Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Dr. Michael Lawrence on what it means for a church to be “missional.”

I am a fan of succinct theology, so I am always excited to find a good clear explanation of something and pass it on. I am currently finishing Pastor Michael Lawrence’s (Ph.D.) book “Biblical Theology In The Life of the Church”, Lawrence has a very good explanation of what being a missional church looks like.

“Being missional is not the same as being committed to missions, or being missions-minded. Being missional is a way of thinking about the church and how it relates to the world. A missional church understands that the church does not go on mission, or send people out to do missions. Rather, the church is the mission of God into the world, in order to heal the world and reconcile people to God.” (205)

Just for clarity, Lawrence is not arguing that we stop doing “missions”. But, that’s all I am going to give you, so go read the book.

I highly recommend this book. I am currently reviewing it for PLANTD.COM.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

D.A. Carson – “The God Who Is There”

One of the books I am currently reading is Don Carson’s “The God Who Is There.” This book is a very good introduction the Bible and its major themes. I would encourage you to check it out.

Via Andy Naselli

On February 20-21 and 27-28, 2009, Don Carson presented a 14-part seminar entitled “The God Who Is There” at Bethlehem Baptist Church’s North Campus in Minneapolis. This series will serve the church well because it simultaneously evangelizes non-Christians and edifies Christians by explaining the Bible’s storyline in a non-reductionistic way.

The series is geared toward “seekers” and articulates Christianity in a way that causes hearers either to reject or embrace the gospel. It’s one thing to know the Bible’s storyline, but it’s another to know one’s role in God’s ongoing story of redemption. “The God Who Is There” engages people at the worldview-level.

And now MP3s (full) and video (10-minute previews) are available for Carson’s 14-part series:

  1. The God Who Made Everything | MP3 | Video Preview
  2. The God Who Does Not Wipe Out Rebels | MP3 | Video Preview
  3. The God Who Writes His Own Agreements | MP3 | Video Preview
  4. The God Who Legislates | MP3 | Video Preview
  5. The God Who Reigns | MP3 | Video Preview
  6. The God Who Is Unfathomably Wise | MP3 | Video Preview
  7. The God Who Becomes a Human Being | MP3 | Video Preview
  8. The God Who Grants New Birth | MP3 | Video Preview
  9. The God Who Loves | MP3 | Video Preview
  10. The God Who Dies—and Lives Again | MP3 | Video Preview
  11. The God Who Declares the Guilty Just | MP3 | Video Preview
  12. The God Who Gathers and Transforms His People | MP3 | Video Preview
  13. The God Who Is Very Angry | MP3 | Video Preview
  14. The God Who Triumphs | MP3 | Video Preview
Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Philosophy, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Evaluating Molinism: An Introduction to Luis de Molina, Middle Knowledge, and Libertarian Freewill

Introduction to Molinism

In the evangelical academic world there has been an increase of interest in the philosophical theology of Molinism. The primary point of interest in this system has been its claim to provide a philosophical framework for understanding the relationship between divine and human agency. The most notable proponents of Molinism in the theological world are Alvin Plantinga and William Lane Craig. In Southern Baptist circles, particularly at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, the main proponent has been Kenneth Keathley who has just published a book on Soteriology from a Molinist perspective.

Luis de Molina (1535-1600) was a Spanish Catholic Jesuit scholar of the counter-Reformation who developed the philosophical system known as Molinism. Molinism, in the broadest sense, is simply a libertarian resolution to the puzzle concerning divine foreknowledge and human freedom based on God’s supposed middle knowledge, which would evade determinism.

What’s most interesting about this subject is that Molina’s Catholic views on free will and grace have been far more influential in Protestant theology than most people tend to realize. I also think that the system as a whole fails to achieve what it promises. I have concerns about Molinism theologically which I hope to explore over the next few posts, for now I would like to simply introduce the subject in general terms focusing on two key ingredients, middle knowledge and libertarian freewill.

Middle Knowledge

Molina is best known for the philosophical idea of middle knowledge (scientia media). The Oxford Companion to Philosophy explains “middle knowledge” this way:

Middle knowledge [could be described as] God’s knowledge of what persons would do under any set of circumstances, which enables God to arrange for certain human acts to occur by prearranging the circumstances surrounding a choice without determining the human will.

In other words, it is God’s knowledge of conditional future events. The philosophical system of Molinism attempts to make God’s “way of knowing” intelligible by dividing it into three parts, middle knowledge being distinctive of this system:

  1. Natural Knowledge: God’s knowledge of everything that could happen prior to creation (the world God chooses to actualize). This includes all the possibilities within creation order. Simply put, God knows the range of possible worlds.
  2. Middle Knowledge: God’s comprehensive knowledge of what would happen from any creative decision He might make. Or, God knows the range of feasible worlds.
  3. Free Knowledge: God’s knowledge of everything that will actually happen in the created world that He actualizes. The actual world is often called ‘the best of all feasible worlds.’

What middle knowledge attempts to account for is that God knows what an individual will do in circumstances if grace is offered, and so he actualizes the circumstances to effect the cooperative action of the individual.

Libertarian Freewill

The philosophical idea of middle knowledge was developed during one of the more important quarrels to beset the Roman Catholic Church during the ‘age of reason’ over the relationship between grace and human initiative. Within the ‘bounds of Catholicism’ Molina developed a system which would attempt to preserve human free-will in response to Reformation thought. He wrote of human freedom as follows:

That agent is called free who, with all the prerequisites for acting having been posited, is able to act and able not to act, or is able to do one more thing in such a way that he is also able to do some contrary thing.

This quote espouses what theologians refer to as libertarian freewill. Libertarianism is a philosophical view that seeks to protect human free will by supposing that a free choice is not causally determined but not random either. In other words, for an agent to be free – that agent must be totally free to do the contrary and those actions are completely self-determined. Molina’s whole system was built on the foundation of libertarian free-will.

In Molina’s day his Jesuit views were considered Pelagian by his Dominican Thomist opponents. The Catholic Church in Rome, under Pope Paul 5th, refused to take a stand on the issue and declared that neither Thomists nor Molinists may condemn each other.

Final Thoughts

Again, this is an introductory post. Over the next few weeks I plan on taking certain elements of the Molinism system and evaluating them in more depth. Understand that Molinism has many facets, and in some cases Molinists do not entirely agree, I will try and make those distinctions when necessary. Overall I do have concerns over the theological foundations and implications of Molinism –as it pertains to the doctrine of humanity, Soteriology, the problem of evil, and other theological particulars.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Books, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Resources for Christian Counseling and Member Care

Over the past few months I have been meeting with some of the men from our church family to discuss the book Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. This morning we discussed pastoral care. When most people hear the words “pastoral care” they get the picture of a vocational pastor, or professional, providing care for people in time of crisis. In most cases this is true – because we have let it come to that.

The problem with this picture is that the body of Christ, the church, should be involved in communal care and discipleship before a situation ever reaches ‘crisis mode.’ This is what Chester and Timmis call preventative care. More than that, pastoral care is the responsibility of the whole body of Christ, and it is done in the context of intimate community. In most cases people are pushed to the pastor or professional counselor rather than being discipled in the context of a intimate christian community. I would go as far as to argue that the only reason the “Christian Counseling” ministry exists is because the church is not functioning as it was created to function. Counseling and member care is the job of the church community.

I agree with Chester and Timmis fully when they argue that:

It is our conviction that the gospel word and the gospel community do not fail us when it comes to pastoral care. Together they provide a secure framework within which to approach pastoral issues…The Bible addresses the entire range of problems we experience in living in this world. Biblical truth is not limited to a narrow sphere of life, not to a limited range of beliefs or convictions. It addresses all the basic and essential issues of what it means to be human, both in our sin and in our salvation.

The best resources I have seen for counseling and care come through the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation. These guys offer theologically solid, gospel centered resources for counseling and care. If you are looking to grow in your understanding of applying the gospel to the hard situations of life I would point you to the “Resources for Changing Lives” series from the CCEF. These are concise booklets that are about 20-25 pages each and provide a helpful introduction to problems that Christians faith. Here is a list of links to each of the topics they cover:

A great introduction to guide you in understanding the larger context of Christian counsel and care is Paul Tripp’s book:

Again, CCEF provides a wealth of resources in service of the church. Make good use of them, their vision is to “restore Christ to counseling, and counseling to the church.” – That’s you and I

Matt Capps Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Culture, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Baptist21, 9Marks, and PLNTD at 2010 SBC Annual Meeting

While at the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando I had the privilege of attending some very beneficial meetings. First, the Baptist21 and 9Marks discussion panels. The videos of these panels have been made available. Thanks to Justin Taylor for pointing this out.

Baptist21 held its 2nd annual B21 Panel at the SBC. The panel took place in Orlando during Tuesday’s Lunch at the SBC. The members of the panel were Danny Akin, Matt Chandler, Ronnie Floyd, Johnny Hunt, Albert Mohler, David Platt, Jimmy Scroggins, and Ed Stetzer. The panel discussed issues pertaining to the gospel, the SBC and its future, the Great Commission Resurgence, and more.

On Tuesday night of the SBC Annual Meeting Danny Akin, Albert Mohler, David Platt, and Mark Dever met “to talk about the Great Commission Resurgence, church planting, theological education and the importance of the local churches participation in pastoral training.

I also had the privilege of attending a dinner discussion about PLNTD – a church planting network. Our conversation was lead by Tim Brister – with important input from Tom Ascol, Ed Stetzer, and Steve Childers. If you are looking to plant a church, or if you are an established church looking to be more involved in church planting I highly recommend looking into what PLNTD is doing.

Here is their vision statement:

PLNTD is a decentralized network focused on establishing and multiplying confessional church-planting churches. We seek to do this through providing rich resources, intentional relationships, and accessible church-based ministries, including assessment, training and coaching. It is our firm conviction that to fulfill the Great Commission inherently means that we must embrace the call to plant churches, and no one else is given that stewardship more than the local church.

I would keep up with the blogs – B21, 9Marks, and PLNTD. If you are on twitter you can follow each at – B21, 9Marks, and PLNTD.

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

Gospel-Centered Evangelism: Introduction

Note: This is the first post in a series titled “Gospel-Centered Evangelism.” I am writing this material for the purpose of developing a evangelism training course for the local church.

While I was in seminary I had the honor of taking a few courses under Dr. John Hammett, who ended up being one of the most influential professors in my own theological development. In his book Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches Dr. Hammett made a statement about evangelism that jolted my interest in the subject in a fresh way.

Hammett stated that “there is almost a total absence of commands concerning evangelistic involvement in the New Testament.”[1] He then explains, “this is not to say that evangelism is absent from the pages of the New Testament. On the contrary, evangelism is everywhere…but it is almost hardly ever commanded.”[2] In conclusion of that thought[3] Hammett argues that, “the implication we are to draw from the New Testament is that evangelism should be a natural product of a healthy church.”[4] Simply put, evangelism is never commanded because it is always assumed – interrelated with the whole of the Christian life.

I had always categorized evangelism as a specific type of ministry or a specifically focused activity, and thought that the Bible commanded it. And the statement that there is a “total absence of commands concerning evangelistic involvement in the New Testament” did not sit right with me. Maybe I needed to rethink ‘evangelism’? This lead to another thought.

Perhaps our understanding of evangelism is unhealthily tied to specific outreach efforts or other compartmentalized endeavors that have an evangelistic thrust. If so, it is quite possible that we have developed the wrong criteria for judging and evaluating the success of our evangelistic efforts on a personal and corporate level. Simply put, we need a more balanced understanding of evangelism that moves beyond decision-oriented presentations to gospel-centered transformation. We need to move from an exclusive focus on the after life and include an thorough understanding of the mission-life. Consider common methods of evangelism, which could be categorized three ways:

  1. Cold-Contact Evangelism: street evangelism, tract distribution
  2. Mass Evangelism: crusades: outreach programs, media broadcasts
  3. Visitation Evangelism: door to door, program visitor follow-up[5]

The reality is that most of us only give a certain amount of time to such activities. In other words, these methods are best suited for specific contexts. The problem is that the majority of our “day to day” living happens in situations outside of where these methods are focused on. Yet most of the evangelism training in the American church is dependent on such programs, methods, and activities. Well, what about everyday living? I have been thinking to myself, how can we train our people to live evangelistically – or to put it another way, missionally – in the context of their everyday life?

Being unsatisfied with the compartmentalized evangelism training that is so prevalent in our day I began to desire a more holistic approach to evangelism that flowed from a robust theology into everyday missional living. My prayer is that this study is will begin to fill in those gaps. In many ways, this will be the product of my own journey from an uneasy tension in my own presuppositions of evangelism to understand what biblical evangelism actually is and what it should look like.

Over the next few weeks I will continue to write and develop this study.

Continue reading “Gospel-Centered Evangelism: Introduction” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Impossible Imperatives – Part 2: Luke 10:25-37

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Impossible Imperatives – Luke 10:25-37

Note: This is an edited manuscript from the sermon I preached at Calvary Baptist Church on June 13 th, 2010.

There are plenty of people in this world who are hard to love. Let’s be honest, it’s easy to not to love those who are not like us. It’s convenient to ignore the poor, the outcast, the needy, those of different races that we don’t understand.

It’s also easy to ignore the people we don’t like. Especially those who are constantly defensive and negative, those who lash out verbally and withdraw emotionally. And then there are those who are just plain nasty. You know who I am talking about – its those people who seem to take “perverse pleasure in sabotaging every conversation.”[1]

It’s easy to ignore their calls, emails, and avoid them in the hall. It’s easy to make sure you don’t make eye contact with them when you see them out in public. But Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We read that and might be tempted to think: does Jesus know my neighbor? Now, that’s an impossible imperative!

Sure these people are hard to love. But, the command to love our neighbors is unavoidable in the Scripture. I would argue that if you truly understand that you have been saved by grace, then your attitude towards others will be one of compassionate love – reflecting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:25-28

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

Here you have the ‘Master Teacher’ with all of his disciples sitting down gathered around him. This was the ancient learning environment, much different than today’s classroom. In this environment the process of asking and answering questions was the way of learning. Lessons were not so tightly planned as in the modern classroom; instead a master teacher would skillfully guide the direction of the conversation by asking and answering questions.[2]

The religious leader was probably impressed with Jesus’ wisdom and decides to ask him a sincere question. The[3] religious leader addresses Jesus respectfully as ‘teacher’, but we cannot miss that he is intent on ‘challenging’ Jesus.[4] The religious leader was very “learned”[5]; he knew the details of the law of God. He has spent his life studying, classifying, and categorizing the law – all 613 laws in the Old Testament.[6] Just like In any other complex legal system, some laws eventually take priority over others.[7] The ancient teachers of the law were always trying to distinguish which laws were more important than others.[8]

And while this lawyer knew the law, he did not know its true meaning. This is revealed in his initial question. His question, ‘what shall I do to inherit eternal life’ indicates that eternal life was earned.[9] Note, there is an assumption on the part of the lawyer of human responsibility in the attainment, accomplishment[10] of eternal life.[11] What must I do?[12]

Jesus does not explore the assumption behind the question, but directs the questioner back to the law since he was “an expert.” Jesus asks the religious leader “what is written in the law?” and “how do you read it?”

‘To read’ here is not simply the act of reading, but perceiving the meaning of the text being read.[13] In other words, Jesus question – ‘how do you read it?’ invites the expert’s personal opinion – how do you interpret the law?

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

The experts answer is satisfactory as far as it goes. It is based on the Old Testament[14] passage Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 – passages fundamental to Jewish life and worship. The Jewish people recited these passages often; every morning and every evening. The lawyer correctly combine the law of God, all 613 commands, and reveals them in one principle — love, directed to God and to others. He knew the right answer.[15] But there was something he did not understand about the law.

Jesus affirms that the man has answered correctly, properly, in fact the word used here is the word from which ‘orthodox’ is derived. In other words, the lawyer had the orthodox answer. But notice what happens in verse 29 as the religious leader responds back to Jesus imperative. Luke writes: that the religious leader, “desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor?”

What’s wrong with the Lawyers Heart?

When do we typically try and justify ourselves? When we know we are in the wrong?When we are found guilty or condemned? See, the religious leader knew he could not do what the law required perfectly. Here are the two things revealed by the lawyers question in verse 29:

1. The Lawyer Is Trying to Justify Himself

To the Religious leader, the law was some kind of contract with God by which he could earn eternal life. He wanted a ‘rule’ or ‘set of rules’ that he could keep and so he could justify himself.

2. The Lawyer Assumes That Some People Are Not Worthy Of Love.

This was the heart of the question ‘who is my neighbor?’ The only way he could ‘justify himself’ was to limit the extent of the laws demand. He wants to limit the extent of the laws demand because he knew that there were people he did not love, and there were people who would be very…very hard to love. In saying who is my neighbor he is saying “what kind of person is worthy of my love.”[16]

Jesus, does not answer his question, but tells a parable[17] that aims at his heart. With a dialogue in verses 25-29 in mind, continue reading through 37.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

This was about an 18 mile trip. It was a stretch of road known for its curves, rocky passes, and caves. On this road, robbers could easily hide and strike people – this was a remote area, and traveling it would make you vulnerable to such attacks. Jesus then adds a man lying in the road – half dead, and obviously needs help. So Jesus has set the stage, enter the characters.

The first two people who walk by are religious leaders. They are, by all outward appearances, the ones in Jesus’ time who would have it all together – they know the orthodox answers; they live very clean moral lives. More than that, in the ancient system the Levite and Priest were the typical ones who would bring help to the needy. But they pass right by.

Maybe the religious leader identified with these characters as Jesus told the parable and thought to himself – surely there is a good reason why they just passed by, right?

  1. Perhaps he did not help because it would remove his ceremonial purity?
  2. Perhaps he did not want to help because it would risk his life?
  3. I am sure there is a perfectly good reason to justify not helping…right?

Well, if the religious leader was not already self condemned through ‘neglect’, here is where Jesus nails him.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

A Samaritan? Really Jesus? …

  1. Jesus knew that the Jews had serious disdain, if not hate, for the Samaritan people.
  2. In their minds the Samaritans were the worst of Pagans.
  3. The Samaritans were considered unclean, and the Jews had nothing to do with them.
  4. On the other hand, if a Jew were to help a Samaritan – they would be seen as a traitor to their own people.

Jesus purposely uses the lawyer’s enemy, the pagan Samaritan to drive home the point: and here is how he did it – by directing one last question at the religious leader:

Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”

This right here is the key to the parable: in asking this last question, where has Jesus now placed the religious leader in the story?

See, he had to identify the neighbor from the perspective of the man dying in the road – from that perspective; it was not the religious leader who was upholding God’s law – it was the Samaritan. And Jesus gave him no way around the answer.

Notice what the religious leader says – The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” The religious leader did not even use the word ‘Samaritan.’ Jesus has the religious leader answer his own question ‘who is my neighbor’ – by forcing the lawyer to see that obedience to the command ‘love your neighbor’ is fulfilled in the ‘one who shows mercy.’

Jesus changes the question from – ‘What kind of person is my neighbor?’ and aims it back at the religious leaders own heart, causing him to ask himself “well, what kind of person am I?”

The religious leader knew that if it were a Samaritan dying in the road. He would not have stopped and shown him mercy. So when faced with the question, “am I being a neighbor?” – he would have to answer no. So then, the question – “what kind of person deserves my love?” is changed to “how can I become a loving person who upholds God’s commands?”

See, Jesus was showing him that eternal life is not a matter of keeping rules at all – it goes much deeper than that, obedience flows from the heart.[18] And here is a religious leader who tries his hardest to ‘keep all of the external commandments’ – but Jesus revealed that the problem was in his sinful heart.

And that’s the point. The religious leader walked away thinking… well, where do I get a new heart? This is where we find it, in the Gospel. In the gospel we see how the call to love if achieved in Christ – who gives us the power and the motivation to love, resulting in the ministry of love.

The Gospel Framework

1. The Call to Love

The imperative “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” is the call to ‘love God and others with all of your being.’

It literally means that – every faculty and capacity that we have should display at every moment that God is our supreme treasure, the thing we love most. That all the affections of our heart are enraptured with Him, we delight in Him and in Him alone – and this is demonstrated in every action of our lives, every thought of our mind, and in every physical effort we exert. – They all proclaim the love of God. In other words, the law is not being fulfilled unless it is observed as a way of giving and showing love to God or others – no matter who they are. But, let’s be transparent for a moment.

  1. We don’t love God with all of our being, all the time, do we?
  2. We don’t love our neighbors as we love ourselves, all the time, do we?
  3. This is not what goes on in our hearts, is it?
  4. This is not what guides our thoughts, is it?
  5. Our actions don’t demonstrate that God is our supreme treasure, do they?

So, while we have the “call to love” – we admit that we cannot do this ‘in and of ourselves.’ Unlike the religious leaders of Jesus day we cannot look at law as the way to life. We understand that:

The law reveals our death in sin. The law never meant to save man, because it could not. No man can save himself, or justify himself, by keeping the law. The law was given in order that we might be brought to Christ. In Paul’s words it was meant to be ‘our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ’.

But the law also reveals what it looks like to live as God’s people. But, because it reveals our sinfulness, we are forced to realize that we cannot truly uphold the law that is required of God. So, we need outside help. We need someone to come and change our hearts, and enable us to live a godly life. Which God promised to His people in Deuteronomy 30:6

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

Here is the good news: this circumcision of the heart, this changing of the heart is provided in Christ as the fulfillment of that prophecy. Through Christ, God changes our hearts so that we may live. So we not only see the call to love, but that God has provided the power to love through Jesus Christ.

2. The Power to Love

Jesus Himself Is Our Perfection

Again, this is the paradox of the law. That God requires strict and perfect obedience but at the same time provides the means of dealing with the fact that such obedience cannot be given by sinful human beings. – Solution Jesus. Jesus fulfills the law by keeping it perfectly for us, but also displayed its meaning.[19] Jesus was what the law pointed to. Jesus is the true Israelite upon whose heart God’s law was perfectly written.

  1. Jesus truly loved God with all of His being. It was this perfect love for the Father that was expressed in the shadow of the cross when Jesus prayed in agony, “not my will but yours be done.”
  2. Jesus truly loves His neighbor as He did Himself. As He told the disciples in the shadow of the cross: this is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

He is our only hope for righteousness and thus eternal life – because He is the only one who has fulfilled these commands. When we repent of sin and place our faith in Christ – His righteousness is accredited to us, and we obtain the gift of eternal life.

Salvation happens when we see ourselves as the man lying in the road dead in our sins and trespasses, and cry out realizing we need to be saved. And Jesus out of compassion comes to us – with a love greater than that of the ‘good Samaritan.’ While the Good Samaritan may have risked his life the good shepherd completely surrendered His life on our behalf.

God makes us living and righteous when we as sinners are awakened by His spirit, and see Jesus as our only hope for acceptance before God. Jesus is Himself our perfection. – Our good Samaritan.

Jesus, by His presence and power within us, transforms us to truly love.

When I say that Jesus transforms us – this happens through the gospel, through the Spirit. The gospel is not just for conversion, but for sanctification as the Spirit works to apply the gospel to all areas of your life.

  1. The gospel is not just the starting point of the Christian life. The gospel is necessary for Christian growth.
  2. It’s not the ABC’s of Christianity but the A-Z.
  3. It’s not just the milk – It’s the meat of Christianity.
  4. You don’t leave the gospel and move on to other things – you return to the gospel over and over, and continually apply it to every area of your life – that’s when Christian growth happens.

See, when you experience Jesus as your “good Samaritan” it transforms you forever. You were saved only by the grace of someone who owes you nothing but rejection. And when He saves you there is continual transformed behavior through the power of His spirit as the gospel is applied to living. This transformed behavior is the fruit or evidence of this conversion and continual transformation.

  1. Gospel faith attaches you to Jesus for salvation, like a branch is attached to a tree.
  2. Gospel faith also produces fruit, like the tree feeds the branch.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

Continually remind yourself of the gospel. Abide in God’s glorious grace. The gospel not only produces faith, but feeds your faith allowing you to bear fruit. Your loving deeds depend on the power of Jesus in the same way a branch depends on the tree. Therefore, the gospel is not only the power to love, but also the motivation to love

3. The Motivation to Love

Someone once said that “a life poured out in deeds of compassion of love to others is the visible sign that you have experienced the love of God in Christ.”[20] In the beginning of the parable, we see that God’s word requires a love that cannot be mustered up in obedience to a laws requirement; it is a love that comes from a changed heart. We need a changed heart.

Loving God and neighbor is a response to the free grace shown in Jesus Christ, our good Samaritan. It’s when you see Jesus, and what he’s done for you, that you respond out of joy and your heart is changed. You then receive His power, and are motivated to be a neighbor to others. You were saved only by the grace of someone who owes you nothing but rejection. Therefore you love all people – and reject no one, but love them as to show them the beauty of Christ.

So when you see people who you think “don’t deserve neighborly love.” You need to remember that you, yourself were just like that towards Jesus – undeserving, dying in your own sin. Understanding that motivates you to throw down your excuses and sacrificially love others as yourself.

4. The Ministry of Love

A ministry of love demolishes any sinful limitations we might put on mercy. We are to love others even when it is risky and costly to us. Sacrificially loving others means that all the longing that I have for my own safety, health, success, and happiness – I now must feel for others as if he/she were me. Even the people I don’t like. The people who are not like me.

This is what loving your neighbor as you love yourself looks like. It’s only possible through Christ’s work – which changes your heart to desire God with all of your being. Here is how ‘loving God’ and ‘loving neighbor’ are related.

“Loving God is made visible and manifest – by sacrificially loving others.” This is the proper response to the gospel. This is a radical command. It cuts to the deep roots of human sinfulness – and requires the Spirits power.

It’s sad that has to Jesus start with you and I, and our inborn, deep, defining “love for self” as the measure by which we love others.[21] Think about it, we all want to be happy, to live with satisfaction.

So loving your neighbor as yourself means:

  1. In the same way you long for food when you are hungry, feed your neighbor when he is hungry.
  2. As you long for nice clothes for yourself, long for nice clothes for your neighbor.
  3. As you work for a comfortable place to live, desire a comfortable place for your neighbor.
  4. As you seek to be safe and secure from calamity and violence, so seek the comfort and security of your neighbor.
  5. As you seek friends for yourself, seek to be that type of friend to your neighbor.
  6. As you want your own life to count and be significant, desire the same importance for your neighbor.
  7. As you like to feel welcome in a company of new people, so seek to make others feel welcome.[22]

Seek for your neighbor the same things you seek for yourself, and do so with the same energy, passion, creativity, and persistence. And ultimately, as Christians we understand that God is the fulfillment of what you desire for yourself, therefore the proclamation of the gospel is the aim of our love for others.

Delight in God, abide in Him in such a way that His love will overflow and extend itself to all those around you – so that they would find Him as the all satisfying treasures of their souls. The external behaviors will only be pleasing to God when they flow from a heart that delights in God – when they flow from love for God.

May your heart delight and find joy in the gospel. Knowing that Jesus, your good Samaritan came to you while you were still yet dead in your trespasses and brought you to life.Remember, that you have been saved by grace, and your attitude towards others should reflect that grace and overflow into compassionate love – reflecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Live as one who has experienced that beautiful grace.

Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

Continue reading “The Impossible Imperatives – Luke 10:25-37” →

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Impossible Imperatives – Part 1: Psalm 37

Matt Capps Biblical Theology, Calvary Baptist Church, Christian Theology, Christianity, Faith, Personal, Religion, The Great Commission Resurgence, The Southern Baptist Convention, Theology

The Impossible Imperatives – Psalm 37

Note: This is an edited manuscript from the sermon I preached at Calvary Baptist Church on June 6th, 2010.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!

For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices! – Psalm 37:1-7

Opening Thought

While I was in college I worked at an after-school program at my home church. I was one of the counselors over the 5 year-old boys and girls. We had about 20 kids. At about 3:15 everyday there would be a knock on our class room door. And all the kids knew what it was. The excitement was unbearable for some of them. They knew that the snack cart had arrived. On this snack cart was every candy[1] you can imagine. Every day, this was the most anticipated moment – all the kids had their change ready to purchase their hearts desires!

There was always one kid who did not have money when the snack cart arrived. Most of the time it was because this kid’s parents would send him to after-school with a zip lock bag that had a small snack in it. It was always something that no other kid, in the class, possibly in the world, wanted – like ‘wheat oat bran flakes.’ You need to imagine this kid trying to trade his ‘cardboard’ flavored cereal for his favorite flavored skittle. – Not going to happen.

Well, on one of these particular days this poor kid’s emotions were running high. Here he was eating cereal that tasted like cardboard when everyone else was enjoying the sweetest of candies. So, logical response for a 5 year old – he broke out crying – declaring that he ‘hated his snack’, and that ‘it wasn’t fair that everyone else could have candy.’ Me being the wise and compassionate counselor I was, leaned over and looked him in the eyes and as lovingly as I could said – kid, “life is not fair.” Like that was going to make his cardboard taste like skittles. Even though the words “life is not fair” are true – they don’t always taste good. Especially when life is hard and everyone around you seems to be doing wonderful.

Three Hypothetical Situations

I am going to give you three hypothetical situations – three situations that I want you to place yourself in. I think this will help us draw out the emotions we need to deal with this morning, the emotions that King David is dealing with in Psalm 37.

  1. Work: Let’s imagine that you devote your life to work – you sacrifice your time and effort to do the best you can at your job. You’ve done this for years and years. A position opens up in your company that would pay more, and get you higher on the latter of success. It’s a position you feel like you would thrive in. A few weeks go by, and the leadership announces that someone else was offered the position. What makes it worse is that to co-worker that got the job, in your opinion – does not work as hard as you. Is less than honest in their business dealings – and is, in your opinion, extremely arrogant and rude. Would that bother you? Why would that bother you?
  2. Relationships: Let’s imagine that you are single. You have a friend of the opposite sex that you have known for a long time, in fact you two do a lot of things together, You really enjoy the time you have with this person. In fact, you start to wonder if you are falling in love with this friend. Well, your friend meets ‘that special someone’ and eventually gets married. What makes it hard is that the person they are marrying does not like you that much. And to be honest, you don’t think they go that well together anyway. But, that does not matter – it’s done, and here you are, you are still single. Would that bother you? Why would that bother you?
  3. Self Image: Let’s imagine that you feel down abut yourself – Perhaps you are not as pretty or good looking as someone else. Your not as fashionable as someone else. Your not as fit as someone else. You are not as smart as someone else. Your not as achieved as someone else. You always find yourself feeling inadequate or ashamed about who you are when you are around others. What makes it worse is that all the people who seem ‘so beautiful’ on the outside, are so mean and rude. Do these types of things ever bother you? Why, ultimately, do these things bother you?

When things like this happen it stirs up emotions within us. These emotions are often stronger[2] when the people who stir them up within us are people we don’t like. I believe the Psalmist is dealing with in Psalm 37. I believe we can learn a lot about ourselves – what makes us do what we do? What drives us? I would argue that our emotional struggles reflect is our deepest desires. More importantly, they reveal our deepest questions about God.[3]

Intro to Psalm 37

Psalm 37 is a wisdom psalm. So, what we have in this Psalm is instruction, ‘ancient curriculum’[4] for the development of wisdom for everyday living. To help your imagination here, glance at verse 25 where the psalmist King David says, “I have been young, and now am old.”

The picture being painted here is that we are sitting under the teaching of an older, wiser man, much more than that, a King. Wisdom Psalms are simply a series of observations about life[5] – this Psalm is not a tightly outlined argument, but a poem that imparts wisdom. David wrote this Psalm in such a way that the Israelites could learn its contents by heart – in the Hebrew it follows a certain rhythmic pattern that makes it easily remembered.[6] This allows for easy recall when needed in day to day living. In this Psalm David deals with some of the deepest issues wrestled with in the human heart – mortal life and eternity, wisdom and folly, and reward and punishment.[7] The treasure of wisdom found in this Psalm is well worth plunging into the depths of God’s Word and letting it expose our hearts and actions.[8]

Psalm 37:1-7

In verses 1-2 David is saying ‘do not allow yourself to become heated, to boil inside because of others’ – namely others who get what you want, or what you think you deserve.[9] So, the warning in verse 1, not to “fret yourselves”, is in the context of ‘envy.’ Do not burn with envy!

Let’s explore this for a moment. What is envy? What causes it? What does it reveal? Well, envy is somewhat complex. John Piper helped me understand the different layers of envy by unpacking it like this:[10]

  1. Envy has an element of ‘desire’: Envy has an element of desire in it. When you envy someone, they have obtained something or experienced an advantage that you want for yourself. So you envy someone when they have something you desire. This is not always a bad thing, we can envy someone’s faith.
  2. Envy has an element of ‘resentment’: This is what makes envy bad. The envy talked about here in Psalm 37 is envy mixed with resentment. In other words, you are burning with bitterness because something is going so well for someone else, and not for you.

So, the underlying reason we develop resentful envy is desire, desire mixed with resentment towards someone else. Back to my illustration “three situations” – why would you desire that job, a spouse, better looks?

I believe we desire to obtain certain things because we believe they will give us fulfillment or satisfaction, we need them to obtain our idea of ‘the good life.’ We are all on this quest, this quest to obtain satisfaction and fulfillment, ‘the good life’, and we pursue it without ceasing.[11]

Now, here is where we are faced with the terrible reality of human sinfulness. This is where it gets ugly – where our sinful hearts are most revealed. Envy reveals that deep down; ultimately, we are at war against each other to obtain these things. We are in a never-ending competition with one another. See, when we burn with envy we are enraged in battle against others who are keeping us from getting what we want – keeping us from obtaining the ‘good life.’

  1. And what makes the situation even worse is that we live in a world with limited resources. There is only one job opening, there is only a few good men and women, there is such a little chance that we will look better than someone else.
  2. And even more than that – “life is not fair.” Other people will have better jobs, other people will find a spouse before you do, other people will look better and achieve more than you.

With our attention on the ‘three scenarios’, lets explore them on a deeper level: Work, Relationships, and Self Image. When it came to the hypothetical work situation, let me propose to you that ultimately it was not the job you wanted, it is what the job represented, what the job promised. That could be security, recognition, and value. In the same way, when it came to the relationship situation you were envious of the person who married your friend on a deeper level because of what that relationship represented for you, what the idea of a relationship promises. For many of us relationships promise intimacy, love, and belonging. And finally, when it came to self-image you are envious of others good looks and achievements because their lives, to you, represent and promise worth, acceptance, and happiness.

But in the end, these things will not deliver on their promises. There is always more. We are always left empty searching for fulfillment in the things of this world. I have always loved these words of C.S. Lewis, and they ring true here:

“If I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”[12]

Now, you may be thinking well what now? I feel like a child with a bag full of corn flakes in the middle of a candy store. If all these things ultimately don’t deliver on their promises. And if we are all at war with each other[13] to obtain these empty things. Where is the hope? The picture here is depravity, war against each other, envy. This is the state of the world, the strategy and aim of every human beings life? If that is the case then the human race is one massive tragedy!

The Beauty of the Gospel

But, there is a God and He came into this fallen world amongst warring men. And He surrendered His own life, instead of warring with us, instead of joining the battle for the things that will not satisfy, he surrendered His life in order to freely give us that which will satisfy the deepest desires of our souls.

  • In Christ we find True love
  • In Christ we find Eternal security
  • In Christ we find Ultimate intimacy
  • In Christ we find Overflowing happiness
  • In Christ we find Unbiased belonging

The other things we try to find our fulfillment in fade in light of this glorious truth. Jesus gave his life so that we could have the deepest desires of our hearts satisfied – in Him forever. That is the beauty of the gospel.

If you are not a believer I call you to believe the gospel – the good news of Jesus. Place your faith in Jesus as the only one who can satisfy the deepest desires of your heart. Repent of your sinfulness and turn to delight in Christ and the Savior of your soul! For those of you who are already believers – let’s take off the Sunday morning mask for a second. It is quite possible that there are some of you in here who are:

  1. In Denial – “I don’t have a problem with envy.” If this is you, you are probably blind to your own self-righteousness. Remember the words of the Apostle John, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” While you may be saved from the penalty of sin, while on this earth you have not been delivered from the reality of sin yet. There are going to be times when you see resentful envy boil up in your heart.
  2. In Despair – “I cannot stop envying others.” I am always trying my hardest, but I always fail. I don’t understand? When I fail I don’t know what to do – besides loose hope or just despair. Possibly you look at verse 4, “delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” and realize that every time you envy – it reveals that you really don’t believe that verse. If you did – you would not envy. Again, while you may be saved from the penalty of sin, while on this earth you have not been delivered from the reality of sin yet.

This is why we as Christians need to learn to preach the gospel to ourselves. In other words I am calling you to wage war – not against each other, but against your own deceitful heart. I want to offer you a few strategies for war against unbelief.”

Truths for the Fight to Desire God

1. The things of this world will never satisfy the deepest desires of your heart.

According to verse 2, the things of this world are passing away. So, regardless of how well-off some people seem, they – themselves – are fading.

(2) For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.

This is powerful imagery here. For some in King David’s region of the world this would be a very concrete example – in the Middle East “after the rainy season ends in the late spring, there is a great heat and no precipitation, so that everything green becomes parched and quickly withers.”[14] Therefore, the reasons you might burn with envy against others are fading. Plus, these things they delight in are not lasting, they are superficial and not to be envied, they will one day wither in the blazing heat of God’s glory.

Believe that the eternal delights of God will never end. While the temporary delights of this world will wither like parched plants in the blazing heat of the dessert. So “do not burn inside with envy”, in makes no sense. If we believe this it calls us to continually search our hearts to see which desires rule us – cravings for affection, attention, power, love, security, comfort – and enables us to repent and find God’s grace to change.[15]

2. Only God can satisfy the deepest desires of your heart in the gospel.

(4) Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

One of the most devastating realities about resentful envy, in the case of a believer, is that it reveals that you don’t truly believe this verse. Again, our emotional struggles don’t just reflect our deepest desires – they reveal our deepest questions about God.[16] Is God really good? Can God truly satisfy the deepest desires of my heart?

There are going to be times in your life when it does not seem like God is good – when life in not fair. And this is where resentful envy, if we allow it to become a ‘controlling emotion’[17] will lead us to despair. There is no therapeutic technique that can change hearts. Only God’s Spirit can change hearts. But the Bible tells us that we can describe what rules the heart and speak the truth that convicts and liberates.

Verse 4 tells us that when we “delight ourselves  in the Lord, he will give us the desires of our heart.”

  1. This does not mean he will give us the higher paying job, but security beyond what that job represents in your own mind.
  2. This does not mean he will give us the spouse we desire so much, but love and intimacy that is deeper than any other bring can give.
  3. Delighting in the Lord is not a means to be prettier or more stylish, it is acceptance and belonging deeper than any of these superficial things can give.

I beg you – taste and see that God is good – you will delight in Him. When you delight in Him, He will become the desire of our heart. This is much like conversion. When your eyes are first opened to the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ – it’s like tasting pure water from the fountain of delight in a dry and parched land. But this is also our means for Christian growth. Continue to drink from that fountain. Return to that fountain of ‘living water’ over and over, because it is the only source of delight that will fulfill your deepest desires. When we delight in God, God redirects our desires back to Himself as the only one who can fulfill our deepest longings. If you ever doubt this, remember the words of Saint Paul in Romans 8:32:

“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things..”

With this as your motivation I call you to, as verse 3 says, “trust in the Lord, and do good.” In order to, as verse 5 says, commit your way to the Lord [‘way’ literally means all of your life, every area of it] – you must fight to believe verse 4 – that in God the desire of your heart will be fulfilled. This shows you why you are not to envy, and how to think to fight envy in this fallen world, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we wait until Christ makes all things new.

3. Because of God’s grace, one day we will fully experience fulfillment.

Why do I say ‘because of God’s grace?’ Well, look at verse 6.

(6) He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

So, David says commit your way to the Lord, trust Him, He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness, your justice as noonday. The image here is, again, that of bright light, a consuming blaze of sun. God will bring forth His glory to be revealed like the blazing sun at noon, which breaks into the darkness. All sin will be exposed, all evil, all the temporary things of this world will wither like grass.

Now, in Romans 3 – Paul says of the every human: “None is righteous, no, not one…no one seeks for God. no one does good..not even one.” So what is David talking about here in verse 6?

I believe this is God speaking through David and talking about Christ! Later on in Romans 4-6 Paul argues that “the one who places their faith in Christ is justified and counted as righteous.” There will be one day when God eradicates evil. When Jesus divides the clouds and the bright radiance of His glory is going to pierce this dark world. In that moment you will rejoice because you will see God bringing forth – Christ your righteousness, Christ and your justice in all His glory. See, justice prevailed when Christ offered himself as a sacrifice to be slaughtered on the cross for you and I, and when you repent and place your faith in Him, Christ becomes your righteousness. In light of this truth, hold fast to verses 3:

(3) Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

This idea of dwelling in the land was very important for David’s people. Remember that part of their collected experience involved wandering in the dessert – longing for the Promised Land. And once they got their, they were able to dwell – settle – and rest.

Again, there will be times when you feel like a kid with a bag of wheat oat bran in the middle of a world where everyone is enjoying the sweetest of candies. But you need to remember that your Father has provided a feast of salvation that will satisfy your deepest desires – fulfill your deepest longings. We need to continually dwell in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and rest.  

(7) Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!

Continue reading “The Impossible Imperatives – Psalm 37” →