Gentle & Lowly VII

Jeremiah 31:20 CSB

Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, my inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him. This is the Lord’s declaration.

INTRO—

I REALLY like Chapter 20 (“Our Law-ish Hearts, His Lavish Heart”)!

“The purpose of this chapter, through reflecting on the book of Galatians, is to bring the heart of Christ to bear on our chronic tendency to function out of a subtle belief that our obedience strengthens the love of God.” (Ortlund, 182)

Galatians 3.3 “Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?”

“Are not you amazed sometimes that you should have so much as a hope, that, poor and needy as you are, the Lord thinks of you? But let not all you feel discourage you. For if our Physician is almighty, our disease cannot be desperate and if He casts none that come to Him, why should you fear? Our sins our many, but His mercies are more: our sins are great, but His righteousness is greater: we are weak, but he is power. Most of our complaints are owing to unbelief, and the remainder of a legal spirit.” (John Newton Letter March 1767, in Ortlund, 183)

Galatians 2.20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Saved by Love [Ephesians 2.1-6]

Saved because I’m a Sinner (2.1-3)

This is THE PROBLEM.

Dead in trespasses and sins…all of us…lived…carrying out our fleshly inclinations…children of wrath

[Foreshadow: The NEED for “rich in mercy”]

Saved through Christ (2.5-6)

Made alive with Christ…saved by grace…raised us up…seated with Christ

This is THE SOLUTION.

[Foreshadow: The EMBODIMENT of "rich in mercy…great love”]

Saved by Love (2.4)

“Great love...”

An ‘invincible love’ (Thomas Goodwin: )

“Rich in mercy...”

Who God is…not what he has.

NEED FOR:

Jesus sent to raise dead people…following Satan (Is Paul for real with this?…especially, him!?)

Philippians 3.5-6 “circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless.”

Titus 3.3 “For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.”

“The only way to make sense of these two kinds of passages is to understand that we can vent our fleshly passions by breaking all the rules, or we can vent our fleshly passions by keeping all the rules, but both ways of venting the flesh still need resurrection. We can be immoral dead people, or we can be moral dead people. Either way, we’re dead.” (Ortlund, 176-177)

[Reminiscent of Keller’s “Prodigal God.”]

EMBODIMENT OF:

Incarnation… “rich in mercy” we can see, hear, and touch.

Titus 2.11 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,”

How secure are we in God’s love?

“For God to de-resurrect you, to bring his rich mercy to an end, Jesus Christ himself would have to be sucked down out of heaven and put back in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. You’re that safe.” (Ortlund, 178)

CONCL—

The Bible describes God’s love for us…um, vividly, as I said before.

Jeremiah 31.20 “Isn’t Ephraim a precious son to me, a delightful child? Whenever I speak against him, I certainly still think about him. Therefore, my inner being yearns for him; I will truly have compassion on him. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

“…my inner being yearns...” [Yep, “Yearning Bowels.”]

Inner being / guts / seat of the emotions / heart

Yearns / stirs / roars / turbulence

Speaking of God: “…pouring out of his heart is the turbulence of divine longing.” (Ortlund, 166)

“I will truly have compassion...” = “Having mercy I will have mercy...”

Sadly, this truth is one with which many (all ?) of us struggle.

…BUT, we need not. In fact, we must not…if we seek to honor Him.

Galatians 2:20 CSB

I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.