Category: Book Excerpts
Book excerpts – many of which are unavailable or out of print – These excerpts are here with the hope that you will like what you read and purchase books by the authors (if available) for your own study and the edification of those you influence as a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God Has Always Been and Ever Will Be by J.I. Packer
“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” – Psalm 90:2
The Self-Existence of God: His Aseity
Children sometimes ask, “Who made God?” The clearest answer is that God never needed to be made, because he was always there. He exists in a different way from us: we, his creatures, exist in a dependent, derived, finite, fragile way, but our Maker exists in an eternal, self-sustaining, necessary way—necessary, that is, in the sense that God does not have it in him to go out of existence, just as we do not have it in us to live forever. We necessarily age and die, because it is our present nature to do that; God necessarily continues forever unchanged, because it is his eternal nature to do that. This is one of many contrasts between creature and Creator.
God’s self-existence is a basic truth. At the outset of his presentation of the unknown God to the Athenian idolaters, Paul explained that this God, the world’s Creator, “is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:23-25). Sacrifices offered to idols, in today’s tribal religions as in ancient Athens, are thought of as somehow keeping the god going, but the Creator needs no such support system. The word aseity, meaning that he has life in himself and draws his unending energy from himself (a se in Latin means “from himself”), was coined by theologians to express this truth, which the Bible makes clear:
Psalm 90:1-4, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.”
Psalm 102:25-27, “Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end.”
Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
John 5:26, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.”
Revelation 4:10-11, “the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
In theology, endless mistakes result from supposing that the conditions, bounds, and limits of our own finite existence apply to God. The doctrine of his aseity stands as a bulwark against such mistakes. In our life of faith, we easily impoverish ourselves by embracing an idea of God that is too limited and small, and again the doctrine of God’s aseity stands as a bulwark to stop this happening. It is vital for spiritual health to believe that God is great (cf. Ps. 95:1-7 below), and grasping the truth of his aseity is the first step on the road to doing this.
Psalm 95:1-7, “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
Article above adapted from J.I. Packer. Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001, p. 26.
About J.I. Packer:
Dr. J.I. Packer is a British Theologian and has written over 50 books and numerous contributions to theological journals, reference works, and compilations. He is a a brilliant humble scholar who is best known for his works on Theology Proper – The Study of God. His classic work on the attributes and character of God – Knowing God is “must reading” for the Christian.
Zig Ziglar on the Question: Are You a Responder or a Reactor to Life?
It’s Better to Respond Than to React
When you respond to life, that’s positive; when you react to life, that’s negative. Example: You get sick and go to the doctor. Chances are good that after an examination, she would give you a prescription with instructions to return in several days. If, when you walk back in, the doctor starts shaking her head and says, “It looks like your body is reacting to the medicine; we’re going to have to change it,” you probably would get a little nervous. However, if the doctor smiles and says, “You’re looking great! Your body is responding to the medication,” you would feel relieved. Yes, responding to life is good. Reacting to the incidents of life is negative-and that’s bad.
The next example validates that fact.
Today, there is much turmoil in the job market, and many people are losing their jobs through downsizing, mergers, and takeovers. This creates some unusual opportunities for many people. One positive from this trend is that in the last five years, according to the Wall Street Journal, more than fifteen million new businesses have been created, well over half of them by women. Very few of the women had any marketable skills, and all of them had great financial need. Most of the new businesses were “trust” businesses, meaning that the women collected the money before they delivered the goods or services. The Journal comments that virtually none of the women have been prosecuted and jailed for failure to deliver on that trust. That’s exciting!
Many of these new businesses-possibly most of them-would never have been started had not an unfortunate event occurred in the people’s lives. When those events did occur and needs became obvious, the women chose to respond, and there is little doubt that many of them are better off now than they were before the “tragedy” took place.
The message is clear: If you respond to life instead of react to it, then you’ve got a much better chance of achieving success.
About Zig Ziglar:
Zig Ziglar was born in Coffee County, Alabama on November 26, 1926 and was the tenth of 12 children. In 1931, when Ziglar was five years old, his father took a management position at a Mississippi farm, and family moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, where he spent his early childhood. In 1932, his father died of a stroke, and his younger sister died two days later.
Zigler served in the Navy during World War II (circa 1943-1945). He was in the Navy V-12 College Training Program, attending the University of South Carolina. In 1944 he met his wife Jean, in Jackson, Mississippi; he was 17 and she was 16. They married in late 1946.
Ziglar later worked as a salesman in a succession of companies. In 1968 he became the vice president and training director for the Automotive Performance company, moving to Dallas, Texas.
In 1970, Ziglar went into the business of motivational speaking full-time, with an emphasis on Christian values. Until then, he called himself by his given name, Hilary, but now satarted using his nickname, Zig, instead.
Until 2010 (aged 86) Ziglar traveled around the world taking part in motivational seminars, but has been somewhat limited recently due to a fall down a flight of stairs in 2007 that has impaired his short-term memory and physical abilities.
Through the ups and downs of life Ziglar has maintained his optimism and encouraged thousands of people to be their best in the particular endeavors to which God has called them. Zig Ziglar is one of the most inspirational people on the planet today and is a terrific example of someone who has embraced the struggle of life giving God the glory each step of the way.
The article above was adapted from one of Zig’s many encouraging books: Something to Smile About: Encouragement and Inspiration for Life’s UPS and DOWNS. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997.
Zig Ziglar’s Books:
Ziglar, Zig; Ziglar, Tom. Born to Win: Find Your Success Code. Dallas: SUCCESS Media (2012).
Zig Ziglar. Something Else To Smile About: More Encouragement and Inspiration for Life’s Ups and Downs. Nashville: Thomas Nelson (2010).
Ziglar, Zig; Norman, Julie Ziglar. Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life’s Terms. New York: Howard Books (2009).
The One-Year Daily Insights with Zig Ziglar. Tyndale House Publishers (2009)
Inspiration 365 Days a Year with Zig Ziglar. SIM (2008)
God’s Way is Still the Best Way. Nashville: Thomas Nelson (2007).
Better Than Good: Creating a Life You Can’t Wait to Live. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers (2006).
Conversations with My Dog. B&H Books (2005).
The Autobiography of Zig Ziglar. New York: Random House (2004).
Confessions of a Grieving Christian. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group 2004).
Courtship After Marriage: Romance Can Last a Lifetime. Nashville: Thomas Nelson (2004).
Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World. Nashville: Thomas Nelson (2004).
Zig Ziglar’s Life Lifters: Moments of Inspiration for Living Life Better. B&H (2003).
Selling 101: What Every Successful Sales Professional Needs to Know. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers (2003).
Ziglar, Zig and Hayes, John P. Network Marketing For Dummies. Foster City, Calif: IDG Books (2001).
Zig Ziglar. Success for Dummies. Foster City, Calif: IDG Books (1998).
Zig Ziglar. Something to Smile About: Encouragement and Inspiration for Life’s UPS and DOWNS. Nashville: Thomas Nelson (1997).
Great Quotes from Zig Ziglar. Career Press (1997)
Zig Ziglar. Over the Top. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers (1994).
Zig Ziglar. Five Steps to Successful Selling. Nigtingale-Conant Corp. (1987).
Zig Ziglar. Top Performance: How to Develop Excellence in Yourself and Others. New York: Berkley Books (1986).
Zig Ziglar. Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World. Nashville: Oliver Nelson (1985).
Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale. New York: Berkley Books (1982).
Zig Ziglar. See You at the Top. Gretna: Pelican (1975).
C.S. Lewis Contrasting Heaven and Hell
“Of Heaven and Earth”
“I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) has not been lost: that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in ‘the High Countries’. In that sense it will be true for those who have completed the journey (and for no others) to say that good is everything and Heaven everywhere. But we, at this end of the road, must not try to anticipate that retrospective vision. If we do, we are likely to embrace the false and disastrous converse and fancy that everything is good and everywhere is Heaven. But what, you ask, of earth? Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.” —from The Great Divorce, Preface
C.S. Lewis. A Year with C. S. Lewis (p. 348). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
John C. Maxwell on Contentment vs. Discontentment
Which Tent Do You Live In?
All men live in one of two tents—content or discontent. In which do you live?
The contented man looks beyond his circumstances and sees a better day; the discontented man looks at his circumstances and sees no other way.
The contented man understands the purpose for which he was born; the discontented man looks at other’s success with a face that is filled with scorn.
The contented man has surrendered to a purpose that demands his best; the discontented man has selfishly hoarded much and grasping for more, will not rest.
The contented man has placed his values on things which will forever last; the discontented man has placed his values on things which will soon be past.
The contented man is anchored to clear goals and is hardly ever swayed; the discontented man has no goals that anchor him and is many times dismayed.
The contented man counts his blessings and names them one by one; the discontented man counts other’s blessings and thinks he has no fun.
All men live in one of two tents—content or discontent. In which do you live?
About John C. Maxwell:
John C. Maxwell is an internationally renowned pastor, leadership expert, coach, and author who has sold over 21 million books. Dr. Maxwell founded EQUIP and the John Maxwell Company, organizations that have trained more than 5 million leaders in 174 countries. Every year he speaks to Fortune 100 companies, international government leaders, and organizations such as the United States Military Academy at West Point, the National Football League, and the United Nations. A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Business Week best-selling author, Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership has sold more than 2 million copies. Developing the Leader Within You and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader have each sold more than 1 million copies. The article above was adapted from the encouraging and practical book by John C. Maxwell. Think On These Things. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1979, Chapter 30. This was the book that launched Maxwell’s writing career!
You can read his blog at JohnMaxwellOnLeadership.com, follow him at Twitter.com/JohnCMaxwell, and learn more about him at JohnMaxwell.com.
Dr. Tim Keller on “The Christian’s Happiness” – Romans 8:28-30
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:28-30)
Cheer Up Christian: “Your bad things turn out for good, your good things can never be lost, and the best things are yet to come.” – Tim Keller
Introduction
If you’re a Christian, you know that Christianity is supposed to be about joy. You probably also know that you’re supposed to experience joy in spite of circumstances. The Bible clearly teaches that joy is available that should make us happy no matter the circumstances. There’s a joy that the deepest trouble can’t put out and, if properly nourished and nurtured, can even overwhelm the greatest grief.
When Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:13, he prays for us—his followers. He says, I pray that “they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” One chapter before, he says to his disciples, “You will rejoice. and no one will take away your joy” (16:22). That’s pretty amazing! He’s talking to the twelve disciples, men who are going to be persecuted. They’re going to be robbed of everything they own, tortured, and put to death. Yet Jesus promises to give them a joy that will withstand all that. Nothing—not disease or persecution or alienation or loneliness or torture or even death—will be able to take it away.
I often wrestle with that concept. I have to ask myself, “Why do things affect me so much? Why is my joy not relentless?” Sometimes I wonder, “Do we have that kind of impervious joy?” I’m afraid not. I don’t think we understand the nature of this joy.
Romans 8 is all about living in a suffering world marked by brokenness. Paul talks about trouble and persecution and nakedness and poverty and how Christians are supposed to live in a world like that. In 8:28–30 he offers three principles for finding joy in suffering. Paul tells us that if we follow Christ, our bad things turn out for good, our good things cannot be lost, and our best things are yet to come. Those are the reasons for our joy.
Our bad things turn out for good
Verse 28 says: “For those loving him, God works together all things for good.”
There are three implications of this first principle.
First, this verse says that all things happen to Christians. That is, the Christian’s circumstances are no better than anybody else’s. It is extremely important for us to understand this if we’re going to experience relentless and impervious joy. Terrible things happen to people who love God. Many Christians explicitly teach—and most Christians implicitly believe—that if we love and serve God, then we will not have as many bad things happen to us. That’s not true! Horrible things can happen to us, and believing in and loving and serving God will not keep them from happening. All the same things that happen to everybody else will happen to people who love God. “All things” means all things, in this text. In verse 35 Paul says, “What can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, poverty, danger, or sword?” Those are terrible things. Paul is saying all the same things that happen to everybody else will happen to us, even if we love God. It’s very important to realize that.
The second implication of this point is that when things work together in your life, it’s because of God. Notice Paul does not say, “Things work together for good.” Things never work together for good on their own. Rather, if anything good happens, it is because God is working it together.
Earlier in Romans 8, Paul discusses how things fall apart because the world is burdened with evil and sin. Things are subject to decay. Everyone will eventually experience the decay of their bodies; that’s the nature of things. The little grains of sand on the beach used to be a mountain. Everything falls apart; things do not come together. This verse tells Christians to get rid of the saccharine, sentimental idea that things ought to go right, that things do go right, and that it’s normal for things to go right. Modern, Western people believe that if things go wrong, we should sue, because things ought to go right. But Christians have to discard that idea completely. Christians have to recognize that if our health remains intact, it is simply because God is holding it up. If people love us, if someone is there to hug us or squeeze our hand, if someone loves us in spite of all our flaws—if someone loves us at all—it’s because God is bringing all things together. God is holding it up. Everything that goes well is a miracle of grace.
The third implication of this principle is the most basic: Although bad things happen, God works them for good. This verse does not promise that those who love God will have better circumstances. Nor does this verse say that bad things are actually good things. Rather, it acknowledges that these are bad things, but it promises that they’re working for good. That means God will work them to good effect in your life.
The story of Jesus standing before the tomb of Lazarus is an endless source of insight for me. As he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, Jesus was not smiling. He was angry. He was weeping. Why? Because death is a bad thing! Jesus wasn’t thinking, “They think that this is a tragedy, but no harm done! I’m about to raise him from the dead. This looks like a bad thing, but it’s not. It’s really a good thing! It’s a way for me to show my glory. It’s really exciting! I can’t wait!” He wasn’t thinking that. Jesus was weeping at the tomb, because the bad thing he’s about to work for good is bad. The story of Lazarus does not give you a saccharine view of suffering, saying bad things are really blessings in disguise or that every cloud has a silver lining. The Bible never says anything like that! God will give bad things good effects in your life, but they’re still bad. Jesus Christ’s anger at the tomb of Lazarus proves that he hates death. He also hates loneliness, alienation, pain, and suffering. Jesus hates it all so much that he was willing to come into this world and experience it all himself, so that eventually he could destroy it without destroying us.
There’s no saccharine view in the Christian faith. The promise is not that if you love God, good things will happen in your life. The promise is not that if you love God, the bad things really aren’t bad; they’re really good things. The promise is that God will take the bad things, and he’ll work them for good in the totality.
Keep in mind that verse 28 says all things work together for good. That doesn’t mean that when something bad happens, we can decide to give God a week to show us how the situation is going to turn out for good. In fact, don’t wait a month. Don’t wait a year. Don’t wait a decade. The promise isn’t for a month or a year or a decade. The promise is not that we will see how every bad patch in our lives works out for our good. The promise is that God will make sure that all the bad circumstances will work together for your life in its totality.
The best summary of this lesson that anybody has ever come up with is John Newton’s. He said: “Everything is necessary that he [God] sends; nothing can be necessary that he withholds.” What John Newton and Paul are saying is that if God has withheld good things—things that you think are good—they would only be good in the short run. In the long run, they would be terrible. They would be good in the partial but not in the whole. On the other hand, God will only bring bad things into your life—things God knows are bad—in order to cure you of things that can destroy you in the long run. The premise is, the things that really hurt—foolishness, pride, selfishness, hardness of heart, and the belief that you don’t need God—are the only things that can hurt you in the long run. In the short run selfishness and self-deception feel great, but in the long run they will destroy you.
Your joy will be impervious if you hold onto these three principles. Bad things will happen to you. We shouldn’t be shocked or surprised when bad things happen. One of the main reasons a lot of Christians are continually overthrown is not simply because bad things happen to them. At least half of their discouragement and despondency is due to their surprise at the bad things that happen to them. Do you see the distinction? Fifty percent of the reason we get so despondent is that we’re shocked. We say, “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” We may say life should be better, but that’s not what the promise is. Or we say we love God, therefore, surely we will have more good circumstances. That’s not the promise either. Until you understand what the promise is, you’re going to be continually shocked and even overthrown.
Our good things can never be lost
The second principle in this passage is that the good things we have cannot be lost. If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time, you know that Romans 8:28 is a very famous verse. People use it all the time. It’s what I call a “blessing box” verse. A blessing box is a collection of verses you rip out of context and recite without concern for what came before and after the verse. It feels good, so you use it. For example, people use Romans 8:28 to assure themselves that when bad things happen, then surely good things will happen. You might think, “I didn’t get into the grad school I wanted to get into, but that’s because there’s a better grad school for me somewhere.” Or, “I didn’t marry the girl or guy I wanted to marry, but that means there’s a better one for me somewhere.” That’s not the promise.
There’s a little word between verses 28 and 29 that indicates the verses go together. The little word is for. “All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose, for those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed into the likeness of his Son.”
God does not promise you better life circumstances if you love him. He promises you a better life. Grad school and marriage are circumstances. We’re talking about a joy that goes beyond circumstances. How dare we interpret verse 28 as a joy that is dependent on those things! Here is an important principle: Jesus Christ did not suffer so that you would not suffer. He suffered so that when you suffer, you’ll become like him. The gospel does not promise you better life circumstances; it promises you a better life.
Romans 8:29 tells us the goal toward which all our circumstances are moving us. Paul uses the word predestined. He’s not introducing the word to confuse you—he doesn’t intend to explain the doctrine of predestination or address the issues that arise when that word is mentioned. He uses this word to comfort us. Something that is predestined is fixed. What Paul means is that if you love God, you can count on a promise that is absolutely fixed, no matter what. That’s all he’s trying to get across.
What is it that is predestined? That we will be conformed to the image of Christ. The Greek word here is morpha, from which we get the word metamorphosis. Paul is saying that God promises to “metamorphosize” us. He promises to change our very inner essence into the very inner essence of Jesus Christ. To be a Christian is to become passionately in love with the character of Jesus. You read about him in the Bible and are amazed by the truth and love you find in his life. You see wisdom and utter conviction. You see incredible courage, brightness, and radiance. The good that God is moving you toward through everything that happens in your life—whether externally good or bad—is your transformation into Christ’s nature. If you love God, everything that happens in your life will mold you, sculpt you, polish you, and shape you into the image of his Son. He is making you like him. He’ll give you Christ’s incredible compassion and courage. God is working everything that happens in your life toward that magnificent goal. It’s predestined. It’s guaranteed.
One of the most astounding things in Romans 8:30 is this: “And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Glorified is in the past tense. Shouldn’t Paul say, “The ones he foreknew he predestined, and justified, and will glorify”? Because the apostle is so absolutely certain that you are bound—that God is going to make you as beautiful as Jesus and give you all these incredible things—he writes of the glorification as an accomplished fact. He talks about it in the past tense because it’s as good as done. God is not going to let anything in life get between you and that goal. You are predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
In Romans 8:29 Paul calls Christ “the firstborn among many brothers.” That means we are all sons of God. We are all adopted into the family. When Paul alludes to adoption, he’s talking about a practice that was common in the Roman world, but one that’s quite different from the way we think of adoption. In the Roman world, most people who were adopted were adults. When a wealthy man had no heir and didn’t want his estate to be broken up when he died, he would adopt an adult male, usually someone who worked for him whom he trusted. By adopting that adult male, he made him his son. The minute the legal procedure took place, their relationship was changed from formal to intimate, from temporary and conditional to permanent and unconditional. All the debts the man owed before his adoption were wiped out, and he suddenly became rich.
Being completely conformed to the likeness of God’s Son is something that we look forward to in the future, although the transformation is happening now gradually. Being adopted among many brothers is something that we have now. The minute you become a Christian, you have intimacy of relationship. You have an unconditional relationship. You become wealthy, because everything that Jesus Christ has accomplished is transferred to you. You become beautiful and spiritually rich in him.
Some people are put off by Paul’s language of adoption because it’s gender insensitive. They argue, “Wouldn’t it be better to say that we become sons and daughters of God?” It would, but that misses the whole point. Some time ago, a woman helped me understand this. She was raised in a non-Western family from a very traditional culture. There was only one son in the family, and it was understood in her culture that he would receive most of the family’s provisions and honor. In essence, they said, “He’s the son; you’re just a girl.” That’s just the way it was.
One day she was studying a passage on adoption in Paul’s writings. She suddenly realized that the apostle was making a revolutionary claim. Paul lived in a traditional culture just like she did. He was living in a place where daughters were second-class citizens. When Paul said—out of his own traditional culture—that we are all sons in Christ, he was saying that there are no second-class citizens in God’s family. When you give your life to Christ and become a Christian, you receive all the benefits a son enjoys in a traditional culture. As a white male, I’ve never been excluded like that. As a result, I didn’t see the sweetness of this welcome. I didn’t recognize all the beauty of God’s subversive and revolutionary promise that raises us to the highest honor by adopting us as his sons.
Our adoption means we are loved like Christ is loved. We are honored like he is honored—every one of us—no matter what. Your circumstances cannot hinder or threaten that promise. In fact, your bad circumstances will only help you understand and even claim the beauty of that promise. The more you live out who you are in Christ, the more you become like him in actuality. Paul is not promising you better life circumstances; he is promising you a far better life. He’s promising you a life of greatness. He is promising you a life of joy. He’s promising you a life of humility. He’s promising you a life of nobility. He’s promising you a life that goes on forever.
The best things are yet to come
That brings us to the third point. Why can you be joyful no matter what? Your bad things turn out for good, your good things can never be lost, and the best is yet to come. If you understand what is to come, you can handle anything here. What amazes me is that even Ivan Karamazov, the atheist character in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, understood how knowing what is to come helps a person endure present circumstances. He said:
I believe that suffering will be healed and made up for, that in the world’s finality, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that’s been shed, that it will make it not just possible to forgive, but to justify all that’s happened.
I don’t want you to think that this talk about glory and about heaven trivializes suffering. In fact, Ivan Karamazov said that this hope is the only worldview that takes our brokenness seriously. Our souls are so great and our suffering is so deep that nothing but this promise can overwhelm it. Glory does not trivialize human brokenness. It’s the only thing that takes it seriously. What else could possibly deal with the hurts of our hearts? Your soul is too great for anything but this. Don’t you know a compliment when you hear it?
About the Author
Timothy Keller is founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA) in New York City and the author of numerous books, including The Reason for God, King’s Cross, Counterfeit Gods, The Prodigal God, and Generous Justice.
The sermon above was adapted from a collection of Sermons in a book entitled “Sunday’s Best” published by Hendrickson Publishers in Peabody, Massachusetts, 2011.
Dr. Darrell L. Bock on 12 Key Events in the Life of Jesus
Who Is Jesus By The Rules? Pointing to the Rule that Matters
It is a unique story that has captivated many over many centuries: Jesus, born on the edge of a large empire in a small village that was far from the center of world activity. In a handful of months his ministry generated a movement that grew to become one of the great expressions of faith and spirituality the globe has seen. That story has been investigated, critiqued, and deconstructed over the centuries; it has led to praise and inspired many, transforming the direction of their lives. Many things have been done in his name— good, bad, and ugly. It all started right here with the events surrounding his life.
Usually when Jesus is handled by the rules, much of what is said and written about him is cast aside, like chaff being shed from the wheat. We have examined why this is the case and have challenged whether this story deserves to be so completely deconstructed. We have taken a different path, but have argued for it using the same corroborative rules others use in studying Jesus. Those rules of historical Jesus study have been applied to twelve significant events or themes. We have examined the reason these accounts can be trusted, as well as the objections raised against them. These are not the only twelve events we could discuss to get at who Jesus was and what he did, but they do constitute central events that together tell a coherent story. We have explored what discussion of the historical Jesus entails and why it is controversial. We have weighed those opinions and attempted to place Jesus in his historical context. Out of that study we can see a unified portrait of a figure claiming to bring with him a fresh reflection of God’s presence. In what he did and said, Jesus presented the promised rule of God and placed himself at the center of its arrival. In those acts, there was a consistent claim of authority displayed that gave all pause— some in embrace, others in rejection. There was no place for a kind of middle ground. Either Jesus brought the kind of era he proclaimed, or he did not.
The twelve events we have studied together tell us a lot about Jesus. The first three events set the table for what Jesus was bringing.
Event 1: Jesus affirmed the ministry of John the Baptist and the claim that the new era of God was approaching, which also brought with it an accountability before God that required a response.
Event 2: He collected twelve key followers around him, symbolizing the restoration of a promise for a community with a rich history of involvement with God.
Event 3: He associated with sinners to demonstrate a place for forgiveness in helping people to find their way back to God. Controversy followed him, because the actions he performed reflected great, unusual claims. What Jesus offered was new and challenged the way things were being done. Jesus was more than a prophet or religious teacher. His claims went beyond simply pointing the way to God. His claims involved a personal level of authority through which God was revealing himself.
Event 4: In claiming to be Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus showed how pausing for a day of sacred reflection was never meant to prevent one from showing mercy or meeting daily needs.
Event 5: By casting out demons, Jesus showed that his message was about more than the politics of Rome. Jesus challenged and faced off against forces that sought to rip out our humanity from within.
Event 6: In accepting with caution Peter’s declaration that he was the Christ (or Messiah), Jesus began to teach that the kingdom he would bring was different than the anticipated raw display of power his disciples had expected. It involved suffering for him and for those who followed his path.
Confirming this different kind of kingdom, in event 7 Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. There in the central city of his faith he issued a challenge that would lead to his death. This was a kingdom that would not force itself on people. It would just be what it was, walking with faithfulness in the direction that had been set.
Event 8: However, this kingdom is not timid. In the temple action, Jesus affirmed an authority over sacred space and reminded people that life is about more than participation in a bazaar.
Event 9: Sitting at a table with his followers at a final meal, he completed the salvation story of his people. He transformed the deliverance of Passover into a story of how God would use him to deliver. His death would become the opportunity to bring anyone into a fresh connection with God who sought the forgiveness he offered as a sacrifice.
Event 10: Before the Jewish leaders, he predicted a vindication that would exalt him into God’s presence, sharing directly in the divine rule. That testimony sealed his short-term fate and led him to Pilate.
Event 11: There the Roman ruler, using the power of his mighty state, put Jesus to death for sedition. Pilate executed Jesus for claiming to be a king Rome had not appointed. That painful crucifixion was supposed to be the end of the story.
Event 12: However, what Jesus had promised, the empty tomb delivered. Women, who had no business being witnesses, discovered that the dead body they had gone to anoint was gone. Risen and alive, the one who stood at the center of God’s kingdom was vindicated. His claims of kingship, heavenly rooted authority, and God’s kingdom stood firm. Life triumphed over death. The disciples’ grief became conviction. The offer of life had found in him a fresh central focal point— forever. The disciples taught what Jesus had preached. They proclaimed the new promise of God. They shared that life had come in the message and person of Jesus. Resurrection not only meant new life for Jesus, but the offer of new life to the world.
These twelve events belong together. They tell us of a figure who mixed authority and humility. They reveal a power that invites and inspires. They affirm to us that the Jesus of history links to and discloses the Christ of faith. Jesus Christ was sent to reveal the living God and point us into the way of life. That is who Jesus was— and is.
The bridge we discussed in the introduction to this book can be crossed. To cross it leads not only to the historical Jesus but to the cross and the Christ. That bridge points to the anointed one of God who sits at the hub of God’s promise, ready to deliver on God’s promise of forgiveness, enablement, and life to those who seek it. That link takes us into something whose reach extends into heaven. To bring us to this opportunity for life, his followers tell of the events faithfully in every sense of that word. Through these events, Jesus’ followers answer the question Who is Jesus? Our culture has an array of answers and questions about this question, as we have seen. But, as we have also seen, the answer of his followers points to his authority and uniqueness. Using the rules to examine who Jesus is points to the one question that matters: How should we relate to the God Jesus so authoritatively discloses? The disciples told the story this way, because the message about God, Jesus, and us is so life-changing. It is something we can see powerfully only after we link the Jesus of history with the Christ of faith.
About Dr. Darrell L. Bock:
Darrell L. Bock is a New Testament scholar and research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas, United States. Bock received his PhD from Scotland’s University of Aberdeen. His works include the monograph “Blasphemy and Exaltation” in the collection Judaism and the Final Examination of Jesus, and volumes on Luke in both the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament and the IVP New Testament Commentary Series. Bock is a past president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He serves as a corresponding editor for Christianity Today, and he has published articles in the Los Angeles Times and The Dallas Morning News.
Darrell L. Bock. Who Is Jesus? Published originally by Simon & Schuster, Inc. and most recently by Howard Books in 2012. The article above was adapted from the Conclusion of the book.
James M. Boice: The Lord Almighty is With Us
“The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” – Psalm 46:11
The conclusion and proper application of Psalm 46 is this statement in verse 11. Who is he, this God who is his people’s refuge? The answer is given in the two names of God in this refrain.
First, he is “the Lord Almighty.” The words are literally “the Lord of Hosts (Jehovah Sabaoth).” “Hosts” refers to the armies of Israel, on the one hand, and to the angelic armies of God, on the other. This makes the name especially apt in this psalm, since the psalm is based on a historical deliverance of the people from earthly armies, whatever their origin, and also looks forward to a final deliverance when God will subdue the hostile forces of rebellious man forever. We have a wonderful insight into the power of God’s hosts in the story of Elisha at Dothan. The city of Dothan had been surrounded by the armies of Ben-Hadad of Syria in an attempt to capture Elisha, and they were discovered early in the morning by Elisha’s young servant. When he saw the soldiers and chariots positioned around the city, he rushed back inside and cried out to Elisha, saying, “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant to see the heavenly hosts protecting him, and when God did, the servant saw that the hills were filled with horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. Elisha reminded his servant that “Those who are with us are greater than those who are with them” (v. 16).
Second, God is the God of Jacob. Jacob was the third of the three Jewish patriarchs and the least outstanding of the three. He was a schemer, as his name implies. It took him a lifetime to learn to trust God. Yet the God of Abraham was his God no less than he was the God of Abraham. This is your God too, if you have come to him through faith in Jesus Christ. And if he is your God, then he is with you at all times, which is what this important couplet says. On the day he died, John Wesley had already nearly lost his voice and could be understood only with difficulty. But at the last with all the strength he could summon, Wesley suddenly called out, “The best of all is, God is with us.” Then, raising his hand slightly and waving it in triumph, he exclaimed again with thrilling effect, “The best of all is, God is with us.” Is the Lord Almighty with you? Is the God of Jacob your refuge? Make sure that he is. The storms of life will come, and the greatest storm of all will be the final judgment. Make Christ your refuge now, while there is still time.
About Dr. James Montgomery Boice
*Dr. James Montgomery Boice, just 8 weeks after being diagnosed with a fatal liver cancer, died in his sleep on June 15, 2000. The senior pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, he was a world-famous Bible teacher, author, and statesman for Reformed theology. He informed his congregation of 32 years of his condition on May 7, proclaiming his complete confidence in God’s sovereignty and goodness.
In the past 72 years, historic Tenth Presbyterian Church had two senior pastors, Donald Grey Barnhouse and James Montgomery Boice – previous to Dr. Philip Graham Ryken (Currently the President at Wheaton College). Founded in 1828, the church itself predates their tenure by another hundred years. Tenth Presbyterian Church lies in the very heart of the city and today has about 1,200 members.
James Montgomery Boice accepted the position as senior pastor in 1968, and was the teacher of the Bible Study Hour since 1969 and the more recent God’s Word Today broadcast as well. Dr. Boice held degrees from Harvard, Princeton Theological Seminary, and the University of Basel, Switzerland. He had written or contributed to nearly 50 books, including Foundations of the Christian Faith, Living by the Book, and exegetical commentaries on Genesis, Psalms, Acts, and Romans.
He was no less involved in the preserving of the fundamentals of the faith than his predecessor, Dr. Barnhouse. In 1985, Boice assumed the presidency of Evangelical Ministries, Inc., the parent organization of the Bible Study Hour, Bible Study Seminars, Bible Studies magazine, and other teaching ministries. In 1997, Evangelical Ministries merged with Christians United for Reformation and the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, taking the latter as the new organization’s name, and Dr. Boice assumed the presidency. In 1997, he was a founding member of, and chaired, the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy.
Of particular concern to Boice was the matter of the church and her relationship to and engagement of society. His recent book, Two Cities, Two Loves, maintains that Christians are citizens of the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of heaven and that they have responsibilities in each. He urged Christians to “participate in secular life rather than merely shoot from the sidelines at secular people.”
His wife, Linda, and three daughters survive Dr. Boice. Characteristic of his ministry was his pushing Christians to commit themselves to staying in one place. He lived what he preached, committing to the church and his downtown neighborhood for 30 years. A gifted pastor and leader, he turned down many attractive opportunities in order to build a sense of permanence and belonging. And he urged his parishioners to do the same. The article above was adapted from Boice’s commentary on the Pslams.
“I See You, and Jesus Sees You” by R.C. Sproul
Series: Friday Humor #4
A local newspaper told an anecdote about a burglar who stalked the neighborhood watching for homes left unguarded by people leaving for vacation. He watched as a family loaded their suitcases into their car and departed. He waited until dark and then approached the front door and rang the bell. There was no answer. The burglar neatly picked the lock and let himself in. He called into the darkness, “Is anybody home?” He was stunned when he heard a voice in reply, “I see you, and Jesus sees you.” Terrified, the burglar called out, “Who’s there?” Again the voice came back, “I see you, and Jesus sees you.” The burglar switched on his flashlight and aimed it in the direction of the voice. He was instantly relieved when his light revealed a caged parrot reciting the refrain, “I see you, and Jesus sees you.” The burglar laughed out loud and switched on the lights. Then he saw it. Beneath the parrot’s cage was a huge Doberman pinscher. Then the parrot said, “Attack, Jesus, attack!”
Adapted from R.C. Sprouls excellent book on sanctification entitled Pleasing God. Tyndale: Wheaton, 1991, p. 46.
John Wooden: 9 Promises To Help Change Your Life
9 Promises To Make a Big Difference in Your Own and Others Lives:
- Promise to think of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best in yourself and others.
- Promise to be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
- Promise yourself to make all your friends know there is something in them that is special and that you value.
- Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible.
- Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
- Promise to forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.
- Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person a smile.
- Promise to give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
- Promise to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and to happy to permit trouble to press on you.
About Coach John Wooden:
John Wooden was born on his parents’ farm near Centerville, Indiana. Life was difficult for the Woodens. Their farm had neither running water nor electricity and money was often in short supply. In later years, Coach Wooden credited his success to the habits of discipline and hard work he learned on the farm.
Rural America did not share in the prosperity enjoyed by large cities in the 1920s. In 1924, the Woodens, like many farm families, went bankrupt and lost their farm. The family moved to Martinsville, a small town which, like so many in Indiana, took great pride in the performance of its high school basketball teams. Wooden, who had shown a gift for the game from grade school days, soon became a star player on his high school team. The team went to the state championship three years running, and won it twice. While still in high school, John met Nellie Riley. By his own account, it was love at first sight, and the two teenagers decided to marry as soon as John finished college.
John Wooden entered Purdue University in Indiana to study civil engineering, but became an English major instead. In college basketball, he earned a reputation as a fearless player of dazzling speed. He made All-American three years running and won a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
After graduation in 1932, he was offered a spot on the Celtics professional basketball team, but passed it up to begin a teaching career and marry his beloved Nellie. His first post was in Dayton, Kentucky, where he not only taught high school English, but coached all of the school’s athletic teams. The basketball team had a losing season, the only one in Wooden’s entire career.
The following year, John and Nellie settled in South Bend, Indiana, where he taught English and coached the basketball team of South Bend Central High School. In eleven years of coaching high school basketball Wooden’s teams won 218 games, losing only 42. The young coach served as a physical education instructor in the United States Navy during World War II. Appendicitis kept him from shipping off for the South Pacific. A Japanese kamikaze plane struck the ship Wooden was to travel on, killing the officer who had taken his place.
After military service, Wooden, like many other teachers he knew, was not re-hired at his old job. He quickly found work however, at Indiana State Teachers’ College, later known as Indiana State University. He coached basketball at the school, resuming his string of winning seasons.
In 1948, Wooden accepted an offer to coach the UCLA Bruins. At the time, the team was considered the weakest in the Pacific conference. The University had not provided the team with the facilities usually considered essential; the Bruins lacked a home court to play in, and had to share practice facilities with the school’s other teams.
Wooden’s Bruins astonished the skeptics by winning 22 out of 29 games in his first season as coach. The following year, they took 24 out of 31 and won their conference championship. Under Wooden’s tutelage, the Bruins maintained their high win-loss ratio, and won the Pacific conference titles again in 1952, 1956, 1962 and 1963.
In 1964, Wooden achieved a long sought-after goal. His team had a perfect season, and won the NCAA championship. The following year, they won the title again, losing only two games in a 30-game season. What they lacked in size, the 1964 and ’65 Bruins made up for in speed, discipline and an extra-keen will to win that has been the hallmark of all of Wooden’s teams. The break-up of this championship lineup may have cost the Bruins the championship in 1966, but they came back with a vengeance in 1967, and held the championship for the next seven years.
The seven-foot center Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) dominated the Bruins’ game for the first three seasons of their seven-year streak. Bill Walton was the dominant star of the 1973 and ’74 seasons, when UCLA set the all-time record for an unbroken winning streak: 88 consecutive games. In 1974, UCLA again won the Pacific conference title, but lost to North Carolina State in the NCAA semi-finals.
The Bruins bounced back in 1975, Coach Wooden’s last year, winning 27 out of 30 games, turning around a losing semi-final against Louisville in the closing minute of the game. In the final game of the tournament, UCLA defeated the University of Kentucky, 92-85.
In all his years as coach, John Wooden prohibited his players from any use of profanity, and consistently avoided it himself. Still, in his first 12 years at UCLA, the coach developed a fearsome reputation among opposing teams for the fanciful harangues he directed at officials and opposing players from the bench. This habit was virtually the only aspect of his career for which the coach expressed any regret. In the championship years, fans and players alike noticed a distinct mellowing of Wooden’s behavior on the bench.
One of Coach Wooden’s proudest moments, he later recalled, came when he overheard one of his players, an African-American, reply to a reporter’s question about racial tensions on the team: “You don’t know our coach. He doesn’t see color. He just sees ballplayers.” Wooden remained close to many of his former players in his long years of retirement. He died peacefully in Los Angeles at the age of 99. His record of accomplishment remains unmatched.
The 9 Promises above adapted from Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off The Court. Coach John Wooden with Steve Jamison. Contemporary Books: Chicago, 1997, pp. 79-78.
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