Faith | Hope | Love

[Audio Transcript]  Pastor John, you have, for years stressed an approach to Reformed theology that is both hard-thinking and deep-feeling. Each of us will tend to fall on one side or the other, either an anti-intellectual feeling, or an anti-feeling intellectualism. Both are to be avoided. In today’s question, a listener wants to know this: “Dear Pastor John, in your 30+ years of ministry, what have you practically done to avoid mere intellectualism — cold academic study — in your Bible reading and in your exposition?”

1) The first thing I would say is that I need to be, we need to be, deeply persuaded that this really, really matters: this non-cold, non-intellectualistic, warm, practical, affectionate relation to the living Christ. We need to be persuaded. This really matters because there are a lot of people out there — I keep bumping into them — there are a lot of people out there who either for personality reasons or sometimes theological reasons think it doesn’t matter what your emotions do. That is, they think emotions are the caboose at the end of the train. They are just not essential at all. And it sounds like the person who wrote this question is persuaded that they matter, and it might be good to ask why. And here is my reason.

The first and greatest commandment is not to know the Lord our God — which is, of course, assumed — but to love the Lord your God. And that includes with all your heart (Matthew 22:36–37). And Paul says at the end of 1 Corinthians: If you don’t love the Lord you are accursed (1 Corinthians 16:22). Love the Lord. And Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37). In other words, the love that we must have isn’t just a kind of dutiful, commandment-keeping love. That is not what you have for your kids, nor your parents. It is the deepest, heartfelt, affectionate, relative kind of love, the kind we have for mother and father and son and daughter — only more, more for Jesus. And if we don’t have it, we are not worthy of Jesus.

So, this is the first thing I would say. We must be totally, John Piper must be totally persuaded that knowing God truly without loving him duly is eternally deadly, deadly. I must be persuaded of that. So, I am trembling at the thought that I could go about my academic work or my scholarly work or my writing work or preaching work or study work in some kind of cold frame with no awakened love for God, affection for God. So, the quest for overcoming what he is referring to as intellectualism is a life and death battle. That is the first thing.

2) The second thing I would say is that we should therefore read all things — Scripture and everything else, especially the word; the Scripture, but also the world and everything in it — we should read everything on the lookout for evidences of God’s value, not just evidences of his truth. The devil owns that God is true and probably knows more true things about God than we do. But the devil will not own that God is supremely valuable and supremely satisfying. The devil values himself above God. God’s presence gives no joy and no satisfaction to the devil whatsoever.

Therefore, our aim in reading the Bible should not be demonic. We are not aiming to rise just to the level of the devil. Our aim is, of course, to see what is really there, what is true about God — but always more, always more; namely, with a view to feeling what is valuable about God, treasuring the treasure that God is. The aim is to see the millions of reasons why God is a treasure, not just the millions of evidences that God exists or has certain attributes. All of our theological refinement should be for the sake of doxological embrace and enjoyment. This affects the way you read. This is what I try to do. I try to read. You read on the lookout for evidences of value, evidences of preciousness, evidences that he is beautiful and sweet and satisfying.

Peter says in 1 Peter 2:1–3, “Long for the pure, spiritual milk” — and I think he means the milk of the word — “that by it you may grow up into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” What is the point of that if: if you have tasted? The point is that all the drinking in the world without tasting will not grow us up into salvation. The aim of drinking the word is tasting the Savior. It is the tasting that is the nutritional encounter with the living God that grows us up into salvation. So, that is the second thing I would say. In all of our reading, be on the lookout for evidences of God’s value, not just evidences of his truth.

3) Which leads now to the third thing that I would say, namely, that the goal of valuing or treasuring or feeling the preciousness of or enjoying the beauty of God in all of our reading confronts me immediately with the impossibility on my part of making it happen. You can’t make yourself value God. You can make yourself read. You can make yourself list off attributes of God that you see. You can make yourself list of ways that God behaves. But you can’t make yourself feel how wonderful they are. That is why the psalmist cries: Open my eyes that I may see wonders in your Word (Psalm 119:18).

So, the third point is: Pray, pray, pray. And we pray not only for illumination to see what is really there about God, but to feel. We pray Psalm 90:14, “Satisfy [me] in the morning with your steadfast love.” Why in the world would the psalmist pray that, except that the human heart doesn’t naturally feel it when it hears and sees the beauties of God? God has to work this. We ask God to make us satisfied in God. So, prayer is absolutely essential not only that my eyes would be open, but that my affections would be awakened.

4) The fourth thing I would say is that, beyond the Bible, I read authors who have understood God deeply and felt him mightily and expressed both the understanding and the feeling with clarity and power. For me, that has been mainly Jonathan Edwards and John Owen and C.S. Lewis and the Puritans. You need to find the great seers of God and the great lovers of God and the great expressers of the seeing and the loving, so that they can feed your soul with true and large affections.

I know you, Tony, would put John Newton in that category and so would I — kind of a latter-day Puritan who saw things deeply and expressed things beautifully and felt things deeply. So that is number four.

5) And then, finally, I would say: Open your mouth and bear witness to family and friends and neighbors and colleagues to the beauty of God and your joy in him. It is precisely in giving expression to our joy that intensifies the joy itself. A shared joy is a doubled joy. God loves mission. God loves witness. God loves sharing. God loves loving people. And he does not love hoarding. Therefore, when we turn on our affections and express them to other people, God is pleased and our joy is intensified.

So, those are my five strategies against cold intellectualism. There are lots more strategies, but maybe that is enough to set the trajectory of discovery.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including A Peculiar Glory.

Copyright © 2016 by John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Find the original article at http://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/five-strategies-for-avoiding-intellectualism

I came across a quote from the old pastor and theologian A.W. Tozer and it stopped me in my tracks:
-A.W. Tozer

What you think, when you think of God…is the most important fact in your life right now.  It is impacting every single day: How you deal with your past. How you relate to your job, your money, your mate, your kids in. Things in the present and your hope in the future.

If you ask this book we call the Bible that question, what is God like, all 66 books come back with the same answer:  GRACE.

If you go to the very beginning and you ask Adam and Eve what God is like, they would say grace.  If you ask Abraham, the beginning of the Jewish people, what he thought about God, he would say grace.  If you asked Noah (the Ark), a story a lot of people have pushed aside as untrue but the Bible says was literal, the Bible says Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

When you come to the New Testament, Paul (who wrote 3/4 of the Bible) 130 times talked about the grace of God.  He gave the summation of it all when he says, Ephesians 2:8-9   ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast  

We do we think of Jesus Christ?  Most anybody, whatever their view of Christ, think of Him as a good man, a powerful figure in history.  Jesus, though He never used the term "grace", the phrase he used more than any other was "fear not".  The Bible says in John 1 that Jesus was full of grace and truth:

John 1:14, 16-17   And the Word (CHRIST) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

We use words like that all the time: grace, faith, redemption, justification... Sometimes we get kind of "churchy" and don't explain our terms or talk about what we mean.  Let's be honest, we use "grace" all the time. When we pray before a meal we are saying grace.  When a ballet dancer does something amazing, we talk about how graceful they are.  Princess Diana was known for her grace; there's a book title called "Grace is Not a Blue-eyed Blond".  What do we mean when we talk about grace?  I could spend some time trying to tell you, but I want to spend our time showing you [in the Bible].

Grace can mean coordination of movement, it can mean a prayer, it can refer to dignity and elegance.  So when it comes to God…what is GRACE?

2 Samuel 9:1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness (lit. GRACE) for Jonathan’s sake?

Already tremendously weird, unusual circumstances, because usually the new king would seek out the family of the former king and kill them.  They don't want any challengers coming after them to restore their father's kingdom.  That was the policy of the day, to wipe out [the former king's] descendants completely so they are no threat.  David wants to show the family kindness.  That word literally in Hebrew is GRACE.  David wants to show grace to one of Saul's descendants and do it for Jonathan's sake.

You see, there's part of the story I didn't tell you.  Though Saul hated David's guts with all of his being, Saul had a son named Jonathan.  Jonathan and David were best friends.  They loved each other with all their heart and at one point Jonathan came to David and said "I know God is setting you up and taking my Dad down.  When you get to your kingdom, when God gives all this to you, I don't want you to forget about me.  I want you to remember my house and not wipe us out.  Promise me David."  And David made that promise to Saul's son and now he wants to know if there is any of Saul's decedents he can show grace to for Jonathan's sake.

Now here's the answer to that question...

2 Samuel 9:2-5  And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. ³And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet...

Before we go any further, why did Ziba say that?  David didn't ask that; what he looked like, what kind of background he had, what physical state he was in, if he was handicapped. Yet Ziba throws out "yeah, there's a guy. He has a descendant, but he's lame [he's crippled]." I think what Ziba is saying here is "I kinda get where you're going here David, you want a poster boy for Saul's kingdom and show everybody how good and gracious you are and parade him around.  Listen, this guy is not going to be your poster child.  You don't want to bring out this one to show your grace.  He's crippled...." and I think what Ziba doesn't tell David (and this is me talking not the Bible) is that this guy H.A.T.E.S. you.

...⁴And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar. ⁵Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.

Lodebar is an interesting word.  "Lo" literally means "no" and "debar" means "pasture"; what it's saying is "no pasture land".  This was a barren, nasty, outskirts type of place. David has this attitude of  'I want to show grace to Saul's decedents' and now we meet Mephibosheth, one of Saul's decedents, and the attitude he has.  Mephibosheth is living his life away from the present king; afraid of David.  A life of bitter anger toward the present king.  He's gotten as far away as he could go, as far as  he can, so David will never find him.  Mephibosheth doesn't want to be found or recognized because naturally this king will want to take his life if he ever found him.

Let me give you a reason why I believe this man by the name of Mephibosheth was angry toward David.  If you look a few chapters back, you find a unique little scene.  Whenever Saul and Jonathan died in battle, word got back to Mephibosheth's nurse (he was just a baby) that the king and his son were dead.  Naturally the nurse assumes they are coming to kill Mephibosheth because he is next in line and there will be no future for either of them.  The Bible says in her haste, she drops the baby and it cripples him.  Here's what you find, Mephibosheth has been running not only from David but the very thought of David all his life.  Every time he sees that crutch hanging up on the wall, "David's the one who made me like this."  "David's the reason I have to live out here."  "David's the reason I can't have any kind of life."  He's away, afraid, and angry; then one day the thing he's most scared of comes knocking.  Mephibosheth is out in Lodebar, a long way from the capital and the palace.  You may of thought you were hidden real well and you weren't; the king wants to see you.  The king knows you're here.  He told us to bring you to the palace.  All his fears about David and that fateful day have just come true and we believe this guy has a wife.  We know he's got a baby.  They pick Mephibosheth up, they grab his crutch, and they make the journey to the palace.  I don't even know how to tell you, my imagination is not keen enough, can you just imagine what Mephibosheth is feeling when those giant wood doors swing open, guards on either side, sharp swords and spears and shields, and Mephibosheth is walking down a long pathway to the throne room of the king.  The doors open and there's David seated on his throne.  As weak as Mephibosheth is, that's how strong David is. Mephibosheth is brought down all the way to the throne of the king and the one that he's had in mind all his life, he's never seen or talked to, but had his mind made up about, is seated on the throne.

Let's see what happens...

2 Samuel 9:6  Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, (slings out his crutch and falls flat on his face in front of the king) and did reverence...  
I don't think this guy was a coward. I think this guy has a wife and a baby, he knows there's not a shot in this world that he survives, but maybe he won't kill my wife and kid.  Maybe there's some kind of hope here if I beg him.

2 Samuel 9:6  Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence And David said, Mephibosheth...  Mephibosheth can't even see David, his face is down to the ground.  He didn't know if David's arms were crossed, if his hands were in the pockets of his robe, Mephibosheth didn't know if David was distant, hateful

And David said, Mephibosheth And he answered, Behold thy servant! (Exclamation point, fear in those words).

I've read this a bunch of time and I still can't get over it...

2 Samuel 9:7  And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake (and I'm not only going to spare you), and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

Then David stooped.  The king, all of his royalty, all of his power; he bends down to this man and takes him by the arm.  "What you thought I was like, I'm not like that.  The reason you thought I brought you here, I didn't bring you for that reason.  You’re mine.  I take you just as you are, crutches and hang-ups and liabilities and all.  I don't take you because I have to, I take you because I want to,  I take you for your daddy's sake."

Y'all, I was amazed by this.  Do you know what the word "grace" literally means in the Hebrew?
Grace –  (HEBR)“To bend, to stoop.” It carries with it this thought, "To extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it.”  

The story of every single one of us is a story of us being away, afraid, and in most cases us being angry.  This God took my Daddy two years ago with prostate cancer. I don't know why God lets some of these things happen.  For some of you, you suffered abuse growing up.  "I don't know why my life has turned out like this and this God if He's really a God of love, how could He do that?  Be like that?  Allow that?"

We spend our lives taking His gifts.  Every morning the gift of breath in your lungs.  The gift of a beating heart.  The gift of healthy kids in most cases. The gift of a roof over your head and a car in your garage.  The gift of a job.  The gift of America.  The list goes on and on but we take the gifts and reject the Giver.  We run like mad from God and we crash straight into Him at funerals when we can't think about anything else.  We crash into Him when life caves in and the bullets are flying. We cry out to God when most of the time we've spent our life thinking evil thoughts about God.  And all the while, God stoops.

You say, "Preacher, if you knew the stuff I've done, I've said, the people I've betrayed.  If you knew the way I've let my loved ones down; the sins I've committed and the lies I've told you'd know that God may stoop toward somebody else, but he can't stoop toward me.  He can't reach down to me.  The stuff I've done, I deserve hell.  I deserve to be cut off.  I don't deserve God."  Friend, listen to me.  David didn't take Mephibosheth for his sake; he took Mephibosheth  for Jonathan's sake.


Two-thousand years ago, God sent His Son down to planet Earth.  He lived a perfect, flawless life.  He thanked God for every breath and every beat of his heart.  We all know he died on a Roman cross at the age of 33.  Don't let the culture steer you wrong on this; He wasn't just a good man, He wasn't just dying to make a point. The Bible says the penalty of God, his wrath and judgement, all the wrong stuff you've done and ever thought, all the filthy stuff I've ever done and thought, He has to punish that and he punished Jesus on the cross so that He could set you free.  Jesus took your place so that God could bend down to you and say "Listen, I will take you just like you are.  I'll take you with your crutches, hangups, problems, temptations, all your flaws, like you are for Jesus' sake!"  That, my friend, is what we mean when we talk about Grace.

Now Mephibosheth has a choice doesn't he?  How is he going to respond?

PRIDE?  I don't need you.  I don't need anything you can give me.  I don't need your kingdom or your table.  Give me my crutch and I'll make it out of here the same way  I came in here.  You're the one who made me like this and I don't need a thing from you.

UNEARNED?  David, let me do better first.  Let me extend some effort .  I haven't done anything for you; I can't accept a gift like this.  Let me go out and praise you and serve you a little bit.  David, let me earn this somehow.

SHAME? David, I'm too ashamed.  I can't sit at your table, it's too embarrassing.  It's too humiliating.  I don't deserve it.

Listen friends, you know why some of you have not yet bowed the knee to Christ or said "God if You're stooping down to me, I'll take it.  If you sent Jesus for me, I'll take it."  BECAUSE YOU HAVE TOO MUCH PRIDE.  "God, I don't need you.  You let that happen to my family, to me when I was a kid; You're the source of my problems and I don't want to have to bow a knee to You. I don't need You."

Some of you have tried to be religious to earn your way back to God.  You have tried to do good works, to please Him. You tried to somehow earn it and you've been so ashamed of yourself that you thought it wasn't for you.  Can you imagine how tremendously insulting it would have been if the king is stooping down to this man and this man for any reason says "I can't take it, I don't want it, you can't give it to me."  That's the one thing on the face of this Earth that could have sent him back out those palace doors EMPTY.

No problem, sin, struggle, flaw, or frailty could have kept him from the king, but pride and shame would have sent him away empty.  That's not what he did...

2 Samuel 9:8-13  ⁸And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. ¹⁰Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. ¹¹Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. ¹²And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. ¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.

Luke 11:13   If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

John Newton said "I'm evil but maybe God can take somebody even like me."  It didn't end there and over the next few years, God spoke and drew John Newton.  This filthy, vile, slave trader asked Jesus Christ to stoop down and save his wicked soul.  Later down the road, John Newton got sick, he went blind, his wife came within an inch of death; but through all that, God called him to be a preacher.  He became not just a preacher, but a powerful writer of songs.  He sat down one day to write a song he entitled “Faith’s Review and Expectation” and here's how the song went: