There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:
1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)
2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.
Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)
3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)
4. Be generous with all your possessions, and passionate about justice. Share your time, talent, and treasure with those who have less.
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. (Prov 3:9-10)
5. Accept and learn from difficulties and suffering. Through the gospel, recognize them as not punishment, but a way of refining you.
My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Prov 3:11-12)
Redeemer City to City
Dr. Tim Keller
thegospelcoalition.org
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label correction. Show all posts
Monday, 22 March 2010
Sunday, 13 December 2009
Correction (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
When God’s redeeming work in your life is complete, you will love God with all your heart and you will love your neighbor as yourself. You will reflect God’s glory along with a vast community of redeemed people drawn from every nation in whom His image has been fully restored.
God receives us in our sin, but he never leaves us in our sins. He is relentless in calling us to follow His ways and in correcting us when we depart from them.
After the time of David, there followed a line of kings, some good, but mostly bad. God’s people worshipped other gods, and walked in their ways. God sent prophets who spoke His Word, calling the people to repentance and obedience. Their message was largely ignored, and so God, whose Word never fails, moved to discipline and correct His people.
The land God had given to His people was over-run by their enemies, and God’s people became exiles in Babylon, where they lived under the discipline of God, and wept their way through 70 years of sorrow.
God never abandons His promise, and even in this severe trial, He was advancing His ultimate purpose for His people. God’s plans for His people are always good. He may hurt us but he will never harm us. His wounds are the wounds of a friend, who will not let you go.
Christ came into the world to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). That means more than forgiveness. Salvation is deliverance from sin and all its effects. It means washing sin’s guilt, breaking sin’s power, healing sin’s pain, removing sin’s regret, and finally expelling sin’s presence.
Hope is sustained for the Christian by looking ahead to your joy that will be full when Christ’s saving work is complete. On that day, your sins will not only be covered, they will be gone. Your sorrow over your own sins, and your pain over the sins of others will be erased as God wipes all tears from your eyes.
Sin will be no more — no longer in you, and nowhere to be seen around you. So take heart and be encouraged in your struggle with sin and sorrow today. It will not always be so. In this life, we are sinners even at our best, but we are sinners in whom God is at work by His Spirit restoring the reflection of His image. When you see Christ, you will be like Him. Having this hope, walk in purity today (1 John 3:2, 3).
Colin Smith, Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church
thegospelcoalition.org
God receives us in our sin, but he never leaves us in our sins. He is relentless in calling us to follow His ways and in correcting us when we depart from them.
After the time of David, there followed a line of kings, some good, but mostly bad. God’s people worshipped other gods, and walked in their ways. God sent prophets who spoke His Word, calling the people to repentance and obedience. Their message was largely ignored, and so God, whose Word never fails, moved to discipline and correct His people.
The land God had given to His people was over-run by their enemies, and God’s people became exiles in Babylon, where they lived under the discipline of God, and wept their way through 70 years of sorrow.
God never abandons His promise, and even in this severe trial, He was advancing His ultimate purpose for His people. God’s plans for His people are always good. He may hurt us but he will never harm us. His wounds are the wounds of a friend, who will not let you go.
Christ came into the world to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). That means more than forgiveness. Salvation is deliverance from sin and all its effects. It means washing sin’s guilt, breaking sin’s power, healing sin’s pain, removing sin’s regret, and finally expelling sin’s presence.
Hope is sustained for the Christian by looking ahead to your joy that will be full when Christ’s saving work is complete. On that day, your sins will not only be covered, they will be gone. Your sorrow over your own sins, and your pain over the sins of others will be erased as God wipes all tears from your eyes.
Sin will be no more — no longer in you, and nowhere to be seen around you. So take heart and be encouraged in your struggle with sin and sorrow today. It will not always be so. In this life, we are sinners even at our best, but we are sinners in whom God is at work by His Spirit restoring the reflection of His image. When you see Christ, you will be like Him. Having this hope, walk in purity today (1 John 3:2, 3).
Colin Smith, Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church
thegospelcoalition.org
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