A PASTORAL LETTER
Dearest Family,
We have been understanding why the prophet Malachi begins his oracle with the reference to Esau and Jacob. God reminds them of this as evidence of His love and in answer to their question, “How have you loved us?” We have noted, however, that this serves both as a “wooing” of the people (pointing out God’s faithful love to Jacob over centuries) but also a “warning” (pointing out the tragedy of rejecting spiritual birthright.) The Israelites are very close to Esau’s position. He said, “What good is the birthright to me?” They are now saying, “It is futile to serve God. What good is it to keep all the requirements?” Lest we think that this is only an Old Testament thing, towards the end of the New Testament, we find the same incident being used in Hebrews 12. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.”
On Sunday, we looked at several other NT scriptures that exhort us not to sin against grace: Don’t receive God’s grace in vain. (2 Cors.6:1) Bring also to completion this act of grace on your part (2 Cors.8:6) You have fallen away from grace (Gals. 5:4) They change the grace of God into a license for immorality (Jude v.4) I do not frustrate (set aside) the grace of God (Gals.2;21) Paul acknowledges the many ways that we can render grace of no effect, set it aside, nullify it, frustrate it, misuse and misappropriate it. Someone has said, “Esau becomes the paradigm for a person who treats the honors of an heir lightly.” We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ (Roms.8:17) of the inheritance of the Father, purchased at the unfathomable price of his blood. Furthermore, the inheritance is God himself. The inheritance is the gospel with all its blessings and promises. Paul talks to the Ephesians about the greatest evidence and experience of this inheritance, the Holy Spirit no less! “A deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.” (Ephs.1:14) The inheritance is the present experience of God’s rule in our lives and the future anticipation of what is to come, described by Peter as “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you.” The ante is high. O the tragedy of sinning against the grace of God like Esau. Why is it so tragic to miss grace? Because to miss God’s grace is to miss everything. “Grace is the sum and substance of NT faith” (Packer) “Everything is of grace in the Christian life from the very beginning to the very end.” Lloyd-Jones) We might also say it is the sum of the nature of the godhead: God of all grace…Spirit of grace (Hebrs.10:29)…the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 15:11) The whole of NT theology is summed up in it. It has been said that what justice is to law, and love to marriage, grace is to Christianity. The fact is, it helps to survey scripture to get a glimpse of the range of grace’s expressions, of the depth of its explanations, of the height of its experience. It will not be confined to being one of a number of things that are helpfully operative in our salvation.
The NT is one long grace-song, and every touch of God by His spirit is a grace-stroke on ungraced, and disgraced hearts. The opening of the Lucan account describes from the very get-go how the grace of God was upon Jesus, and John opens with the declaration that he is full of grace and that from the fullness of that grace we have all received grace upon grace. From the beginning to the end of the NT, Jesus and grace are synonymous. Grace is in Him, grace is of him, grace is through him. Not surprisingly, the evidential and essential mark of the early church was that “great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33) Euphemisms for Christians were grace soaked: they were those who “continued in the grace of God” (13:43); they were those “by grace had believed” (18:27) What they believed was the gospel described as “the grace of God…the gospel of grace…the word of grace” It was a synonym for anything that was good, that was God no less, in his dynamic and delivering, passionate and purposeful, fathering and favoring, birthing and blessing, saving and sanctifying power. As we journey on into the Romans, the mother-lode of explanation of the gospel, we hear expounded the glories of our justification “freely by his grace”(3:24) our access “into the grace in which we stand” (5:2). Grace abounds (5:17)…grace reigns… to bring eternal life. Every aspect of Christian life is sourced in grace. Paul’s calling was “by His grace” (Gals.1:15)…when he taught it “by the grace given me to say” (Roms.12:3) In Acts 15:15 he talks of “the grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus”. His testimony was that God’s grace to him “was not without effect.” “I worked harder – yet not I – the grace of God that was in me.” (1Cors.15:10) Grace was the call and commission, grace was the means and the message, grace was the reason for ministry and the result of ministry. Everything that pertained to their lives and ministries was grace pinioned, grace producing. Paul says they conducted themselves according to the grace of God. (2Cors.1:12) and that when they ministered it was “so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to flow to the glory of God.” (4:15) He honored the churches that excelled in grace, and in 2Cors.9:8 expresses the relationship between an experience of abounding grace and one of abounding work. Yes, grace was sufficient in difficult times, but it was also surpassing (9:14) His ministry was “the administration of God’s grace” (Ephs.3:2) Peter saw it similarly when he spoke of being “stewards of the manifold grace” (1 Pet.4:10) Paul’s understanding of worship included “singing with grace” (Cols.3:16) For James the great encouragement for a walk with Christ was simply that He “gives us more grace” (James 4:6) And when it comes to a fundamental understanding of prayer, it is all about the throne of grace where we find grace. Saying grace has more to do than just with a few words before a meal. We say grace every time we pray.
A helpful way to summarize the specific workings of grace, described in these scriptures from the entire NT, would be like this:
1. Saving grace: “saved through grace” (Acts 15:11) Part of this experience of saving grace is the instruction we receive for the totality of our lives. Listen to how Paul describes it to Titus (2:11): “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
2. Securing grace: “this grace in which we stand” (Roms.5:1-2) “…the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.” (1Pet.5:12)
3. Sanctifying grace: growing, maturing, progressing in faith and godliness, pleasing God.
4. Serving grace: enablement to minister – charismata – grace gifts.
5. Sending grace: the callings of God, commending us to the word of his grace. “I commit you to God and the word of his grace.” (Acts 20:32)
6. Speaking grace: grace those who listen (Ephs.4:29) “Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt.” (Cols.4:6)
7. Singing grace: “With psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, with grace in your hearts to God.” (Cols.4:16) the hymnody and psalmody, formal and informal, liturgical and non-liturgical, ancient and modern of grace that must be turned into gratitude in song and antiphon. The range of grace that requires more range of human intonation as our heart wants to give all the keys of its grateful piano to God.
8. Sustaining grace: (strengthening grace) special times of need – sufficiency of grace perfects strength in weakness (2Cors.12:9) – receive mercy at throne of grace in time of need – gives grace to the humble.
9. Staying/stopping grace: I would add this one because the grace of God is not just manifested in what he does do but in what he doesn’t do – for example, delay judgment. Maybe I can stretch something else under this category. God’s grace is manifest in what he gives and allows, in what he provides, but it is also in what he disallows, what he prohibits. The word that commands us not to, is a staying word of grace. Stop! Halt! No further! Do not transgress! Do not move that boundary! (Crucial to understand the law as an expression of God’s love and grace. He loves us so much that he commands us not to engage that which he knows will destroy us and separate us from Him.) Take Genesis for example: all the trees (provision) except (prohibition) These are equally evidences of grace. The fall is fundamentally a sin against grace. There is grace in giving, but also grace in the staying of things, the with-holding, the taking away of those things that are not going to promote spiritual growth in grace.
10. Suffering grace: often brings God’s good grace in a way that doesn’t at first feel good to us. Phils.1:29: “It has been granted (literally-graced) for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in him but to suffer for him.”
11. Suffusing grace: the grace that dwells within – the indwelling spirit of grace that rises within us (better stop there!)
Its power, its penetration, its communication – every expression is proactively an expression of the nature of God ministering to the needs of man. It is strong grace according to the NT. It is a strong brew, and those who experience it are grace intoxicated, but more importantly, God-centered and God adoring. It has to be strong because by our nature we are so ungracious and so ungrateful. This leads me to an important foundational point. A moment ago I said that what grace expressed was the nature of God. If you like, grace is self-effacing. It is the grace OF God! It points away from itself to the giver of grace. What is grace for? In a word, GOD! This is the point of Malachi’s message here. To miss the grace of God like Esau, to receive it like Jacob but in vain, is to miss God! We live in a self-absorbed culture, including Christian culture. Our decisions are suited to what works best for us, suits us, conforms to our preferences, supports our traditions and perceptions, fits our comfort zones. This is true of how we often choose our churches, our missions, our vocations, how we express our spirituality. This raises an important point. Do we need God in order to experience this grace we need, or do we need grace in order to experience the God we desire? Piper has put it this way: “Is the ultimate treasure the grace of God or the God of grace?” We know what it is to mutter “Give me grace O God!” How often do we say, Give me God O grace!” The question Piper is asking has to do with who is at the center. What is the ultimate object and purpose of grace? To gratify me or to glorify God? Is the main issue that I receive grace’s works or that God receives grateful worship? As simple and foundational as this is, it is the most ignored truth. All doctrines start with the doctrine of God. This is true for the doctrine of grace. Piper: “We cherish grace because it brings us to God, rather than cherishing God because he brings us grace.” Every which way you look at grace, any description of grace, whether saving or serving, securing or staying, sanctifying or sending, speaking or singing, sustaining or suffering or suffusing, the ultimate purpose is a revelation of who God is. Grace is utterly God-horizoned, Godfocused, God-centered. Grace’s ultimate homing instinct is the glory of God. (Roms. 11:33-36) “Who has given a gift to God that he should be repaid?” God has no “wants/lacks” so the idea of trying to pay him back is futile and foolish. He is totally self-sufficient so His grace to us is this brilliant overflow of His life. Grace is not rationed or given in small portions – it is always amazing, always huge, always extravagant, always gratuitous. When God’s life and love wash over us, spill over us, soak into us, we call it grace. Grace is not other to himself. We often limit our understanding of grace to the particular provision or answer or deliverance that we get. No, the grace is Himself – for that is always the best that he can give. In any case, God being God, is moved by his nature, his gracious and compassionate and loving nature, to continually show himself, give himself away, reveal himself so he can be known. Because of his grace he gives gifts to men and women, but there would be no deficiency in grace if he gave nothing – graced with his presence is prior to being graced with his presents! Not surprisingly, the primary response that God wants to receive for the manifestations of his grace is our joyous, unbridled, celebratory worship – more than a study group on grace, more than a sermon, more than our doctrinal rectitude. When grace appears to us to be satisfying our needs, what it is really doing is inviting us to be satisfied with God, the grace-giver. Are we satisfied with God, or do we miss the grace because at the end of the day, in Paul’s terms, we still want Jesus-Plus? That does not mean that there is no pain in the offering, but it does mean that we still have grace-grounds to grace-sing “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”
Gratefully yours,
Stuart
http://www.christourshepherd.org/pastlet.htm (and follow links to download audio of sermon)
For Prayer
Mauricio Nieto, recovering from cataract surgery, and Patricia Nieto, recovering from treatment for cancer.
Brenda—please continue to pray for her health and life.
Please continue to pray also for Scott Livingston, Charis Whitnah, Patty Whitnah’s father Charlie Bauer, and for Gracie Mitchell (http://www.firstgiving.net/graciem).
Announcements
For the Youth: October 20 will be an all-day youth event: 10AM-9PM at COSC. October 30, you’re invited to join WCF for their Fun Night (7pm-9pm)
Youth Parents’ meeting: Oct 20, 10:30am12:30pm at the Parker’s.
October 20, 9am-4pm, WCF is presenting Walk Thru the Old Testament. Cost is $20/adult, $15 first child, $7.50 additional children (includes lunch & snacks). http://wcfchurch.org/wttb.html or call Donn Northrup or Jesse Johnson (202) 543-1926.
Lydia Conference: Nov 1-3 in Houston, TX: We hope you will join us to learn the dynamic prayer principles of meditating in the Word of God, seeking the mind and the will of God for our churches, communities, cities, and the nations of the world. More info, see www.newlifechurch.net
BULLETIN BOARD
Postings are not officially sanctioned by COSC.
FOR RENT-DUPONT CIRCLE: One bedroom apartment. Available for 1-year lease starting as early as October. Rent approx $950/mo, including heat & hot water, but not other utilities. 17th/P NW, eat-in kitchen, big windows & lots of natural light. Susan, soozshin@aol.com
FOR RENT: Furnished rooms available from Townsend family on month-to-month leases. Includes wireless internet & utilities, linens, microwave, fridge, washer/dryer, shared kitchen. 330 D Street SE $850/mo available 1 Oct 114 Third Street NE $850/mo available 1 Oct Karan, karantownsend@gmail.com or 304-702-1872 Jason, Jason@RealEstateinDC.com or 202-415-7400
FOR RENT: Cheverly, MD: 2story, 4BR/2BA furnished brick house—15 Oct. 1 mile from Metro, near parks/ community center. Fully furnished—everything from furniture & dishes to linens. Backyard, deck, eatin kitchen, dining room, living room, office. Cable TV & wireless internet. Whole house $1950/mo plus utils or individual rooms $450-550 plus utils. Karan, karantownsend@gmail.com or 304-702-1872 Jason, Jason@RealEstateinDC.com or 202-415-7400
VOLUNTEER: Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center is training new volunteers for 6 weeks starting Saturday, Oct 20 from 9am-noon. If you feel called to this ministry or would like more information, please call Ann Wink at 202-546-1018 or chpcvol@yahoo.com
PAGES TOUR 2007: Friday, Oct 12, 7:30PM at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield VA. Shane & Shane, Bebo Norman, and Alli Rogers. Tickets ($18) at http:// www.itickets.com/pages/
MATH TUTOR SOUGHT: young girl needs help with middle school math/long division/pre-algebra. Would need help at least 1 night/wk. Preferably female, but… Karen, karen@kidsave.org or 202-547-8807
In the Arts...William Swetcharnik will give a talk about the artists of the Old Testament and what they show us about service, conscience and celebration. Swetcharnik Art Studio, 7044 Woodville Rd, Mt. Airy, MD 21771. Info: Sara, 301-829-0137 or www.swetcharnik.com