Elyse Fitzpatrick

No Fluff, No Bricks, Just Good News

Gospel

The Ordinary Sufferings…Of Christ

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,

and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church…

(Colossians 1:27)

             Recently, our family moved from the city to the country and downsized significantly. In this process I’ve come to realize how entrenched in city life and in my life in the city I’ve been. If you would have asked me six months ago if I wanted to move closer to my church and give up my house in the process, I would have told you that I was praying in that direction. But now that it’s here, I’m painfully aware of a significant struggle in my heart. Wow…this hurts. I had no idea I loved my life there so much!

Part of this move had to do with my husband becoming an elder at our church and our being more involved with folks there. Both of us wanted that…but now that’s it’s actually come, I’m not so sure. Leave my home? Leave the convenience and activity of the city? Um…can I reconsider?

In his graciousness the Lord has been speaking to me about what I would be willing to sacrifice to provide a platform for my husband’s greater ministry to our church. I can see that He’s calling me into suffering so that Phil can be a greater blessing.

I’ve learned that what I’m going through is not just generic suffering or blessing. It’s filling up the sufferings of Christ. Not that Christ’s suffering is incomplete or that I’m atoning in any way for sin. But still, there is a call to suffering for the sake of blessing that I’ve been aware of and walking in for years. But I missed the holiness of this present suffering because of the ordinariness of it. Could it be that I am fulfilling the suffering of Christ when I pick up oak leaves off the kitchen floor or smell a chicken ranch instead of orange blossoms? Bringing blessing to our sweet country church means some tears for me in boringly mundane, seemingly insignificant ways. Could these sights and smells really fill up the holy sufferings of the Christ?

Now for the really good news: From the incarnation till the ascension, and in some ways, even now, Jesus suffered so that I could be blessed. But His life is not just an example of suffering. It’s also my righteousness in my suffering. In all the ways that I failed to respond to this suffering with rejoicing, I am still counted righteous in His sight. And not only that…Through His suffering He’s completed all the suffering that was lacking on my part, so that I could be blessed, so that I could be a blessing, so that ultimately I would know fullness of joy at His right hand and pleasures forever.

Here’s my encouragement: Don’t miss the fact that your suffering is meaningful simply because it’s mundane. And don’t miss the fact that in all the ways you do miss it and complain or feel sorry for yourself, remember that you’ve been given His righteous record.

 

 

Of Heat and Shadows and Wings

Recently my husband and I took one of our grandsons to the Miramar Air Show. I should rephrase that to read, we “took one of our grandsons to swelter” at the Miramar Air Show. I don’t know exactly what the temperature was on the flight line, but my guess is somewhere in the neighborhood of ninety-plus degrees. We baked – without shade, without relief, for hours. And as much as we love the air show, I have to admit we were all pretty miserable.

While there I noticed something I’d never seen before. In order shelter themselves from that blistering sun, people were crowded under the shadow of the wings of a massive C130. Some were sitting on the ground, others had beach chairs, but they were all seeking shade. It was a beautiful analogy and as I pondered it, it became even more glorious.

Most of us are familiar with the passages in Psalms that speak of our hiding ourselves in the same way:

  • Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! (Ps 61:4)
  • Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. (Ps 17:8-9)

In these passages and others like them (Ps 57:1; 91:4) we see the Lord as the One who protects us from harm. When utter ruin or malicious enemies would destroy us, we can hide under His defending arms and know that our souls will be safe. When the blistering sun of trials make our hearts faint, we can find sweet relief in the Lord’s presence. In fact, we can find more than relief, we can find joy, “for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.” (Ps 63:7) We’re not simply hiding there, cowering, holding our breath until the danger passes. No, we’re singing for joy because we’re so secure. But that’s not all.

In his commentary on Galatians, Luther employs this metaphor in another way…a way that, quite frankly I’d never considered. He writes,

But I am covered under the shadow of Christ’s wings…and I live without fear under that wide banner of the forgiveness of sins that is spread over me. Therefore, God covers and pardons the remnant of sin in me; that is, because of the faith with which I began to lay hold upon Christ, he accepts my imperfect righteousness as perfect righteousness and counts my sin as no sin, even though it is indeed sin…So we shroud ourselves under the covering of Christ’s flesh. He is our pillar of cloud by day and our pillar of fire by night, lest God should see our sin.[i]

         Can you see how this changes the metaphor? That threatening sun isn’t only foreign enemies or terrible trials from without. It is God’s wrath at my sin and the wings that shelter me from it is Christ’s own body. He suffered in the Father’s inferno – received His wrath in His own flesh – was scorched in the blast furnace that my unbelief and selfishness had fueled. Now I am safely anchored under those dear wings I can be confident that He’ll keep me, or as the pastor to the Hebrews wrote, “we who have fled for refuge [under His wings have] strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Heb 6:18).

So, although we may face trial and difficulty today we can know with certainty that we’re completely hidden from the scorching wrath our sin deserves. We have a strong encouragement because we know that what He has done in sheltering us today will continue forever! John writes,

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Rev 7:15-17)

 

[i] Galatians, Martin Luther, The Crossway Classic

Commentaries, Alister McGrath and J. I. Packer, Series Editors, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), p. 133.

Real Women and Their Real Savior

Like you, I frequent grocery stores. And like you, I scan the headlines of the magazines and newspapers while I wait my turn to slide the debit card and be on my way. Although there are times when the headlines of some “newspapers” are laugh-out-loud funny — Monkey Boy Actually Nostradamus!, most of the other headlines are heartbreaking – Famous Starlet Arrested Again! Beautiful Couple’s Marriage On The Rocks! Celebrated Director In Drug And Alcohol Rehab! And these are reports of the lives of people we’re tempted to envy. They’re the ones who are able to take long and luxurious vacations, who have achieved the American dream, who have access to all the “best” help. And yet, something is desperately wrong. Not money, fame nor beauty can shelter any of us from it. We’re not shocked by the troubles of the rich-and-famous because, at heart, we know they’re just like us. We know that we’re all in trouble and we all need help. How would the headlines of our lives read? Aside from the paparazzi, are we all that different?

We’re all very well aware of the fact that we’ve got problems. We sin. Others sin against us. We live in a sin-cursed world. We know that there are as many answers to our problems as there are problems themselves. But there is only one answer strong enough to transform us into loving, humble servants. Every other answer tends only to more sin, more unbelief, idolatry and lovelessness. The answer we need is found in the Bible and because every part of the Bible testifies about Jesus (Luke 24:44), the answer is found in Jesus himself.

The Bible isn’t a self-help book. It isn’t a book of heroes (aside from One!), nor is it a book of rules. The Bible is the story of God’s love for us and his determination to have a people for his own pleasure and our unending joy. The Bible is the only book that can correctly diagnose our sin problem, it reveals our deepest hearts, even down to our inmost thoughts and motives (Hebrews 4:12). No other system of help can do that.

The Bible is also the only book that can give us real hope, power and motivation for change. Because of God’s love demonstrated in the gospel and most powerfully at Calvary, we can have hope. As Paul put it so beautifully thousands of years ago, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Here Paul argues for our hope from the greater to the lesser.

“Look it,” he says, “if God is willing to give up his beloved Son for you, why would you doubt his love? If he’s willing to give you the greatest gift ever given, why would he withhold any blessing from you?”

            You can have hope today simply because God loved you so dearly that he gave his Son for you and then powerfully raised him from death so that you could live with him eternally. There’s also power for you to change because of the resurrection. The Bible tells us that the enslaving power of sin in our lives was broken when Christ overcame the punishment for sin, that is, death, through his resurrection.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life…We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:4, 6).

The only hope we have to overcome our sin, our idolatry, unbelief and lovelessness, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but what a lively hope that is! He died once and will never die again so that right now he’s providentially protecting and providing everything we need to persevere through this difficult life and join him in eternal happiness.

And finally, there’s only one motive that will stand the test of time, that will enable us to keep serving, keep obeying, keep believing, even when the trials we face seem interminable. The motive: love. But how can we love? What will make us love? This and only this: God’s prior love for us. If we start our day thinking about our obligation to love, serve and believe, we’ll very shortly find ourselves falling into either pride (because we’re doing so well) or despair (because we’re not). But if we start (and stay) with this thought: Jesus Christ loves me and gave himself up for me ensuring my Father’s smile on me, no matter how the day wears on we’ll know the joys of obedience and the joys of repentance. We’ll understand the promise inherent in our Savior’s words, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.”

The Bible is the only book that has sufficient, deeply profound and yet amazingly simple answers to real problems. Yes, we have a problem: we’re sinners. But that’s not all. We’ve been given real help: we’ve been loved. And this love is powerful enough and long lasting enough to change everything about us and about our world. This love is genuinely and eternally life-transforming. It makes us new.

But this love isn’t some impersonal force, this love is embodied in human form, in our Savior, the One who has gone through every temptation we face, and so is “able to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). He knows that we have real problems but he’s given us a real answer: himself. Because he was willing to leave the bliss of heaven, he became a real man with thoughts and feelings and desires just like ours. He embraced us when he embraced our mortal flesh. He was stripped of his glories so we could be clothed in his goodness. And he forfeited the pleasure of uninterrupted fellowship with his beloved Father so that we could share in that relationship forever. Yes, we have real problems but he’s given us his life. Yes, we’re real women who need real answers. But he’s a Faithful Husband who has supplied all we need. And so we look to him we find that our hearts are satisfied, our lives transformed and our deepest problems are solved in the shadow of the cross.

 

I Am Not Antinomian

Recently I received what was simply the latest in a string of inquiries/accusations about my views on the place of God’s law in the life of the Christian. I am thankful for this on a couple of levels: First of all, I’m thankful that people actually do care about theology. This is a great good. I am also thankful that there are people who, for the sake of the church and out of love for me, have taken time and ginned up the courage to actually ask me about my beliefs, rather than just simply writing me off or accepting an accusation as truth. So…if you’re interested in this at all, thank you.

For those who don’t know, antinomianism has been historically defined as the belief that “the believer is free from the obligation to observe the law.” (Berkhof, pg. 543) To put a finer point on it, the antinomian believes that he/she is completely released from what we Reformed folks would call the third use of the Law. The third use, according to the Heidelberg catechism, is that we Christians are to live our lives, “thankful to God for His blessing, and that He be glorified through us…”. The third use shows Christians how to live in gratitude for their many gifts in Christ. When it comes to our standing before God, we are completely forgiven and completely righteous–by faith alone. But because of that standing and in no way to earn merit before Him since all merit has already been bestowed freely, we are to live lives that demonstrate our gratitude to Him. This is the third use of the law. I wholeheartedly affirm it.

Historically, the antinomian would be a person who would say that Christians are under no obligation to seek to obey the law of God (the third use). I do not believe this. I am not an antinomian. Antinomianism is a heresy. It is a serious charge to bring against anyone. In times past, a woman like me would likely have been burned at the stake if I had espoused such views. I have never said, nor would I ever say, that Christians are free to ignore the law. I would invite anyone who is concerned about the purity of the church and who would call me a sister in Christ, to demonstrate this charge by pointing at something I have written (there are 20 books out there) or said publicly (there are loads of YouTube videos to watch). If you are concerned about obedience to God’s law, then please consider this,

“And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness” (2 Tim 2:24).

Please correct me if you think I am sliding into heresy, otherwise stop making this accusation. If this person is so concerned that God’s Law be obeyed, let him (or her) obey it himself. Antinomianism is a serious charge. It is a disciplinable charge. It would place me outside the faith. If people are concerned that I have fallen from the faith, don’t they, in response to the Word and the Spirit, have an obligation to come to me personally? It is as uncharitable to brand me as an antinomian because I seek to comfort weary sinners with grace as it would be to call my accusers nomists because I might think that they over-emphasize the law. Nomism and antinomianism are serious accusations. May we not make them without great care and without an overabundance of proof.

What I am guilty of doing, and over and over again, and what I pray I will never stop doing, is to seek to comfort guilty Christians (primarily women) who know that they sin, who hate their sin, and who are struggling against it. I have told them that Christ’s perfect forgiveness and record of obedience is theirs, by faith alone, in Christ alone, even (and especially) when they fail. This is what it means to be justified, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism states in Q 33:

What is justification? Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us a righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone. (See Rom 4:4-8, 11;  2 Cor 5:19, 21; Gal 2:16; Phil 3:9).

I have told them that the Law: “Love God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself,” continues to stand as God’s command to them 24/7/365 and that they can rejoice and should continue to strive to walk in grateful obedience to it because Christ has already fulfilled it perfectly for them. (See Heidelberg #62, 86, 91; WSC #35; WLC #75) That is not antinomianism. It is the gospel. Antinomianism seems to be the charge that is made against any person who preaches the sweetness of the gospel to Christians and who doesn’t end every message (whether in print or audio) with a “Do more, try harder” injunction. I am not an antinomian but I do relish the sweetness of the good news–a good news sadly missing from many Christians’ experience. My emphasis is not on whether or not Christians should seek to obey God’s law. Of course they should. That question has been answered and the answer has been part of the church’s definition of orthodoxy for hundreds of years.

My concern is to discern how Christians are motivated to obey. I do care about obedience. But I must ask whether burdened, weary, sin-sick, guilty Christians are motivated to obey the Law by hearing it over and over again or are they motivated to obey by hearing that God still loves them, still forgives and welcomes them, and that they can, by faith in His constant welcome, get up and try again even if they’ve blown it (again)? I believe the latter. It is the gospel itself that is the “power of God for salvation” not only at the beginning of our walk of faith but also all throughout it (1 Cor 15:1-2). Would I tell sister caught in sin that she needs to obey? Of course. Would I tell her specifically what she should do? Of course, as far as Scripture would allow. But would I also assure her that even though she may try and fail numerous times that God’s disposition to her is one of a loving shepherd who welcomes sinners and that she can put off her sin because everything has already been granted freely to her in Christ.

It is the good news of what has already been accomplished for us by Christ that engenders within the heart of the believer the love that is necessary for obedience. It is the good news, the gospel itself, that empowers us to change; it liberates us, it transforms our affections; makes us love God and enables us to say “no” to every other lover, because the love he’s given is so sweet, so glorious, so all-encompassing.

On the other hand, obedience performed out of a desire to earn something/anything from God is not true obedience; it is obedience done for the self, to assure oneself, to merit God’s love. “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (Gal 5:6). Obedience must be fueled by love for God and in faith that he sees and welcomes us because of the work accomplished for us by the life, death, resurrection, ascension and intercession of our Savior.

I have been asked whether I have changed. Yes, I have. I no longer only teach the law. I also teach his Gospel. Since the Lord has given both the law and the gospel to the church, it is up to us who have opportunity to speak, to speak them both: Law and Gospel. It is interesting to me that in the days in which I wrote and spoke primarily about the Law no one ever accused me of being a heretic; no one ever called me a nomist (or semi-pelagian). IMO that’s because hearing the law appeals to us while hearing the gospel messes with our pride. Just IMO.

So, thank you. Thank you for reading this whole thing. It’s a lot, I know. And thank you, that when you hear a sister or brother in Christ being charged with a heresy, that you actually investigate the charge and tell the one who would bring such a charge to demonstrate his charges before he spreads them.

Thank you for reading it.

 

Reading Romans 5 and 6 and Rejoicing in the Good News

Did you find some good news as you read Romans 3 and 4 last week? I sure hope so! I love that I’ve been given the “righteousness of God.” That’s almost too much to believe, isn’t it? And that’s the point.

This right standing before God, this “okay-ness,” is only mine if I believe God is good enough to give it to me. But that’s the hardest thing in the world to believe. Who would think that by simply believing God tells the truth, we are counted as righteous? Who would believe a just God “justifies the ungodly” without becoming unjust himself? But it’s true!

Here’s good news: if you believe he’s forgiven you and given you right standing before him simply because he said he would, not because of any of your good works, but only by faith nude, you are blessed.

In what way?

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (4:7-8).

All your lawless deeds are forgiven. The Lord will never count your sin against you. What would your life be like today if you really believed you’re completely forgiven? To be completely free of guilt, to have that “I’m not making it. I always mess things up. I have to try harder” thought pattern shattered forever? Knowing that God knows all your ungodliness and yet forgives and justifies you should transform everything about you.

How Could God Forgive Us Without Making Us Pay Our “Fair Share”?

It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification (4:24-25).

Jesus Christ was “delivered up;” he died for our trespasses. On the cross he bore all God’s just wrath and then he died as a sinner in our place: deserted, in weakness and shame, bearing the full weight of all the punishment we deserve. The heavens were silent and darkened that day, but another day was coming when he would be “raised for our justification.” That means when God raised Jesus from the dead, he was vindicating him. The resurrection is God’s “Amen!” in answer to Christ’s “It is finished!”[1] The resurrection means that all the blessings are ours now: we areforgiven; we are justified and all by faith alone. How do we know? We know because Jesus is alive. There simply is no better news anywhere.

In Romans 5 and 6 Paul continues to proclaim the good news. He begins chapter 5 by assuring us that God is no longer angry with us. Even when we suffer, it’s not because he’s angry, but because he’s working hope into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. We have salvation, justification, and reconciliation through faith in Jesus.

Grace = Freedom to Sin?

In chapter 6 Paul answers the argument that we always hear (especially in our own hearts) when we talk about the good news. Here’s the argument: If God loves to pour out grace on sinners, and he gets glory by doing so, then maybe we should sin more so he can pour out more grace, and thereby get more glory for himself. Paul is flummoxed by his own rhetorical question.

What? Haven’t you been listening? Did you miss the part about your union with Christ in his death and resurrection? You are forgiven because the old you that deserved death has died and a new you has come into being, a new you that has the record of all of Jesus’ obedience. How could you go on living as if all this good news weren’t true? Don’t you understand what your baptism means?

I’m really sure if you got news that a mysterious benefactor left you $10,000,000, your life would change. But this is better than a generous inheritance! This is news of a whole new you: a you without guilt, without a sentence of death hanging over you, without a celestial frown lurking behind every dark cloud, a you with a completely clean slate, a holy, beloved, cherished you. It’s better than a do-over, better than a Mulligan, or a resolution to try harder. And it’s the news you need to remember even though you may already be a Christian. You’ve been given a new life and been guaranteed that you can’t mess this life up. Why? Because God loves and justifies sinners. Jesus has already done it all. In light of that good news, rejoice and live in grateful response. What do you need to do? Believe that this good news is about you!

Romans Reboot Chapters 3-4

After reading Romans 1 and 2, you might wonder what possessed me to encourage you to expect good news.

Paul didn’t mince his words when describing the desperate spiritual condition of both Jew and Gentile, did he? Perhaps you noticed how he opened his letter, describing himself as Jesus’ “servant” and Roman believers as those who are “called to belong to Jesus Christ,” who are “loved by God” and “called to be saints.” Considering this “servant” was once the church’s dreaded enemy and that God’s love overflowed the borders of Israel to reach all the way to Rome—there is some encouraging good news in 1:1 and 1:7, but it’s easy to miss.

The Bad News That’s Actually Good News

It’s even easy to gloss over Paul’s thesis statement of good news in 1:16-17 and focus on all that bad news about “being given over to…” and “having no excuse…” and “the judgment of God.” But here’s where God’s version of good news and our expectations diverge. This “bad news” doesn’t seem like good news, but it really is.  It’s good news because Paul’s vivid description of humanity’s lostness forces us to look outside ourselves for help. It forces us to despair and then it prepares us to receive the help that only comes through the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection.

In your reading this week, you’ll find that Paul begins chapter 3 in much the same way that he ended 2, just in case we didn’t get the message. Here’s how he sums up his theme: “None is righteous, no not one” (3:10). Better read that again. None is righteous, no not one. Paul’s point is that as nice as your neighbor or your boss or your little children may seem, outside of Christ,they are not righteous.

He continues, “…no one seeks for God.” Many of us would nod in agreement to that proposition, but still say things like, “Amy is such a nice girl; she’s really seeking God; she’d be such a good Christian. I know she’ll find him.” Here’s the bad/good news: We aren’t righteous. We don’t obey. We aren’t seeking God. “There is no fear of God” before our eyes (3:18). Paul demolishes our delusions of goodness. We’re lost. But God is on a mission to save. And that’s the best news ever.

Paul goes on to say “…by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (3:20). And this is the beginning of the good/good news because it teaches us that our okay-ness before God, our righteousness or justification, is not something we can accomplish. So we can stop looking inward, making resolutions, or searching for those illusive eight secret steps to perfection. We can stop trying to earn something from God by our work and look to him for mercy alone. At least that’s what you’d think these verses should do. But do they?

The Power of the Gospel

It seems we all have an intractable belief in our own ability to save ourselves. So when we read Romans 1:16-3:20 we assume God must be talking about those people out there—those bad people, those idolaters, those Pharisees. We skip right over the part about God’s power needing to save us through belief in the gospel. We think because we’ve believed the gospel we don’t need it any more.

That’s exactly where Paul takes us in our reading this week: to the good news of God’s mercy. He turns this corner beginning in 3:21, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (3:3:21-22). What do we have to do to have God’s righteousness? We have to believe. And even that’s a gift he promised to give us (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We need his power to believe the gospel; to believe that we’re as lost as he says we are and as loved as he says we are; we need his grace to continue to believe it over and over again. So, as you read over Romans 3 and 4 this week, look for the bad/good news and the good/good news. The bad/good news will tell you what you’re unable to do and begin free you from your inner slave-driver. The good/good news will tell you what he has done for you in the gospel and free you to trust in him no matter how much bad news you see in yourself. Enjoy.