The work of Jesus Christ, in saving sinners to the glory of God, is unstoppable.  No man can extinguish heaven’s fire!

The Pharisee Gamaliel, though he was no follower of Christ, was given insight to understand that, “…if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail.  But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.  You might even be found opposing God.”  (Acts 5:38-39)

Beloved, though Jesus Christ and the gospel has been under constant attack from rebellious and unbelieving enemies, He can never be stopped, extinguished, or conquered.  He lives and He reigns, as His word testifies, and as He will throughout eternity.

What comfort and courage this truth should bring to every Christian!  Though as God’s people we can, and will be, often mocked, ridiculed, rejected, marginalized, threatened, harassed, and even beaten and killed, absolutely NO ONE who opposes God will win!  Jesus is real, He does reign, and the Gospel is true.

Let us then all the more boldly seek the Lord, be pure, do good, preach Christ, and fear not, being convinced and confident that, “…there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name (Jesus) under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

Because He lives, and is returning,

Greg

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side,he has made him known.

Contrary to our natural, negative perceptions of “authority”, God’s perfect and good authority in Jesus Christ is the outworking of His holy love.  And the goal of His love and authority is to promote mankind’s greatest pleasure and joy in His glory.  Thus to submit to God’s authority is to taste of His love and goodness, and to know true life in Him.  And to rebel is to reject that same love, goodness, and life.  This is why Peter, throughout his first letter, is continually exhorting believers with statements like, “…as obedient children…be holy in all your conduct” (1:14-15); “…be subject for the Lord’s sake…” (2:13); “…honor Christ the Lord as holy…” (3:15); “…entrust [your] souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (4:19); and “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God…” (5:6).

Jonathan Leeman offers these thoughts:  “What a hellish lie has made humans despise the idea of authority!  Divine authority grounded in holy love does not sap and steal the truly human from the human – just the opposite.  It creates the human, and it authorizes the human to participate in, or mimic, that which is most satisfying – the divine life.  The call to obedience is nothing more than a call into the pleasure of consciously imaging a perfect God.   The rule of God’s love, his call to obedience, is a commissioning – a great commissioning.  God equips us with all the tools of consciousness and creativity that we need to image him; he hands us the planet and then he authorizes us to go about living, loving, building, singing, conquering, investigating, caring, and speaking in such a way that his glory is manifested and displayed.”  (from The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love, Crossway: 2010, pg. 145)

Beloved, what great mercy God has poured out upon us in the Lord Jesus Christ!  Though we were rebels and under His just wrath, he has forgiven, cleansed, justified, reconciled, and restored us under His holy, good, loving authority!  Submission to him – his commands, and his will in our circumstances – should be our greatest delight, as ever more deeply we “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34:8; 1 Pt. 2:3)!

How I love you in the love of Christ!

Greg

Title: The Lord’s Supper
Location: RCG
Start Time: 10:30
Date: 2013-07-07
End Time: 12:15

The issue of how we Christians respond to unjust authority is of vital importance regarding our testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we’ve recently seen in Peter’s exhortations to slaves in 1 Pet. 2:18-20, believers must be more committed to our responsibilities before God, than our rights before men.  Entrusting ourselves to God’s faithful care and eternal justice, we must endure unjust suffering for the sake of the Gospel.  We must likewise resist the temptation to pour our energies into fighting to change unjust social structures, lest we inadvertently destroy our Gospel-witness in the process.

Citing NT scholar William Mitchell Ramsay, Pastor Steve made these observations in his helpful paper on the topic of slavery in 1^st century Rome (please email steve@rivercitygrace.org if you’d like a copy of his paper):

“Had the NT endeavored to overturn the socioeconomic structure of Rome, the Gospel of salvation would have been so obscured in the melee, one could wonder, in human terms, whether the Christian faith would have survived at all. Spreading true liberation from the tyrant of sin was and is the great aim of the NT and, regardless of the historian’s assessment, no Christian can deny this purpose was not worth abandoning to revolutionize Roman society” (p. 28.)

Beloved, God calls us to a living hope that eagerly awaits our heavenly inheritance in Christ (1 Pet. 1:3-5).  We must avoid the danger of fixing our hope on the things of this world!  In God’s design, it is the increasing evidence of this heavenly hope that becomes our greatest evangelistic tool, as Peter clearly implies in 1 Pet. 3:15.  This is the true grace of God friends, stand firm in it! (1 Pet. 5:12)

Rejoicing in Christ,

Greg

Beloved, God clearly wills for His people to submit to and show respect for governmental authorities (1 Pet. 2:13-17; cf. Rom. 13:1-7; Titus 3:1-2).  Certainly, the words of our lips are a big indicator of just how submissive and respectful we actually are.  In a country and culture that makes a national pastime (and a lot of money!) of bashing, reviling, vilifying, and mocking our political leaders, Christians need to resist the temptation to go and do likewise.  This does not mean that we ignore the serious issues of our day, nor that we fail to “speak the truth in love” in clear, courageous, winsome ways (Eph. 4:15; Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15-16).  But in all our speech and conduct, everywhere and all the time, we must ever seek to magnify Jesus Christ and the hope of the Gospel.  In the power of the Holy Spirit, we must imitate our Lord and Savior:

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.  (1 Pet. 2:22-23, ESV)

May God help us to live humble lives of willing, joyful submission, that the greatness of His excellencies would all the more powerfully be proclaimed from our lips (1 Pet. 2:9.)

Growing with you,

Greg

It is right and fitting that God’s people give thanks to Him for His steadfast love and saving work!  Scripture exhorts us to this over and over again (Ps. 33:1-3; Col. 3:16-17; 1 Thess. 5:16-18; etc.).  Gratitude certainly for temporal blessings, but all the more for God’s powerful mercy in redeeming us from the bondage and penalty of our sin!

To spur on your thanksgiving this Thanksgiving, let me encourage you over the next few days to read and meditate on (perhaps with your family and/or friends) Psalms 104, 105, 106, and 107.  These four Psalms provide a sober and joyful historical tapestry of God’s dealings with people through much of the Old Covenant time.

• Psalm 104 – History of Creation and the Flood
• Psalm 105 – History of the Patriarchs to the Conquest of the Promised Land (Abraham through Moses)
• Psalm 106 – History of Israel in their Land until the Babylonian Captivity
• Psalm 107 – History of the Return to the Land from Exile

In all this we see the glorious truth ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ:  God is able to save to the uttermost those who humbly call on Him in faith, and to likewise bring complete destruction on all who arrogantly rebel.  Great comfort for the redeemed; great terror for the wicked!

If you’re in town this weekend, I look forward to gathering with you on the Lord’s Day.  Just so happens I’m planning to preach from Psalm 107 – “Let the Redeemed Give Thanks to God”!

Thanking Him with you,

Greg

P.S.  Chris Tomlin’s song Forever gives expression to these truths (just ignore the image of “airbrush Jesus” midway through the video!).

It was a great joy to share in all the Lord had for us this past weekend at The People of God Conference, with Jonathan Leeman.  Many of you were able to attend, and many of you also served as volunteers in a variety of capacities.  I also know many of you were praying for God to bless the ministry of His Word at the conference, and bear much fruit for His glory (Jn. 15:7,8).  My heart is filled with thankfulness to God for each of you, and for His provision in all that occurred over the weekend.

Even if you weren’t able to attend, all of the audio from the conference is now available online at our church website.  Likewise, Jonathan’s Sunday morning sermon from Ps. 68, “God’s Good Authority and the Church”, is available here.  These are great resources to benefit from – be sure and tell a friend or two!

It is a great blessing to share life in Christ with you in this local church called River City Grace.  May God help us all, individually and corporately, to continually grow in His priorities and purposes for us as His people.

^“Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”  (Ephesians 4:15-16, ESV)

For His glory, and your joy in Him,

Greg

Like many, my initial reaction to the news of President Obama’s re-election was a deflated “ugh”.  For many different reasons, the results of yesterday’s voting was very disappointing.  Naturally, all of us now wonder what the next four years will look like, and what this means for the present and future of America.  (Dr. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, shares some post-election thoughts here.)

The main question for us is clear:  As Christians – the “people of God” (1 Pet. 2:9,10) – how are we to think and live in an increasingly God-despising, Christ-denying, sin-loving culture?  The answer is equally clear from all of God’s Word:  we’re to live by faith in God and His salvation in Jesus Christ, obeying Him through the power of His Spirit whatever our circumstances, faithfully proclaiming the Gospel to those around us, with our hope fixed on the eternal glories He has called us to in Christ.  These truths are prominent in the letter of First Peter, and throughout the New Testament.  In short, God’s people must live as “sojourners and exiles” in this world (1 Pet. 2:11).

God sovereignly reigns (Ps. 103:19), and He has ordained the outcome of this election.  We can be sure that He is not surprised or troubled, but that He is powerfully working everything after the counsel of His eternal will (Eph. 1:11).  And as the transcendent, holy King of Kings, He will bring eternal judgment on all His enemies, and eternal salvation to those who trust His mercy in Jesus Christ.

Beloved, we are the people of God.  Our identity and calling is bound up in our citizenship in His kingdom, not the kingdoms of this world.  May we be resolved afresh to live and love together as His people, humbly testifying of the reason for the living hope we possess (1 Pet. 3:15).  We may indeed suffer now, and more in the future, but our eternal inheritance in Him is secure (1 Pet. 1:3-9).

Rejoice, the Lord is King!

Greg

By now, you’re undoubtedly aware of Superstorm Sandy, which slammed into the Northeast at the beginning of this week.  Just a few of the numbers regarding the impact of this storm are hard to fathom.

The power of God displayed through His creation is astonishing.  Whether with earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, tornados, hurricanes, etc., this much is clear:  God can bring sudden, shocking, comprehensive destruction whenever and wherever He chooses!  There is no escape from His authority, and there is no successful questioning of His counsel.

“He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.”  (Job 37:11-13)

Have you recently considered Job, a righteous man who suffered much in God’s good design (see Job 1-2)?  In all Job experienced, he never cursed God.  But he did question Him…a very foolish thing to do!  Yet in mercy and grace, God brought healing rebuke to Job, first through Ellihu (Job 33-37).  Then God Himself spoke to Job, interestingly from “…out of the whirlwind” (Job 38-41).  Fortunately Job listened, repented, and tasted God’s favor afresh (Job 42).  Job came to understand the truth of Elihu’s words:

“Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”  (Job 37:24)

Beloved, don’t be wise in your own conceit!  Ours is not to proudly question God’s works and His ways with the storms He causes.  Rather, we are to tremble before Him, in the joyful, secure hope of His saving mercy in Jesus Christ.  Pondering God’s dealings with Job, songwriter Wes King asks the right question:  Do You Tremble?

Learning to tremble with you,

Greg

As we considered this past Lord’s Day from 1 Pet. 2:1-3, Christians should possess a consuming, passionate hunger for God and His Word – like that of a newborn for his/her mother’s milk.  Peter uses this rich word-picture to illustrate the intensity of this hunger.  While the imagery of hungry babies is not directly referring to the spiritual immaturity of believers, there is a clear contrast between the proportionate greatness of the mother, and the smallness of the baby.  And the baby is desperately dependant on what only the mother can supply.  Baptist pastor F.B. Meyer (1848-1929) has given these helpful insights:

“The metaphor is a very touching one. This world is but the nursery in which the heirs of God are spending the first lisping years of their existence, preparatory to the opening of life to full maturity yonder in the light of God. The most advanced among us, in knowledge and attainment, are, in comparison with what they shall be, only as babes. The furthest stretch of vision, the most perfect conceptions of the intellect, the fittest expressions of truth, are but as the untutored thoughts and babblings of babyhood, compared with what is to be in the mature life which beckons us yonder.”  (Tried by Fire: Expositions of the 1^st Epistle of Peter, Nabu Public Domain Reprints, p. 71)

Brothers and sisters, it is good for us to recognize God’s infinite greatness, and our great smallness before Him!  And the more we do, the more we’ll humbly “…long for the pure spiritual milk.”

Learning to shrink and grow with you,

Greg

Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ…(Eph. 3:7-8, ESV)

These words from the Apostle Paul have been uppermost in my heart and mind over the last few weeks.  I’ve thought about them much with regard to the privilege of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ in far-away lands, and also preaching Christ among us regularly at RCG.  Paul fully understood his ministry as a stewardship of God’s grace in Christ (Eph. 3:1-2).  And of course as an Apostle, this stewardship had the unique dimension of new revelation that God was giving through Paul (Eph. 3:3-13), which is now recorded for us in his New Testament letters (in connection with all of Scripture).

What’s clear from other NT truths is that this stewardship of God’s grace applies not only to those of us whom God has called and gifted for public preaching ministry, but to every believer.  Collectively, we are stewards of God’s manifold grace in Christ.  This means that collectively we are to faithfully proclaim and live in the unsearchable riches of Christ.  What a privilege!  Peter states this explicitly in 1 Pet. 4:10-11:

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:  whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Beloved brothers and sisters, this is our identity and calling as God’s people:  we are recipients and stewards of His varied grace in the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ.  And His intention in all the daily details of our lives – the particular joys, burdens, opportunities, griefs, and refreshments – is that we would grow by faith in the knowledge, display, and proclamation of His glorious grace…together.

So what a great privilege God has given to all of us!  May we humbly, thankfully, and collectively be faithful stewards of His grace in Christ, for the glory of His great name!

With gratitude and affection in Christ,

Greg

How richly God has blessed us with the knowledge of His grace in Christ through His Word!  It is through the proclamation of His imperishable Word that He brings new birth to His people (1 Pet. 1:22-25),  and it is by His Word that He sustains and grows His people to fruitful maturity in Christ (1 Pet. 2:1-3).  Because of the life-giving, life-sustaining power of God through His Word, believers are to have a consuming hunger for His Word – like the craving hunger of a newborn baby for the mother’s milk ( 1 Pet. 2:2).

Beloved, I greatly miss being with you this month during my trips to Europe and to Haiti.  And I know Steve will miss you while He is in Zimbabwe.  But even as we go – through your prayers and support – to proclaim God’s imperishable Word to people in other lands, I rejoice in knowing that He continues to provide for your spiritual nourishment in His Word during our absence.

So I continue to thank God for you, and pray for your ongoing growth in the hope, power, and riches of the Gospel (Eph. 1:15-22).  And I also continue to “...commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”  (Acts 20:32)

Please continue to pray for myself and Steve in these extended  opportunities for the ministry of His Word – that it may indeed “...speed ahead and be honored…” (2 Thess. 3:1), among those to whom we are privileged to preach.

I look forward to being with you again on Oct. 7 in worship at River City Grace, Lord willing!

Grace upon grace,

Greg

Healthy, growing Christians are those who are increasingly aware of the presence and depth of their own sin.  But with this awareness, the Lord designs that we should trust and rejoice all the more in His provision for our sin through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  What great, living hope believers have in the One who “…suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Pet. 3:18, ESV).

This great hope is expressed in the following words.  (This is a portion of a prayer called  The Broken Heart, found in the wonderful volume of Puritan prayers entitled The Valley of Vision.  The theme of this prayer has been put to music with the song To the Cross I Cling.)

Blessed Jesus, let me find a covert

     in thy appeasing wounds.

Though my sins rise to heaven,

     thy merits soar above them;

Though unrighteousness weighs me down to hell,

     thy righteousness exalts me to thy throne.

All things in me call for my rejection,

All things in thee plead my acceptance.

I appeal from the throne of perfect justice

     to thy throne of boundless grace.

Learning to live at the throne of grace with you,

Greg

1  Bless the Lord, O my soul,