  But I very much love being able to care for two little ones whom I have no illusions of forcing into softball or basketball, even though they're genetically predisposed to be recruited by any girls volleyball or basketball coach with a tape measure.  There is great joy in embracing masculinity and femininity according to God's good design, a design that includes pretty dresses for little girls and lessons in leading for little boys.  And I have to say, as I watch my little girls grow up, my heart melts in love over them and to God for how He has designed them and in earnest hope of God giving their sinful hearts a saving interest in Christ.  As a dad, I can't imagine a sweeter, more solemn responsibility than caring for their souls and loving their mommy.  It's a joy.

     Part of that joy is the little things that reflect the little personalities that are developing before our eyes.  I wanted to share that this morning, in tribute to my eldest daughter, Lydia.  She makes me laugh and smile.  And sometimes she frustrates me, because her personality is much more like mine than my wife's.  (As an aside: Isn't that how it usually works?  Be careful, parents - a lot of times, the  things that frustrate you most in your kids are reflections of your own sin in them.)  And in honor of my little girl, who will be turning four in just under a month, I'd like to share two sweet stories about her that happened yesterday.

     While meeting with someone yesterday afternoon, my wife called to ask me to pick up something at the store on the way home.  In the midst of her request, she told me she had to go because Lydia cut her finger.  Lydia tends to take things like scrapes and memorialize them for days by telling others of her grievous injury.  So it concerned me that my little girl cut her finger.  When I got home, I found this picture on the refrigerator:

I'm a very sentimental guy.  And there's something about the drawings my little girls make - even little scribbles on scrap paper - that makes it very hard for me to do anything other than put them in a special drawer and smile at them.  So seeing what my little girl made for me - and how she cut her little finger - was really a precious thing.  The above picture is one in a series of the best pieces of art I've ever received, because the artist is so special to me.  That same affection is an echo of the great love and affection that God has for His children, whom He has purchased and adopted.  How great is His love for His people!

     The second story involves some clothes that my wife had drying on hangers and Lydia's imagination.  She's a very creative, bright little girl.  And apparently, she decided to pretend that she was in a fashion boutique somewhere (and this is where I have no idea how she came up with this).  The following is her one-sided conversation regarding the said clothes:

Lydia: "I went to the lady and I said, "How much to look fabuluous?"  And I couldn't believe it, she said, "Eight dollars.  Nine dollars for some moms, six dollars for other moms, but eight dollars for you.""

She then preceded to talk about how "fabulous" things would be and how great a deal it was, all in a really excited, bubbly way.  Wow.

All of this to say: I love my girls.  And while I lose my patience with them some times and need to discipline them for their good on a fairly regular basis, serving God's cause toward our children is a wonderful, enjoyable thing.  So parents: love your kids, frame their artwork, and write down their stories.  Read God's Word to them, train them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, and hate their sin.  In all of it, enjoy and glorify the God who gave them to you - for their good and yours.  And please, pray for the salvation of our little girls.

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount: General View and Analysis

     Chapter two finds us revisiting the general "sense" of the Sermon on the Mount, in order to avoid what Lloyd-Jones considers a stumbling block that, while not particular to this passage of Scripture, certainly has its share of difficulties: "missing the wood (or forest, for us American folks) for the trees."  Before we get to what MLJ has to say about the "sense" of the Scripture - and its really quite good and worth some serious thought - I want to take a few moments to address this concern and explain why its helpful to keep big, panorama, poster views of Scripture as we work through smaller sections bit by bit.

     My habit in personal devotional time for the past number of years had been to work through whole books of the Bible, verse by verse or passage by passage, over a number of weeks/months, depending on the size of the book.  For my part, I've found this to be incredibly valuable, as I'm brought to passages of Scripture I would otherwise be tempted to skip.  It "keeps me honest" to bringing myself face to face with what God says, rather than trusting my own ideas and emotions to direct me around the Bible.  While Lloyd-Jones preached on some serious topics (his book Spiritual Depression comes to mind as thoroughly helpful to lots of people), he also worked through books and passages methodically, squeezing honey out of the honeycomb and preaching sermons that leave you feeling full.  Good preaching is good preaching, regardless of its relationship to a "series."  And I love going from "cover to cover" if possible.  But one of the perils of preaching - or reading and hearing - that way is the tendency to get so caught up in the details that one misses the thrust of the bigger picture.  Taking a boat out and chasing after a particular fish is liable to get you lost at sea if you aren't mindful of your place in relation to the shore.  Sadly, removing passages of Scripture from their context and becoming on an expert of one statement while ignoring everything else around it is prime real estate to sink some strange building foundations into.  A classic misrepresentation out of the Sermon is Matthew 7:1.  It seems there are millions of people who can pull "Judge not, that you be not judged" out of a hat, while shuddering to hold Matthew 7:23 (I'll leave it for you to look that one up) with the same kind of grip.  So we need context, context, context to keep us oriented as we look at the potent words of the Sermon on the Mount.  If it seems like two "intro" chapters are too much, just keep in mind how important it is to get an idea of the land's lay before trekking it.

     Here in Wisconsin, some people stake out their driveways so that they know where the boundaries are for shoveling (for the more adventurous and those with backs that can handle it) or snowblowing (for those who can enjoy that helpful invention).  As this chapter unfolds, MLJ offers some really helpful remarks that help us orient to what will come, so we don't start snowblowing our lawns and make a big mess.  What makes those remarks helpful is our need to have some assumptions addressed and misunderstandings cleared up that we all bring to the table, particularly things we're just unaware we assume.  So, as I hope you're taking the opportunity to read through the book too, I'm just going to haul out a couple things that I found helpful as I read this chapter:

• Though it may not be as "argued" as some of Paul's letters, MLJ suggests that there is "a kind of logical sequence in this Sermon."  He continues: "Our Lord does not say these things accidentally; the whole thing is deliberate.  Certain postulates are laid down, and on the basis of those, certain other things follow.  Thus I never discuss any particular injunction of the Sermon with a person until I am perfectly happy and clear in my mind that that person is a Christian.  It is wrong to ask anybody who is not first a Christian to try to live or practise the Sermon on the Mount.  To expect Christian conduct from a person who is not born again is heresy.  The appeals of the gospel in terms of conduct and ethics and morality are always based on the assumption that the people to whom the injunctions are addressed are Christian" (Studies, 17).  This statement rankled my feathers (that is, if I actually had feathers) a bit.  Because I do think there's a place for setting out Christian ethics and morality before an unbeliever in order for them to get the sense of what the Christian life is about.  Unfortunately, our culture has passed the point where everyone really knows what a Christian is and does.  But, where MLJ is spot-on is in the sense that we should not expect a non-Christian to be able to come to this passage and fake the Christian life.  To do so guts the Christian life and turns it into graceless self-effort.  Further, throughout the Bible, the people of God are called to "act as what they are."  So when the people of Israel are led out of Egypt, they're not just told to go and do a bunch of things that are moral.  They're told that because God has delivered them and He is their God, that they are to live in a certain way.  There's a bankroll of grace paying out for the whole Christian life.  And the Sermon on the Mount is in the same territory.  If someone comes to this and thinks it's a piece of cake, they're either self-deluded or aren't hearing what Jesus has to say.  This clarification is really helpful for me, so I don't lose sight of the need for the Holy Spirit to fuel my obedience by faith.

• The kind of life that we're called to live, described in the Sermon on the Mount, is a life that is ripe with the blessing of God.  I'm not thrilled that I have to qualify that, but with so many running around claiming that the blessing of God has to do with gold dust falling from the ceiling or people clucking like chickens, not to mention people who suggest that the best part of life now is good parking spots, big backyards, and promotions at work, let me be clear: the blessing of God, while it may include material prosperity, is not only that.  And biblically, it meant a whole lot more about the Kingdom of God growing and seeing men and women and little boys and little girls brought into that Kingdom and growing in godliness and loving God and loving each other and sin being killed.  So, there's my qualifier.  Anyways, Lloyd-Jones makes a statement that I think is very true, seldom thought about, and absolutely helpful for us to come with expectantly as we begin studying through the Sermon on the Mount: "Here is the life to which we are called, and I maintain again that if only every Christian in the Church today were living the Sermon on the Mount, the great revival for which we are praying and longing would already have started.  Amazing and astounding things would happen; the world would be shocked, and men and women would be drawn and attracted to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Studies, 23, my emphasis).  The thought of this really excited me.  Because we pray for conversions, for homes that reflect the glory of God, for churches that are healthy.  How might God be pleased to bless - apart from the blessing that is already part of growing in godliness - the church that really takes His Word seriously, seriously enough that we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, that we hunger and thirst after righteousness and examine ourselves for the sin that we would address another believer about?  Not to mention - magnifying the glory of God as clearer lenses for His glory to shine through in this world.

I'm excited to see God working in me and through me over the coming weeks.  I won't come out the other side of this book having "arrived."  But I trust that God's grace will be at work and I hope that you'll join me through this study.  Lord willing, we'll look at "An Introduction to the Beatitudes" (the "Blessed are... statements) Friday or Saturday.  Feel free to fire off any questions or comments below.

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount : General Introduction

     MLJ's first chapter on the Sermon on the Mount is an introduction, answering questions regarding the "Why?" and the "How?" that will inform the rest of the series and addressing various misunderstandings of the Sermon.  It doesn't constitute a full-blown methodology and it doesn't dismantle all the wrong, yet popular notions attached to this passage.  But it mentions them and does so for the very reason why reading this introduction is as important as it was to preach this matter to begin with: to set a fresh table, as it were, and to start off recognizing assumptions about the matter that so much time will be focused on.  For Lloyd-Jones, it meant dozens of weeks addressing these three chapters in Matthew.  An introductory sermon is certainly called for.

     If you've ever been around a higher-end fragrance counter at a store (sorry, Stetson and Axe guys), you'll probably notice little jars of coffee beans around the place.  I like the smell of coffee beans.  And, apparently the folks who market fragrances like them too.  But they aren't out there merely for the sake of smelling good.  They're there because the fragrance sellers recognize a unique property of the bean: it helps reset your sense of smell.  And MLJ's introduction to what follows is helpful for us in the same way.  We must ask ourselves, as this chapter draws out, What assumptions do I bring to the table regarding this pivotal passage?  Have I been influenced in any significant ways regarding the character of this sermon?  Its audience?  Its Author?  Its place in the scheme of redemption?  As we ask these questions, our spiritual "sniffer" will be on the track to being reset, in order that we might find a truer fragrance of this remarkable passage.

     Lloyd-Jones' first major observation in this chapter is more true today than it was decades ago when first preached.  "I do not think it is a harsh judgment to say that the most obvious feature of the life of the Christian Church today is, alas, its superficiality. . . . I am thinking not only of modern evangelistic activities as compared and contrasted with the great evangelistic efforts of the Church in the past. . . but I also have in mind the life of the Church in general where the same thing is true, even in such matters as her conception of holiness and her whole approach to the doctrine of sanctification" (Studies, 6).  Citing this as a reason for preaching through the Sermon, MLJ digs deeper into the superficiality he detected in the Church: "For myself I would suggest that one main cause is our attitude to the Bible, our failure to take it seriously, our failure to take it as it is and to allow it to speak to us" (Studies, 6, my emphasis).  At the core, MLJ suggests that our relationship to the Scriptures stands behind this sense of being "a mile-wide and an inch-deep."

     Is this a fair assessment?  Is it because we don't take the Bible seriously that we seem to have rather unhealthy believers in unhealthy churches?  Isn't it true that, if anything, the unity in evangelicalism centers on a common confession of the Bible's inerrant, divinely inspired origin and character?  How can that stand behind these issues?  While there are certainly numerous contributing factors, I think Lloyd-Jones is right when he traces things back to this.  See, it's not sufficient to say a good deal about revering the Scriptures and holding behind one's back, in a clenched fist, an allegiance to our "feelings" about things or the authority of our own experience to interpret the Bible.  For my part, it's easy to talk about blessing persecutors or loving my enemies when I'm not feeling particularly hard-pressed by anyone.  It's another matter to, by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, seek to love those who have caused me pain.  And it's like this, I am sure, because I am willing to make excuses for myself.  I'm willing to overlook such a penetrating passage of Scripture as this, in order to excuse away my unwillingness to submit joyfully to what is the pattern I was saved to be shaped to.  And that, I suggest, is a primary reason I need to come to the Sermon on the Mount and listen - listen - to what Almighty God, come in the flesh, has to say about life in the Kingdom.  It's not the only place, by any means, to listen, for all of Scripture is beneficial for us.  But this passage is so wonderfully condensed and so easily remembered for many of us who grew up hearing bits and pieces from it and it was delivered with such an intent as to show us the pattern for godliness that those belonging to the Savior are to inhabit.

     There are certainly wrong views out there about this passage, popular and serving as real wool over the eyes of people who think of Christianity in a perverse way because they've got their idea of Christianity from a polluted view of this Sermon.  Here are a few that might be familiar to you:

• Doing the things described in the Sermon make one a Christian or, at the least, acceptable to God and a "good person."
• The sum and substance of Christianity is to live out these "principles" and reject what Paul and other apostles had to say.
• These principles "outweigh" the Law of the Old Testament and even contradict it.
• The New Testament, even this passage, reveals a different God than the God of the Old Testament.
• The Sermon on the Mount only had to do with Jewish Christians and doesn't apply to modern believers.
• Judging others is wrong.

The list could certainly go on, I am sure.  But I know that in sharing the Gospel with folks, a good deal of the misunderstandings of what the Gospel is and does and what the Christian is and does has been provoked by abuses of this very passage.  And yet, as MLJ is keen to point out, "The Sermon on the Mount was preached primarily and specifically to the disciples" (Studies, 10)!  It has no business on the doorstep of a non-Christian because its contents are completely outside the realm of being replicated apart from the sanctifying and empowering work of the Holy Spirit!  "It is a perfect picture of the life of the kingdom of God" (Studies, 11).  Accordingly, "nothing shows me the absolute need of the new birth, and of the Holy Spirit and His work within, so much as the Sermon on the Mount.  These Beatitudes crush me to the ground.  They show me my utter helplessness.  Were it not for the new birth, I am undone" (Studies, 13).  How true, how true!  And yet, how blessed to see the contours we're designed for as Christians and appeal to God for grace to be pressed into them!

So, we need our palettes cleansed from wrong views of this passage and we need a good perspective on it.  These reflections are not intended to duplicate every word of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' work, but to provide some thoughts on what he laid out.  There's much more in this introduction than I've time or care to draw out.  But, before leaving some closing questions, I want to say that I am in great need of coming to the Sermon and listening.  Not mindlessly, not without an awareness of the context, not emptying my mind of its contents and coming back to "basics."  But listening with seriousness to the words of the Lord of Glory, who gave us so good a gift in His Word, including the Sermon on the Mount.  There is much to be enjoyed here and I am looking forward to it.


Questions for Reflection:

• What assumptions do I have about the Sermon on the Mount?
• What are some notions that I have about the Sermon that might need to leave?
• What are some ideas about the Sermon that unhelpfully stand in the minds of unbelievers you've shared the Gospel with?
• Do you think MLJ is right about this Sermon being addressed to believers?
• What are you looking forward to about studying through the Sermon on the Mount?

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris

Introducing : Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

While I've lacked some consistency in getting posts out (a post every couple months probably qualifies for that!), I've thought it time to get writing online with some regularity.  To help keep the iron in the fire, I'm enlisting the aid of Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.  Lord willing, over the coming weeks I'll be posting reflections on the book in a study-review format.  Each chapter is fairly short and easily managed in a day, making it a great book to enjoy like this.  If you're up to it, I'd invite you to join me in reading this gem by Lloyd-Jones.

Who was Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

I don't mean to write a whole biography here [Iain Murray has done this admirably in his two-volume work, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years (1899-1939) and D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith (1939-1981); I'm excited to get to reading them with my wife at some point in the near future.  Iain Murray knew Lloyd-Jones well and I have greatly benefited from his other histories and biography of Edwards], though I think it important to give an idea about the man who stands behind the exposition written down in Studies in the Sermon on the Mount.  David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a Welshman, was trained as a physician prior to entering pastoral ministry.  He labored for decades as a champion of the style of preaching known as expository and held the standard for faithful, biblical pulpit ministry during a time when a great deal of compromise in evangelicalism was afoot in the name of cultural engagement.  His commitment to opening the Word to God's people helped set the table for men like John Piper and John MacArthur.  His stand for truth and biblical integrity during the adolescent years of the evangelical movement, while coming at a cost personally, stood as a guidepost for discerning Christians.  And, by the gracious gifting of God, he was arguably one of the greatest preachers of the twentieth century.

Why Studies in the Sermon on the Mount?

Let me begin by saying that to this point, I have greatly enjoyed most everything I've gotten to read or hear by Lloyd-Jones.  The man's concern to unfold the Word is refreshing to the soul.

I picked up Studies earlier this year and began reading it regularly the past few days.  In short, I need to be reading this book right now.  When I was first converted, I loved Matthew's Gospel.  Coming from a mainline Protestant background, the book resonated with me.  I had grown up with a "moralistic" view of the book, giving guidelines for right and wrong, yet lacking the right context - both personally, as an unregenerate person and biblically, as the book was divorced by liberalized "do-good" theology from the rest of the Scriptures.

Sadly, no passage of this Gospel is as abused on a consistent basis and used to justify some off-base understandings of the gospel and Christian living as chapters five through seven, the Sermon on the Mount.  Is it just a handbook for living peacefully in the world?  Are we really supposed to not "judge" others?  Is the Old Testament obsolete?  Does living the "moral principles" alone make one acceptable to God?  The answer to all of those questions is a clear no.  But why?  And why do many gravitate to these ideas and appeal to the Sermon on the Mount to justify them?  Looking at the Sermon rightly - which Lloyd-Jones helps us do - is critical to answer the frequent assaults on this precious passage of Scripture.

To be clear, while there is benefit in re-understanding a passage that, for many of us, has taken on a contorted shape because of a radically out of context understanding of it, there is much greater benefit in approaching this passage of Scripture in order to benefit from it proactively and hear the magnificent ethics belonging to the Kingdom of God spelled out for its citizens, those qualities and characteristics that are the contours for those who belong to Christ and have been justified through faith in Him.  As Lloyd-Jones suggests, "It is a perfect picture of the life of the kingdom of God."  These few chapters convey that picture in a clear, concise, albeit condensed way.  The Sermon on the Mount is certainly not the only passage of Scripture to camp out on, neither ought it be removed from its biblical context.  But held in context and opened up in exposition, what a sparkling jewel out of the treasure box of Scripture do we have here to consider!

Finally, on a personal level, I find that I am in great need of returning to this passage after years of detoxing from the moralistic Christianity of my youth.  I am eager to approach this passage and find the refreshment and nourishment which the Lord Jesus intended it to be.  And I am also eager to be challenged by this passage that confronts my selfishness and sin, by laying out a Kingdom ethic that I am completely unable to attain to except by the very power of the Spirit of Christ at work in me.  I long to be a more loving man, toward my children, my wife, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and, ultimately, toward God - who, to love more, sets the table for loving others rightly.  For these and many other reasons I am convinced that dialing up a sustained number of weeks on the Sermon is needed.  And I am joyfully looking forward to the growth in godliness that God, by His grace, is sure to work in this.

Lloyd-Jones' commitment was to expounding Scripture - unfolding it, opening it up, taking the people of God into the mines of the truth of God and bringing out riches of grace to serve them with.  This book, like all of his (I believe), is a compilation of sermons preached.  With him, "I am profoundly convinced that the greatest need of the Church today is a return to expository preaching."  It is because in such a way of preaching, the Bible is given to speak for itself, in all of its remarkable clarity, honoring the Author who is pleased to bless the faithful opening of what He has given to His people.  I would ask you to consider, friend, what a journey through this passage might net your soul.  Let us not dare to think that, after spending even a number of weeks thinking upon it, that we have mastered this passage.  Christ alone is the righteousness of His people.  It is to His image that we who rest in Him are being conformed, by His own sovereign grace.  But O, to grow in conformity to His likeness!

I am excited for the weeks ahead.  If you don't have a copy of the book, tag along for a while until you do.  Most importantly, read the Scripture addressed for each chapter.  I'll plan to write it out as a "header" for each post, as it is the real content being brought out in each section.  And I'll probably try to hit a few chapters a week (there are roughly 60 in all).  My hope is that we (or I, if no one else is along for the ride!-the writing helps me think, focus, and stay on task) "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  Comments and questions (appropriate) are welcome.

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris