“ Summary, Part 2 ” A. HOW IS THIS DONE [29:23]? 1. BY A GLORIOUS CONTRASTING MANIFESTATION OF HIS OWN GLORY (Is 6:1-5, Lk 5:3-8, Job 42:1-6). When God’s holiness is plain to us, it becomes plain that we can never compare to it. His awesomeness can only put us on our knees. 2. BY THE SPIRIT-QUICKED APPLICATION OF HIS WORD (Acts 2, 1 Cor 2:9-12) [35:05]. The believers repented in the face of the power of the Pentecost. Their response to this was cutting conviction. The Holy Spirit’s workings show us our true selves. V. DEPRAVITY PARDONED AND MORTIFIED IN THE REGENERATE [40:30]. How does a child of wrath become an object of God’s love? He quickens our spirits by His sovereign grace and grants us pardon; He will not condemn us (Eph 2:1; Titus 3:3-7; Rom 4:7, 8:1). Rom 6:5-7, 11-14 – the first stop in mortification is to realize that God has cleansed us; we are no longer slaves to sin. Remember who you are in Christ. Rom 8:12-13 – if we don’t put sin to death, sin will put us to death. The strength to put sin to death is by the Spirit, not by our own strength. The way of the flesh is the way of death. Mortification is the way of life for the Christian. The sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” In 1 Cor 2:4-10, Paul explained to the Corinthian church that his message was supported more by the gospel’s power than by intellectually stimulating arguments. Conveying the deep things of God requires this. As fallen beings, though we’re quick to embrace God’s good promises, we reject the truth of our spiritual state without understanding its foundational essence in the gospel. Good news implies bad news. Yet so deep is our depravity that we deny that there even was a flood. Continuing from last week, we move on to IV. DEPRAVITY SEARCHED OUT AND DISCOVERED BY THE SPIRIT [starting at 14:30 of the audio]. In Jer 10:23, the prophet tells speaks of our spiritual state. Though we can direct our physical steps, we are blind to our fallen spirits walking us away from God. We’re conscious, but our consciousness is incomplete (1 Cor 2:14; 2 Kgs 8:7-13; Mal 2:13-14, 3:8; Jn 9:39). We should always be wary of talking about “what we would never do”. And we should be wary of religiosity, which only dresses our depravity in transparent trappings. He with light who still lives in darkness is especially condemned. Jer 17:9 – we don’t understand the capacities of our own hearts, yet God searches them and shows us what they contain. Job 40:6-14 – the Lord alone has the power to humble us.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” APPLICATIONS [39:34]: 1. The Flood underscores that man left to himself will corrupt his ways more and more. Right after the Ark found dry ground, God instituted capital punishment. Noah’s rescue was not perfect sanctification. 2. Environment is not the breeding ground of sin. It can aid and abet it but not author it. 3. Our fallen nature is undeniable. Gal 3:22 – the Scripture has fenced us into acknowledging our condition. But mercifully, it also supplies the good news: that God offers mercy and pardon upon our repentance. 4. All of us were born under the condemnation of Scripture, with no means of rescuing ourselves. Let us remember that it was God’s grace that saved us, and let the unsaved know that His grace is available to them. Let the darkness of our condition be the background of the light of the gospel.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” OBJECTIONS [33:55]: Don’t we find people in our midst to be generally civil? Yes, but mercifully, they (and we) are restrained from living out our inclinations to the full. We fear the consequences of loss, shame, a lesser position, etc. Rom 2:14-15 – the Bible points out that even those without revelatory light bear evidence of God’s image and His law on their hearts, and even those with that light bear evidence of total depravity. What about infants? Aren’t they innocent? And doesn’t that show that they didn’t inherit sin from their parents? Even nature shows that the gentle baby will grow into a savage state without any prompting. It is the outworking of his nature (cf. Ps 51:5).
“ Summary, Part 2 ” 1 Cor 15:22 – though we are all fallen in one man, we can be born again in another. We aren’t sinners because we sin; we sin because we’re sinners. Any random look at the world proves this. II. SIN PROPAGATED BY ORDINARY GENERATION [19:44]. Gen 5:3 – the first birth of a human being in the image of man, which is a fallen state. Our depraved nature is universal. Note how mankind was worth destruction just a single chapter later. III. SIN MANIFESTED BY ITS DEEDS [21:50]. Again, a random look at the world is proof of this. Sin flows readily, with only the restraints of society to keep it from its full expression. Even when restrained, our sinful natures still burn in our hearts. Gen 6:11-12 – just one of many biblical proofs of the universal nature of sin (cf. Rom 3:9-18, 1 Jn 1:8-10). Gen 6:5 – the source of sin within us is our own hearts. What we conceive there is impure and evil. Notice the universal terms that the verse uses to describe it (every, only, continually), and they are not limited to the antediluvians (Jer 17:9, Mk 7:14-22).
“ Summary, Part 1 ” In Gen 6:5-13, we learn of God’s destruction of the world by flood due to the depravity of men. But God spared Noah and his family. Historically, it has been quite rare for the church to emphasize man’s total depravity. Despite Calvinism’s flickers of light from time to time, humanism soon followed and put it out. But by God’s grace, the embers remain lit. For our present purpose, Calvinism is the set of biblical doctrines affirming God’s sovereignty and His administration of grace. Its signature is the fivefold doctrine known as TULIP, and today we will examine the T: total depravity. I. TOTAL DEPRAVITY INTRODUCED BY THE FALL [starting at 14:57 of the audio]. Depravity is the moral corruption of our person that constitutes us as sinners. This was not our created condition. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, where all their needs were in abundant supply. They were given one commandment: to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Through Satan’s manipulation, they fell and were driven away into a cursed world, with death appointed to their future. Rom 5:12 – Adam was the federal head of mankind, and all mankind inherited his fallen nature.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” b. AS GOD’S GOOD PLAN TO MAKE US COMFORTERS [47:53]. This is only learned in the school of suffering. God does not comfort the comfortable, and the bitter cannot be comforters: they can only share complaints, which are infectious. It is a sin against God to hoard our blessings. 2. LET US LEARN FROM OUR AFFLICTIONS TO EMPATHIZE WITH THE AFFLICTIONS OF OTHERS [52:39]. We can seek out those who suffer pains we’ve suffered, but at the risk of neglecting others in pain. 3. BE QUICK TO TAKE NOTICE OF THE GRIEFS AND AFFLICTIONS OF OTHERS [54:16]. If we don’t, then we offer awkwardness instead of comfort. Even silent commiseration can be comforting (it was the best thing Job’s friends did for him). We must let them know that their struggle will become a matter of urgent prayer for us. 4. YOUR MINISTRY OF COMFORT TO AFFLICTED BRETHREN MINSTERS FRESH COMFORT TO YOUR OWN SOULS [57:46]. How do we talk of God’s goodness without taking joy in it? IN CONCLUSION, our only credential to be God’s comforters is to have received His comfort.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” LESSON: Your suffering and your comfort from God as you look to Christ is not all about you. This means a few things practically. First, it helps us to see that our afflictions are purposeful. They have a good end. Second, it helps us to see that our comforts are also purposeful. They too have a good end. They don’t stop with us. Third, it helps us to see the great privilege and honor God bestows upon His comforters. Our suffering and comfort trains us to become ready comforters. 3. IF WE ARE TO COMFORT OTHER CHRISTIANS IN THEIR AFFLICTIONS, LET US IMITATE EXAMPLES WE FIND IN THE BIBLE [29:41]. a. With God’s sure promises. 1) Moses’ encouragement of Israel (Deut 3:22-23, 28). 2) Jonathan’s comfort of David (1 Sam 23:14-18). 3) Paul’s comfort of his shipmates (Acts 27:33-36). b. Christians comfort each other with clear instructions from the Scriptures (Acts 15:30-33). c. Christians comfort each other with the sober truth that afflictions are a necessary part of the Christian life (Acts 14:19-23). APPLICATIONS [45:46]. 1. LET US LEARN TO PROPERLY VIEW OUR AFFLICTIONS. a. AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S COMFORT. The happiest and most prosperous Christians are not free from trials. They are held up by God as much as every other Christian.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” Still considering III. THE GRACIOUS DESIGN FOR OUR COMFORTS, we continue with B. GOD COMFORTS US SO THAT WE MAY COMFORT OTHERS [starting at 8:26 of the audio]. God has called us to be comforting channels to our suffering brethren. This means at least three things: 1. WE MUST HAVE FIRST EXPERIENCED GOD’S COMFORT BEFORE WE CAN MINISTER HIS COMFORT TO OTHERS. 2 Cor 2:5-11 – The church was to comfort and forgive a repentant sinner. God also comforted the repentant church (2 Cor 7:6-7, 13). QUESTION: Since God calls His people to be comforters, what comfort from the Lord might you be keeping to yourself that you need to share with others? We are not to hoard our blessings. When we are saved, we become part of a body. 2. IF WE ARE TO COMFORT OTHERS, WE MUST LOOK BEYOND OUR AFFLICTIONS TO THE GRACIOUS PURPOSE GOD HAS IN OUR AFFLICTIONS [18:09]. We cannot see the God beyond our afflictions if we wallow in those afflictions. The school of Christ is a school of suffering; we must keep God’s greater purpose in mind. Christ is our great model. Heb 4:15-16 – Do we bring our afflictions to our great High Priest? Heb 2:18 – Christ lived a life of suffering and never sinned.
“ Summary, Part 2 (final) ” LESSON [17:41]: Let us view our afflictions as opportunities to experience God’s comfort. We don’t desire afflictions, but the Christian accepts them for the well-meaning God behind them and the comforting Christ with them. 1) When we suffer affliction as Christians, let us be comforted that we are being conformed to the image of Christ. 1 Pet 2:20-21 – Christ’s perfect life led Him to mockery and to the indignity of the cross, but from there to glory. The martyrs knew comfort in their torture as well. 2) When we suffer affliction as Christians, let us be comforted because we are being confirmed in our faith. 1 Pet 3:15-16 – When we are mocked, we are not to return it in kind. Let it condemn the mocker alone, and let us not join him in his sin. 3. LET US SEE CHRIST IN OUR AFFLICTIONS [30:02]. Christ is not only with us in our afflictions, but associates with us in them. Col 1:24 – And we are to associate with Christ in them (1 Pet 4:13, Rom 8:16-18). LESSON [40:43]: Patient suffering for Christ ensures the comfort of Christ. APPLICATION [42:50]: Let us learn to properly view our afflictions. Let us learn them as opportunities to experience God’s comfort. Christian, whatever afflicts you now, God has brought you here.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We continue with III. THE GRACIOUS DESIGN FOR OUR COMFORTS (2 Cor 1:4) [starting at 4:22 of the audio]. We can see two deductions from this passage: A. GOD AFFLICTS US SO THAT HE MAY COMFORT US [5:00]. 1. LET US SEE THAT OUR AFFLICTIONS COME FROM GOD FOR OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. This means that God is sitting sovereign on the throne. Afflictions don’t come from nowhere for no reason, be they for chastening or for perfection. God is glorified when His intentions manifest in us (Ps 119:75, 67, 71). LESSON: God intends good through our afflictions; let us not despise them or rebel against Him in them. He will never give us more than we can handle. Afflictions are to make us strong, not to kill our spirits. 2. LET US SEE OUR AFFLICTIONS AS OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE GOD’S COMFORT [11:57]. He does not comfort the comfortable, but those who mourn over their sin (cf. Mt 5:4). a. As long as we suffer no affliction, we receive no comfort (v. 5). 2 Cor 11:23 – Paul’s afflictions were accompanied by God’s comfort. b. When we suffer affliction, God in Christ is our great comforter. Christ also sent another comforter (Jn 16:7).
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” b. BY ENCOURAGING ANSWERS TO OUR PRAYERS. Ps 86:17 – It is so uplifting to receive answers to prayers. c. BY DIRECTING OUR ATTENTION TO HIS WORD. Ps 119:50, 52 – Remembrance of biblical judgments of old and promises for the future are comforting. Ps 119:76 – Even our eyes falling upon Scripture just at the right moment bring tremendous comfort. Ps 94:19 – They can also bring tremendous perspective in times of agitation. Ps 27:13 – God’s promises of future blessings can bring us through any trial. Ps 119:82 – God’s word was David’s comfort. Jer 15:16 – Jeremiah savored what the sweetness of the word did for him. Rom 15:4 – Paul drew on Scripture’s older lessons for hope in his own afflictions. E. OUR COMFORT IS EXCLUSIVE [53:55]. His comfort is exclusively for His people. Though He bestows everyone with the common graces, His personal graces come only to Christians. OBSERVATION [55:10]: How vain are the attempts of men to find hope apart from Christ and His word. That’s why the Bible is not a comfort to those without Him. Like Job’s friends, the world’s comforts only leave us unsatisfied, empty, and unsaved, and often even worsen our afflictions. From what do you seek comfort in this uncomfortable world? We must not look to the creation, but to the Creator.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” C. OUR COMFORT IS CONTINUAL [32:03]. He is not just the Father of mercy, but the Father of mercies. We’ve failed ourselves before, but He never failed us. His comforts attend our trials. He who ordained our trials will sustain us in our afflictions. Lam 3:22-23 – His lovingkindesses never cease because His compassions never fail. When we cling to sin or doubt His love, His eye is still upon us; we will not experience comfort then, but we will be restored upon repentance. D. OUR COMFORT IS SUITABLE [38:38]. His comforts are perfectly suited to each Christian. 1. IN ITS TIMING [39:16]. He comforts us IN our affliction: not before when we don’t need it, not after when we’ve already received it. Even when we’ve exhausted our resources, He comes in the nick of time to show us true comfort, usually in ways we don’t expect and perfect in every way. 2. IN ITS APPLICATION [41:00]. He fits His comforts to our trials. 1 Cor 10:13 – He does not tempt us beyond what we are able to bear. When a trial comes, it is practical to give it to Him. He may not remove it, but He will empower us to endure it. a. THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF OTHER BELIEVERS. 2 Cor 7:5-7 – He also comforts us through other believers, even their mere presence, and also by their good reports.
“ Summary, Part 2 ” Some things about His comfort: 1. HE DOESN’T COMFORT US BY PROTECTING US FROM AFFLICTION [17:55]. He consoles us in it. If He withheld afflictions, how could He comfort us? 2. FEAR OF MAN PREVENTS US FROM KNOWING GOD’S COMFORT [18:55]. Is 51:12 – What do we say of our faith if we don’t go to God when man afflicts us (cf. Rom 8:31). 3. GOD’S FATHERLY MERCIES ARE MOTHERLY IN THEIR TENDERNESS [21:18]. Is 66:13 – Made in the image of a tender God, women show a greater capacity for tenderness. B. OUR COMFORT IS EFFECTUAL [22:55]. God comforts us in all our afflictions. His comforts are not potential or sporadic but actual and regular. Is 51:13 – a striking passage of God’s comfort in a most unlikely place. Our trials are the grounds for His blessings. We’ve seen His comforts in our past afflictions, so what makes us doubt them now? Cf. Heb 2:18, 4:15-16.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” Continuing from last week, II. THE BLESSED CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR COMFORTS (vv. 3-4) [starting at 5:30 of the audio]. Christians suffer affliction, and only a false gospel teaches otherwise. Jesus promised that we would suffer them. Paul said that through them we will enter the Kingdom of God. Without them, why would need God’s mercies and comforts? He does not provide them through material things, but through spiritual things. People who believe that find spiritual emptiness. Comfort comes from contentment for our providential situation, and so we accept hardship. Spiritual blindness also keeps us from His comfort; wallowing in self-pity is often mistaken for spiritual cleansing. It is not. Spiritual self-reliance is another pitfall; God will only bring us down to show us our weakness and utter need for Him. 2 Cor 4:8-12 – despite all our afflictions, we are not ruined; rather, we are sustained by the life of Christ. The gospel is not just a word, but a word with power. Five points about our comfort: A. OUR COMFORT IS PERSONAL [17:00], meaning that it comes from a personal God. Our comforts don’t just happen, but come from the one who comforts us.
“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” WHAT SHOULD OUR RESPONSE BE TO THE MERCIES OF GOD, ESPECIALLY HIS GOSPEL MERCIES? [42:23] 1. GREAT GRATITUDE. We should be a grateful people, not a grumbling one (Ps 145:9-10). 2. A LIFE WHOLLY CONSECRATED TO GOD. We must be dedicated to pleasing Him in every aspect. Great mercy requires a holy life. 3. GREAT CONFIDENCE AND TRUST IN THE LORD’S PRESERVING POWER. Ps 40:11 – We are not preserved by our own fleshly strength and power. 4. SINCERE REPENTANCE AND OPEN CONFESSION OF SIN. Ps 51:1 – David learned to not hide anything from God. 5. URGENT, BELIEVING PRAYER. Ps 69:16 – We must know our weakness and our utter need for God.
“ Summary, Part 3 ” B. A NAME OF COMPASSION: HE IS THE SOURCE OF MERCIES [30:03]. Paul calls God the “Father” of mercies because He is the source of every mercy (Jas 1:17). With God, mercy is not an emotion as it is with men, but a perfection. He is 100% mercy, and we as Christians are to reflect it toward others (Col 3:12-13). The heart of God is filled with sympathy, mercy, and pity for His beloved children. Humility is the opposite of pride. God shows this by stooping low to give us mercy. His mercies, like Himself, are great (Ps 119:156). 2 Sam 24:14 – His mercies are great when He must chasten His children (cf. Heb 12:6, Ps 51:1). His mercies are also rooted in His eternal covenant love (Ps 25:6, Ps 103:4).
“ Summary, Part 2 ” A. A NAME OF KINSHIP: HE IS FOUNDER OF OUR COVENANT MERCIES IN HIS SON [23:25]. We are united to God by a family relationship. But this relationship is not original, but derived. God is our Father because He is first the Father of Jesus Christ. We are His children not by nature, but by adoption (Eph 1:5). You out of all people in the world, you are His beloved children (Ps 103:13, 2 Cor 1:3). Because we are sinners, and because we live in a fallen world, we need God’s mercy, which is free favor for the miserable. Because we are God’s children in a hostile world, we need God to comfort us in our many distresses. God does not bestow these blessings of fatherly love and care upon His beloved children, but imparts them through our mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rom 8:32). If Christ is not our savior, then God is not our Father.
“ Summary, Part 1 ” We are but dust. As sinners, we need Christ’s tender mercies every moment. Paul was a man well-acquainted with grief and affliction, yet he had a heart to give the gospel to those who mistreated him. God perfects His people through trials: they equip us to administer comfort, as we have received comfort. First, Paul speaks openly of his trails because he had developed an intimate relationship with the Corinthians; he had been with them for eighteen months. Second, in 2 Corinthians especially, Paul speaks of the paradoxes of the Christian life and of the gospel ministry. His own trails enabled him to triumph. 2 Cor 4:7-12 – God brings us what seems hostile to our happiness, but it is meant for our good and for His glory (cf. 2 Cor 6:3-11, 11:23-30, 12:7-10). I. THE ADORABLE AUTHOR OF OUR COMFORTS (v. 3) [starting at 19:10 of the audio]. Paul points out his trials, but only to direct us to the comforting God behind them. We find four different names for our merciful, comforting God.
“ Summary, Part 3 (final) ” III. ALL THE PROMISES AND ALL THE WARNINGS OF THE BIBLE APPLY ALSO TO THE YOUNG (30:44). Our sin problem is a human problem: the newborn has it as much as the elderly. No one is born a Christian or inherits it from family or anyone but God. We must each come to Christ alone. No matter how much one gains before he comes to faith, it doesn’t amount to a penny of spiritual wealth. Moses gave up the life of Egyptian royalty for a life with God and His people (Heb 11:24-26). All in earth, no matter how enchanting, passes away. If we never leave a name here, but the only place to have one is in the Book of Life in heaven. IV. NOT KNOWING HOW LONG YOU WILL LIVE URGES YOU TO COME TO CHRIST WHEN YOU ARE YOUNG (38:11). Children are practically unaware of their mortality, but adults tend to lose sight of it, too. We must live every day as though it were the last. A small casket is a most sobering reminder. Do we have the hope of going to be with Christ in glory at our death? We cannot do anything to save ourselves; only Christ can save. The Bible makes it clear that He will not turn away anyone who seeks Him with a whole heart.
11/2/15 4:57 AM
