Several Life Groups will be going through the book this semester, so if you are part of a Life Group make sure to ask your leader if your group will be studying the book along with us.  Of course, anyone who wants to may follow our blog posts for the next ten weeks.  We will have the book available in our bookstall this weekend for $10. Happy reading!

Many Christians wrongly believe that the Gospel is merely a set of facts that we must believe in order to go to Heaven.  While it is true that the Gospel is based on historical facts (Jesus really lived, really died, and really rose from the dead), the Gospel is not merely a set of facts to be believed.

Rather, the Gospel is the Good News that Jesus lived perfectly, died, and rose again to purify for Himself a people that are zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).  The Gospel is the Good News that a believer no longer has to live in bondage to sin, but is made a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).  The Gospel is the Good News that a believer no longer has to strive, hoping to please God by doing good works and avoiding bad works (Gal. 2–3).  Best of all, the Gospel is the Good News that a believer is no longer an enemy of God, but a friend, and is counted as both not guilty and righteous in God’s eyes (Jn. 14:15; Rom. 3:21–4:8).

The Gospel is not just Good News for the day on which I die, though it most certainly is Good News on that day.  The Gospel is Good News every day of my life, because every day of my life as a believer I enjoy fellowship with God through the shed blood of Christ.  I am set free to serve Him, to serve His people, and to serve unbelievers in my life.

This is why we talk so much about the Gospel message at New Life.  The Gospel has changed us, is changing us, and will continue to change us each day.  And that’s Good News.

Verses 1–4

Paul opens the final section of his letter with instructions to children and fathers.  He commands children to obey their parents in the Lord, because that is right.  It is right because all of God’s creation points back to Him and to His order, including the family.  Children learn to submit to God by first learning to submit to their parents, just as wives are called to submit to their husbands as the church is called to submit to Christ.  Fathers are then commanded to avoid provoking their children to anger, but instead to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  Dads, disciplining our children will keep them from being provoked to anger. Discipline must be biblically informed, which means it must be done consistently out of love with a view toward restoration, not toward punishment.  You will provoke your children to anger if you discipline inconsistently, out of anger, or with a view toward punishment rather than restoration.  I encourage you to meditate long and hard on Hebrews 12, considering how God’s discipline of His children should inform our discipline of our children.

Verses 5–9

Paul moves on to slaves in the next five verses.  Throughout history and even today, some have believed and taught that Paul condoned slavery.  This is not the case; much of the Bible is descriptive rather than prescriptive.  Paul is merely acknowledging the fact that slavery does exist, and that Christian slaves should act in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  This section can be applied as instructions to employees and employers.  Employees should not “go through the motions” of their jobs, but work as though they were serving God Himself.  Employers should treat their employees fairly by compensating them appropriately and treating them decently, especially those who are of the household of faith.

Verses 10–20

Finally, Paul instructs the Ephesians to be strong in the Lord and to put on the whole armor of God, which includes:

1. The belt of truth (to combat the enemy’s lies)

2. The breastplate of righteousness (to deflect the false gospels of works righteousness)

3. Shoes of readiness given by the Gospel of peace (to ensure preparedness to preach the Word)

4. The shield of faith (to extinguish the flaming darts of the evil one)

5. The helmet of salvation (to protect us from doubts about the promise of God)

6. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (the only offensive weapon we have)

And how do we put on this armor?  By praying at all times in the Spirit, with all power and supplication (v. 18).  We must pray both for ourselves and others that we would open our mouths boldly to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel.  In order to do this, we must have the power of the Spirit to war against our enemy, the devil, because our fight is not against people, but against Satan and sin.

Verses 21–24

As he closes, Paul lets the Ephesians know he is sending Tychicus to them so that they may know how Paul and his companions are and so that their hearts may be encouraged.  This is the kind of love and consideration that we must show for one another.  Sending Tychicus to them meant that Tychicus was not with Paul, helping him and keeping him company.   But it meant that the Ephesians would know what was going on with them and that their hearts would be encouraged.  I pray that I would have that same selfless attitude in my life and ministry.  Last, Paul blesses the Ephesians with peace, love, and grace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

I hope you have enjoyed our quick tour through the book of Ephesians this summer.  We’ll begin our next blog series shortly, and I hope that God will use it to bless you.  Thanks for following along!

This month’s hymn is inextricably linked to Galatians 6:14, where Paul declares, “but far be it from me to boast except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

No more my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done
I quit my hopes I held before
To trust the merits of Your Son

The first verse begins with the declaration of the end of boasting in our own good works. I will no longer boast about all that I have done. After all, as Titus 3:4–5 says, “but when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works done by us in righteousness…” His saving us had nothing to do with even the works of righteousness we performed. Therefore, “I quit my hopes I held before”…presumably those hopes in our own efforts toward earning God’s favor. In place of those futile hopes, we substitute a superior hope by placing our trust in the merits of Christ.

No more my God
No more my God
No more my God
I boast no more

And now by grace I bear His name
What was my gain I count my loss
My former pride I call my shame
And nail my glory to His cross

This verse is seemingly paradoxical as it recounts the words of Paul from Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Paul repeatedly teaches us that our weakness reveals the glory and power of God. He even speaks of His own past worldly honors in near sarcastic tones, recalling what He once thought to be gain.

Yes and I must, I will esteem
All things but loss for Jesus’ sake
Oh that my soul be found in Him
And of His righteousness partake, Amen, Amen

Verse 3, which in this arrangement is sung like a bridge between verses 2 and 4, is a continuation of Philippians 3: “For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ…”

The best obedience of my hand
Dares not appear before the throne
But faith can answer His demands
By pleading what my Lord has done

Finally, lest we conclude that any of our efforts, even some of our good works for the glory of Christ, might be enough to earn the favor of God, we sing that that very best we could possibly do does not even dare to appear before the throne. This is talking about God as judge, sitting on the throne. His judgment of us cannot be based on any of our own merits or we perish. The only answer, and our only hope, that is sufficient in response to His demand for the righteousness required to enter into His presence, is faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Our plea that we enter before the judgment seat of God must be humbly, yet boastfully to proclaim that we belong to the Lord Jesus who has granted us repentance and faith and accomplished for us all that we could not. The Righteous Judge will look upon us and see His Son’s work, and be pleased.

Samuel Choi, one of the pastors at Mars Hill, recently shared what he learned from one of his heroes, George Whitefield, on the Mars Hill Blog.  Here’s the intro:

“When I was a student in college, I read about George Whitefield. I was in awe of his passion and works. There was nothing in his biography that I would have said anything negative about.  Now as I re-read a biography on George Whitefield as a husband, father and pastor, there are some things on his life, I do not want to repeat as a husband, father and pastor.”

I encourage you to read the whole post, and to praise God for the heroes in your life without idolizing them and minimizing their sins and weaknesses.  Learn from their victories and mistakes just as Samuel Choi did from Whitefield’s.

Please join us Sunday at 5 pm as we consider the Good News of Jesus Christ — the message that we strive to preserve and proclaim!

In chapter ten, Whitney deals with the disciplines of silence and solitude (some of you are thinking, “Those are spiritual disciplines?” with your iPod going, the dog barking, the TV on, and your roommates wrestling on the floor next to you). Remember Jesus’ actions – after the disciples had spent an entire day serving in ministry, Jesus told them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mk. 6:31).

On silence and solitude, Whitney writes, “But more than anything else, the Disciplines of silence and solitude can be so transfiguring because they provide time to think about life and to listen to God.  The plain fact is that most of us don’t do that enough.  Generations ago most of our forebears would have spent their days working in the fields or in the home where the only other sounds were those of nature or human voices.  Without electronic media there were fewer distractions from the voice of conscience and the still, small voice of God.  This is not to glamorize the supposed ‘good old days’ (a sinful practice; see Ecclesiastes 7:10) or suggest that we try to return to them.  I’m simply reaffirming what we’ve said from the beginning of this chapter:  One of the costs of technological advancement is a greater temptation to avoid quietness.  While we have broadened our intake of news and information of all kinds, these advantages may come at the expense of our spiritual depth if we do not practice silence and solitude” (194).

If you aren’t in the habit of spending time alone in quiet places, get into the habit.  That will make meditating on God and His character easier, which will help you to find your rest in Him.