An Encouraging Exhoration

Justin wrote this e-mail to a friend earlier, and I thought it was so good that I asked for permission to post it here. I will be reviewing the book he mentions later this week.  Enjoy!

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One of the things that has helped me keep my focus is The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, Self-Image by Jay E. Adams, which Lizzie and I have been reading through. It’s a good consideration and biblical analysis of the self-esteem movement, in particular the movement within the Christian psychology community. The long and short of it so far is that rather than being concerned with our own self-image and having a proper love for ourselves, we should be focused entirely on loving God. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33).

Anyway, I just read a passage in this book that encouraged me and that I thought I should share with you. The context is Rom. 6:1-2, 11-13 and Col. 3:3, 5, 8-10; “Christian” self-esteem espousers use them selectively to validate their doctrine.

    True, Colossians 3 and Romans 6 tells us that as God looks at us “in Christ” our standing before Him as Judge is perfect; no fault can be found. We have been completely forgiven when we believed, and now God sees us as brand-new people in His Son. In Him all the old ways have gone and the new ways have come to stay. All that is wonderfully clear. But what is also clear is that Paul does not tell this to “make us feel good about ourselves” or to “give us strokes” or to “raise our self-esteem.” His purpose is to urge us to become in everyday living what we already are counted to be in Christ. In other words, he wants us to see that in ourselves we fall far short of what we are in Christ.

    Listen to Romans 6:1, 2:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

    Verse 2 sounds more like an exhortation than a stroke! The professor who quoted Romans 6:11 was selective; to give the full sense, he should have quoted the next verses also. Verses 12 and 13 continue Paul’s thought: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin….” What is clear is that Paul’s purpose in urging us to “consider” ourselves dead to sin and alive to righteousness in Christ is to get us to live differently. The “therefore” with which verse 12 begins introduces the conclusion that we should draw from the fact stated in verse 11. Paul does not say, “Therefore you ought to feel good about yourselves.” He does say, “In daily life start living up to the high standard of your legal standing in Christ.”

Not encouraging at face value, at least in the common sense of the word. But since we know that we have been justified in Christ and we know that God does accept us as righteous in his sight (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q/A 33), we have a standard to live up to – a prize to keep our eyes on, as it were. Why would we want to “go on presenting the members of [our bodies] to sin” when we have this perfect standard to attain to? Particularly since this standard is not a code of moral obligation, but an act of service and gratitude to the God who paid the highest denomination fathomable for us. I want to be sanctified because Christ shed his blood to justify me before God. I want that perfection because that’s how God sees me! So we should strive continually towards that goal, never giving Satan an opportunity to get his claws into us (Eph. 4:27), never “accidentally” stumbling into situations we know will tempt us to sin, and never falling into the trap of “I already fell once today so I might as well just throw the rest of the day in with it.”

Of course, it helps significantly that God not only wants us to be perfect but has promised to help us along the way. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). And we know that God is faithful to fulfill his promises: “The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness” (Ps. 111:7-8).

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13-14).