Getting praise for Jesus instead of me

Listening to John Piper preach on the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2-3...

Piper made the point that the tree basically represents man's temptation and decision to dethrone God and put ourselves in his place. Which got me thinking about pride and how I spend so much of my time trying to get praise for myself instead of praise for God. As I reflected, I was shocked by how much of what I do is to get self-approval (i.e. praise for myself from myself!).

How much better life would be if I spent my time getting praise for God from myself and others! [Hence the name and aim of this blog.]

Not loving the world (1 John 2:15-17)

So I'm reading through 1 John slowly but surely. Well more slowly than surely to be honest! And at the same time, I'm conscious of various sinful attitudes and tendencies in my life.

I was struck earlier in the year by one of Jonathan Edwards' resolutions: to track down the root of every sin in his life. What a helpful way to root out sin in my life! I'm convinced that behind every sinful behaviour lies either a sinful attitude - or a habit which has grown out of a sinful attitude in the past.

1 John 2.15-17 seems to me to list the key sinful attitudes that lie behind so much of my sinful behaviour.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2.15-17 (ESV)

• the desires of the flesh: Putting my physical desires in God's place. What we might call "lust" or "gluttony"?
• the desires of the eyes: Wanting things that we see that we don't yet have: that woman across the office (cf Exodus 20.17); the car that's just a bit plusher or a bit faster than the one I've got; the new gadget. We might normally call it "covetousness".
  
• pride in possessions: Getting my satisfaction from the things I already have (wisdom, might or riches, cf Jeremiah 9:23)- whether I approve of myself because of what I have or others approve of me.

So how do we overcome these attitudes? The answer has to be (as John Piper would say!) "being satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus" (plus a good dose of self-control, to overcome the sinful habits in the short term! cf Titus 2.6). Next question: how do I increase my satisfaction in God? My current answer to that is to spend more time meditating on God's glory as displayed in Christ. So to that end, I'm off to search for an appropriate Christian book!

Lust, covetousness and pride all give pleasure in the short term. But God is far more satisfying in the long term (1 John 2.17).

Is it possible to fall from grace?

So the first answer has to be "no". Jesus says:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." John 10:27-28 (ESV)

If we are saved by grace and not by anything we do (as Paul says: "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." Romans 9:16), then surely nothing we do can make us fall from that grace.

But then comes the difficult bit: who are Jesus' sheep? Am I one of them? Is he or she? How can I be sure? How come some people who seem to be committed Christians do fall away?

John's first letter is really helpful in answering this. It's full of lots of "tests" that (if I've understood the book correctly!) are intended to both shake us up and give us assurance. For example:

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8
"Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling" 1 John 2:10
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him" 1 John 2:15
"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning." 1 John 3:9

There are lots more - go read the book!

[A quick aside: I can hear some of you asking: is John teaching that we're put right with God by what we do? No he isn't. But he is saying that faith that is real enough to put us right with God is also real enough to change our lives: "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith" 1 John 5:4]

John seems to sum it up in the middle of his letter. He's told us in the letter what it means to be one of Jesus' sheep (to "abide in him") and pleads with us to keep on doing just that:

"And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." 1 John 2:28

Maybe you're the kind of person who is naturally self-confident and you're convinced that nothing can separate you from God. In that case, reflect on John's words and let fear of straying drive you deeper in your faith.

Maybe you're the kind of person who's naturally under-confident and you're often worried that you're not one of God's people. In that case, trust God that he has promised to do everything needed to bring you safely into heaven (John 10:28)