Paul's Favorite Trio in the Trenches

Sing along if you know the words:  "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor. 13:13) A modest estimate would tell us, I am convinced, that roughly two million people have, in the past five years, translated some portion of these words into a 90s script font and placed them into a picture of an ocean sunset. You can find them all on Facebook.

That aside, though, the trio of faith, hope, and love is certainly one of Paul's favorites.  He mentions this combination a number of times in his biblical writings, and it is evident that, for him, these are more than just pretty words or ideas.  They are the helmet and the breastplate for the sober Christian warrior (1 Thess. 5:8), essential defensive components in the chaos and struggle of Christian life. 

Consider the basis of Paul's thankfulness for the Thessalonian believers, taken from 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - "your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father."  These qualities were not incubated in a pristine bubble of comfort (read:  they did not pitch their tents in the candle aisle of a Christian book store).  There was hardship, persecution, confusion, difficulty - even from the very beginning (see Acts 17:1-9, for instance).  Let us look at faith, hope, and love in the above context, and see what they teach us about the commendable Christian life.

1.  Our faith must work.  We cannot mention faith and works without James' famous treatment in James 2:14-26 springing into our thoughts, can we?  The faith of the commendable believer is one that is active.  It is not content to rest upon the (presumed) laurels of (supposed) salvation; rather, the natural outpouring of genuine faith is committed action for the Lord.  A lazy faith is not one that will excite gladness from our spiritual family, and it will not fasten us to an immovable pillar of assurance, because true faith should naturally generate godly works (cf. 1 John 5:2-4).  The circumstances through which our God leads us are manifold and complex, but biblical wisdom and godly discernment always, always demonstrate to us how we can serve Christ in faith in a given situation. 

2.  Our love must labor.  Paul's word choice behind "labor" is kopos.  This is toil, exertion to the point of weariness or pain¹ - perhaps not the usual sort of idea when love is discussed.  Our love, both for God and for others (and it is difficult to completely separate those two objects; is it not?), should motivate us to lavishly pour out our energies in useful, selfless kingdom work.  The immortal words of David Brainerd, that earnest missionary of the 18th century, spring to mind:  "I want to wear out my life in His service and for His glory."  We live and work in the only kingdom that will never be overthrown; we enjoy the only salvation which is true and permanent.  We serve the only righteous Lord and life-giving Savior - what cause could clamor more loudly and rightly for the near-prodigal expenditure of our energies and zeal?  Put another way, what would we seek to withhold from ourselves for the sake of the love which God commands and implants?² 

3.  Our hope must endure.  We know from Paul that hope grows from the soil of steadfastness (Romans 5:3-5), and he explains here that steadfastness must also be a facet of that same hope.  True hope in the Christian world is never an uncertain venture, for it is grounded in the faithful truth of our immutable God - it possesses the element of expectation, not assumption.  Hope for the believer is always favorable.³  It is easy to see, then, how genuine hope can either set a believer up for devastating failure, or else carry through with them to victory for God's glory, in any given endeavor.  Hope that falters and comes short when circumstances grow difficult is of little use; it merely mimics one's emotional state when it should be driving one beyond the frustrating confines of emotional mire.  It has no weight, and is thus without momentum (simple physics teaches, of course, that momentum is the product of mass and velocity).  Hope's reality is proven in its endurance - true hope knows and believes in God's character and promises, and acts accordingly.

True faith, hope, and love, are serious pursuits, as well as powerful tools.  They require effort and endurance, and they will be tinged with the dirt and sweat of spiritual battle, but they will provide energy, direction, and protection, all from God, in our lifelong pursuit of Christ and His kingdom!



¹Brown, Colin. Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Vol. 1. Grand Rapid, MI:  Zondervan Publishing House, 1975. pp. 262-263.

²This is not at all to suggest that love should be given without wisdom or reck (e.g. giving the family house to a homeless man who shows up at your door).  Love must fall within the righteous confines of God's wise word, or it is not love at all, for it fails to love Him.  Make your love a wise, godly love.

¹Vine, W.E., et al. Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. "An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words." Nashville, TN:  Thomas Nelson, 1996. p. 310.

The Bold and Martial Livery of the Faithful Christian Soldier

A person can go through his or her whole life and not know what a ghillie suit is.  Indeed, you may read this and think to yourself, "Yes, and I would be quite content."  Indulge me but a moment, though, and be assured of a spiritual component directly.

Ghillie suits are wearable coverings intended to closely simulate natural foliage.  They are worn and cherished by military snipers, civilian hunters, and, inexplicably, by ardent proponents of a false and absurd machismo whose experience with foliage consists solely of removing it from their lawns with a rake and plastic bag.

That aside (I write with an admitted chuckle), the ghillie suit represents perhaps the pinnacle of camoflage (if not practicality), which is of course a pressing concern for militaries the world over, which endlessly seek to devise a better way to conceal their soldiers in plain view.  This is why, by and large, one does not see frontline soldiers parading about in bright yellow (although the clamor of decency and basic fashion might factor into this as well) - it does not trick the eye; it is not camoflage.  It will draw attention and thus draw fire (and ridicule). 

Now, when we picture the Christian soldier, arrayed for battle and attentive to the commands of our divine Captain, we see no camoflage.  This is a curiosity, for the battles that rage in the spiritual realm, and in which all of Christendom must take part, are for far higher stakes than territories or rights.  We fight for the good pleasure of our Lord - our long campaign is a running war to escape temptation, and we make careful forays into strongholds of darkness, seeking only the spoils of lost souls for our Lord's kingdom (Jude 23).

One would suppose, then, that we would desire to employ every advantage close at hand for this, the most important warfare in all the world, but interestingly, on these fields of battle, camoflage is entirely unbecoming.  Think what camoflage is in this case - if we Christians desire to blend into our surroundings, "camoflage" is merely another word for "worldiness," for our surroundings are the world of the unredeemed.

On direct opposition to this, we are exhorted in Ephesians 6:14 to buckle the breastplate of righteousness firmly into place.  We conclude from the defensive nature that Paul attributes to righteousness here that it is meant to protect us, and, of course, a moment's reflection will prove the truth of this.  The arrows of evil will always find their mark unless we strive for righteousness - the righteousness which comes from the power of God and is therefore sufficient to turn aside every treacherous barb of temptation. 

Naturally, the course of righteous living will render us conspicuous and will thus cause us to draw additional fire - just as the soldier who leads the charge or fights more fiercely will attract more attention.  Spurning the temptations that cause unbelievers not a moment of hesitation or consideration will turn us into objects of curiosity,and, many times, derision.  There are those who make it their duty to induce a Christian to commit those acts which are clearly sinful - laughing at the wrong jokes, reacting to verbal stings with anger, and so forth.  We know even that Satan was interested in Job even before God pointed Job out to him. 

It is ironic, then, that the unique characteristic that protects us is the selfsame one that causes us to need that protection all the more.  God has made it thus so that He may prove Himself both the only and the sufficient source of our strength - we will never do on our own what His power in us accomplishes so simply.  And God's strength, sent in righteousness and sent for righteousness, is indifferent to the stir and clamor it causes in realms of evil - if its presence serves to increase the volleys of trial, then so be it! This power turns aside a thousand temptations with no greater effort than it does one, and this so often defines the struggle of the Christian life, does it not?  So often, the biggest obstacle we face is simply getting it into our obstinate hearts that God's strength is sufficient and suited to the temptation of the moment, and letting this belief galvanize us to convicted action.

Apart from God's blessings, we wither under the slightest assault, but with His grace empowering our souls, we can stand firm and stand again, though the attacks against us are doubled, re-doubled, and brought to an ardent boil. 

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

     - Psalm 18:2

Simple Truth Entreated: The Response of Unbelievers (Part 5 of 5)

- Still others will declare, “I can believe in your God, but only as one God among many.”  I think you say this because you see there are many so-called gods in this world, and you cannot bring yourself to discount any of them, so long as people are worshiping them.  If people are sincere, if they believe they are right, then what right have we to declare otherwise?  Thus do we divorce belief from truth, for only when we remove truth is there room for so many opposing beliefs in this world.  Put another way, if people started to believe that two plus two actually equaled five, would this make five a viable answer alongside four?  Of course not!  It is preposterous, and yet we apply this very thinking to the spiritual world.   Real truth teaches, guides, and corrects, whether we refer to mathematics or theology. 

So we must honor truth, not beliefs.  Beliefs must be made to serve truth, and the Bible gives us absolute truth (John 17:17).  God says, “And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me.  Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.” (Is. 45:21b-22)

- And what of those who state, “I cannot believe that the world is as evil as the gospel portrays it to be.  It is filled fundamentally good people.”?  If this is so, then the world is in terrible shape for having such good people.  Turn the television to any channel, or watch any small child for a day, or look for any candid moment into your own heart.  Can you escape the selfishness, the excuses, the frustration?   Aside from this, we do tend to judge our own goodness in relativity to those around us, but the gospel calls us to examine ourselves alongside the standard of our divine Judge, God Himself, and this standard is perfection.  All have sinned, and thus stand in need of salvation from that sin.

- There will be those who maintain, “Of course I have sinned, but I will count on my good works for the Lord to save me.”   This was the folly of many people in Jesus’ time as well.  They relied upon adherence to a set of rules (some from the Bible, and some not) to achieve a righteous standing before God.  This adherence, however, was never enough to save people – remember what Jesus said to a religious leader:  “You must be born again.” (John 3:7b) Just as a baby cannot bring about birth through his or her own actions, so we cannot achieve for ourselves the spiritual rebirth needed to save us. 

A legal example illuminates – a man is caught in a murder.  He is seen carrying out the killing, his fingerprints are on the weapon, and he has confessed.  However, he declares, “I know I have committed this terrible crime, but consider also the volunteer work I have done all my life.”  Will the judge be moved to mercy?  Of course not!  Doing what is expected cannot cancel out doing what is evil.  Justice looks at evil deeds without reference to good deeds. 

Aside from this, even the deeds which we do apart from God, and which we would reckon as good works, are viewed in a different light by God, who counts our own righteousness as naught but “filthy rags.” (Is. 64:6) If it is not done for Him in obedience and love, then it simply no good, no matter what it is.

- Finally, some have tragically concluded, “I believe in this gospel, but I am afraid I have sinned too much for the Lord to extend His grace.”  May your despair turn to rejoicing, for the gospel was made – made, we declare – for such a one as you.  You need not fear that the power of your sin is somehow greater than Jesus’ omnipotent victory over sin, or that the depth of your sin is greater than His reach, or that the murk of your sin will overpower the radiance of His grace.  Christ declared in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”  He is faithful with those who come to Him.  Remember Jesus’ command for all to repent in Acts 17:30?  If the all-knowing Lord has made such a command, then He is prepared to honor and bestow grace upon those who do repent. 

What you say is true in that we cannot deserve grace.  However, this is the very definition of grace, is it not?  No one deserves it, but the Lord, who is no liar (Titus 1:2) offers it to all.  This is the humbling glory of it all, the unique glory that God desires you to see, to relish, and to respond to in repentance and humility.   To you, we say again, repent now!  Believe that God is able and willing to save you, and repentantly seek that salvation on His terms.  If you find yourself unable to believe this, honestly approach the gracious God of all and plead with Him to bless you, so undeservedly, with a true and saving belief in Him.  

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

 - Romans 10:12-13

The gospel is and will always be the most important matter of our lives, whether we are children of God or are outside His grace.  While we are here on earth, it is the matter with which we all have to do, for it can either save us and fuel us for a righteous, obedient life, or it can consign us for all time to an eternity in hell.  It is the sole point of connection which God offers to humanity that promises the riches of forgiveness and sonship with God, rather than the just and perpetual misery which our sin demands.  Praise, praise our great God for the glory that torrents through the gospel – for the grace and the wrath laid side by side, for the power that assures His purposes, for the ever-present and unassailable justice, and for the love that saves His children.  May all of our selfish objections, and all that we seek to withhold, simply give way before the wondrous gospel of Jesus Christ.

Simple Truth Entreated: The Response of Unbelievers (Part 4 of 5)

Simple Truth Entreated:  The Response of Unbelievers

           

If you are reading this and have not been saved from the just penalty of your sins by Jesus Christ, or if perhaps the force of biblical truth has removed you of all your certainty of your salvation, then do not barricade your heart against the saving truth of the Word  Repentance and surrender to Christ are your only rational recourse.  True, the gospel seeks to invade your sinful heart, to conquer it, and to change it as to make it utterly alien, but you must, you must throw open the gates and let it enter undisputed, or it will kill you someday, and for all eternity.  This gracious offer of the Lord, so real and substantial in this instant, will not endure even a hairsbreadth beyond your own life – what certainty have you beyond this brief moment? 

As Paul implored, “we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5:20b) We stand to gain nothing in this appeal, excepting joy, whereas you stand to gain “everything pertaining to life and godliness.” (2 Pet. 1:3b) Come; come now, before you draw another breath!  There is no matter of greater importance, nothing of truer urgency, than this matter of the sinful chasm between you and your Creator.  Do not wait for tomorrow when today may yet betray you!  “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31) To die without Christ is to be judged by Christ, without the benefits of His protection or intercession.  He will weigh out your sins, and will justly repay each of them, including the sin of reading this appeal and ignoring it.  You will find yourself consigned to a blind torment beyond the reckoning of art or science, a lonely agony unsatiated by the endless passage of ages.  Surrender all to Christ; admit of your guilt before Him!  Plead His forgiveness, and lay your very life at His kingly feet.

If we urge you in light of His grace, we also charge you on the basis of His sovereignty.  “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30b-31) God not only invites all to repent of their sins; He commands that repentance.  The day of judgment approaches, over which Christ will preside as proven, triumphant Lord, so the command has gone out:  repent now.  God has created this world such that He is Lord over all of it; He sovereignly issues His orders, and it falls to us to obey Him.  Fortunately, He is entirely wise, powerful, and righteous – we need not fear His leading. 

Many objections are commonly made by those who resist the gospel; let us briefly examine but a few:

- Some of you will say, “This is all well and good, but I simply do not believe in God.”  This is merely to say that you believe in yourself, for, as your finite mind cannot account for a God like the One revealed in the Bible, then He clearly must be a fabrication.  So you set yourself up as your own sure authority, and all your life is washed through the filter of your own good opinions.  Do you not see, though, how dangerous this becomes?  An earthworm could hardly conceive of a thinking, feeling, deciding, inventing human being, but this does not render human beings any less real.  Does an annelid’s inability to grasp music or technology make you or I any less real?  Surely not!  Rather, it serves to underscore the vast difference between a worm and a person.  

This vastness looms larger still between us and our God, and we cannot afford to dismiss this reality out of hand simply because it does not reduce to a comfortable human understanding.  In actuality, how disappointing would an entirely comprehensible deity be?  If God were such a one that could be understood completely, He would not be God at all, for this would fully assure us that He was a fabrication of the human mind.  Our inability to fully understand Him should not dissuade us of His reality.

- Some others will say, “Surely; I believe in God, but I cannot believe in your God.”  My friend, my God is the God revealed by the Bible; what better revelation of God and His character would you have?  Your own suppositions?  Another book, perhaps?  When science and archaeology have crushed countless so-called holy books to powder, the Bible stands conspicuously intact, a solitary monument in the midst of so much rubble.  Space does not permit a complete treatment of its enduring character, but I urge you, look into its history.  See how it has been preserved in the face of determined and repeated opposition.  Mark how its truths have not been altered, though it passes through centuries, through languages, and through cultures.  Note how it is the product of dozens of human minds from different eras and different nations, and yet it comes together as a cohesive whole.  You begin to understand that the Bible you hold in your hand is a startling book indeed – it is the revelation of the one true God to humanity, written perfectly by that very God through human agents, and preserved diligently by God against every feeble calamity and opposition that this world could muster.  To understand this book is to see our Creator as He has revealed Himself.