goodness | Reveds's Blog

“Hold Fast to What is Good…”
(Rom 12:9)

There are days when we have more questions than answers; more doubts than assurances.

Wondering why the wicked prosper and the righteous struggle through the day.
Wondering how God will provide when there’s more month than money.
Wondering if that prayer for healing, for peace, for assurance will ever be answered.
Wondering what meaning could possibly be found in the midst of this trial and suffering.

Questions and doubts like these have the potential to rob us of our comfort and peace in believing. We struggle in that “dark night of the soul,” grasping to something, anything, that will bring us through.

This is why the Spirit teaches us to “Hold fast to what is good” (Rom 12:9). Like a survivor of a shipwreck who clings to the life preserver, we must hold fast to that which is certain to bring us through to salvation. This term “hold fast” is the same term that Scripture uses in describing marriage, “He shall leave his father and mother, and hold fast to his wife” (Gen 2:24). It’s not simply a desperate grasping at straws, hoping to find something to hold on to, but rather it is coming back to the assurance that comes with God’s covenant promise. Hold fast, rest in, the goodness of the promise.

So, briefly, what is this good to which we are to hold fast in the midst of our doubts and troubles? Let me offer three “goods” that Scripture calls us to hold on to.

Hold fast to the truth.

One of my favorite passages from the preliminary statements of the Book of Church Order in the PCA (I know, that phrase scores high on the geek scale), is this:

“That truth is in order to goodness; and a great touchstone of truth, its tendency to promote holiness; according to our Savior’s rule, “by their fruits ye shall know them.” And that no opinion can be either more pernicious or more absurd than that which brings truth and falsehood upon a level, and represents it as of no consequence what a man’s opinions are. On the contrary, we are persuaded that there is an inseparable connection between faith and practice, truth and duty. Otherwise it would be of no consequence either to discover truth or to embrace it.”

Can we not say that we live in a day when truth and falsehood are presented as equal? When we are unable to say which bathroom a person ought to use without being labeled a “hate-monger,” and a Harvard law professor tells his students that Evangelical Christians should be treated like Nazi criminals; I’d say its time for us to hold fast to the truth.

Where do we find that truth? In the word of God. Jesus said that those who are the good soil are those who, “hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15). Paul says we are to “hold fast to the word of life (Philippians 2:16). 1 Thessalonians 5:21 teaches us to test everything and hold fast to the truth. When someone comes along claiming to know the truth, test it against the Word of God. When troubles come and cause you to doubt, test them against the Word of God. Hold fast to the truth of God’s Word.

Hold fast to hope.

Not only are we to hold on to the truth, but we must remain in that truth with hopefulness. Holding fast to truth without hope can result in a rather dour and pessimistic outlook on life. But faith is both truth and hopefulness. I remember reading somewhere that Biblical hope is not an uncertain desire, it is a confident expectation. When we are established in the truth of God’s Word, and rest in His promises, we have a confident expectation that His Word and His promise are true and will be fulfilled.

This is what Hebrews 10:23 teaches, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” So hold fast to the hopeful expectation of God’s goodness and mercy, for this hope “does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5).

Hold fast to Christ.

Ultimately, the truth and the hope to which we must hold fast is found in Jesus Christ. In Him alone is the truth, and in Him alone is the fulfillment of every promise of God. Christ is the Word of God incarnate, the living embodiment of God’s truth. He is God’s “Yes” and “Amen,” the faithful and true witness. He is the “hope of the world” (Matt. 12:21), and in Him “will the Gentiles put their hope” (Rom 5:12).

In the midst of the doubts and questions, the troubles and the fears, hold fast to that which is good; hold fast to Christ.

SDG

As day six of our Haiti Mission comes to an end, I sit outside this evening on the patio, listening to the waves crash in to the shore, a gentle breeze in the cool(ish) night air. It’s been a long day of hard word and the only thing that would make this evening absolutely perfect would be to have my family here with me now. At times this place seems like paradise – though when the day begins tomorrow, we’ll return to paradise lost.
Our team spent the day hard at work. Matt and Bruce farmed all day, plowing fields in a tractor our team helped repair. The ladies of the team, Amy, Donna, and Dawn, helped with the girls school work today. I cut metal and welded – all day long. I was covered in black metal dust when finished – I miss the quiet, reflective work of my Pastor’s Study.
There is a new boys orphanage opening this Friday. We have three bunk beds made, and another 9 started. Our plan is to hopefully get them all finished on Thursday, and maybe even get some desks for the girl’s school rooms cranked out too.
We’ve accomplished quite a bit in the short time we’ve been here. It’s been hard work, but all of it has been good work. There’s so much that we can do to help those in need, the widows, the orphans, the poor, and the hungry. As we reach out to those in need, what seems like an inconsequential action – holding a baby while she sleeps, folding clothes with a young mom, preparing a meal for a hungry family – to those who receive such kindness our actions are tremendous, transforming, life-changing.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, calls His disciples to a life of goodness – a goodness that glorifies God. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16). As disciples of Christ, we are called to share the Gospel, the good news of salvation for a broken and dying world – and to adorn that gospel as “models of good works” (Titus 2:7-10). While, as good Reformed Protestants, we know that we are not save by good works, we also know that we have been saved for for good works, and that a faith without such works is dead (James 2:18).
The problem is, how can I even begin to do these good works when I am so full of sin? I know my heart and I know my own sinfulness. I don’t need to hear Isaiah or Paul saying my righteousness is like filthy rags, that I have fallen short of the glory of God – deep in my heart I know that to be true. My motive to do good works is more often than not self-seeking, self-promoting, “Hey look at me, I’m doing something nice!” Everything I do is laced with, burdened by, my own sinfulness. So how can I be good?!? How can I even begin something called “good works”?
Well, I guess its simple, really. By faith.
By faith I trust in Christ’s perfect goodness and righteousness to cover my sinfulness. By faith I trust in Christ’s perfect atonement upon the cross that restored my relationship with God – that it might be as if I had not sinned, and I am “good” in the eyes of God. By faith I lean not on my own power, but I wholly trust in the power of God’s Holy Spirit to produce in me goodness, the very goodness of God that is seen in the good works to which I have been called.
As God works Hi goodness in me, I am strengthened and encouraged to engage in the good works that would adorn His Gospel.
May the world see, through this broken life made new; through this sin-stained soul made pure; through this godless heart made good; may the world see the amazing grace of our wonderful God, and give glory to Him forever!
SDG
A big thanks to Donna Amundson for the pictures on today’s blog. Not a lot of photo-worthy moments at the cutting table.

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Hold Fast…

Haiti Mission – Day 6 – Oh, My Goodness!