Author Archives: Pastor Tommy

We are all experts at finding the speck in our brother’s eye while ignoring the log jutting out of our own eye.  It’s simply in our DNA.  The more we direct a spotlight on the sin in the life of another, we imagine that our own sins will retreat into the darkness.  Our Lord did not mince words on this subject:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.  (Matthew 7:3-5)

Jesus used the image of specks and logs to let us know just how messed up we really are.  Imaging for a moment a log protruding from your own eye; now imagine your careful inspection of someone else, indignantly pointing out the speck lodged in the corner of their eye.

Me: “I’m shocked—shocked—to see you have a speck in your eye!”

You:  “Uh, Tommy, thanks for pointing out the speck in my eye, but that log in your eye! Man, that looks nasty! Have you had that for a long time?”

Seems absurd doesn’t it?  And that’s exactly the point Jesus was making.  It is absolutely preposterous to be pointing out the sin the life of another when we haven’t yet addressed our own sin.  Scripture commands us to “Work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), not to work out on others for their sin!

And yet, the more we peer at the speck in our brother’s eye, the more we convince ourselves that our greatest problem lies outside of us.  And as long as we see our problems as “out there,” we will never deal with what is going on “in here.” We’ll continue living lives of overwhelming hypocrisy. 

Our Lord’s use of the “log” metaphor impales us on the truth of just how bad our “inside” problem really is.  Our sin problem is not only obvious to us, it is conspicuous to everyone we meet—as obtrusive as a log sticking out of our eye!  And the closer we get to them to point at their speck, the more we poke them with our protruding log, irritating them and causing them pain. 

The Gospel gives us permission to acknowledge our log, because our Lord paid the price for it—no matter how large our log, or how sharp.  We don’t have to try to hide it with a few pitiful fig leaves of self-righteousness.  We can squarely face our sin problem by the grace of the Gospel and begin seeing clearly all that Jesus has done for us.  When we receive and respond to the truth of just how bad we really are, we begin to see more clearly just how good Jesus really is.  

One of the Puritans penned this magnificent prayer:

Yet still I live, and fly repenting to thy outstretched arms;

Thou will not cast me off, for Jesus brings me near,

Thou wilt not condemn me, for he died in my stead,

Thou wilt not mark my mountain of sin, for he leveled all,

And his beauty covers my deformities.

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

If that statement is true, then why work?  Why should we attempt to do any good deeds, from serving in the church nursery to teaching Sunday school to feeding the hungry to building and orphanage or a hospital?  The answer is really simple.  God doesn’t need your good works; your neighbor does.  Let’s unpack this idea.

First, we need to see that our good works just aren’t all that good.  They are stained with mixed motives, selfish ambition, and our sin-stained hearts.

We have all become like one who is unclean and all our good works are like filthy rags.  (Isaiah 64:6)

Second, we need to see living the Christian faith as an outward expression of an inward reality.  Because God in Christ has reached down to us, we are to respond by reaching up to God and out to others. 

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  You are my friends if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heart from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.  These things I command you, so that you will love one another.  (John 15:12-17)

Thirdly, we need to see our good works as an opportunity to put on display the glory of the Gospel by reflecting the character of the One who saved us. 

God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.  He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:38)

Our neighbors need to see an accurate picture of the God whom we love and serve.  This is best done when our faith has hands and feet.  The more we are conformed into the image of our Lord, the more we will look like Him.  When we deliver good works for the glory of God and the good of others, we make our God attractive to the watching world.  He went about doing good; we, too, must go about doing good.

One final point: we don’t perform good works in order to gain our acceptance from God.  “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” (Ephesians 2:8-9).  We go about doing good because we are already accepted; and in our completely unconditional acceptance, our good works become the fruit of our faith.  

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Don’t let the title of today’s message fool you into thinking that I wrote this for the students at Knox Seminary; I wrote it for you!  Once we get a handle on the two “big” words, you’ll see just how simple and practical this message is for all of us.

Doxology is derived from two Greek words: doxa, meaning “praise,” and logos, meaning “word.”  Doxology is an expression of our love and thanksgiving for God as a response to His mercy, love, and grace toward us, poured out through His beloved Son.  Theology is the field of study of God, His attributes, and how He relates to the world around us.

Based on these definitions, can you see how doxology is the fruit of theology?  What you believe about God (theology) determines, to a much greater extent than you might think, your response (doxology) back to Him.

If you believe your acceptance by God is based on your working for God, then you will praise Him on your good days and dread Him on your bad days.  Far too many Christians have a watered-down doxology because they have accepted a watered-down version of the Gospel.  They are plagued by faulty theology, which posits that their working for God proves their worth to God.

Nothing could be further from the truth!  Christianity is not about doing; it is about being who you are because of what Jesus has already done for you.  It is living out practically what you are positionally, because of the finished work of Jesus.  

Christians are called to be a doxological people—living out of the truths of the Gospel with a heart that is overflowing with gratitude and thanksgiving for all that Jesus has accomplished.  In Christ, God reached down to us because we couldn’t reach up to Him.  Jesus willingly entered into this world, lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, rose from the grave on the third day, and ascended into heaven . . . from whence He will come again to judge the living and the dead.  He chose suffering so we could be comforted.  He chose injustice that we would be justified.  He chose to be forsaken so we would be forgiven.  He chose death so we would have life everlasting.  And He did all this while were still sinners (Romans 3:23) . . . while we hated Him! 

This is the Gospel, to which the cross is central.  Jesus nailed every one of our sins—past, present, and future to that dirty tree.  He did for us what we could never do for ourselves.  This means that God is no longer our Judge.  He is our Abba Father, who loves us unconditionally.  It is with these truths in mind that we live a life marked by overwhelming gratitude and continual thanksgiving.  It is in view of God’s mercy to us in Christ (Romans 12:1) that we sing His praises both day and night.  This is the fuel that ignites the fire of our faith, whether we are in sickness or in health, in plenty or in want.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

One of the contemporary praise writers, Billy James Foote crystallized this idea of solid theology producing heartfelt doxology with his lovely anthem, “You are My King (Amazing Love).”

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN! 

Today’s message is not rooted in the best-selling Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, which present the Christian dispensationalist view of the end times.  Nor is it about all of us who were “left behind” after the unfortunate “prediction” made by Harold Camping about the end of the world occurring on May 21, which caused scorn to be heaped upon Christians and the Christian faith.

Today I’d like to discuss what you will have left behind when you are transported into eternity.

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.  (Pericles, 495-425 BC)

So . . . what have you been weaving into the lives of the people God has called you to serve?  Make no mistake; you are weaving something into the lives of everyone you meet.  What that something is depends on whom you are weaving it for.  Are you weaving for the good of yourself?  Or for the glory of your Savior? 

Jesus spent a little over three years weaving the truths of the Gospel into the lives of His disciples, who then went on to turn the world upside down.  Why?  Because they spent their time weaving the truths of the Gospel into the lives of everyone they came in contact with.  Only the Gospel, illumined within us by the Holy Spirit, has the power to change hearts.  Only the Gospel has the power to transform lives.  Only the Gospel has the power to bring life where there is only death.  The Gospel is the power to slay sin, cultivate contentment, and produce peace.  So if you are weaving the Gospel into the lives of those you serve, you can be assured that what you are doing will live on in eternity. 

Those who weave the Gospel into the hearts and minds of those they serve are leaving behind a lasting legacy under the lordship of Jesus Christ.  At this level of living, life really matters.  Purpose is productive.  Significance is satisfying.  Meaning is magnified.  So what have you been weaving into the lives of others?  What would those closest to you say?  Remember, weaving the Christian witness must be done with both our lips and our lives—our practice and our profession. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

What comes to mind when you think of the word “missionary”?  How would you define it?  Here is a sampling of dictionary definitions:

A person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, as educational or hospital work.

A person strongly in favor of a program, set of principles, etc., who attempts to persuade or convert others.

A person who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.

These are solid textbook definitions for a missionary.   Christian missionaries of this sort are both vital and valuable to expanding the cause of the kingdom.  They are a very special breed of Christian, who have been called and equipped for kingdom work, often in some of the most remote places and harsh environments.  They embody our Lord’s Great Commission to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”  Every member of the church of Jesus Christ should be committed to supporting these mighty warriors of the Word. 

But they are not the only ones in the church who are called to be missionaries!  Far too many in the church today regard a missionary as someone else who has received special gifts and has been sent off into darkest Africa (or some other distant land) to reach out to a particular people.  When we think this way, we remove ourselves from the front lines of faithful living under the Lordship of Christ and mistakenly assume it is someone else’s job to reach out to the lost and broken people of this world.  This results in sleepiness of the soul and a woefully weakened witness. 

I would like to expand on the job description of “missionary” just a bit, so we can see that we are all missionaries who have been called by God into the mission fields—right where we currently are!  Make no mistake, you are a missionary, no matter what your gifting, your education, or your vocation.

So . . . what mission are you currently on?  Is it a mission of expanding the kingdom of your Savior?  Or the kingdom of yourself?  Below are two primary marks of the Christian who is living for the Savior and not the self.

1. “Other” Orientation – Living for the kingdom of your Savior is marked by being oriented toward others.  You put others first.  You consider others better than yourself.  You want to serve others rather than being served by others. 

2. Self-Sacrificing – Living for the kingdom of your Savior is marked by self-sacrifice, rather than self-protection.  Being inconvenienced is not an inconvenience.  Being discomforted is not discomforting.  Being troubled is not troubling.  A day well spent is a day spent in sacrificial service to others. 

Putting others first and serving them sacrificially is the way we act out practically what we already are positionally.  When we locate our identity is in Christ and not in the things of this world, we rightly see ourselves as missionaries, privileged to be serving our Lord wherever we are and in whatever way we have been equipped to do it. 

We have been called to be the aroma of Christ to the world (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)—whether that part of the world be darkest Africa . . . or your local grocery store. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that[Jesus has] commanded you.”

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

There is only one heart in all the world that is honoring to God.  Do you know what that is?  It is the heart that beats for the Savior rather than the self.  Far too many Christian hearts beat for Jesus and something else. 

• Jesus and a career
• Jesus and a hobby
• Jesus and a relationship
• Jesus and a sports team
• Jesus and a level of comfort
• Jesus and the applause of man

So . . .  is there a something else for you?  To be sure, there are times when we all keep one foot in the Word and let the other foot edge out into the world.  We are continually lured by divided affections for things smaller than God. 

But we must fight against this tendency!  Scripture is completely unambiguous on this matter:

 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.”

(Matthew 22:37)

Jesus said the only heart that honors Him is one that is totally devoted to Him.  So what does such a heart look like?  It beats in sync with the psalmist’s prayer: “I seek you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commands” (Psalm 119:10).  The heart that honors the Lord desires to do His will . . . but it does not stop there.  It is not enough to do what God wants us to do; we must be doing it for the right reason. 

The heart that honors Him is not seeking to receive a reward or avoid a consequence.  The heart that honors Him overflows with thanksgiving, because the reward has already been received (the certainty of heaven) and the consequence avoided (damnation in hell).  Obedience flows from this heart as a response to and result of what Jesus has already done.

Some people tithe because they are afraid not to.  Some people serve because they feel guilty if they do not.  Some people arrive at church on Sunday because they believe God is keeping track of their attendance.  These are all acts of obedience . . . but done for the entirely wrong reasons.  These actions do not flow from a heart that honors God.  God doesn’t want obedience that is rooted in fear or guilt or desire for reward.  That was the motivation of the Pharisees, to whom Jesus delivered a burning rebuke:

You Hypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “’This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”  (Matthew 15:7-9)

On the surface, the Pharisees looked like they were sold out for God.  They did all the right things . . . but for all the wrong reasons.  God wants our obedience to flow from a heart that beats with thanksgiving for the finished work of Jesus Christ.  This is the only heart that honors Him!

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

There is something that needs to be made perfectly clear about the power of the Gospel.  Every Christian is eternally safe in his or her standing in Christ. 

• Not because of good works
• Not because of trying harder and doing more
• Not because of personal merit
• Not because of self-righteousness
• Not because of the consistent practice of the spiritual disciplines

Because Jesus lived the perfect life and went to the cross to pay the penalty for sin, He has secured for all eternity the relationship between the Christian and God. 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35-39)

But inasmuch as we are safe in our standing before God, unable to be separated from the love of God in Christ, we frequently don’t feel very safe as we go sledding down the icy hills of life.  There is a war that rages inside us, and we feel the stress of that combat.

The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  (Galatians 5:17)

Sin no longer reigns over us, but it most certainly remains in us!  In the heart of every believer there is a never-ending battle between the old nature and the new nature.  Charles Spurgeon explained:

The old nature is very active, and loses no opportunity of plying all the weapons of its deadly armory against newborn graces.  The enemy is so securely entrenched within us that he can never be driven out while we are in this body: but although we are closely beset, and often in sore conflict, we have an Almighty helper, even Jesus, the Captain of our salvation, who is ever with us, and who assures us that we shall eventually come off more than conquerors through Him.

I once heard an older saint say with wry frustration, “If Satan is bound [Revelation 20:2], he’s bound to my right leg!”  Do not think it peculiar that you battle morning, noon, and night with the evil forces of darkness.  It is a fact of life that every child of God faces.  But we do not battle alone!

“I will not leave you as orphans,” Jesus promised; “I will come to you” (John 14:18).  Omnipotence is with us, and He will strengthen us in our weakness . . . in all our weakness, in our thoughts, words, deeds, and desires.  And knowing that we are eternally secure in our standing we can find strength enough to keep fighting the battle, regardless of the cost or circumstance.

“Let not your hearts be troubled,” our Savior said, “neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!

Early in my martial arts career, I had a habit of making my fists so tight that my knuckles on both hands turned white.  My instructors made it clear that white knuckles are a sure sign of too much tension—not only in the hands but throughout the entire body, which would limit my ability to perform.  They were right.  White knuckles are counterproductive to high-level performance in the martial arts.

Likewise, “white-knuckle living” is counterproductive to living the Christian life at the highest level.  Consider your life for just a moment.  Is there anything you are holding onto so tightly that your knuckles are turning white?  Are you holding something or someone in a death-grip—something that if you were to lose it, your life would be turned upside down and cease to exist as you currently know it?  Could it be . . .

• A job?
• A relationship?
• Position?
• Power?
• Prestige?
• Achievement?

We all white-knuckle certain things in our lives from time to time.  We all look to things smaller than Jesus to give us what only Jesus can give us.  This is precisely why He has called us to die to ourselves.  When we die to self, we relax our grip and release the things of this world, in which we once believed we need to locate our significance and satisfaction.  Only Jesus can give us everything we need.

So . . . is there anything smaller than Jesus battling for first place in your heart?  Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The happiest state of a Christian is the holiest state.  As there is the most heat nearest to the sun, so there is the most happiness nearest to Christ.  No Christian enjoys comfort when his eyes are fixed on vanity—he finds no satisfaction unless his soul is quickened in the ways of God.”

If there is anything you are “white-knuckling” in life right now, remember this: the only thing that should cause white-knuckles is our vise-like grip on the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!

Did you know that God has made a special three-part plan for pardon available to every Christian believer? Notice I said “available.”  God has placed it within your reach, but not dropped it into your mouth.  When taken in combination, you have the greatest power known to man available to you: the power of the Gospel.  Here is how to obtain forgiveness.

1. CONVICTION: First, there must be a conviction of the heart that we have fallen short of God’s perfect mark.  Christian believers should know that they are great sinners in need of an even greater Savior.  “When the Holy Spirit comes, he will convict the world, and show where right and wrong and judgment lie” (John 16:8).  For Christian believers who are indwelt by the Spirit of God, His presence convicts us of our wrongdoing. 

Oswald Chambers writes:

Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man.  It is the threshold of an understanding of God.  Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses the conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God.

The Holy Spirit is God’s gracious gift to convict us of sin—not because He hates us, but because He loves us and wants us to be what He has called us to be.  Remember, God hates the sin and sent His Son to pay the price for it.  He loves the sinner . . . and that includes you!

2. CONFESSION: Next, the Holy Spirit draws us to the cross of Christ, where we confess our sins.  We openly confess that the practice of our lives contradicts the profession of our lips.  I am not suggesting that this is the time to confess every known sin in your life; there aren’t enough hours in the day!  You are far worse than you think you are!  But with a broken and contrite heart (see Psalm 51:16-17), you come boldly before the throne of grace and confess that you are a sinner—both by nature and by habit—and repent of those sins.  We confess that all of our attempts at self-salvation have fallen miserably short and will never accomplish for us what only Jesus can do.

3. CELEBRATION:  The final installation of God’s special three-part plan for pardon is the one most often missed by down and defeated Christians.  For many in the body of Christ, confession is a time of deep depression, devastating despair, and dark defeat.  They simply cannot get back up and get back into the life God is calling them to, because they don’t fully understand what Jesus has done for them on the cross.  They believe they must confess with bitter feelings of utter defeat and failure and stay in that mindset for as long as they can . . . or at least until the next time they sin.  This is simply unbiblical NONSENSE!  It is nothing more than an outright denial of the Gospel that Jesus secured on the cross with His precious blood.

We all desire.  The only difference is found in what we desire.  What is your desire? 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

(Psalm 37:4)

Since these words were first set forth in sacred Scripture, many have misunderstood them.  Too many wrongly receive this verse as a blank check from heaven to cash in on anything their sinful hearts desire.

But this is not for you!  The key to understanding the truth of Psalm 37:4 is found in the first five words: Delight yourself in the Lord.

When your delight is in the Lord, your desires are of the Lord and for the Lord, and these desires He delights to give to you.  When your heart beats as one with the Savior, your goals are His goals . . . your dreams are His dreams . . . your pursuits are His pursuits . . . your agendas are His agendas . . . your affections are His affections. 

“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord,” Hosea exhorted; “his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3). One of the amazing powers of the Gospel is located in the fact that the more you delight in the Lord, the more He plants within you the qualities that matter most to Him.  The Gospel empowers you to look up at God and out at others, rather than focusing in on yourself.  By nature, unaided by the Holy Spirit, you want what you want, when you want it, and how you want it.  But when Jesus shows up, He begins to change you from the inside out.  Your desires begin to take on the shape of the cross; you seek the things of God and the good of others, and when you ascend to this place of living, God delights to give to you the desires of your heart.  When what you desire is rooted in Christ, you can be assured it is already on the way.

So . . . what do you seek to bring you happiness and joy?  What are you pressing toward?  Blaise Pascal rightly observed, “All men seek happiness.  This is without exception.  Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end.  The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views.  The will never takes the least step but to this object.  This is the motive of every action of every man, even those who hang themselves.” 

Some Christians don’t think we should be seeking the desires of the heart, but this is because they do not understand the goodness of our God.  Our desires do not compete with God when they are centered on God.  Idols compete with God, because they cause us to forsake God and find our joy, delight, and happiness in things much smaller than God. 

God delights in filling His children with joy, but He will only do that through a growing relationship with His Son Jesus Christ.  Those who are in Christ will find that God delights to deliver divine desires. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!