Shaking off Spiritual Lethargy
According to Hugh Binning, challenging times when everything seems so much of a struggle are exactly the circumstances where faith should be prompted to be most active. “At such a time there ought to be all the more exercise of faith, and laying hold of the grounds of consolation in God.”
Challenges in a strange way can even strengthen faith, and certainly they give us ample motivation to keep seeking God until we know we have got through to him. How can we get out of our spiritual inertia? In this updated extract from a sermon on Isaiah 64, Binning tackles the question, When and how are we stirred up to spiritual activity?
1. Difficulties Call for Strong Faith
As difficulties grow, faith should fortify itself against them so much the more. The greater the storm, the quicker faith should flee into the chambers.
Faith in a calm day gets no trial. Faith gets lazy when it does not have much to do. But without fresh and new supplies of grace, faith cannot hold out in a temptation. It is a singular sign of a noble and divine faith that it can lay hold on God and keep him when he makes to go away—that can recognise the kindness of Jesus even when he acts as if he does not know us —that can stand on the ground of the promises when there is not a foot-breadth of a hopeful sign in the circumstances to build on.
2. Difficulties Demand A Sure Faith
The most pressing time for making sure of your part in God is a time when there is no external advantage to beguile you, a time when the only happiness is to be one with God. Therefore, anyone who, in time of calamities and judgments, is not awakened to put their eternal estate out of question, is in a dangerous position.
3. Difficulties Call Out A Focused Faith
The Lord loves faith in a difficulty best. Then it is the most single-hearted and focused, and the cleanest. That is the kind which honours him most, and which most glorifies his truth and faithfulness, and sufficiency and mercy. In this way it is most purely elevated above created things, and pitches most fully on God. It is when people say, ‘No help for my soul, but thou art my portion.’ God is most commended when he is set alone. Prosperity brings him down among the creatures, and undisturbed, complacent faith makes little distinction. But awakening faith grips strongly and singly, and puts God alone.
4. Difficulties Require Special Seeking
Often, when God is departing, “none stirreth up himself to lay hold on him.” Although there may be plenty praying, and doing many duties, yet it is nothing beyond the ordinary. The varieties and combinations of new reasons for supplications results neither in greater frequency nor more fervency in our appeals to God.
5. Seek with Diligence
There is very little diligence in seeking God, even when God seems to be saying farewell to the land, and going away. Still nobody comes in as an intercessor. They keep on in their old way of praying, and never add to it, come what may. Does anyone rise above their ordinary ways, however high the tide of God’s dispensation rises?
Instead the impression made by God’s change of countenance should make an effect that would be visibly seen on how his people behave. There should be such a distance between your ordinary and such times as between sleeping and waking, that whatever access to God you normally have, you would stir up and go beyond it according as matters call.
Will God count your public fasts a performance of this duty? Unfortunately, we fast sleeping, and no one stirs himself up to these things! Is there any difference between your days of humiliation and any other sabbath? And is there any difference between a sabbath and a weekday, save the external duty?
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We Are Resident Aliens
The spiritual house of God, full of living stones (us) who serve the cornerstone (Christ), live their lives as a holy nation among the nations. We are like resident aliens—long-term residents of a city or world that is not our own. For we are seeking a better city “that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10). Put more directly, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb 13:14).
Christians sometimes debate politics. Some reason that if a nation has a majority of Christians, then we might speak of a Christian Nation with particular Christian laws and habits. Others hope for a new political order ushered in by Christ on earth that revives the laws of the old covenant for today.
Given the landscape of these debates, I wonder why few discussions highlight Peter’s political theology as expressed in 1 Peter? There, he provides not only political categories to identify us as Christians but also specific ways in which we act out this identity politically, economically, and socially as well as what it looks like when political powers use force against Christians.
While Peter does not aim to answer every question (and we should not press this one letter to do so), the apostle gives us categories for political identity and action. As Peter argues, we should see ourselves as resident aliens who do not belong to this world because we are born again as a holy nation and royal priesthood whose political orientation focuses on proclaiming God’s excellencies and holiness of action.
Resident Aliens
Peter opens the letter by calling Christians “elect exiles” in a diaspora (1 Pet 1:1). The reason why Christians are exiles in this world is because they are a new people: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people” (1 Pet 2:10). Peter here draws on Hosea just as Paul does in Romans to indicate that Jews and Gentiles together are one new people of God (Hos 1:6, 9, 10; 2:23; Rom 9:25, 26; 10:19).
In the language of the anonymous letter to Diognetus, written in the early 100s, Christians are a “third race” (Letter §1). In Paul’s wording, Christ has created “in himself one new [human being] in place of the two,” that is, Jews and Gentiles (Eph 2:15).
As newly born again (1 Pet 1:3, 23; 2:2), Christians become a new human being, distinct from Jew and Gentile—the other two biblical categories for people groups. We are in the analogy of Peter “living stones” that make up “a spiritual house” (1 Pet 2:5). As living stones in this spiritual temple, we become a “royal priesthood” and a “holy nation” whose vocation is to offer “spiritual sacrifices” (1 Pet 2:9, 5).
Because we no longer belong to this world and our inheritance lies in heaven (1 Pet 1:4), we have become a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet 2:9). We are sojourners and exiles, explains Peter (1 Pet 2:11). In other words, we are akin to the modern category of resident aliens, which is what the Greek word for sojourner means.[1]
As Craig Keener explains, “As members of a new people (1 Pet. 2:9–10), Christ-followers are aliens on earth (1:1, 17; 2:11), but they should behave honorably in human societies, just as societies expected of other resident aliens (2:12–14) (1 Peter, 147).”
The biblical analogies of Israel in exile as they resided in Babylon, willing the good of the city of there, apply today (Jer 29:7). Hence, Peter even says he is writing from the city of Babylon in the letter’s closing (1 Pet 5:13).
And even further back, Abraham teaches us what it means to be called out of the land in which we were first born to seek the city of God. Keener again explains, “Abraham is a “foreigner” and “resident alien” among long-term residents of Canaan (Gen. 23:4), and the psalmist, echoing Abraham’s experience, is a “foreigner” and “resident alien” before God, like his ancestors (Ps. 38:13 [ET 39:12])” (1 Peter, 148).
“I am a sojourner and foreigner among you,” says Abraham (Gen 23:4). And so he was because he was not seeking a city built with human hands but one whose maker and founder was God.
The spiritual house of God, full of living stones (us) who serve the cornerstone (Christ), live their lives as a holy nation among the nations. We are like resident aliens—long-term residents of a city or world that is not our own. For we are seeking a better city “that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb 11:10).
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Esteeming Fatherhood
All men are called to a father-like role in society. Not everyone is blessed with children of their own, but all men are called to act responsibly, with a kindly strength, to be gentlemanly toward and provide firm love, guidance, and protection toward children. In times gone by, we’d call it chivalry — to operate with a religious, moral, and social code.
Jesus Christ uses intimate language to communicate with his Father. In his grace, he shares that intimacy with us, and invites us to call him our Father. When Christ taught his apostles the Lord’s Prayer, he taught all Christians how to pray and relate to God the Father.
God is the ultimate patriarch. He is the head of the heavenly family — the angels in heaven worship and glorify him ceaselessly. He is also Father of the earthly family — he created man in his image and calls us his sons and daughters in redemption. By becoming Christians, born again through baptism in water and the Holy Spirit, through our faith in him, we become children of God. He adopts us as his own.
As our great Father, God protects and provides for his children. Just as our biological father provides for us by putting food on the table to sustain our bodies, God provides for us through the Eucharist, sustaining our souls. It could be said we have a temporal father to take care of our physical needs, and a spiritual Father to look after our spiritual wellbeing. But God is greater than that; he has a hand in both. Through his omnipotence, God is with us in everything, even our suffering. Jesus Christ — fully man and fully God — died on the cross for us. He suffered for our sake. Therefore, we can be reminded that when we are suffering, Christ is with us in our suffering. It is a sign of how much our Father loves us. God loves us so much, that he gave us his only begotten son.
All of this goes to show how deeply benevolent fatherhood is ingrained within the fabric of creation. Remove fatherhood, and things come undone.
The Goods of Fatherhood
This is why the enemy is focused on defeating “The Patriarchy.” The only time we hear that word these days is in a derogatory fashion, “down with The Patriarchy.” The enemy lies through omission and a twisting of the truth, and therefore will paint this as a good thing — usually with lines of equity: “There are more men in senior positions, therefore the natural conclusion is that men are oppressing women, destroy The Patriarchy!” Or, “The gender pay gap is a form of oppression, smash The Patriarchy!” We know these to be fabrications. They are untrue for many reasons. The statistics show that there is no gender pay gap — men and women in the same role get paid the same amount; that is the law. One of the reasons there are more men in leadership positions than women is because women take time off to have babies — an incredibly good thing. Motherhood is the most important vocation in the world, after all. But the stats are manipulated by some because they want to paint women as victims at the hand of men.
The enemy’s response would be that men and women should be equal in everything. That is not possible.
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What Pentecost Means for Our Work (Part 1)
The Apostle Paul taught that every follower of Jesus Christ is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are like “walking tabernacles” of God’s presence wherever we go, including the workplace. Just like the tabernacle, the portable temple where God’s presence resided that the Israelites carried through the wilderness for forty years until they entered the Promised Land, we too can experience the presence of God as we travel through the wilderness of our workplaces over our forty-year careers. He blesses our employers, coworkers, subordinates, and customers as he works with us, in us, and through us.
The Day of Pentecost has sometimes been overlooked in many churches I have attended, which is unfortunate. What happened with the early church in Jerusalem fifty days after the Passover clearly empowered them to do the work Jesus had called them to do, which radically changed the civilized world as we know it. The Holy Spirit’s power and presence continue to impact our workplaces today.
In my Christian walk, I have observed several key truths about the Holy Spirit I would like to explore. I’ll discuss the first two today and the third and fourth in my next article.The power of the indwelling Spirit enables Christians to do great things for Christ’s Kingdom.
We experience God’s presence through the Holy Spirit as he teaches us and reminds us of Jesus’s words.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit help us to find our purpose.
The fruit of the Spirit makes us like Christ.The Power of the Holy Spirit
The best place to start our discussion on the impact that the Day of Pentecost had on the work of Jesus’s disciples and with believers today is to unpack the power of the Holy Spirit. Before he ascended to heaven, Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to “wait for the gift my Father promised” (Act. 1:4). Jesus said that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” and that this gift would enable them to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Act. 1:8).
In Acts 2:1-41, the Holy Spirit did a mighty work among the ethnically diverse crowd gathered on the Day of Pentecost to expand the church to three thousand new believers. The Spirit worked in and through Peter as evidenced by his powerful preaching, where he moved in the hearts of the Gentiles who had heard the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own language and repented. The church continued to work in the power of the Holy Spirit as God’s coworkers to expand his church in Jerusalem on a global scale.
This power the apostles had enabled them to do the challenging work Jesus called them to do. This same power resides in us, giving us strength to obey God in order to live the Christian life. The Holy Spirit gives ordinary Christians the ability to work with a renewed mind and a higher purpose.
Tom Nelson, in Work Matters, heartily echoes this concept:
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