This is an invitation to you – church-goer or not, Christian or not – to read through the New Testament with me over the course of the next year. I’m starting on January 1 with a plan that includes short readings, opportunities for dialogue, and helpful videos like this one:
In the New Testament, in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12 (NLT) it says that “the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”
Because I believe that to be true, and because I have seen the difference it has made in my own life, I keep reading. I am inviting you into that experience, believing that the same can happen for you. There are no strings attached to this. I am only interested in reading the New Testament together with you and having conversations that include your questions, objections, struggles, and insights.
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:5-6
The command is: “Do not be anxious about anything…” And yet never in our lifetimes have we had so much opportunity to worry and so little ability to contribute any effective first-hand solutions to the situations that are the subject of our stresses.
In the time of Paul’s writing, a person’s potential sphere of worry was much smaller. The raw materials of their anxieties were restricted to local events. Not that these weren’t legitimate worries, but they were not exposed – as we are daily – to a barrage of news of events near and far that might cause us to fret. In this way, our technological progress has become a disadvantage. So we might be tempted, given our technological disadvantages, to proclaim that obedience to this command is impossible! However, when God inspired these words to be written he was not ignorant of how our world would look in our present.
We’re in a challenging period of time, and you’re probably experiencing some combination of spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial problems. Well, you are not alone. Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble. So we should not be surprised at what the Apostle Peter called the “fiery trials” of life. They are not pleasant, but they are very normal, they are to be expected and accepted with faith.
And they are to be endured together, not alone. We often hesitate to share our struggles, not wanting to burden others with our pains, but we miss out on a double blessing when we do this. We are blessed when our burdens are shared with others, and we are blessed in bearing the burdens of others.
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“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”
Romans 8:5
I have found this verse to be helpful in evaluating my everyday actions. Is what I’m doing/watching/saying/listening to feeding my flesh or my spirit? Will proceeding in this direction lead me to obedience or rebellion, to righteousness or sin?
This is an important evaluative tool because “to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Rom. 8:6)
We all want life and peace but we sometimes pursue and indulge in that which will ultimately lead to death. Enticements to sin are constant, opportunities abound, and the promise of a quick remedy to our sadness or anxiety or fear is powerful in its draw.
It is only by affirming and believing the superior promises of God, and then acting in faith according to those promises that will we ever find true freedom and peace.
(I was helped tremendously in this area of thought by a book by John Piper called “Battling Unbelief”.)
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“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others… Do all things without grumbling or disputing…”
The Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:3-4, 14
Nothing, do NOTHING that will benefit you alone. This means that you must meet a basic requirement before you decide to act in a certain way. You must ask yourself: Will what I’m about to do benefit me alone or will it also benefit the ones I am called to love, and perhaps even those I don’t?
Paul lists two ways we should not act, but as he often does he then proceeds to tell us how we should act. And his answer to how we should act, in one word, is humility. When we are humble we will count other people as more significant than ourselves. True humility means living with an awareness of our own shortcomings and weaknesses. We all have them, and we all like to deny that we have them. When we engage in this type of denial we begin to think of ourselves more highly than we think of others. And very quickly we add to admiring ourselves the despising of others. We so easily slip into Pharisee mode – ‘Thank you God for not making me like that person! Wow – have they got some SERIOUS ISSUES!”
Paul goes on to reinforce his point in instructing each of us to “look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” There is an assumption here that you will look to your own interests – that comes naturally to all of us. It’s not something Paul has to instruct us to do; it is something we will do without any prompting or instruction. But this goes awry when we lack humility and indulge in selfish ambition and conceit, looking out ONLY for our own interests.
Selfish ambition and conceit need no encouragement. At every moment they are willing to spring into action from their secret hiding places inside our desperately wicked hearts.
We are not to be so preoccupied with our own comfort and progress that we fail to see the noble traits in other people. Looking away from ourselves, refusing to be internally focused will assist in the cultivation of humility.
These words of Paul’s must constantly be brought forward in our minds. Selfish ambition and conceit need no encouragement. At every moment they are willing to spring into action from their secret hiding places inside our desperately wicked hearts. His instructions here are impossible to fulfill perfectly, but in relying on the Holy Spirit to empower our efforts, we make progress toward the perfect Christlikeness that will one day be fully ours.
A man who boasts of all he has accomplished in his own strength is headed for a fall that will drag many down with him.
“In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me…” (Rom. 15:17-18)
Pride and boasting do have a place in the life of a Christian but in an unusual way. When we boast we do not boast about our talents and strengths but about all that Christ has accomplished through us despite our weaknesses and flaws and our propensity to sin. When Christians boast, they are to boast in their brokenness and weakness, so that the power of Christ is magnified in the sight of all.
The Christian life is an exercise in giving credit to others for the good accomplished through us. Seeing the opposite in a servant of Christ – especially in a Pastor – is a giant red flag. A man who boasts of all he has accomplished in his own strength is headed for a fall that will drag many down with him. We see this over and over again in churches, and yet we seem wired to admire brashness and boastfulness in Pastors. It should not be so.
To be clear, just like Paul, Pastors are to be bold and unafraid to stand for the truth of God’s word, but each one must keep this perspective in mind: that what is accomplished comes about in spite of his weaknesses, not because of his strengths.
