Destroying the Works of the Devil

The following is a short gospel message that was preached to the poor and homeless at a special worship outreach and feeding on April 16th:

This evening, I want to share a few words about a people who were severely afflicted and oppressed; and a few words about the God who heard their cry and delivered them out from under the hands of those who were causing their suffering.

Before the time of Moses, the ancient Egyptians enslaved the people of Israel and “made their lives bitter with hard service,” treating them “ruthlessly,” (Ex. 1:14) the leaders even going so far as ordering that all male Hebrew children be killed immediately after birth (Ex. 1:15-22). Read more »

On “Therapeutic Spirituality”

Frequently, I dialogue with nice, moral people who genuinely believe that they are “good” and that Jesus came to help them discover their ultimate potential in life. They believe that he can help them by unleashing some kind of untapped, or dormant, power inside of them.

I’ve asked people who believe this sort of thing to explain to me what they believe Jesus meant when he said, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). Usually, I get an explanation that sounds something like this: “Well, Jesus can help us discover how much love and greatness we have inside of ourselves so that we can live better lives.”

In this type of religious system, Jesus the omnipotent God-man is reduced little more than a self-help guru. Sort of like Tony Robbins with a halo.

Those who are deceived (or have deceived themselves) into thinking such strange and unbiblical things are usually people who have some type of (very) limited knowledge of the teachings of Scripture, attend church on occasion (either presently or in their past), and know some facts about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. I confess that, in the months leading up to the day I was saved, I believed something very similar to what I described above (although, for the life of me, I don’t believe I could have offered such a creative explanation as to what being “born again” meant).

Following are some excerpts from a fabulous book I am currently reading and re-reading. In it, the author adeptly addresses the type of culturally-popular / ungodly / vapid / powerless / counterfeit “spirituality” I just described above.

Excerpts from Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 78-80:

“Spirituality” is as successful as materialism in feeding our narcissism. Keeping us preoccupied with our inner self and its experiences, morality, and activity, the “search for the sacred” is as godless as atheism. There are plenty of resources on the market to feed our culture’s anxiety over self-improvement. But they are all different ways of dressing up the old Adam. Furthermore, their moralistic prescriptions never actually reduce stress but pile more expectations upon us to try to make ourselves acceptable to God.

We are not sick, but spiritually dead. We are not good people with room for improvement, but the ungodly. We are not children who need a little direction, but lost. The gospel comes not to help us get our act together, fixing us up for a night on the town, making us more respectable to ourselves or others. Rather, it comes to kill us and make us alive as completely new creatures. Not a new and improved self, but a self buried and raised with Christ, is the gospel’s message of genuine transformation.

Moralistic, therapeutic spirituality is part of that narcissistic complex about which Paul warned Timothy that makes us “lovers of self…, having an appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:2, 5). And the power that it denies is the announcement of free justification in Christ, apart from works. The power of God does not lie in programs, strategies, self-help formulas, seven steps to a better life, or political reform. Like someone trapped in a burning building, we cannot rescue ourselves. There is no hope inside of us! There are no inner resources or possibilities – no Archimedean point at which we might pry ourselves open to God and begin to climb the stairway to heaven. Our whole nature is in bondage to sin, so we cannot even repair our condition by an act of the will. Our only hope lies outside of us, from the God who rescues us in his Son! Paul said that he was “not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16)….

This gospel – the Good News of God’s justification of sinners in Christ – …is the ocean that we swim in, the air that we breathe, the identity that defines us….

The gospel is not a general belief in heaven and hell or hope for a better life beyond; it is not even confidence in a resurrection at the end of the age. It is the announcement that Jesus Christ himself is our life, for he is our peace with God. He does not merely show us the way; he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Christmas – A Celebration for Notable Sinners

Christmas – A Celebration for Notable Sinners

Dr. John P. Davis

In preaching on Matthew’s record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17, I was wonderfully reminded of the grace of God in giving us a Savior who is not deterred by our great sinfulness. One point of my message that day was on how the genealogy of Christ contains the names of notable sinners. They are notable because they stand out in the genealogy, though everyone (except Jesus) in that genealogical record is a sinner.

It was unusual in ancient genealogies to include the names of women. Their inclusion in Matthew is not necessary to establish any legal point so they must be included for a theological purpose.

Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba share something in common. They have notoriety in Scripture partly because of their moral failures. In our self-righteousness and pride we would exclude names of those with whom we do not want to be identified. Jesus doesn’t.

Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah. Her husband died and left her childless so it was the next son’s responsibility to take her as wife and continue the family name through her. He refused to do so and Judah did not demand it. Tamar sought justice but in an unrighteous way. She posed as a harlot and seduced her father-in-law and bore twins through her father-in-law. So her father-in-law is a philanderer and she is a prostitute. This is the ancestry of Jesus Christ. I know this story sounds like a Hollywood soap opera, but it is real life where sinners, even those who know better, do sordid and horrible things. Matthew doesn’t hide it. Jesus identifies with them. Jesus came as a friend of sinners, to call them to repentance, and to give his life for them.

Rahab even when spoken of in the NT is called Rahab, the harlot. Though she came to faith in the true and living God she doesn’t seemed to have outlived her prior reputation. She married one of the descendants of Judah through whom the Messiah would come. Salmon must have seen in this harlot a transformation of God’s grace that brought him to marry her or perhaps he was sordidly attracted by her reputation. She becomes the great, great grandmother of King David. She is a marvelous picture of God’s redeeming and transforming grace.

Bathsheba is noted in Scripture for being not only the mother of Solomon but the woman involved in bringing King David to the lowest point in his kingdom. Though she was seduced by David, she surrendered to his seduction, and became pregnant. David had her husband killed, then married Bathsheba and bore a child whom God did not allow to live. Nevertheless, God in his grace gave another son, Solomon, the heir to the kingdom.

Jesus’ genealogy includes notable sinners because he comes for sinners. He identifies with sinners in his incarnation and in his death. Whatever your sin may be, you are not so bad that Jesus would not identify with you. He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.

This is our Savior. And let me say, that until you have seen yourself as a notable sinner, you will not know the power of the grace of Jesus Christ. He came for sinners.

When you trace the genealogy of Jesus that follows Him, i.e. those who are his descendants by faith, you find the names of notable sinners. One of those names is John P. Davis – a sinner saved by grace. This is the blessing of Christmas.

The Cause of the Human Condition and its Remedy

The Cause of the Human Condition and its Remedy

Dr. John P. Davis

The Bible does not offer a definitive explanation of how evil entered the universe. We know from the Bible that Satan, a created being, is evil and that he existed prior to the fall of man. Scriptures do not explain how Satan became evil. They simply present him as evil and as God’s opponent as he enters the stage in the drama of human life.

Satan’s method of deceit in the Garden of Eden brings about the fall of humanity and sets the pattern for all future deceptions. In the temptation (Genesis 3:1-5) Satan entices Eve to eat of the forbidden Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. God had set this test so that Adam and Eve would experience moral discernment at the highest level of obedience.

Satan asserted doubt concerning God’s ways and he attacked God’s character by implying that God was unfair in not giving Adam and Eve access to every tree. He focused on the negative prohibition. Eve succumbed to Satan’s wiles. She misquoted God’s permission, God’s prohibition, and God’s penalty. She made the fatal mistake of not being careful with the Word of God.

Satan responded by blatantly denying God’s word. Satan essentially said, 1) You won’t reap what you sow; 2) God fears, rather than loves man; 3) You can be independent of God; 4) There is efficacy in things; 5) Don’t trust God’s Word. Satan propagates these same lies today.

Satan succeeded in taking Eve’s focus from God to self. Now that God is questioned, she trusts her own reasoning and Eve acts by sight rather than by faith. She sees; she covets; she takes; she draws others (Adam) into sin. The consequences of sin (3:7-12) are separation, alienation, and anguish. There had been harmony between God and man; man and man; man and animals; man and land. Now all harmony is gone as God’s word and order are violated. The woman listens to Satan, the man listens to the woman, and then the man attempts to have God listen to him.

Every human is infected by the sin of the parents of the human race. As Romans 5:12 states: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.

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Brokenness or Criticism

Brokenness or Criticism

Dr. John P. Davis

Imagine George and Jeannette who have been married for 15 years. They profess to be Christians. Their lives are pressured with raising three children and all the demands of daily life. George works hard to provide income for the family. Jeannette’s life is consumed with children and household. Both of them struggle with a growing dissatisfaction over the monotonous routine of their lives. They have learned how to play the ‘blame game.’ Both are sure that the other spouse is at fault for their unhappiness. Bickering, criticism, or silence often marks their time together. Their sex life falters. Their children sense the unhappiness of the parents. George and Jeannette exist together in the same house. They long for something better. They either hope that somehow the other one will change and stop causing their unhappiness or they quietly search for a way out of their unhappy life.

Though the names of the characters change, George and Jeannette’s story is the story of millions of couples. Through the years, I’ve counseled many married couples whose homes are shattered with criticism. There is no magic wand to wave that makes all the hurt go away. There is no simple formula that transforms a failing marriage overnight. But, there is hope!

I like to ask George and Jeannette this question. “Share with me the last meaningful time you spent alone with God and what that time consisted of.” Invariably, their answer to the question reveals the barrenness of their souls. Usually the following are true of George and Jeannette.

First, I find that their walk with Christ is sporadic, sometime emotional and mystical, but rarely substantial because it does not include regular Bible reading and prayer and church attendance. God’s Word is the means by which He speaks to broken lives and brings restoration. Our prayer is our confession of love for Him and need of Him. Church attendance is that primary weekly ritual wherein I declare that I am a follower of the resurrected Christ and the church is that community where I am nurtured in fellowship with other believers.

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Reflections on the Gospel

1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous ….

Among others things the gospel assures us that Jesus lived the life that we failed to life and died the death that we deserve to die. Believing this, assures us that we need not live with the burden of trying to achieve our own righteousness to earn God’s favor, nor do we need to live with fear of God’s judgment for our sin.

In his active obedience Jesus, as the second Adam, performed and fulfilled all the righteousness that is required of humanity. It was this righteous life that Jesus offered as a sacrifice for our sins. Since he was the only human being not deserving of death, the death that he died was a willing and efficacious offering for those who deserve death.

Now, being released by the cross from the burden of achieving our own meritorious righteousness, we are set free to pursue a joyful, non-meritorious righteousness motivated by the desire to love and emulate the One who has brought about our rescue from sin’s penalty and power.

Now, being released by the cross from the fear of God’s judgment for our sin, we are lovingly overwhelmed with a sense of God’s holiness justice, mercy, and grace so that we live with the deepest reverence for the One whose holy grace has reached down to us.

Thank YOU for the cross!

Amazing Grace

On Saturday morning I spoke at a funeral service attended mostly by very religious people. I shared with them the relationship between Ephesians 2:8-9 (“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast”) and the well known hymn Amazing Grace (“Amazing grace, How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I was once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see”).

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Outreach in Drexel Park – John Davis (Part One)

Lead pastor John Davis speaking at a pre-launch outreach and fellowship with the core group of Grace Church of Philly at Drexel Park in University City, Philadelphia on 09-19-2009.

An Introduction to Christianity

An Introduction to Christianity

Dr. John P. Davis

Presented to my Moslem friends at TAMEF (A Turkish Moslem Organization)

Let me say at the outset, how much I appreciate the sincere desire of Turkish Moslems to be friends with Christians. A true friendship is one in which you can discuss your differences and even retain your differences while being friends.

Friends cannot always reconcile their differences. Friends can disagree over politics, aesthetics, personal choices, worldviews, and religion and still be friends. As we discuss Christianity and Islam, it becomes clear that these belief systems represent two distinct ways of thinking about God, about sin, and forgiveness. As a Christian, I believe that Christianity is the true and only way to know God and to live with him forever. So, let me give you a brief Introduction to Christianity.

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Gospel-Based Repentance vs. Legalistic Repentance

The following excerpt is from Tim Keller and J. Allen Thompson’s Church Planter Manual (New York: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002), 190:

Without an orientation to the gospel, the heart will repent out of fear of consequences and out of fear of rejection. “Obey or you will be rejected.” But the gospel leads you to repent because Jesus died for your sin, so you would not be rejected. In a sense, the gospel says, “How can you treat one like this who paid this cost so that you would not be rejected?” Legalistic remorse says, “I broke God’s rules,” while real repentance says, “I broke God’s heart.”

Legalistic repentance takes sin to Mt. Sinai, gospel repentance to Mt. Calvary. Legalistic repentance is convicted by punishment, gospel repentance becomes convicted by mercy. Repentance out of mere fear is really sorrow for the consequences of sin, sorrow over the danger of sin – it bends the will away from sin, but the heart still clings. But repentance out of conviction over mercy is really sorrow over sin, sorrow over the grievousness of sin – it melts the heart away from sin. It makes the sin itself disgusting to us, so it loses its attractive power over us. We say, “This disgusting thing is an affront to the one who died for me. I’m continuing to stab him with it!”

Look at how Paul calls people to live moral lives. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives” (Titus 2:11-12). Contrast this with how many sermons you have heard telling people to say “no” to immorality. Often the implicit or explicit reasons are: “It is against the Bible” or “it will hurt your self-esteem” or “it’s against our Christian principles” or “your sins will find you out; you’ll reap what you sow.” Often all of those things are true, but they are inadequate and secondary motives. Only the grace of God, the logic of the gospel will work. Paul says it “teaches” us to say no, it argues with us. The gospel tell you that the sin beneath your sins is that you have made something besides Christ the center of your life. You have concocted a self-salvation strategy based on something that you have decided is more important than Christ and more of a savior than he. The gospel tells you that your sin is always the result of disbelief that you are accepted in Christ alone.

The gospel creates the only kind of grief over sin which is clean and which does not crush. It says: “Look at Jesus dying for you! He won’t leave you or abandon you – how then can you respond as you are? He suffered so you wouldn’t do this thing! You are not living as though you are loved! As his child! It is not because he will abandon you that you should be holy, but because this is one who at inestimable cost to himself has said he won’t ever abandon you! How can you live in the very sin that he was ripped to pieces to deliver you from?” See the GRACE of God argument? It is the only argument which cannot be answered. This creates the only motivation that leads you to hate the sin without hating yourself. It is the only motivation that will bring sin to lose its attractive power over you.

How can this be? The sight of Christ dying for you is at once both the one thing in the world that most convicts you to be holy and yet most assures you that you are infallibly loved. If he died for you – that is the conviction. But if he died for you – that is the comfort.