T he Christian life is one of obedience.

It is what one author has

brilliantly described as “a long obedience in the same direction.” Those

who have turned to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith prove the
authenticity of their conversion by their obedience. No sooner have
they made their profession than they begin to willingly and joyfully
search out God’s will and to live in conformity to it. Like David, they
learn to plead, “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I
delight in it” and find their hearts exclaiming, “Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:35, 97). Christians are
taught the commandments of Christ so that they might obey them
(Matthew 28:20). They learn they have a duty of prayer, so they pray;
they learn they have a duty of forgiveness, so they forgive; they learn
they have a duty of diligence, so they work hard and provide
generously. Well and good.
Duty is destructive when fueled by wicked motives.

But here’s the tricky thing: Duty is destructive when fueled by wicked

motives. Hypocrites perform religious duties in order to convince
themselves of their righteousness. They think, “Just look at all the
good things I do. I must be a Christian!” Deceivers perform religious
duties in order to convince others of their righteousness. They say,
“Just look at all the good things I do. I’m better than you!” If the mark
of true believers is that they joyfully perform all of their God-given
duties, the mark of religious deceivers and hypocrites is that they
selfishly pick and choose the ones they will perform. Sometimes they
will cede only to the duties that are simple, that gratify their pride, or
that assuage their guilt. They may be like the religious authorities of
Jesus’s day who were sure to “tithe mint and dill and cumin” but
“neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23). Religious hypocrites gloat in the
handful of duties they have obeyed, blind to the countless areas where
they desperately need God’s grace. The fact is, duty is good and
necessary, but it is dangerous and deceptive when fueled by a wicked
heart.

The 10 Duties of Every Christian:

1. The Duty of Introspection
2. The Duty of Devotion
3. The Duty of Diligence
4. The Duty of Moderation

The Duty of Introspection

September 6, 2017
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W hat is an inch? What is a kilogram? That’s easy: An inch is the distance

between two notches on a ruler and a kilogram is the weight that makes the
needle point to “1” on a kitchen scale. We take such weights and measures for
granted, forgetting that they have no meaning and no definition in themselves.
For an inch to be an inch it must conform to an accepted measure; for a kilogram
to be a kilogram it must match an exacting standard. Governments have entire
departments tasked with ensuring weights and measures are accurate, that they
conform perfectly to accepted definitions.

Every human being lives according to some kind of a standard. There is some
outside criterion each of us uses to measure our morality, to weigh our ethics, to
judge our successes or failures. We may compare ourselves to parents or peers or
great heroes of days gone by; we may compare ourselves to the laws of the land or
the laws of the universe; we may compare ourselves to religious leaders or sacred
texts. But none of us lives entirely disconnected from outside standards, from
some measure of comparison. We are no more independent than an inch or a
kilogram.

If we wish to live moral lives, ethical lives, successful lives, significant lives, we
must live as Jesus lived.
As Christians, we are sure of our standard of comparison. We compare ourselves
to Jesus Christ, for “whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way
in which he walked” (1 John 2:6). He is our standard. He is our measure. He is
our criterion. If we wish to live moral lives, ethical lives, successful lives,
significant lives, we must live as Jesus lived. He is our inch, he is our kilogram.

But how can we know if and how we are “walking in the same way in which he
walked”? Through the Christian duty of introspection.

The Purpose of Introspection

The Bible mandates and models introspection. In Lamentations we read, “Let us
test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord” (3:40) while in 2 Corinthians
we encounter this command: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the
faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus
Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (13:5). In the Psalms
we often read of David looking inward and crying out to God for help in this task
(Psalm 139:23). Asaph tells of the benefit that came when he diligently meditated
in his heart and searched his spirit (Psalm 77:6).

There are at least two great purposes in such introspection. The first purpose is to
reveal sin. Self-examination is meant to uncover any areas in which we are failing
to live in conformity to Jesus Christ. It reveals areas in which we are withholding
obedience, where we know the right thing to do yet are failing to do it. It also
reveals areas in which we are relishing disobedience, where we are cherishing
sinful deeds and ignoble desires. Finally, it reveals areas of complacency in which
the Holy Spirit has revealed that an action or attitude is sinful, but we have not
yet taken action against it. It shows where we have not yet been conformed to the
image of our Savior and leads us to respond in sorrow and repentance.

Self-examination is incomplete if it does not rejoice in commands that have been

obeyed and sin that has been put to death.

But introspection has a second purpose, which is to generate encouragement and

delight. Even as we examine our lives for evidence of remaining depravity, we are
to examine our lives for evidence of God’s grace. Christian introspection is not
merely an opportunity to see sin and shortcomings but also to see blessing. Self-
examination is incomplete if it does not rejoice in commands that have been
obeyed and sin that has been put to death. It is incomplete if it detects only
failure and fails to see grace. For just as the evidences of our depravity lead to
sorrow and repentance, evidences of grace lead to joy and worship.

Thus, there is both a negative and positive side to self-examination. Done

properly, it balances sin and grace, sorrow and joy.
The Pattern of Introspection
This kind of distinctly Christian introspection is an important discipline for every
Christian. Yet for it to be effective, it must take a particular form.

Christian introspection originates and terminates at the gospel. It begins with the
good news of Christ’s completed work that has been applied to us. It is founded
upon a firm knowledge that Christ has already borne God’s wrath for our sin and
that God has already imputed to us his perfect righteousness. This means we are
not searching ourselves to see if we been good enough or become righteous
enough to merit the favor of God, for through Christ we already have the favor of
God! Rather, we are searching ourselves to see if we are honoring God and
displaying evidence of his power and presence in our lives—whether we are
“walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called,”
(Ephesians 4:1).

Having been founded on the gospel, Christian introspection employs the Word
and Spirit of God. We acknowledge that in and of ourselves we do not have what
we need for accurate self-assessment, so we plead with God to aid us in this work.
Our self-examination is truly an examination carried out by God. He is the one
who shines the light of his Word into every corner of our hearts and lives.
Through Scripture, we search the inner and the outer man and cry with David:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see
if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm
139:23-24). We plead, “Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my
mind” (Psalm 26:2). We join him in praying, “Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my
redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

Just as introspection begins with the gospel, it finishes with the gospel.

Just as introspection begins with the gospel, it finishes with the gospel. When we
uncover failure, disobedience, and apathy, we plead Christ’s blood, asking and
receiving forgiveness through his finished work. We plead his merits and trust
they are added to our account. We trust, in the words of Thomas Watson, that
where our obedience comes short, “Christ puts his merits into the scale, and then
there is full weight.” When we uncover success, obedience, and zeal, we thank
God for the gospel, which has renewed our wills and given us a holy longing to be
conformed to Jesus Christ.

There is wisdom in setting aside times and seasons for diligent introspection. We
are wise to examine ourselves before we make major decisions and perhaps even
at the beginning of a new year or a new season in life. We are commanded to
examine ourselves before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. But the bulk of our
introspection comes in the routines of life. It comes as we read God’s Word day
by day. It comes especially through the preaching of the Word as the text is
exposited by the preacher, illumined by the Holy Spirit, and applied by
meditation. Introspection is a daily duty.

The Danger of Introspection

Just as any good gift can be misused, so also can any good duty or discipline. Just
as the good gift of money can be twisted to greed and the good gift of sex can be
twisted to lust, so the good gift of introspection can be twisted to hypocrisy and
crushing shame. Yet such misuse is not difficult to identify. Religious hypocrites
and deceivers will not give themselves to diligent introspection according to the
Scriptures. They cannot abide allowing the Spirit of God to illumine their hearts
according to the Word of God. For that reason they measure themselves by only
certain parts of the Bible, by the simple word of the text rather than its full spirit.
They measure themselves only by the conformity of their outward actions rather
than the conformity of their inward hearts. In this way they defraud themselves
and remain ignorant of the true state of their souls. On the other hand,
introspection is misused when it leads to crushing shame. This demonstrates a
failure to carry out introspection to its glorious end. It is true that we must look
within ourselves in order to see where we have sinned and fallen short of God’s
standard. It is true that godly grief is a good gift of the Holy Spirit. But
introspection is misused when this conviction and grief does not lead us again to
the cross of Christ, where we find forgiveness, healing, and joyful restoration.
Ultimately, if we walk away from introspection with the weight of shame, then we
have missed the cross.

The Duty of Introspection

God both demands and describes diligent self-examination, and he does so for
our good. It is through such introspection that we gain the true measure of our
conformity to Jesus Christ. It is through such introspection that we can repent of
our lack of conformity and rejoice in every evidence of God’s good grace. It is the
duty of every Christian.

The Duty of Devotion

September 11, 2017   #devotions
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B .B. Warfield has gone down in history as one of America’s great

theologians, and for good reason. He was a bulwark of orthodoxy against the
rising tide of liberalism. Even a century after his death, many of his works are as
powerful and relevant as the day they were written. Yet while he is known for his
keen intellect and profound theological insights, he was also a man of tender
affection.

Soon after his marriage to Annie, the young couple journeyed to Europe together.
During this trip, Annie underwent a terrifying experience that resulted in a kind
of nervous trauma she was never able to overcome. She returned home an invalid
whose condition continued to deteriorate for the rest of her life. Warfield
responded to these tragic events by diligently committing himself to her care. For
the duration of their marriage, he rarely left her side for more than a couple of
hours at a time, and never for longer than necessary. A friend recalls, “I used to
see them walking together and the gentleness of his manner was striking proof of
the loving care with which he surrounded her. … During the years spent at
Princeton, he rarely if ever was absent for any length of time.” Warfield was not
only a great theologian but also a great husband.

There are few virtues more powerful than devotion. There are few character traits
we honor more highly than this one. In this short series, we are considering the
10 duties of every Christian, and among these is the duty of devotion.

The Purpose of Devotion

Christians often speak of devotion. We speak of “devoting ourselves to God” and,
more commonly, of “doing our daily devotions.” This word is familiar to every
believer, but I wonder how often we consider what it means and what it entails.
What is this devotion we offer to God? And what’s the connection between
devotion to God and personal devotions? What is its purpose of our personal
devotions what do we hope to gain from them?

In both uses, devotion is an expression of love and loyalty rooted in both duty and
delight. B.B. Warfield owed his wife certain duties by virtue of being her husband,
and his devotion flowed out of his duty. God expected no less than what Warfield
offered, for his devotion was an expression of obedience to the vows he had made
to her on their wedding day. Yet his devotion was also an expression of delight.
He loved his wife and found joy in her, and it was out of this delight that he was
devoted to her. It would be unfair to disconnect his long devotion to his wife from
either duty or delight.

We devote ourselves to God by devoting ourselves to practices that inform and

enhance our relationship with him.

Similarly, the Christian’s devotion to God is both duty and delight. It is an

expression of the love we have for God and the loyalty we long to express to him.
It is the overflow of the joy we have in him and our commitment toward him. Our
devotion to God leads to certain habits or disciplines. We devote ourselves to God
by devoting ourselves to practices that inform and enhance our relationship with
him. Among these practices is the one we know as “personal devotions.”

The Pattern of Devotion

God has created us to be creatures of habit. While we are certainly more than our
habits, we are not less. Our habits shape us and make us who we are. The
activities we repeat soon become ingrained in the fabric of our lives so that after a
time it is more difficult to skip a habit than to perform it (which is exactly why it
is so important to develop good habits and to repent of harmful ones). Much of
our struggle with sin can be traced directly to our failure to develop good habits
and our inability or unwillingness to destroy bad ones.

Habits are one of the ways we experience God’s refreshing and renewing grace.
David Mathis says, “Our God is lavish in his grace; he is free to liberally dispense
his goodness without even the least bit of cooperation and preparation on our
part, and often he does. But he also has his regular channels. And we can
routinely avail ourselves of these revealed paths of blessing—or neglect them to
our detriment.” One of the key habits every Christian ought to begin is the habit
of personal devotions. This is certainly not the only means through which God
blesses us with his grace and certainly not the only meaningful habit. Yet it is a
crucial one that benefits all who diligently pursue it.

In most cases the habit of personal devotion is expressed in a daily quiet time, a
time committed to hearing God through his Word and to speaking to God
through prayer. In this way our devotion is conversation between two people—
God and ourselves. While the Bible instructs us to “pray without ceasing,” it also
models the importance of setting aside particular times for deliberate and even
planned prayer. Though Jesus lived in constant communion with God, he still
escaped from his responsibilities and followers to spend time—even long hours—
alone with God. And while the Bible commends those whose thoughts turn
regularly and naturally to God’s Word, it also tells of the importance of diligently
studying it. If we are to live for God, we must live with God. If we are to honor
him, we must know him, and we know him through this habit of devotion.
Such devotion requires the diligence and discipline that will build the habit and
improve upon it. Most Christians find they must set aside time every day and
train themselves to maintain it. After some time of building the habit, they soon
find themselves naturally opening God’s Word and praying to him. That habit is
then used by God to build relationship, to teach godly character, and to compel
obedience.

The Danger of Devotion

I once lived in a town that became the scene for a film set during the Second
World War. For the film to be successful, the town’s Main Street needed to have
all traces of the 1990s removed and replaced by the 1940s. It was fascinating to
watch work crews sweep over the town. Within days they had transformed it. As I
stood at the end of town and looked down Main Street, it was like I was looking
into the past. Yet when I walked through the town my deeper look revealed that
this transformation was only skin-deep. The crews had merely covered the
modern buildings with false fronts and filled store windows with old-fashioned
merchandise. Yet behind each false front were the common, modern storefronts,
and just behind the front windows was the regular merchandise.

They are saints in the church but atheists in the home.

Even something as good as devotion can be misused. Religious deceivers and

hypocrites put on a “false front” when it comes to devotion. They want to
maintain the outward appearance of faithful followers of God when they are in
public but remain unchanged in private. Jesus warned of people who behave like
this: “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand
and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by
others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward” (Matthew 6:5). The
only reward they have is the fleeting accolades of the easily-impressed. They
know nothing of the reward God dispenses to those who truly love and seek him.
Such people are devout when they are in the congregation but destitute in
private; they are saints in the church but atheists in the home.

Even as true Christians, we face the danger of interpreting our standing with God
through our diligence in devotions. We can measure our obedience and our walk
with God solely by how often we devote time to Scripture and prayer and how we
feel about the time spent. This can lock us into a pattern of depending on our
works to be right with God, of thinking that our standing before God depends
upon our performance. Jerry Bridges reminds us, “Your worst days are never so
bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so
good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” We must never forget that the
duty of our devotion is founded in Christ’s initiating devotion toward us on the
cross.

The Duty of Devotion

As Christians, we are devoted to God. We have a deep love and loyalty to him, and
we express and foster this by what we refer to as “personal devotions.” “Thus says
the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast
in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast
in this, that he understands and knows me” (Jeremiah 9:23). The discipline of
personal devotions is one of the key means through which we come to understand
God, to know God, and to be known by God. It is our delightful duty.

The Duty of Diligence

September 18, 2017   #vocation #work
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O f the many legacies of the Protestant Reformation, few have had greater

and wider-reaching impact than the rediscovery of the biblical understanding of

vocation. Before the Reformation, the only people considered to have a vocation
or calling were those who were engaged in full-time church work—monks, nuns,
or priests. As Gene Veith writes, “The ordinary occupations of life—being a
peasant farmer or kitchen maid, making tools or clothing, being a soldier or even
king—were acknowledged as necessary but worldly. Such people could be saved,
but they were mired in the world. To serve God fully, to live a life that is truly
spiritual, required a full-time commitment.”

But as the Reformers returned to the authority and sufficiency of God’s Word,
they found that while full-time ministry was a vocation, it was by no means the
only one. They saw that each of us has a vocation and that every vocation has
dignity and value in the eyes of the Lord. We can all honor God in the work we
do. We must discern our God-given vocation and then devote ourselves to it.

Still today, we can lose sight of what the Reformers recovered, and if we do not
constantly return to God’s Word and allow it to shape us, we will soon drift back
to a disdain for ordinary work. It is encouraging that today we find many
Christian pastors and authors exploring what it means to be ordinary Christians
doing ordinary work as part of their ordinary lives. It is encouraging to see these
leaders affirming the worth of all vocations from plumbing to writing, from
pastoring to homemaking, from engineering to piloting. It is encouraging to see
Christians responding with confidence to embrace the duty of diligence, our next
area of consideration in “The 10 Duties of Every Christian.”

A Life Pleasing to God

The church in Thessalonica had a bit of a problem. This was a strong church, a
mature church, a thriving church. It was a church so marked by love that Paul
was able to commend them in the most glowing terms: “Now concerning
brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves
have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are
doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10). The
love between the believers in this congregation was so strong that it overflowed
into expressions of love for believers all across the region. This was an exemplary
church. Yet it still had a bit of a problem—a problem with idleness.

In this letter, Paul responds to questions he had received from the people of this
congregation. And apparently, one of the questions was something like this: How
can we live lives that are pleasing to God (see 4:1–12)? They had been told of
God’s creation mandate, that God created us and placed us on this earth so we
could exercise dominion over it as his representatives. They had been told of
Christ’s Great Commission, that his people are to take the gospel to the farthest
corners of the earth, and as more and more people come out of darkness and into
light, to train them in the things of the Lord.

This church knew those big-picture commands, but they found themselves
looking to Paul for specific guidance. What does it look like for ordinary people in
ordinary places and ordinary times to live out the creation mandate and the Great
Commission? Does it require full-time ministry? Does it require moving to the far
side of the globe? What is the life that is pleasing to God? Perhaps they were even
wondering if work was necessary or advisable since they knew of Christ’s
imminent return: “If he is coming back anyway, what’s the point of work?
Shouldn’t I just read my Bible, pray, and wait?”

Paul’s response is surprising. He addresses three issues: sexual morality, the local
church, and work. He first tells them of the importance of submitting themselves
to God’s design for sexuality and emphasizes the need for self-control. Then he
commends them for their love and encourages them to carry on their exemplary
behavior. Finally, he turns to work and tells them of the importance of diligence,
giving them simple instructions that transcend time, geography, and culture.
Beautiful Diligence
Under this heading of “diligence,” he tells the Thessalonians to live quietly, to
mind their own business, and to work with their hands. When he tells them to
live quietly, he means for them to be content to be unknown and unnoticed, to
make it their ambition to be free from worldly ambition. They are to be content
with their lot and to know that this contented diligence is how they can best
honor God. When Paul tells them to mind their own business, he means for them
to focus on their own work and to avoid being busybodies. And when he tells
them to work with their own hands, he means for them to carry on in their work,
even (or especially) if that work involves manual labor. He could call them to all
of this because their work had intrinsic value simply because it was their calling—
their God-given vocation.

God means for you to be diligent in the work he’s called you to. He is pleased with
your diligence and glorified in it.

As far as we know, Paul was not writing to a group of brand-new Christians here.
He was not giving them the basic instructions for their early years, hoping they
would eventually graduate to better and more difficult things. This church
appears to be strong and spiritually mature, and still Paul’s word to them is very
simple: Bring honor and glory to God through your very ordinary lives. God
means for you to be diligent in the work he’s called you to. He is pleased with
your diligence and glorified in it.

As we apply this instruction to our own lives we have to admit our tendency to
laziness, to succumbing to the billion-and-one distractions that surround us each
and every day. Then we have to admit that sometimes we discount or diminish
ordinary work, thinking there is greater value and worth in “sacred” callings. In
the face of such lies, we have to reaffirm the simple truth that God made us to
work, to exercise dominion over the earth and all that is in it and, beyond that, to
labor to spread the gospel to its farthest reaches. We have to clarify in our own
minds and hearts that God does not expect we will all leave behind world-
changing legacies that will some day be the subject of entire biographies. Rather,
we are called to live ordinary, quiet, but diligent lives right where we are and
using the skills, the gifts, and the passions he has given us. A simple life of quiet
diligence is a life that is pleasing to God and worthy of his name.

The Danger of Diligence

Yet even something as good as diligence can be misused. Religious hypocrites
may emphasize hard work at the expense of morality, hoping that the sheer
quantity of their accomplishments will mask their depravity. Many false teachers
thrive in the church because their followers are easily impressed with
accomplishments. Meanwhile, religious deceivers may be diligent and hard-
working, and yet their diligence is only for storing up treasures on earth rather
than treasures in heaven. They use their hard work and ministry to benefit
themselves, not others.

While God calls us to be diligent, that diligence is an expression of our

justification, not the means to it.

Even genuine Christians may misuse diligence when they tacitly see it as a means
of self-justification, as if their diligence merits the favor of God. Pastors and other
church leaders may especially face this temptation, convinced that they deserve
more of God’s blessings or favor because of their hard work. When they
encounter difficulties or suffering, they may plead their hard work, as if God owes
them ease because of it. While God calls us to be diligent, that diligence is an
expression of our justification, not the means to it.

The Duty of Diligence

God has placed us on this earth so we can work, so we can be diligent in carrying
out his will. Any failure to be diligent is a serious transgression. Thomas Watson
refers to idle people as “Satan’s tennis ball” whom he whacks up and down with
temptation until he at last sends them far over the fence. Similarly, Charles
Spurgeon compares idle people to a target and Satan to an expert rifleman who
rarely misses. He warns, “Idle men tempt the devil to tempt them.”

Idleness is a grave temptation, but so too is diminishing the value in every form
of lawful work. God has placed us on this earth so we can live ordinary lives filled
with ordinary tasks. It is important to remember that Paul followed his own
instruction, laboring with his own hands in the simple vocation of tentmaking,
convinced that through such work he was “walking properly before outsiders and
being dependent on no one” (4:12). It is more important still to remember that
for the first three decades of his life, Jesus was a carpenter, diligently carrying out
a simple job, so that when he at last stepped out into public ministry his
neighbors asked, “Is not this the carpenter” (Mark 6:3)? There is value and
dignity in all labor. We honor and serve God through the simple, beautiful duty of
diligence.

The Duty of Moderation

September 25, 2017
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T his is an age of consumption, an age of abundance, an age of excess. At

least for those of us in the developed world, it is a time of all-you-can-eat buffets,

of room-sized walk-in closets, of unlimited bandwidth and endless binge-
watching. Our homes are so loaded with stuff that we’ve made self-storage units a
thriving and growing multi-billion dollar industry. We’re overflowing and
overwhelmed and unhappy.

Some have responded with a new emphasis on frugality and minimalism, of

spending as little as possible and owning only the bare essentials. Yet such efforts
never live up to their promise and rarely last for long. Minimalism quickly proves
just as disappointing and soul-wearying a god as abundance.

There must be another way. There must be a better option. And, according to
God, there is! In a short series of articles I have been examining the 10 duties of
every Christian and now, in this context, we turn to the duty of moderation.

Vanity of Vanities
Solomon had it all. There was no desire he would not attempt to pursue, no
appetite he would not attempt to satiate. Near the end of his life he remembered,
“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no
pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for
all my toil” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). He denied himself no fleshly indulgence, marrying
hundreds of women and sleeping with many more. He was rich beyond measure,
so fantastically wealthy that even luxuries became nearly valueless in his time:
“The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as
plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah” (2 Chronicles 9:27).

Yet from the vantage point of his old age, he would make these words his
repeated refrain: “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” All of that pleasure, all of
those possessions, all of that wealth turned out to be as significant as dust blown
by the wind, as lasting as breath on a mirror. It promised fulfillment but
delivered emptiness. It would have been far better to pray with Agur, “Give me
neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be
full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and
profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9). Enough is enough.

Inhabiting the middle ground between the vices of excess and austerity is the
virtue of moderation.
Inhabiting the middle ground between the vices of excess and austerity is the
virtue of moderation. Moderation is a necessary response, an appropriate duty
that lives in the space between those opposite extremes. Moderation eschews the
antitheses of too little and too much, of austerity and excess, to find contentment
within appropriate limits. Moderation is the duty of every Christian.

The Virtue of Moderation

Moderation is a virtue, but only when expressed in an appropriate context—the
context of things that God has declared lawful. When it comes to matters of sin
and lawlessness, God calls us to complete abstinence. “But among you there must
not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed,
because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3 NIV). Some
things are so abhorrent we must refrain from them entirely and, in fact, not even
think or speak of them: “For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they
do in secret” (Ephesians 5:12).

Even good things can become bad things in the hands of sinful people.

But not all is forbidden, of course. Many good things are lawful. Many delights
are pleasing to God. But because we live in a fallen world with sinful hearts, we
must diligently apply moderation, for the human heart is an idol factory that
turns wonderful gifts into abhorrent gods. Even good things can become bad
things in the hands of sinful people. Tim Keller says an idol “is anything more
important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination
more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” Idols are
good things that have become ultimate things. And that’s a bad thing.

Food is a good gift of God that is truly pleasurable. It is a joy to eat and a joy to
experience our favorite tastes. But without the virtue of moderation, eating can
quickly tip into the vice of gluttony. The glutton makes an idol of food by
overindulging. Because he feels he cannot be satisfied with little, he eats too
much. This sin is endemic to the Western world where, by some measures, two
out of every three adults is obese. Yet immoderation can also come on the
opposite side when we are too picky in what we eat, when we eat only to fuel our
bodies, when we refuse to enjoy what God has declared good. Just as many
people look for joy in eating too much, many others look for joy in eating too
little.

Similarly, entertainment is a good gift of God that brings us great pleasure. There
is joy in watching a dramatic television series, in reading a fast-paced novel, in
playing a fun game. Yet without the virtue of moderation, such entertainment can
tip into the vice of idleness. On the other side of the equation we can reject
entertainment altogether or look down on others others for their enjoyment of
something that is lawful, as if God is most pleased when his people are most dour.
Whether by too much entertainment or too little, we can so easily slide into sin.

In eating, entertainment, and any other area God invites us to enjoy, moderation
is a virtue we must pursue. We equip ourselves for moderation when we explore
the greater purpose behind such gifts, for none of God’s gifts are purposeless.
While food is meant to give us pleasure through the sensation of delicious tastes,
it is also meant to equip us for the work God calls us to. Just as too little food
denies us the strength we need to serve God, too much food denies us the health
we need. We embrace the gift through moderation, not excess or austerity.

Likewise, entertainment is meant to give us pleasure through watching, reading,

and experiencing those things that are interesting, exciting, or just plain different
from our day-to-day lives. Yet entertainment is not the purpose of life, but a
means to help us unwind and recharge so we can better fulfill our greater and
higher purpose. We are to be entertained only to the extent that helps us return
to our God-given work.

All the while, in our eating, our entertainment, and every other area, we
acknowledge they are ultimately means through which we can bring glory to God.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1
Corinthians 10:31).

The Duty of Moderation

Moderation is the Christian’s duty but, even better, the Christian’s joy. We find
that excess and austerity offer the promise of joy but invariably fail to deliver it. It
is when we enjoy God’s gifts in God’s terms that we experience the highest
pleasures we can attain on this side of heaven. God is good to give us pleasures,
but even in such pleasures, sin is always near at hand. We respond to that sin and
put it to death through the duty of moderation.