Strength in God

Living in a fallen world oftentimes results in fatigue. Our bodies are finite and are often forced to operate in less than ideal conditions. On top of that, we can lose sight of our great God and experience fatigue in our motivation.  What can Christians do in response to this sad reality?

Believe! Our God has given us good promises and commands so that we will trust Him to provide for our needs. This deals with things such as our simplest daily provisions (Matt. 6:11, 6:25-34) but also includes spiritual provisions. We must actively put our faith in these promises and seek to fulfill these commands, not out of a mercenary desire, but out of a heart that rests in the gospel of grace.

When our joy grows dim and our hope begins to feel threadbare, we must remember that God has provided for our needs. In Romans 15:13, Paul prayed for his friends that ‘the God of hope would fill them with all joy and peace in believing, so that they would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.’ This is submissive, sweet joy that comes from the power and efficacy of the Holy Spirit. He sovereignly grants it to us. We need not live without joy, but we can ask God for it for others and ourselves.

When we become fatigued in the spiritual fights in which we engage, we must walk in the strength of the tools which the Lord provides. Paul’s ‘weapons’ were not fleshly, but ‘divinely powerful’ (2 Cor. 10:4). The Lord gives us many helpful pieces of equipment to protect us in our battles in this life (cf. Eph. 6:10-18). Additionally, the Lord gives us the Spirit of power, love, and discipline (2 Tim. 1:7) to serve Him without timidity and fatigue.

We should not think of hardship and difficulty as a curse from God, either. Remember that Paul’s weakness was uniquely used by God to demonstrate His own power (2 Cor. 12:9). This caused Paul to boast in his weakness, so that the power of Christ would dwell in him. Paul’s weakness became a blessing!

Finally, we must remember that we will not always dwell in weakness. Christians have the good hope of a renewed body when Christ comes to gather His own. Paul tells us that such a renewal means we will have bodies that are “raised in power” so that we may serve the Lord without the weakness of our current flesh (1 Cor. 15:43). We can anticipate this blessed hope to bolster our faith today and until then, we have the Lord’s gracious provision in the Spirit.

The truth is: we have strength for the present, hope for the future, and love for God always.

--Dean of Admissions

Render to Caesar

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

—Jesus of Nazareth, Mark 12:17

As tax season is upon us again, it behooves us think about the nature of the world in which we live. Every human being lives under dual governments. Immediately, we live under the governing hand of God, which guides and provides for all creatures at every time and in every place (Acts 17:24-28, Col. 1:16-18, Prov. 16:4). This is invisible, eternal, omnipresent, perfect governance. Secondarily, there is human government. All humans live under some form of human authority, even those who are autonomous (since autonomous simply means ‘a law to themselves’).

There are two key points for us to remember at tax season. First, we must remember that the Lord has established all human governments (Rom. 13:1-2), and therefore expects us to gladly heed them. This includes giving custom, honor, and even fear to whom they are due, and paying taxes (Rom. 13:6-7). Those who disregard human government are essentially disregarding God—which is no slight thing (cf. Rom. 13:2)! In many ways, we should live simply and righteously before our human governors (cf. also 1 Pet. 2:13-17). This is relatively straightforward and easy to accomplish.

Second, we must remember that the Lord is the ultimate Governor of this universe. As our King, Lord, and Governor, He has rights and dues that are owed Him no less than human governments do. While we dutifully pay our taxes each year on April 15 (or thereabouts), how often do we consider the ‘taxes’ that we owe God? Jesus statement in Mark demonstrates that just as Caesar has his dues, likewise God has His dues. We can pay our dues to ‘Caesar’ in the coin of the land, but God deserves and demands much more. In fact, He is worthy of nothing less than our entire selves (Mark 12:30)!

So this year as you render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, make sure that you are also rendering to God what is God’s. He is worthy! In reality, though we fall short of giving God what He deserves, He has perfectly provided for our shortfall by giving His Son in our place. The audit was conducted and we were clearly seen to be lawbreakers, yet God graciously gave His Son for His elect to save them. Praise Him! This gracious provision should only compel us out of love to give Him more and more what is due Him (John 15:13-16).

--Dean of Admissions

The Beginning of Wisdom

One of the greatest difficulties facing every generation of God’s people is to discern true wisdom in the face of unique, generational challenges. Though we can learn much from our spiritual ancestors, we sometimes confront trials that did not exist a decade ago. Thankfully, since there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9), this drives us back to Scripture (1 Pet. 1:24-25).

‘Wisdom’ holds a special place in Scripture. It belongs to God to possess wisdom, yet it is also a blessing that He gives to those who fear Him. Wisdom does not discriminate against male or female, young or old, rich or poor, yet everyone has need of greater wisdom. Likewise, wisdom is always able to enhance ones position, whether one is already wise or is naïve (cf. Prov. 1:4-6). The question, then, is this: how does one acquire wisdom?

Mercifully, God gives us the answer in His word. The answer is relatively simple. How does one acquire wisdom?

“The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom!

And with all your acquiring, get understanding.”

--Prov. 4:7

How does one acquire wisdom? One must merely love it (4:6), seek after it (4:7), and prize it (4:8). That is to say, the wisdom endeavor is self-fulfilling—as soon as a person earnestly begins the endeavor of acquiring true wisdom, that person actually has wisdom. Why? Because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). If a person is earnestly seeking true wisdom, then they have been humbled, for they know that wisdom is sought outside of ourselves. Wisdom is found in God’s Word.

Once a person starts on the path of seeking God’s wisdom, they have been changed. They no longer seek after the trite, artificial, impotent ‘wisdom’ of the world (Prov. 14:12), but they desire God’s wisdom. This wisdom comes from His word (cf. Prov. 1:1-7).

So, if you desire to grow in wisdom, you know where to begin. Happy hunting!

--Dean of Admissions