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Let me begin by saying that your definition of “Accountability Groups” (from here on, AGs) may differ from what I’m talking about here, and that’s okay. I’m just going to examine a particular aspect of AGs—one which much personal experience has led me to believe is pervasive in Evangelicalism today. But it may not be a part of your experience of AGs. So bear with me.

I used to meet weekly with a small group of men from our church who struggle with issues common to men. When I was introducing a new quarter, which saw the addition of a few fellows to the group, these were some comments I made:

I am not interested in fighting one sin by using another sin. What good is it to strengthen our pride in order to overpower our lust? Why would we want to use guilt or the fear of man to make progress in freedom and holiness? Will feeding the flesh in one area to starve it in another really bring us closer to God and godliness? These methods are not The Gospel Method, and if we preached them to each other, we are not servants of Christ (Gal. 1:8-10).

What in the world am I talking about, you ask? I’m talking about the tendency of people in AGs to prod each other toward apparent holiness by unbiblical, non-Christian, anti-Gospel methods. These methods are not just unhelpful, they’re actually harmful to true holiness.

For a common example, take an AG that appeals to Pride in order to subdue Lust (Fear of Man being the negative flipside of the Pride Coin). Someone in such an AG would feel pressure not to slip into lustful behavior, so that he wouldn’t have to embarrass himself in front of the others in the group. If the group meets on a Wednesday night, the only thing keeping him from using the computer inappropriately on Tuesday night is the fear he has of telling his friends the next night. They’d obviously think less of him if he has something to say during confession time, and his Pride being stronger than his Lust, he controls his lustful behavior. (Hasn’t this become the very definition of accountability??)

Now, you run into a problem here. You haven’t applied the Gospel to the situation, so the Flesh is getting stronger, not weaker. It’s just one area of the Flesh that’s been losing out to another, for a time. But after a while, the Pride can’t control the Lust any more. The Lust leaps up, and overcomes the fellow, and he has to make a confession to his AG. The AG forgives him, and he goes home, and maybe his Lust overcomes him again in the next couple weeks. A few times he slips up, and a few times he confesses.

But then (and this is the worst part), since the Gospel has never really been injected into the problem, the fellow’s Pride overtakes him again. But this time it’s not strong enough to subdue the Lust. He still slips up, and acts out of Lust. But he’s too afraid of the shame it would bring to confess it to his AG, so he doesn’t tell them about it this time. Both Pride and Lust win out, and he withdraws into his shell of secrecy once again, into a massive downward spiral of hopelessness.

Trust me, this happens.

And it happens because we have a warped view of Christianity. We have a view that says, “Being a Christian is primarily about being a better person than most non-Christians. Anything that can help me be a better person must be good.” But Christianity is not primarily about being a better person, and not all things are helpful when it comes to growing in holiness. Some things that seem helpful are actually “of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” (Col. 2:23). Obviously, indulging the flesh in one area in order to stop it in another isn’t really stopping it.

When we participate in AGs driven by the Fear of Man or Pride, we testify that we believe that Christianity is simply about getting better. The most important thing becomes stopping sin and getting better. There’s a feeling there, that someday I’ll conquer this whole sin thing, and be good enough. If only I could get to a place where I could stand on my own two feet, not stumbling around all the time in sin! If only I could clean myself up just a little more, then I know I’d be all right with God and his people.

Devilry!

If you’re part of an AG that employs pride, guilt, or fear tactics, you’re confessing to the world that you want to be able to justify yourself before God and others. For you, it’s about being “good enough.” But the Gospel says that you’ll never be “good enough.” You’re a sinner, and you’ll always sin. Every day. More frequently than that, even.

We all need to know that, in and of ourselves, there is no hope. We’ll never be perfect, not even “good enough.” This is helpful because then we won’t set our hope in the wrong thing. Our hope for acceptance from God and others doesn’t come from our being or actions. It comes only from God, through Jesus Christ, by grace, through faith. Christianity isn’t about becoming a sinless person—it’s about a sinner finding forgiveness and freedom in the grace of God in Christ.

So what is the grace of God in Christ for us? It’s the truth of the Gospel. It’s the love of God. It’s the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It’s the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. It’s freedom from the penalty and power of sin—even though not fully realized in this life.

What does this freedom look like? It looks dangerously close to antinomianism (thinking that Christians don’t “have to” obey the law of God). Historically speaking, those who “get” the Gospel have been accused by those who are more legalistic of being licentious. Martin Luther said, “Be a sinner, and sin boldly, but believe more boldly still. Sin shall not drag us away from Him….” He loved the law of God, but it was only the grace of God that let him love the law. Grace—the freedom to be a sinner found in Christ—is the foundation for keeping the law, which is what Christians want to do.

What’s the best feeling in the world? For me, it’s coming to communion after hearing the Gospel proclaimed—Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for me, a sinner. When I hear the forgiveness and love and grace of God pronounced on me—a sinner!—a great and holy joy overwhelms me. This Gospel-driven sense of fellowship with God and his people is what conquers the desires to sin. At that moment, sin is the most repulsive thing in the world. We need to learn to cultivate that appreciation for the Gospel in our daily lives in order to cast off the shackles of evil desires from our hearts.

So if your AG is about this Gospel, God bless you. Such groups can make good use of honest confession, to proclaim and demonstrate mercy toward one another. But if your AG preaches another Gospel, if it uses the fear of man or pride as motivation to try stop the indulgences of the flesh, watch out, because you’ve warped God’s beautiful message of salvation and sanctification by the grace of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 1

Psalm 2

Psalm 3

Psalm 8

Psalm 16

Psalm 19

Psalm 32

Psalm 67

Psalm 133

A new congregation beginning in Beaverton, Oregon

For those of you who hadn’t yet heard, I got a new job. I’ve been the Assistant Pastor at Intown PCA in Portland, Oregon, for the last several years. March 29 was my last Sunday there, and now I’m working with Nathan Lewis of Evergreen PCA in Beaverton to start a new church: Ascension Presbyterian (PCA).

Right now we’re in the very early planning stages. I’m raising support for the next two years, and we’re looking for people to join us on the ministry team. The hope is that we can begin worship services in September.

If you’re interested in supporting this work through prayer or financial gifts, please visit this page on the website. Or download this PDF support letter. If you live in the area and are interested in attending, or even joining us on the ministry team, please contact me.

Thanks!

–
Rev. Eric Costa
ascension.presbyterian [at] gmail.com
ascensionpc.org

Maybe this has been said before; people listen to too many online sermons. Sure, the problem is probably limited to reformed-ish churchgoers, but that’s the tank I swim in, so it seems like everybody. I’ve noticed a few damaging side effects that I would like to share with you, maybe to encourage you to listen to less online sermons, but at least to help you use your “I’ve Heard All of Piper’s Sermons for Seven Years” Powers for good and not for evil. I’ll be brief.

First, let me state some of the positives of online sermons:

1. Some preachers are brilliant, and their sermons rightly should encourage multitudes throughout history.

2. Some people miss a Sunday or two every once in a while, and it would be nice to hear what their community (read “local church”) is thinking about in their absence.

3. It makes it easy for churches who want to learn more about potential pastoral candidates.

4. There are undoubtedly others—supply some in your comments!

I have friends who listen to 4-5 sermons a week by the heavy hitters: Keller, Piper, Driscoll, Carson, Dever, Sproul, etc. That’s 3-4 hours of online sermons per week. Maybe that’s 3-4 hours of otherwise wasted commuting time being redeemed. Maybe it’s 3-4 hours of time each week that could otherwise be used in practicing what that Christian already knows from hundreds or thousands of hours of sermons. Who knows? But that’s 156-208 hours per year. Just thought I’d add those hours up for you.

Here’s the real problem. When you listen on a regular basis to some of the best sermons in the history of the world, your expectations change. Suddenly you become a first class sermon critic (even if you’re not a seminary homiletics professor). You think more about the structure and delivery of sermons than letting the content have its way with your heart and mind. You begin to have all kinds of advice for your local minister (even though he didn’t ask for it). You won’t vote for that good minister to become your minister because he doesn’t preach a top-notch sermon (even though the Gospel is warm and clear in his preaching).

Suddenly it becomes pretty easy for your faithful pastor to feel second-rate, and for you to feel dissatisfied in your local church, needing to get your sermon fix online during the week because that guy in the pulpit just doesn’t feed you like [insert preaching hero]. Who cares that your pastor was well trained for years, pours out his lifeblood for the flock, and does the best he can to be faithful with what talents God has given him, often to the poverty and suffering of his entire family for the sake of the Gospel? Who cares that the man knows you, and knows how the Word of God applies to you in your particular culture, workplace and family?

I’m not saying the online sermon is always an impersonal, nonthreatening, general theological address—but it’s hardly ever aimed right at your soul, with your pastor’s labors and prayers driving it home for your eternal good. The benefit of living in a real community with a spiritual shepherd (or shepherds) intimately watching over your life and doctrine should not be supplanted by anything, yet the excellent online sermon can be a subtle usurper.

What, then? I don’t know, maybe listening to all those online sermons has convinced you that your preacher actually is a heretic, and you need to find another church! But (more likely) maybe you could survive with less online sermons, and more direct Bible reading. Maybe you could use that time you usually set aside for online sermons to volunteer somewhere, like your kids’ school or the local shelter. Maybe you could meet with your pastor and let him tell you what you need to change.

However, you probably at least should pray that you don’t become an online sermon elitist who wishes you lived in [insert preaching hero]’s city so you could go to that church every Sunday. You have a church. You have a minister. If the man’s not a heretic, commit yourself to prayer, that you would be content—even happy—with where God has you. Certainly, be thankful that you live in an age when God’s truth abounds, so that you have access to life-changing preaching as quickly as you can click on that bookmark. But let that truth work in you a real love for your own Gospel community and shepherd, however simple they may be. If you’ve really heard all those sermons by Piper & Gang, you know they’d probably say the same thing.

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Christian Giving Is Worship

God made us, sustains us, and lavishes us with good gifts. He loves us and gave his only Son for us. Our response of praise can and should be expressed through giving. The supreme reason to give away our money and possessions—the motive that permeates all other motives—is to worship God. Like a precious cut gem gleaming in the sunlight, every facet of Christian giving should reflect the glory of God’s grace. The immediate beneficiaries of Christian giving are earthly, but the One who receives honor from each gift is in Heaven. It is nothing to hoard, to indulge, to beautify ourselves. It is divine to lay down all that we are and all that we have as a tribute at the feet of the King of kings.

Christian Giving Is Faith

Christian giving honors God because it is a tangible expression of complete dependence on him. God owns all things, and has pledged his support to those who follow him. His own beloved Son is the guarantee of his goodwill. The one who trusts that God will supply his every need has no fear of becoming generous. In giving away what the world says he needs to survive, he confesses that the source of his security is a good Father in Heaven. In giving away what so easily rules his heart, he renounces the god Mammon, and swears allegiance to the Lord and Giver of life.

Christian Giving Is Love

God gives to some people much more than they need, while he allows others to suffer want. Does he grant wealth solely for the consumption of the rich? No. He means for those who have to give to those who have not. He gives to you so that you can give to others. In doing this, Christians participate in God’s merciful love, which we ourselves have received freely and undeservedly in Christ. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” If you can see yourself in the poor—if you can see Jesus there!—then let your love be genuine. Work hard to meet their needs.

Christian Giving Is Mission

Jesus was on a mission: to expend his life restoring the world to glorious peace with God. One Day, finally, in his Kingdom there will be complete wholeness and happiness for God’s people in his presence forever. Until that Day, Christians are to adopt their King’s mission in this world. This means we don’t just give to missions, but that Christian giving, in and of itself, is the mission to which we are called: to give all that we have for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus Christ gives life to the dead, both spiritually and physically; Christians can imitate him, however humbly, by giving of themselves to the spiritual and physical welfare of others.

Christian Giving Is Sacrifice

Judas sacrificed Jesus for money. Christians sacrifice money and possessions to Christ. A genuine sacrifice is a good, desirable thing being surrendered to God’s glory; giving up what is evil is simply obedience. For such an offering to honor God, it must be costly; it has to hurt to lay it on the altar, otherwise the glory of God is not exalted above the preciousness of the gift. The Lamb of God willingly climbed up on the altar, sacrificing his holy life on the cross for us. What would our love to him be if we did not respond in kind? Christian giving is relinquishing that which is dear to us to him who is dearest.

Christian Giving Is Secret

Secrecy reveals who you really are, whether you live unto God when no one else knows to applaud or despise. The one who draws attention to his giving is a hypocrite, selfishly seeking acclaim for his ostensible selflessness. The one who loves God, who cherishes his approbation alone, gives in secret. He does not sabotage himself by allowing others to confuse his motives with their esteem. Rather, he starves his fleshly appetite for recognition, and feeds his spirit with promises of heavenly reward that are assured to him in Christ. His is a quiet gift from his soul to God, which God does not forget.

Christian Giving Is Joy

Christian giving is like a release valve on a life bursting with unstoppable happiness. If your faith is in God, and in the One he sent to ransom you from your sins, then you are welcome to glorious love and everlasting joy in the communion of the Holy Trinity. Nothing can rob you of this. Not poverty or persecution. Not demons or death. So do not let fear of losing happiness paralyze your generosity. Give in order to share life and joy with the weak. You will only increase your participation with the Redeemer in his jubilant triumph over the effects of sin in this world. Besides, God loves a cheerful giver!

There are many existing plans for reading through the Bible in a year. Some have you reading from four places in the Bible every day. Some go through the Psalms and/or the New Testament twice. This one is meant to give you weekends off, be late with that New Year’s Resolution, allow for temporary backsliding, and take you very simply through the Old and New Testaments simultaneously. And if you absolutely must be legalistic about it, I even gave you checkboxes.

Download the reading plan PDF here.

The Christ in the Gospels

The Christ in the Gospel of Matthew (mp3)
Matthew 27:27-31 (ESV)

The Christ in the Gospel of Mark (mp3)
Mark 8:27-38 (ESV)

The Christ in the Gospel of Luke (mp3)
Luke 19:1-10 (ESV)

The Christ in the Gospel of John (mp3)
John 1:1-18 (ESV)

Here you can download the mp3 of a sermon I preached from Acts 2:36-39 on August 24, 2008. Yes, a large portion of the sermon is about infant baptism. No, it does not answer everyone’s questions. It’s a sermon, people, not a systematics lecture.

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Preach to Glorify God

The ultimate goal of Christian preaching—as with all other things—is the glory of the Triune God. When the minister proclaims God’s true and beautiful Word, he honors the Persons, attributes, and works of God. But the glory really radiates when the Spirit uses his Word to change lives. If someone is convicted, saved, comforted, inspired, redeemed by the preached Word, God was at work, showing himself to be good, sovereign, gracious, and altogether glorious.

Preach to Transform

In order to glorify God, preaching aims at complete redemption and renewal. The goal is to make the hearer better able to engage reality (God, self, others, world, culture, etc.) from a Biblical perspective. Every facet of every life is fair game—if a person thinks, feels, speaks or acts at all, then those ways of participating in God’s world ought to be made to serve God’s glory. Sometimes the transformation is dramatic, as when a person is convicted and converted. Sometimes the change is externally imperceptible, as when a person is reassured once again of God’s love. Always it should be so that the person loves God with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength better than he did when he first sat in the pew.

Preach against Unbelief

In order to transform people, preaching aims to increase their faith. The desired progression is from sin to holiness (sanctification), which requires faith. A person will only be changed through truly believing the Word of God. Whether Christian or not, all of us have the same problem: we do not believe the Word of God enough to let it shape our lives in every way. Therefore the preacher must target the unbelief in the hearer, and proclaim the Word as beacon that draws forth true faith from those in whom the Spirit works.

Preach the Gospel

In order to inspire faith, preaching must convey the Gospel. The Good News is that God is for us in Jesus Christ. Helping the hearer understand this goes well beyond a “simple” evangelistic message. The grace of God addresses us at every point in our lives: it establishes and strengthens our faith (and, therefore, obedience). Certainly, preach the Law as well—bad news often precedes the Good News. But the majestic goodness of God, displayed in the Gospel, must characterize our preaching week in and week out. This wins our faith.

Preach Christ from All the Scriptures

The person and work of Jesus Christ is the substance of the Gospel. The beginning, middle, and end of the Christian life must be informed by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus—all the Scriptures are helpful for this. Jesus himself made it very clear that he is the main subject of all the Scriptures. Paul set the tone for our preaching by saying, “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Friends, a sermon is not Christian unless it is Christocentric.

Preach with Unction

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” The anointing of the Spirit is necessary for true boldness in preaching. Apart from the Spirit’s empowerment, a preacher might muster some fervor, but he will lack authority, and might not even possess the courage to maintain God’s truth before sinners. The right proclamation of the Word requires holy unction, which comes by the grace of God through prayer.

Preach with Clarity

God himself has condescended tremendously to help us understand his will. Therefore, preachers have no right to dwell in theological obscurity in their pulpits, but are called to preach with clarity. If it is important that the Gospel be understood by all who hear, then preaching should be not only in the common language, but also concise, uncluttered, logical, and memorable. Preachers do well to improve upon these basics of clear communication as they seek to imitate the Fountainhead of all communication, the Word of God incarnate.

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Christian Obedience Is Relational

This may seem obvious, but obedience requires two parties: the one obeying, and the one obeyed. The Christian obeys God. Christian obedience is not some sort of purity detached from relationship to God. We do not pursue a self-contained morality, as if virtue in itself meant something. “Getting better” at obedience (a.k.a. sanctification) is becoming submissive to God. Either we are righteous for God’s sake, or righteous for the sake of self (self-righteous, which is to say unrighteous).

Christian Obedience Is Covenantal

The Christian obeys God for reasons stipulated by God. The Ten Commandments are prefaced with these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” This creates the atmosphere in which obedience takes place. The Christian obeys God because God has shown favor to him—not so that God will show favor to him. In Jesus Christ, the Lord of the Covenant sacrificed himself to save his people from their sin and to redeem them for righteousness. This is the ultimate motivator to Christian obedience.

Christian Obedience Is Glad-Hearted

Good works drawn from a reluctant heart do not constitute God-honoring obedience. In fact, this is lip service, performed for some reason other than a joyful response to grace—which is the same as disobedience in God’s eyes. Only the heart made healthy and glad with salvation can be truly obedient. “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” If you truly love your Savior God, then he cannot ask too much of your allegiance.

Christian Obedience Is Legal

le•gal: adj. of, based on, or concerned with the law. Christian obedience takes the form of law keeping. What’s that you say? Obedience has more to do with love than with law? What are the greatest precepts of the Law of God? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength… [and] you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s right, love is a commandment, the fulfillment of the Law. If you’re a Christian, you do what God tells you to do, which he has told you by way of the moral Law.

Christian Obedience Is Supernatural

Only Christians can obey God rightly. Therefore, the merest potential for obedience comes from outside nature, since just being a Christian is supernatural. Not only that, but we obey the will of God by being filled with the Spirit, by walking in the Spirit. How, then, could the origin or empowerment of our obedience be anything but supernatural—unless you would reduce the Holy Spirit of God to the level of nature?

Christian Obedience Is Necessary

For the Christian to obey God is normal. It is no extraordinary thing to do what your Lord commands—even to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus… daily. But obedience is more than to-be-expected: it is inevitable. Someone who is saved by grace through living faith in Jesus Christ will certainly obey God. In fact, disobedience points to the absence of true and saving faith. So, although obedience is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is a necessary fruit of salvation.

Christian Obedience Is Beautiful

True Christian obedience is haunting, jolting the minds of our opponents. It is compelling, winning worshipers to our God. We convey godliness through our good works, pleasing the One who calls us to holiness. The Word of God is more desirable than gold, and sweeter than honey. This Word produces obedience in the lives of God’s people by their faith. Surely that fruit is beautiful.