InChristAlone
Thursday, December 22, 2005
A Content Life is a Godly Life
Galatians 2:20
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Bits and pieces from my journal:
"The life that I now live in the flesh"--This phrase implies that I have a responsibility. Christ lives in me, but I was created with a free will to choose how to conduct myself. Do I live this life "by the faith of the Son of God"?
I will be the first to admit that I do not always live by faith. I have been guilty of leaning on my own understanding. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that since Christ lives in me, spiritual growth will just happen over time. But I have been taught about the sovereignty of God along with the responsibility of man.
So how is this fixed? I have to get to the heart of the matter. When I am experiencing a lack of motivation to pursue godliness, I realize that my focus has gotten off of the Cross. My eyes have not been fixed on the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I begin to get busy and discontentment creeps in. My "problems" start getting bigger and bigger and the Cross gets smaller and smaller.
This verse in Philippians describes what living a content life looks like:
Philippians 4:11-13
"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Thoughts on these verses:
Notice here that Paul had to learn to live in this state of contentment. He had to learn to submit to the will of God, which was to give thanks in all things (I Thessalonians 5:18). He had to learn that his sufficiency was from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). He had to learn to avoid covetousness in his conduct (Hebrews 13:5) and lean on God's promise that He would never leave or forsake him.
I Timothy 6:6-8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."
Timothy as well as Paul stresses contentment. Look at these three little words in verse 6. "godliness with contentment"--Godliness comes first. We must discipline ourselves to submit and obey God--to be Christlike. Contentment is learned through walking with the Lord. Focusing on the Cross enables us to pursue godliness "with contentment." Timothy says here that a godly life should be a content life, and such a life is of great gain.
Paul states in Philippians 4 that he learned contentment. He was able to learn to be content because he submitted to the will of God and saw all that had been given him by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Here is what I saw:
How was it possible for Paul to have such contentment? Wasn't it because he "lived by the faith of the Son of God"? He had incredible faith. But where did that faith come from? Through Christ who strengthened him. (v. 13) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The power of Christ in Paul enboldened him to be content in every circumstance of life.
Paul's faith had to have grown for him to learn to be so content as he went through each of the circumstances of his life. I believe that his faith grew because his eyes were set on the prize. He was looking at Christ and the Cross, not Paul's insufficiencies or seemingly hopeless circumstances, or even countless responsibilities that had not yet been fulfilled. He had learned submission to the will of God and learned that His greatest treasure was Christ Himself. He alone is the source of all contentment and Paul learned that living a content life meant obeying and submitting to the Source--Jesus Christ.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Bits and pieces from my journal:
"The life that I now live in the flesh"--This phrase implies that I have a responsibility. Christ lives in me, but I was created with a free will to choose how to conduct myself. Do I live this life "by the faith of the Son of God"?
I will be the first to admit that I do not always live by faith. I have been guilty of leaning on my own understanding. Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking that since Christ lives in me, spiritual growth will just happen over time. But I have been taught about the sovereignty of God along with the responsibility of man.
So how is this fixed? I have to get to the heart of the matter. When I am experiencing a lack of motivation to pursue godliness, I realize that my focus has gotten off of the Cross. My eyes have not been fixed on the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I begin to get busy and discontentment creeps in. My "problems" start getting bigger and bigger and the Cross gets smaller and smaller.
This verse in Philippians describes what living a content life looks like:
Philippians 4:11-13
"Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Thoughts on these verses:
Notice here that Paul had to learn to live in this state of contentment. He had to learn to submit to the will of God, which was to give thanks in all things (I Thessalonians 5:18). He had to learn that his sufficiency was from God (2 Corinthians 3:5). He had to learn to avoid covetousness in his conduct (Hebrews 13:5) and lean on God's promise that He would never leave or forsake him.
I Timothy 6:6-8
"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."
Timothy as well as Paul stresses contentment. Look at these three little words in verse 6. "godliness with contentment"--Godliness comes first. We must discipline ourselves to submit and obey God--to be Christlike. Contentment is learned through walking with the Lord. Focusing on the Cross enables us to pursue godliness "with contentment." Timothy says here that a godly life should be a content life, and such a life is of great gain.
Paul states in Philippians 4 that he learned contentment. He was able to learn to be content because he submitted to the will of God and saw all that had been given him by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross.
Here is what I saw:
How was it possible for Paul to have such contentment? Wasn't it because he "lived by the faith of the Son of God"? He had incredible faith. But where did that faith come from? Through Christ who strengthened him. (v. 13) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." The power of Christ in Paul enboldened him to be content in every circumstance of life.
Paul's faith had to have grown for him to learn to be so content as he went through each of the circumstances of his life. I believe that his faith grew because his eyes were set on the prize. He was looking at Christ and the Cross, not Paul's insufficiencies or seemingly hopeless circumstances, or even countless responsibilities that had not yet been fulfilled. He had learned submission to the will of God and learned that His greatest treasure was Christ Himself. He alone is the source of all contentment and Paul learned that living a content life meant obeying and submitting to the Source--Jesus Christ.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Obedience over sacrifice
I Samuel 15:17-23
"And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?"
"And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed."
"Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?"
"And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites."
"But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal."
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
Here is the setting for these verses: Saul was told by God through Samuel to destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions. Saul took his men and proceeded to carry out the word of the Lord. However, Saul and his people spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. They saved all that were in good condition, but destroyed the rest. The Lord spoke to Samuel about what Saul and his people had done. This grieved the Lord. Samuel was grieved by the news also and cried out to God all night long because of it. He got up early the next morning to meet with Saul. When Samuel came to Saul, Saul immediately greeted him with a blessing. I believe that he also assumed that Samuel had come to bless him for obeying the Lord. He was greatly mistaken. Samuel was there to uncover his sin. He did so by asking Saul why there were obvious sounds of sheep and oxen if they had destroyed them all. Saul then puts his sin on the people. (How often do we find someone else to blame for our sin? Remember how Adam and Eve both put the blame elsewhere?) Saul goes on to say that the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen in order to use them as sacrifices to the Lord.
He tries to "dress up" his sin. His attitude may have been similar to , "This wasn't really disobedience. I simply didn't want to do away with all these animals because I knew that they could be used as sacrifices to the Lord." He points out the acts of obedience by telling Samuel that they had destroyed everything else. (Notice that he includes his sparing of Agag as an act of obedience.)
These verses start with the response of Samuel. He reminded Saul that it was God Who had chosen him to be king and Who had granted him this position of authority. Saul had lost sight of the greatness of God by focusing on his own power as king.
The Lord had sent Saul a test. Saul failed the test miserably. He had not obeyed the Lord, but had allowed desire for goods to dominate his actions. He impulsively snatched up the goods he was told by God to destroy. This was evil in God's sight. Saul somehow thought that his actions were hidden from God. We can never hide our sin from God. There is no way to "dress it up" or even cover it up completely. Sin is sin. Rebellion and stubborness are both just as much a sin as committing murder. Even worse, we are trying to label our sin as something else that does not sound so harsh. We can't play tricks on God, but the truth is, we often try.
Notice that Saul included sparing the life of Agag as an act of obedience to the Lord. The Lord did not tell him to spare Agag. On the contrary, He told Saul to kill him. Was Saul so caught up in his sin that he confused it with the Lord's commands?
When confronted about his sin, Saul places the blame on the people under him. He distracts from his sin by pointing out theirs. They were the ones who wanted to take of the spoil. Poor Saul had been dragged into it. But was that really the case? No!
Something else from these verses grabbed my attention. Samuel reveals to Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. Saul might have had good intentions to sacrifice these animals to the Lord, but the Lord required him to be obedient, not to do what seemed right in his own eyes. Saul boasted of his sacrifices, but in all reality he had not even learned to be obedient to the Lord. Those sacrifices would have been given in vain.
I think of how this applies to obedience in the spiritual disciplines. I may be involved in all kinds of ministries in the church and serve in numerous ways, but if I am making those sacrifices of my time without spending personal time in God's Word, studying, and praying, and learning more about Him (being obedient), then what good are those sacrifices? I am doing more of what I think I should be doing or what I like to do rather than being obedient to what God has called me to do.
This application became so clear to me. How often do we confuse obedience and sacrifice? We boast of all the sacrifices we have made for the Lord, but we refuse to obey His commands. Too many times the Lord sends us a test and we fail miserably. We are too concerned with trying to make our sin look good instead of confessing and forsaking it. We avoid obeying Him because it would enfringe on our own personal gain. We would rather make what we call "sacrifices" than to have to leave everything behind and follow Him.(Matthew 19:16-22)
"And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?"
"And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed."
"Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?"
"And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites."
"But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal."
"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
Here is the setting for these verses: Saul was told by God through Samuel to destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions. Saul took his men and proceeded to carry out the word of the Lord. However, Saul and his people spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, and lambs. They saved all that were in good condition, but destroyed the rest. The Lord spoke to Samuel about what Saul and his people had done. This grieved the Lord. Samuel was grieved by the news also and cried out to God all night long because of it. He got up early the next morning to meet with Saul. When Samuel came to Saul, Saul immediately greeted him with a blessing. I believe that he also assumed that Samuel had come to bless him for obeying the Lord. He was greatly mistaken. Samuel was there to uncover his sin. He did so by asking Saul why there were obvious sounds of sheep and oxen if they had destroyed them all. Saul then puts his sin on the people. (How often do we find someone else to blame for our sin? Remember how Adam and Eve both put the blame elsewhere?) Saul goes on to say that the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen in order to use them as sacrifices to the Lord.
He tries to "dress up" his sin. His attitude may have been similar to , "This wasn't really disobedience. I simply didn't want to do away with all these animals because I knew that they could be used as sacrifices to the Lord." He points out the acts of obedience by telling Samuel that they had destroyed everything else. (Notice that he includes his sparing of Agag as an act of obedience.)
These verses start with the response of Samuel. He reminded Saul that it was God Who had chosen him to be king and Who had granted him this position of authority. Saul had lost sight of the greatness of God by focusing on his own power as king.
The Lord had sent Saul a test. Saul failed the test miserably. He had not obeyed the Lord, but had allowed desire for goods to dominate his actions. He impulsively snatched up the goods he was told by God to destroy. This was evil in God's sight. Saul somehow thought that his actions were hidden from God. We can never hide our sin from God. There is no way to "dress it up" or even cover it up completely. Sin is sin. Rebellion and stubborness are both just as much a sin as committing murder. Even worse, we are trying to label our sin as something else that does not sound so harsh. We can't play tricks on God, but the truth is, we often try.
Notice that Saul included sparing the life of Agag as an act of obedience to the Lord. The Lord did not tell him to spare Agag. On the contrary, He told Saul to kill him. Was Saul so caught up in his sin that he confused it with the Lord's commands?
When confronted about his sin, Saul places the blame on the people under him. He distracts from his sin by pointing out theirs. They were the ones who wanted to take of the spoil. Poor Saul had been dragged into it. But was that really the case? No!
Something else from these verses grabbed my attention. Samuel reveals to Saul that obedience is better than sacrifice. Saul might have had good intentions to sacrifice these animals to the Lord, but the Lord required him to be obedient, not to do what seemed right in his own eyes. Saul boasted of his sacrifices, but in all reality he had not even learned to be obedient to the Lord. Those sacrifices would have been given in vain.
I think of how this applies to obedience in the spiritual disciplines. I may be involved in all kinds of ministries in the church and serve in numerous ways, but if I am making those sacrifices of my time without spending personal time in God's Word, studying, and praying, and learning more about Him (being obedient), then what good are those sacrifices? I am doing more of what I think I should be doing or what I like to do rather than being obedient to what God has called me to do.
This application became so clear to me. How often do we confuse obedience and sacrifice? We boast of all the sacrifices we have made for the Lord, but we refuse to obey His commands. Too many times the Lord sends us a test and we fail miserably. We are too concerned with trying to make our sin look good instead of confessing and forsaking it. We avoid obeying Him because it would enfringe on our own personal gain. We would rather make what we call "sacrifices" than to have to leave everything behind and follow Him.(Matthew 19:16-22)
