False Christian teachings, trends….
The purpose of this post is to emphasize the value of truth as it is described in scripture; and to make clear that truth is presently wounded, lying in the street, and the forces of evil are focused on destroying it before it is able to get up. (Jer 7:28 [ESV2011]) And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
The Christian who has learned contentment, does not look at the means of affliction which the Lord uses to conform him to the image of Christ, he merely submits to God’s hand and finds pleasure in receiving His providences. The election 2020 has brought afflictions into the lives of many conservative Christians, do you want to learn how to receive God’s affliction obediently? This post uses some quotes from Jeremiah Burroughs’ Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment help the biblical Christian learn how to identify disobedience and seek obedience regarding receiving afflictions from the Lord’s hand
As 2 Corinthians 10, Ephesians 6 and many other places in the Bible make clear, the Christian’s weapons are not worldly. Our weapons are the righteousness of justification, faith, prayer, abiding in His word for direction and enablement, fellowship with Him and His children…which enable us to endure the hard knocks we are promised to receive from the world. Also, I have been freshly reminded that spiritual warfare is happening all around us 24-7-365; and we need God’s grace and Spirit to endure. …God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
IT IS NOT SO MUCH THE REMOVING OF THE AFFLICTION THAT IS UPON US AS THE CHANGING OF THE AFFLICTION, THE METAMORPHOSING OF THE AFFLICTION, SO THAT IT IS QUITE TURNED AND CHANGED INTO SOMETHING ELSE. …A CHRISTIAN COMES TO THIS CONTENTMENT NOT BY MAKING UP THE WANTS OF HIS CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT BY THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK OF HIS CIRCUMSTANCES. …THE MYSTERY CONSISTS NOT IN BRINGING ANYTHING FROM OUTSIDE TO MAKE MY CONDITION MORE COMFORTABLE, BUT IN PURGING OUT SOMETHING THAT IS WITHIN.
Burroughs describes the state of contentment further; then he talks about two ways of knowing greater contentment: by subtracting from one’s desires; and by adding his burden of sin to his burden of affliction. “The heavier the burden of your sin is to your heart, the lighter will the burden of your affliction be to your heart, and so you shall come to be content.”
It is okay to desire the affliction to be removed and to seek that via prayer; but obedience remains under the affliction; more than that, is pleased to remain under it, thanking God for His work, knowing that He only does right…. One who has learned this lesson of contentment, looks up to God in all things; he does not look down at the instruments and means God uses [to afflict him or bless him]; he sees God’s wisdom in what is happening to him
The doctrine contained in Phil. 4:11 is that it is the duty, glory and excellence of a Christian to be well-skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment …godliness is NOT great gain unless you also have contentment
Summary of the above section: when affliction comes, whatever it is, and though you feel much pain; cry to God, seek lawful ways to be delivered (via prayer, abiding in His word…); and do not murmur, repine, fret, vex yourself, nor permit tumultuousness of spirit, fear, or discouragement to destabilize and distract you; or rebellion to set you in opposition to God
Contentment is a blessing bestowed by the New Covenant and its promises; all believers may partake of all the blessings of this covenant – Burroughs clarifies the knowledge, understandings, conduct…via which one might arrive at contentment…The doctrine contained in Phil. 4:11 is that it is the duty, glory and excellence of a Christian to be well-skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment
So the Lord looks to you this morning via His word, with a view towards those particular sins that you and I know so deeply in our hearts, those sins with which we tend to identify, with which we may have come to define our lives, possibly our default sins; our go to in times of stress; those sins that we treat as an exception in our need to follow God’s commands; the ones to which we have yielded time and time again as if they were our Savior, and our Lord