Coffee House Chapel #6

April 28

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We must mention the doctrine of redemption. The fact that God sent His only Son to this world to pay for our sins (John 3:16) must be weighed against the humanistic philosophy. Because of God’s redemptive plan - man is more valuable than, and at the same time worse than the humanist could even imagine.

The doctrine of redemption intensifies man’s value - because even the worst of sinners - is so valuable that God sent His Son to die for that one. This doctrine also makes it abundantly clear that man is so bad off - that there is nothing else that could save man - except that same blood of God’s only Son.

In 1941, C. S. Lewis preached a sermon that we know as the essay entitled “The Weight of Glory.” In this essay, Lewis probed the meaning of glory - and he recognized that glory is something of the very essence of God that we humans desire. It is something “no natural happiness will satisfy.” (Lewis) Though we desire this glory, in our sinful estate - we have shut it out. “We want it. We sense that we are destined for it. But glory is beyond us – apart from what God has done to save us and make us like Himself.” (Boice)

Lewis concludes his essay by showing us how we should think about other people. Each human being will either be brought into glory - or will be shut out from it – for all eternity. Lewis writes, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare....There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

“What Lewis is doing in that essay is helping us to develop a Christian mind about other people, and his bottom line is that we will treat others better only if we learn to think of them in these terms.” (Boice)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

April 29

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Put a frog in a pan of cold water. Place the pan on the stove and begin to heat it. Let the water come to a boil. Will the frog still be in the pan? The answer is yes. The action of the heat on the water is so slow that the frog does not realize the danger it’s in until it is too late. I’m afraid most Christians are like that frog. We have, over the years, become to used to hearing the world’s point of view, that we seldom see or hear any error. We become so complacent in the world - that we do not realize it is swallowing us - until it’s too late - until we are cooked!

When we listen to the world’s point of view, it often seems so attractive and right - that we get sucked into its swirling pool of death - all the time thinking that we are safe. We need to think biblically and critically about the world’s philosophy.

What is the world’s philosophy?

● “I matter most, and the world exists to serve me. Whatever satisfies me is what’s important.”
● “If I earn enough money, I’ll be happy. I need money to provide security for me and my family. Financial security will protect me from hardship.”
● “Anything is acceptable as long as it doesn’t hurt another person.”
● “Success is the path to fame, wealth, pleasure, and power. Look out for number one.”


What is the Christian philosophy?

 “God is in control of all things and has a purpose for everything that happens.”
 “Man exists to glorify God.”
 “Money cannot shield us against heartbreak, failure, sin, disease, or disaster.”
 “Success in God’s kingdom means humility and service to others.”

The world believes the Christian way is unattractive and wrong. “Because we are so much part of the world and so little like Jesus Christ, even Christians find God’s way unappealing. Nevertheless, we are to press on in that way and prove by our lives that the will of God really is good, pleasing, and perfect in all things.” (Boice)

Robert Candlish wrote, “The believer’s transformation by the renewing of his mind is not the ultimate end which the Holy Spirit seeks in His regenerating and renovating work. It is the immediate and primary design of that work, in one sense. We are created anew in Christ Jesus. That new creation is what the Holy Spirit first aims at and effects. But ‘we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them’ (Eph 2:10). The essence of a good work is the doing of the will of God. The proving of the will of God, therefore, is a fitting sequel of our ‘being transformed by the renewing of our mind.’”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 2

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We now enter a discussion on which there is much disagreement, the will of God and what that means. Paul is specific on these points - that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect, and that we may prove or test what that will is!

When Christians talk about discovering what the will of God is for their lives, they are usually referring to what specific direction God has in mind for their lives, where to go to college, what job to pursue, whom to marry, etc. “This is not exactly what proving the will of God means, nor is it what Romans 12:2 is teaching. The will of God is far more important than that.” (Boice)

Garry Friesen and J. Robin Maxson wrote a book entitled, “Decision Making and the Will of God: An Alternative to the Traditional View.” In that book they point out that there are three meanings to the word “will.” (1) There is God’s sovereign will which is hidden to us except as it unfolds in history. (2) There is God’s moral will, which is revealed in the Bible. (3) There is God’s specific will for individuals, which is what people are usually referring to when talking about the will of God. [Let me note that the authors disagree with the idea that God has a specific will for each life - and it is the duty of the individual believers to find that will or to live in the center of it.]

I find myself in disagreement with Friesen and Maxson on point three. I believe that God does have a specific will for individuals, and that it can be ascertained. May I suggest some reasons why God’s specific will for individuals often remains unknown. (1) God has given to believers some very specific directives in the Bible. God does not have to give us “engraved invitations” to do the following things: witness (Matthew 28:18-20); marry believers (2 Corinthians 6:14) [may I suggest that this prohibition includes any business or other entangling relationship with unbelievers.]; study of the Word (2 Timothy 4:2 and 3:14-17); etc. [Most of us do not follow God’s specifically revealed will for all believers - and until we do - it is unlikely that God will give us any further marching orders.] (2) God does not usually reveal His will to us by the means of the “wet fleece.” (Study Gideon’s life for the meaning of “wet fleece.”) If someone gives you a recipe for finding God’s will for your life - it would probably be best that you run in the opposite direction - and be fast about it. Friesen and Maxson were correct in their assessment of the weakness of subjective methods of determining divine guidance.

“We may not know what that specific will is, and we do not need to be under pressure to ‘discover’ it, fearing that if we miss it, somehow we will be doomed to a life outside the center of God’s will. We are free to make decisions with what light and wisdom we possess.” (Boice)

Remember that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God, “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:27) God has decreed His will for our lives, and the Holy Spirit is praying for us in this area.

In Romans 12:2, the will of God for us is that we offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God. We are to refuse to be conformed to the world, and we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Friends, when we do the things Paul has instructed us to do in this verse - we are well on the way to finding out what His “perfect will” for our lives.

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

[ May 03, 2005, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: Dan Todd ]

 

May 3

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Today, we are going to begin to look at the specifics of God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will. Our text teaches us about the nature of God’s will for our lives.

1. The will of God is good. As we mentioned previously - there is a general will of God for all believers that is revealed in the Word. I believe that believers must follow this general will of God for their lives before any individual specifics will be revealed. Romans 8 gives us a broad outline of God’s general will - and that is that all believers will be delivered from God’s eternal judgment for sin - and that we become increasingly like the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul highlights several steps in this plan in verses 29-30, and these include (1) foreknowledge, (2) predestination, (3) effectual calling, (4) justification, and (5) glorification.

There are also many other specifics given to us in the Word. The Ten Commandments of Exodus 20 give us some of these. We are to have no other gods before Him. We are not to use images in our worship of Him. We are not to take His name in vain. We are to honor our parents. We are not to commit murder, adultery, theft, give false testimony, or covet. Christ, in the New Testament amplified many of these commands as well as giving us others. It is God’s will that we be holy - “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” (1 Thess 4:7) It is God’s will that we pray - “Pray without ceasing.” (1 Thess 5:17) We are also to love one another - “ This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)

I’m sure that you’ll agree that these things do not always seem good to us, because we are far from God and we think too much as the world thinks. But as we discover God’s will for us, and put these things into practice, we’ll find that these things are good. Robert Haldane wrote, “The will of God is here distinguished as good, because, however much the mind may be opposed to it and how much soever we may think that it curtails our pleasures and mars our enjoyments, obedience to God conduces to our happiness.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

[ May 03, 2005, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: Dan Todd ]

 

May 4

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Yesterday - the Will of God is good - today:

2. The will of God is pleasing. But pleasing to whom? Certainly not to God! Besides we would be hard pressed to prove or disprove that God is pleased with His will. What the apostle is telling us here is - if we walk in God’s way - refusing to be conformed to the world - and being transformed by the renewing of our minds - we will be pleased. Pleased because when we come to the end of this earthly sojourn - we’ll not be bitter, dissatisfied, or judging our lives a complete waste because we were not obedient to the call of our text. Instead - if we’ve become conformed to the image of God’s only begotten Son and been transformed by the renewing of our minds - we will have lived well (according to God’s standards) and we’ll be satisfied.

I close today with a quote from Dr. Boice. “I was talking with a Christian man whose mother was dying. The mother was not a Christian, and she had become very bitter, although she had not been a bitter person before. She felt that everyone was turning against her, even her children, who actually were trying to help her. This man said to me, ‘I am convinced that Christians and non-Christians come to the end of their lives very differently. Those who are not Christians feel that they do not deserve to end their lives with failing health and pain, and they think their lives have been wasted. Christians are satisfied with what God has led them through and has done for them. It is better to die as a Christian.’”

That testimony sounds a lot like what the apostle is telling us in our text.

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 5

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

We’ve seen that God’s will is good and that His will is pleasing. Today we’ll see that:

3. The will of God is perfect. There are several Greek words that are translated “perfect.” “Akribôs” means accurate or correct. “Katartizô” means well fitted to a specific end - like the solution of a puzzle. The word in our text is “teleios” which means something that attained its full destiny or is complete. “Teleios” can be used of a mature adult. It was used of Jesus who became a complete or perfect man. It is used of the end of history. In our text it means that those who do the will of God will find that His will lacks nothing. “There is a satisfying wholeness about it.” (Boice)

If, when we come to the end of our lives, and we find ourselves dissatisfied with those lives, that will only mean that we have been conformed to the world instead of being conformed to our Savior. That dissatisfaction will mean that we lived for ourselves rather than for God and others.

Let us strive to be able to say with the Apostle Paul, “ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy4:7-8)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 6

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

All to many times today - theology is based upon experience. Theology must always be based upon Scripture, and experience must agree with biblically based theology in order to be right. But there is a place for experience. Dr. Boice writes “that we need to prove by our experience that the will of God is indeed what Paul tells us it is – good, pleasing, and perfect. We need to check it out. It is by checking it out that we will begin to find out what it actually is.”

Our normal way of thinking is to tell God what His will for us is - only then do we decided if we want to follow God’s or not. But that is not finding out what God’s will is - it’s imposing our will in the place of God’s. Our text tells us that we must start living God’s way. Only by living God’s way will we know His will in its fullness and learn how really good it is. Robert Candlish writes, “The will of God ... can be known only by trial .... No one who is partaker of a finite nature and who occupies the position of a subject or servant under the authority of God, under His law, can understand what ... the will of God is otherwise than through actual experience. You cannot explain to Him beforehand what the will of God is and what are it’s attributes and characteristics. He must learn this for himself. And he must learn it experimentally. He must prove in his own person and in his own personal history what is ... ‘that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 9

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Today I find it necessary to quote Dr. Boice. “One of the most valuable parts of [Robert] Candlish’s study is the way he follows up on this idea, noting that the idea of proving the will of God experimentally goes a long way toward explaining the Bible’s teaching about probation. This word is derived from the word “prove” and refers to a trial or test. According to Candlish, every order of free and intelligent being has been called upon to stand trial in the sense that ultimately it was created to prove that the will of God is good, pleasing, and perfect – or, if the creature should reject that will and fail the test, to prove that the contrary will of the world is disappointing and defective. Candlish reminds us of the following biblical examples.”

1. The angels. The Bible does not tell us very much about the trial of the angels. It seems rather obvious that some failed in their test - as they followed Satan/Lucifer in his rebellion against God. The result of their rebellion is the severe judgment of Almighty God. In fact Jesus stated that this place of severe judgment was prepared for Satan and his angels, “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” (Matthew 25:41).

Though we are not told the specific issue of the angels trial - Candlish speculated that it had to do with the command to worship the Son of God, “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” (Hebrews 1:6) No matter what the specifics were - the angels of God were to prove that His will was/is good, pleasing, and perfect. Scripture teaches that a third of the angels followed Satan, “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” (Revelation 12:4) [Note - many scholars believe that the stars in this verse are referring to angels.] It is clear that many of God’s created angels rebelled and followed Satan. “And even those who did adhere to God’s will must have done so not knowing then the full goodness, satisfaction, or perfection of what they were being called upon to do. They have been learning it since by their doing of it; that is, they have been learning it experimentally.” (Boice) [Ephesians 3:8-11, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:”]

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 10

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The subject is God’s Creatures and Probation. Last time we looked at the probation of the angels, today we look at man’s probation.

2. Man in his pristine state. We can be a bit more dogmatic about the case of man - because we are part of mankind, and God has given us more than just a veiled glimpse of this subject, than He did with the angels. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, and were required to prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God in the matter of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of this tree, God has forbidden that they eat of it, and if they disobeyed, they would die. The first parents were required to choose what was more desirable, obedience to God or being like God (Genesis 3:5). To their everlasting shame and our everlasting detriment, they chose the way of sin. They ate of the tree and paid the price for their transgression.

Candlish argues that if Adam and Eve had kept the will of God, though it did not seem desirable at that stage of their lives, “They would have found by experience that what God announced to them as His will was really in itself, as the seal of His previous covenant of life and as the preparation for the unfolding of His higher providence, fair, reasonable [and] good....They would have learned experimentally that it was suited to their case and circumstances, deserving of their acceptance, sure to become more and more pleasing as they entered more and more into its spirit and became more and more thoroughly reconciled to the quiet simplicity of submission which it fostered.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 11

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The subject is Probation. We’ve looked at the probation of the angels and man, today we look at the Lord Jesus Christ’s probation.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior, in His incarnate state, “took it upon Himself to prove that God’s will was indeed good, pleasing, and perfect, even though it involved the pain of the cross, which in itself hardly seemed good, pleasing, or even acceptable.” (Boice)

The cross was an agonizing trial for the Savior. The worst of that experience was not the physical pain and suffer, but rather His separation from His Father, which caused Him to cry out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46) But in spite His great physical and emotional suffering, Jesus was willing to do the Father’s will, [He] “prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matt 26:39); “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;” (Hebrews 5:7-8); “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8)

Robert Candlish writes, “It must have been, it often was, with Him a struggle – an effort – to do the will of God. It was not easy, it was not pleasant. It was self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-crucifixion throughout. It was repulsive to the highest and holiest instincts of His pure humanity. It laid upon Him most oppressive burdens; it brought Him into most distressing scenes; it involved Him in ceaseless, often thankless toil; it exposed Him to all sorts of uncongenial encounters with evil men and evil angels. But He proved it. And in the proving of it, and as He was proving it, He found it to be good and acceptable and perfect.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 12

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The subject is Probation. We’ve looked at the probation of the angels, man, and the Lord Jesus Christ, today we look at Christian’s probation.

4. Christians. Men and women who profess the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are also on probation. No, it’s not a matter of gaining or losing salvation, it’s more a matter of gaining or losing rewards, though the gaining of rewards should not be the motive for passing this probation, they are rather the end by-product of a successful probation.

Fellow believers, we are on trial each day of our Christian life. Our probation “is whether or not we will embrace the will of God for our lives, turning from the world and its ways, and so prove by the very embracing of that will that it is exactly what God declares it to be when He calls it perfect.” (Boice)

What are we to do? Prove His will perfect in the precise set of circumstances God places us in here in our earthly sojourn.

How are we to accomplish it? We are to prove His will perfect experimentally, by putting the revealed will of God to the test.

When are we to do it? Now and for the rest of our lives. We must prove His will is perfect each and every day of our lives.

Why do we do this? Because it is the right thing to do!

Robert Candlish writes, “Of the fashion of the world, it may be truly said that the more you try it, the less you find it to be satisfying. It looks well; it looks fair, at first. But who that has lived long has not found it to be vanity at last?

It is altogether otherwise with the will of God. That often looks worst at the beginning. It seems hard and dark. But on! On with you in the proving of it! Prove it patiently, perseveringly, with prayer and pains. And you will get growing clearness, light, enlargement, joy. You will more and more find that ‘the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.’ For ‘wisdom’s ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.’ ‘The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned; and in keeping of them there is great reward.’”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 16

Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

We live in a world - or at least a country - that is “rights” crazy. Civil rights, equal rights, and my rights, are all buzz words that, in my opinion, are much overused. When dealing with young people, a phrase I often hear them say is - “It’s not fair!” We are about to embark on an eye opening journey where the apostle will tell us how we Christians are to interact with the church and with the world around us. To get our attention, Paul tells us that we are not to “get to big for our britches!” (Rough translation!)

Romans 12 has a simple outline, and a simple yet profound message. “It is a matter of dealing with first things first – first, a right relationship with God (vers 1-2); second, a proper evaluation of myself (ver 3); third, a right relationship with other people (vers 4-21).” (Boice) Our relationship with other people has a two-fold emphasis; (1) the Christian’s relationship to the church - vers 3-13; and (2) the Christian’s relationship to a hostile world - vers 14-21.

Paul reminds us that there are two ways of thinking. He told us previously that we are not to be conformed to this world - and we accomplish that by being transformed by the renewing of our minds. In our text - Paul spells out for us what he means by saying, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.” (NIV)

In our English translations - we cannot miss that the apostle repeats the idea of thinking - two times. There are right ways to think, and there are wrong ways to think. The wrong way to think is to think too highly of ourselves. The right way to think is to think of ourselves soberly.

“In the Greek text, however, the emphasis on right as opposed to wrong thinking is even stronger than this, since the word for thinking (phronein), occurs four times, twice with prefixes. Phronein means to make a right estimate of things. A fairly literal translation of verse 3 would go like this: ‘I say through the grace that is given to me, to every one of you, that you should not estimate yourself beyond what you should estimate, but that you should estimate yourself in such a way as to have a sensible estimate of yourself.” (Boice)

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 17

Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

There are two possible errors in self-evaluation:

1. To think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. This is the most common of the two errors, and the one that comes most naturally. This error in linked to pride. Most people think more highly of themselves than they ought, and we desire others to have similar attitudes about us.

Why do we suffer from this error? There are several possibilities. Some are born into a life of affluence, whether it be wealth or achievement. Some ride the shirttails of others recognition. Some believe that their education makes them important, while other have achieved positions of power. Some believe their religious affiliation makes them special. “It would be nice if this type of pride did not exist among Christians, but unfortunately it does.” (Boice)

Michael Scott Horton edited a book entitled “Power Religion: The Selling Out of the Evangelical Church?” In the book, Horton documents the pursuit of worldly power by evangelicals. Some of the subjects are: power politics, power evangelism, power growth, the power within, and power preachers. The following is his conclusion: “Even in the Christian world there is a tremendous spirit of self-confidence and pride: our church growth projects will at last usher in the kingdom; or we will do it by performing signs and wonders, what some proponents even refer to as ‘magic,’ or perhaps we will rule by taking over the public institution and exerting political, social and economic pressure on the enemies of Christ; others may wish to achieve power through tapping the inner resources of the individual through the latest offerings of pop-psychology; some will demonstrate this self-confidence by reinforcing personality cults, legalistic restrictions and peer pressure; finally, some will appeal to the power of fear and paranoia to gather followings, as if they had an inside tract on such divine secrets as the date of our Lord’s return. Evangelical gatherings are often marked by a certain smugness about the uniqueness of our generation in God’s plan.”

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

May 18

Romans 12:3, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

There are two possible errors in self-evaluation:

1. To think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. This bad habit of thinking too highly of ourselves is not a new problem. In fact it existed in the “apostolic Church.” (By apostolic I mean during the time of the apostles - shortly after the resurrection of Christ - not some group today who thinks they’ve descended from the apostles or who think that they are some sort of re-incarnation of the apostles or apostolic era.) Paul wrote the book of Romans from Corinth on his third missionary journey. The church at Corinth was the most worldly church he founded. The Corinthian believers were much to concerned about family prestige, education, and political power, and too unconcerned about the true things of God. Paul reminded the Corinthians of the same thing he is telling the Romans in our text, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1 Cor 1:26-29)

2. To think too lowly of ourselves, a false humility. This error is really pride. Telling people how bad we are is a front to get people to tell us that we aren’t as bad as we think. This false humility is really a fishing trip in search of compliments such as, “No, I don’t think you’re like that at all. I think you’re really intelligent (or wise or attractive or kind or whatever.)” Then we encourage them to tell us more by saying, “That helps!” Which means, “Keep it up. Tell me more.”

That situation is pride, not humility. We give ourselves away when our potential ego booster doesn’t follow the script and instead agrees with our original assessment of ourselves by saying, “Yes, I guess you really are stupid (or ugly or ineffective or a hopeless case.)”

Some people do have too low of an opinion of themselves, and need to find a proper self-esteem. Self-esteem is not found by being artificially propped up. Telling such a one that they are brilliant, or beautiful, or effective, when they are not, helps no one. Such a one needs a proper evaluation in spiritual terms. If they are unsaved - they need Christ. If they are Christians, they need to recognize that they have been made by God, and no matter how they feel about themselves and their abilities, they are important to God, and that God has made them in Christ to do “good works” (Eph 2:10).

Adapted from “Romans” by Boice.

In Christ,
Dan Todd

 

Please note - as of Sunday Morning - 5/22 - my computer at home is not working.

When I get the problem resolved - I will continue to write the devotionals.

Dan Todd