God Glorifies Himself

The Westminster Confession of Faith is not one I’ve studied in recent years, but a recent reference by Alistair Begg made me revisit it. Chapter 2 Article II states in part:

“God has all life, glory, goodness, blessedness, in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creatures which He has made, nor deriving any glory from them, but only manifesting His own glory in, by, unto, and upon them.”

The scriptural proof for that statement was taken from Job 22:2-3 (ESV): “Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to Him if you make your ways blameless?”

If we accept this statement of the Confession as true (which some may argue), it should bring us to our knees in humility. Man cannot give anything to God, but is only a vessel through which God glorifies Himself. We can contribute nothing to our salvation, sanctification, service, or worship, except by means of God’s actions in and through us. When we remember that every breath we take, every beat of our hearts, and every impulse of our neurons is only possible because of God’s sustaining grace, we shouldn’t be surprised to realize that we can’t by our own efforts do anything for God.

It’s easy to fall into the habit of thinking incorrectly because we use imprecise terminology. We may say things like, “Let’s worship God together,” or “Glorify God in your work.” That’s not necessarily wrong to say, since Scripture uses such commands frequently. However, we need to remember that we can only obey those commands because God is at work in us to glorify Himself. In the words of the Apostle Paul, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12b-13). God initiates and we respond.

I realize this steps on the toes of man’s free will. These days I wonder if we are really so free as we think. It often seems more like an illusion to undergird our pride of self-sufficiency and independence. God’s sovereignty and man’s free will is certainly not something that I can explain, and far more learned theologians still debate it. I can only point to the truths of Scripture as God’s Word:

• “The Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He brings low and He exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and on them He has set the world” (1 Samuel 2:6-8).
• “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:7).
• “For You are great and do wondrous things; You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10).
• “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2).

Let us worship and serve the Creator because He has made us and has enabled us to do so by His grace and mercy!

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. 

Risky Faith

The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 has always disturbed me a little bit. Perhaps it’s the accountant in me who says, “When you’re handling someone else’s money you have to be extra careful.” I certainly agree with the statement that the servant should have at least invested the money to earn a little interest (though at today’s bank interest rates it’s hardly worth it!). But I’m not one to take a lot of risk in hopes of getting a good return on investment.

As I read the story again this week, it became clear to me that Jesus wasn’t talking so much about money or abilities, but about faith. The first two servants in the parable showed evidence of faith. They trusted that their master had confidence in them. They believed that he would not condemn them for taking a risk, even if it didn’t pay off. They weren’t afraid of the consequences. But the third servant lived in fear instead of faith. He was afraid of the master and he feared what might happen if he lost the money entrusted to him. His fears ruled his decisions because he lacked faith. He probably thought he was doing his job by protecting the master’s resources, but he missed out on the commendation the others received: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”

That is where the rubber meets the road. We may think we’re doing well in handling the resources and gifts entrusted to us, but we can do that without actually exercising much faith. There are plenty of unbelievers who are running large companies through human ingenuity. Believers are called to a higher standard. Certainly knowledge and ability are required, but so is faith. We can pray for guidance from the only One who knows all things. We can trust that God will accomplish His purposes through us. And we can believe that He will reward those who diligently seek to do our best for Him.

Andrew Murray wrote a challenging little book called Living a Prayerful Life. He points out that prayer is impossible except for the grace of God.

“What folly to think that all other blessings must come from Him, but that prayer, on which everything else depends, must be obtained by personal effort! …He only asks that I, with childlike confidence, wait upon Him and glorify Him… Learn from our Lord Jesus how impossible it is to walk with God, obtain God’s blessing or leading, or do His work joyously and fruitfully apart from close, unbroken fellowship with the One who is our living fountain of spiritual life and power… Our first work, therefore, ought to be to come into God’s presence not with our ignorant prayers, not with many words and thoughts, but in the confidence that the divine work of the Holy Spirit is being carried out within us.”

To be good stewards of all that God has entrusted to us requires that we be in close communion with Him. That is what enables us to take risks, knowing that God knows far more than we do. It only looks like a risk from our limited human perspective. The better we know our Father, the more we can trust that He will be pleased with us, even if things don’t turn out quite like we expect. The more we exercise faith in Him, the more faith we’ll have to exercise in the future. But if we rely on our own understanding, the less we’ll trust in our good Father. That’s what I think Jesus was getting at when He said, “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29 ESV). The final judgment is not about how many talents you have to give Him, but about whether you know heart of the Master who gave them to you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. 

Little by Little

Getting back into the swing of things with a new year, I was reminded of a verse that I thought I had used in a prior blog but can’t find now. In Exodus 23:29 (and reiterated in Deuteronomy 7:22), God was instructing the Israelites on what to expect as they entered the Promised Land: “Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land” (ESV). He knew they would soon get disheartened if they thought they had to defeat all the resident nations at once. He also knew they would be vulnerable to defeat if they didn’t have enough people to fill the available space.

This verse is one that has encouraged me in the past and I often need to be reminded of, because the same truths apply to our Christian walk and growth in sanctification. God never said that we would instantly be free from temptation and would never fall into sin again once we were converted. It doesn’t even happen in a year or two, though some believers might give that impression. It is a lifetime experience of fighting battles and gaining ground as God gives the victory.

The Israelites were reminded, “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt” (Deut. 7:17-18). When the battles are long and victory seems impossible, we can remember God’s work in the past and trust Him for the future. He will have the ultimate victory.

If we were instantly sanctified and never had to fight any battles, we would soon forget our need for God, just as Israel did. “Lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses... then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Deut. 8:12-14). Our weakness is intended to remind us of God’s strength (2 Corinthians 12:9). God allows us to go through the battles to test us and humble us so we will remember to rely on Him. “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2).

No matter how long the battles may last, we can take heart as we know that God is able to bring the victory and He will not stop until the job is done. He was faithful to Israel, and He will be faithful to us. He knows our weakness and our struggles. He has never stopped fulfilling His plan for His chosen people. He can be trusted to work out His will in His own perfect timing. Let us not become discouraged at the pace of our progress in sanctification, or disheartened with the difficult circumstances that surround us. His steadfast love endures forever.

“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

© 2016 Dawn Rutan.