Temptations We Face

In Exodus 32, we read the narrative about the Golden Calf. It is a very telling story concerning the “idolatry” that exists in all our hearts. We know the story well. Moses has been on the mountain for awhile. The people get restless and demand Aaron to “make” a god for them. They compile all their gold together, Aaron puts it in the fire, and “out came this calf”.

I had the privilege to hear David Platt preach this text a couple of weeks ago in chapel at Southeastern Seminary. He focused our attention on four temptations we will face as Christians, all of which are ever before us. I wanted to share them with you because his message from this text had a significant impact as I have been evaluating my own life and ministry.

Number one, we will be tempted to become leaders without convictions. In this, Platt pointed to Aaron’s failure in leadership in “giving the people what they wanted”--a god they could mold and shape for their own ends.

Number two, we will be tempted to celebrate salvation without dedication. Here scripture calls us to “supreme devotion and total abandonment”. Following Jesus is not for “lazy Christians” and it means more than fire insurance.

Number three, we will be tempted to manufacture worship without humiliation. They were really “worshiping themselves in the guise of worshipping God”. David then pointed out rightly that “the Word of God is sufficient to incite the worship of God”. He called our attention to Isaiah 66:2 that says, “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Number four, we will be tempted to create a god without retribution. The reality of eternity and the wrath of God is not a game. It is real spiritual warfare that we are engaged in for the souls of men, women, boys, and girls.

May I encourage us this week to search our own hearts asking the question: Which one of these temptations am I most susceptible to?

Blog News for September 9, 2011

5 Reasons to Take Your Bible to Church (good ideas)

The Downward Path of Jesus (interesting)

Praying on 9/11 - thought this was helpful

Getting the Most out of Sunday sermons (good ideas)

Serving in the Shadows

Prayer at Ground Zero (interesting take)

Big Ideas of Philippians 2:5-11

During our Sunday morning gathering we are studying Philippians 2:5-11 in the context of Paul's exhortation to live a life worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27). These verses describe the humility of Jesus as the model for Christians to emulate within the body of Christ.

The big idea of this section of scripture can be captured in three statements as it fits the context of Philippians:


1. The unity/fellowship that exists within the Trinity is the model for the spiritual unity/fellowship that God desires in the body of Christ.


2. The humility of Christ that he demonstrated as the 2nd person of the Trinity is the example that God desires for Christians to follow in cultivating the spiritual unity/fellowship that God has purposed for the body of Christ as we exist as “one body” with “many members”.


3. The Holy Spirit “yearns jealously” to display this reality among the body of Christ for the glory of God the Father, the good of the body of Christ, and the sake of our community.


How are we doing at pursuing this kind of humility?

Blog News for August 24, 2011

New Book: The God I Never Knew (about the Holy Spirit; this is a sample)

Spiritual Shrinkage (Great reminder!)

Reading the Bible Theologically (good article)

Regaining a Heart for Unbelievers (or, rekindling our passion for Acts 1:8)

The Lord's Table (excellent article on the Lord's Supper)

Pint-sized Preacher????? (Holy Cow! There's so much I want to say about this!)

Jesus is the Everyday

Steven Curtis Chapman (great video)

"God will never put more on you than you can bear"

“God will never put more on you than you can bear.” Ever heard that saying before? Ever said that saying? Ever heard someone preface it with, “the bible says...” So, does the bible actually say that?

Well, yes and no. The idea behind that saying comes from 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 - “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 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.” The context is the area of temptation to sin, specifically the temptation toward idolatry. Paul is speaking about the Israelites and their tendency toward idolatry while in the wilderness wanderings.

However, listen to 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 - “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” Notice the particular phrase - “we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.”

How do we reconcile these? I believe that the foundation of our answer to this paradox is a robust understanding and belief and trust in the sovereignty of God over the universe, including our own lives--particularly as it pertains to suffering. We begin here recognizing that whether God actively causes something or simply permits it or allows it, one thing is absolutely true--he is over it. He is the God over all creation.

Part of our response is in 1 Peter 4:12-16 - “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”