God's Wearhouse

GOD’S WEARHOUSE

 

You’re Going To Like The Way You Look, I Guarantee It

 

2 Peter 1:3-9

 

Do you remember the scandal that blew up over this picture of Northwestern University's Girl's Lacrosse team? After winning the national championship in 2005 they were invited to the White House. The next day a picture ran in the Chicago Tribune with the heading, "You Wore Flip Flops To The White House?!" because four of the girls in the front row did wear flip flops.

I would agree with the criticism you don't dress that casually to visit the home of our nation's chief executive, but it shows there is indeed a dress code out there and we all know it.

I bring this all up because the Bible repeatedly uses "proper clothing" as a word picture to help us understand the kinds of virtues that should be seen in-or on-the life of every believer. For example,

Ephesians 4:22-24 (KJV) 22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Romans 13:14 (KJV) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Colossians 3:12 (KJV) Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.

1 Peter 5:5 (KJV) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

In his commentary on this text Jerry Bridges refers to these attitudes or virtues as "garments of grace." And I want us to think of this "dress code" in that way, because these various "garments" are indeed undeserved gifts of God-precious attributes that help us to stand out as God's children. I also want us to understand that we must learn to "wear" or "put on" these various virtues because they help us to experience the abundant life Jesus promises in much the same way that wearing a great suit makes you feel good.

I'm reminded of that men's suit store around here whose owner says, "You're gonna like the way you look! I guarantee it" because, in essence this text says, "Put on these things-'wear' these attitudes and you're going to like your life! You're going to enjoy your walk with Jesus. I guarantee it!"

Look again at our text and you'll see what I mean. Verse 4 says that with these disciplines in our wardrobe, we will be able to: participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by lust or evil desires. Verses 8 and 9 says that this "dress code" will keep us from being unfruitful ineffective, and unproductive in our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter even warns us that anyone who does not clothe him or herself in this way will be: near-sighted and blind, and will have forgotten that he has been purged or cleansed from his past sins. Sounds like we better be sure we know how to wear or put on these eight virtues doesn't it!?

It does indeed! We must learn to embrace these attitudes or disciplines. We need to ask God to nurture their growth in our lives because we can't experience abundant life without them. Unless we "dress" this way we can't be effective and fruitful disciples. And we do need God's help with this; similar to the way a parent helps a child dress properly. It is His divine power, it is God's Spirit in us, that empowers us to wear or live out these virtues. We can't be truly virtuous on our own. This is what Jesus was getting at in John 15:5 (KJV) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. These are not just virtues in and of themselves, but they are also, seed beds of goodness in that they generate virtuousness. For example, brotherly kindness is a wonderful trait all on its own. Wouldn't you agree? Don't you like kind people-individuals who treat everyone as a brother or sister? One reason we esteem this caliber of kindness is because we have learned that it has the power to produce forgiveness, repentance, humility, unity, and trustworthiness. Brotherly kindness builds community, enriches friendship, and inspires servanthood.

And if this ability to generate virtue weren't enough motivation to "put on" these attitudes, we need to understand that in a sense, they also function as "antidotes" for sin. The amazing thing is that these virtues can have the effect of counteracting lethal attitudes and behaviors. To show you what I mean, let's use kindness as an example again because, like a base neutralizing an acid, it nullifies the sin of envy. Where brotherly kindness flourishes, envy withers.

And the good news is we don't have to "shop" for these invaluable garments of grace. We don't have to laboriously "stroll" through some spiritual equivalent of a mall to find them because, as Peter reminds us, in verse 3, God has already, "given us everything we need for life and godliness." In other words, the kind of "clothing" we need to put on in order to live a truly abundant Christian life is already in our spiritual "closets." In fact, our wardrobe is full! We have all that is required to live the Christian life to the hilt. All we have to do is learn how to "make every effort" to "put them on." When it comes to being a "well-dressed Christian," the responsibility is ours. Everything we need to embrace the perfect dress code is hanging in our closet. All that is missing is our effort, our decision, to ask God to empower us to wear them in life. My point is this-and please hear me! Unless we say, "Jesus, help me to be like this." Unless we consciously decide to "clothe ourselves with His righteousness" unless we "make every effort" toward the right thing we can have everything we need and still have the wrong thing.

In fact, take a moment to examine our life as a believer. How abundant is it? How victorious is it? How close do you feel to God? To what extent are you experiencing the fulfillment and joy of joining Him in His great work? If your walk with Jesus is less than abundant, could it be due to the fact that you aren't "dressing" correctly? Ask yourself: Are you wearing "rags" instead of virtues? Could your feelings of defeat and frustration stem from your not making every effort to embrace these Godly attitudes?

1.​FAITH

A.​The value of faith is rooted in the soundness and worthiness of its object.

Genuine faith-Biblical faith-does not believe that God will do what we say. It is a faith that knows and trusts that God will do what He says. It is a faith that acknowledges God's limitless wisdom and knowledge and goodness, a faith that says He knows more than we do and that He is always working out His absolutely perfect purposes. Genuine faith is resting on the promises of God, no matter what happens, His assurances that we will encounter hardship and heartache in this life, but that He is with us and is working in all things for our good and His glory, and that when this life ends we'll enter that perfect world where everything will be set right. Biblical faith is a relationship of trust in God. It's an experience-built confidence in the character of our Heavenly Father. Faith in and of itself is worthless. The value of faith is rooted in the soundness and worthiness of its object. Buchanan says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God but without God it is impossible to have good faith. Faith like that has no where to lay its head."

Author Tim Hansel tells the story about the day he and his son Zac were out in the country, climbing around in some cliffs. Hansel says at one point in the day he heard a voice above him yell, "Hey Dad! Catch me!" He turned around to see Zac jumping off a rock, flying straight at him. Apparently, Zac had jumped first and then yelled, "Hey Dad! Catch me!" Hansel became an instant circus act, instinctively twisting to catch his son in mid air. They both fell to the ground and for a moment Hansel could hardly talk. When he found his voice again he gasped in exasperation: "Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that?" Zac responded with remarkable calmness: "Sure! Because you're my dad!"

Zac's whole assurance was based on the fact that he believed his father was trustworthy. He'd no doubt experienced his dad's quick instincts and firm grip in the past. His relationship with his father deepened his faith and enabled him to live life to the hilt. He could risk the joy of that jump because he was confident-he rested in-the strength and love of his father that he had experienced every day of his life.

This is a great story. I think it illustrates my point well. But I must point out that Biblical faith is faith in God even if He doesn't catch us. Genuine faith says, "My understanding of the Bible and my life experience has shown me that I can trust God's goodness even if I can't see it from my perspective."

B.​Faith is believing in what we can't always see.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The Bible teaches us that real faith anticipates. It visualizes the future in the present. It sees in advance. It believes God's purposes will prevail somewhere out there over the horizon-so it is being sure even of what you don't yet see.

C.​Faith is acting on what we can't always understand.

 

You see, faith is not only a way of seeing-it is also a way of living. Genuine faith is more of a verb than it is a noun.

 

2.​VIRTURE

 

A.​Genuine virtue-Biblical goodness-being comes before doing.

I say this because the Greek word "that Peter uses here in verse 5 is "aretee" and it means "essential, intrinsic goodness." "Aretee" is a state of being that leads to doing. It's who we are inside. Virtue is, “moral excellence and purity of spirit that radiates from my life as I obey God’s Word.” If Peter wanted to describe goodness as simply doing, he would have used the Greek word, "chrestotes" which is a goodness that is limited to action. But Peter chose "aretee" a word that starts with being. So when it comes to this virtue, Peter is talking about a quality of the soul that results in good actions like giving mercy to the sick, kindness to strangers, hospitality to outsiders, or justice to underdogs.

B.​Biblical goodness is "kindness in action."

C.​Doing good, feels good.

3.​KNOWLEDGE

What is Peter talking about here? Exactly what do we need to know? Because, of course "We need to know what we need to know before we can know it." I'll zero in on the answer to that question in a moment, but first, I want you to note the order in which Peter lists these virtues these garments of grace that we are studying together. You see, this isn't a random list. These items must be worn together. They need each other for this dress code to work.

Each of these "garments" - each of these virtues -must be built on what? Right! Faith is where it begins! We can fill our spiritual wardrobes with each of the virtues in this list and can attempt to don them every day-but without faith it would be obvious to all that we were "dressed" improperly. None of these "accessories" work without faith. Everything starts there.

Goodness is the first virtue we add to faith. Without a faith relationship with God-without being good, we can't truly do good. Without God empowering our good deeds we often do them for bad, selfish reasons. Without His guidance many times we do good things that are good for nothing because they really don't help.

The next "garment" we take off the "hanger" is knowledge and once again I must point out that this list is not random. Goodness or virtue must come before knowledge because knowledge needs goodness/virtue. We said that the Greek word for "goodness" is "aretee" and that "aretee" described a quality of the soul a characteristic of being. The King James Version almost always translates "aretee" -not at "goodness" but as "virtue" which is right. You could say, that the KJV reminds us that the first virtue is virtue. And I like this because the fact is if we aren't truly good, if we don't let Jesus live in us and through us, if we don't have His virtue, then, knowledge tends to lead to conceit.

What do we need to know? What's going to be on the "test?" Well, as you probably noticed earlier, Peter says it's not what-but rather who. Look at verses 2, 3, & 8 again. We are to have, " knowledge of God and of Jesus--knowledge of Him--knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ " or as Tozer puts it, " knowledge of the Holy." So you see, just like the other two virtues we have studied so far-the source of knowledge is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Knowing Him makes all the difference!

And we can to know God though the Bible, through worship and prayer, and through creation.

4.​TEMPERANCE/SELF CONTROL

In his book, So You Want To Be Like Christ, Charles Swindoll shares the following personal story,

"Many years ago as I was sitting up late one night, relaxing in the family room and watching 'SportsCenter,' the thought occurred to me, 'That half-gallon of ice cream is just going to get old sitting over there in the freezer, and that would be a waste. I think I'll have just a few bites.' So I took the half-gallon container of Rocky Road out of the freezer and sat down with a spoon (no need to dirty a clean dish!). I ate it all! In fact, I emptied it before 'SportsCenter' was over. Are you ready? There's more. I microwaved the last part and drank the little bits that get caught around the seams of the container. Like I said, I hate wasting ice cream. Suddenly, I realized that the kids were sure to see that the ice cream was gone. They would never have noticed a missing ten-pound roast or half a turkey, but no one could get away with eating more than his fair share of ice cream in our family. So I quietly sneaked out to my car, drove to the store, bought a new half-gallon-Rocky Road, of course-and carefully placed it right back where the other one was. I was in the clear except for one tiny detail. I forgot that one of our kids had eaten a little bit out of the top of the other one. Busted! They let me know, in no uncertain terms, that they knew exactly what I had done. The whole family got in on that one."

Well, can you relate to Swindoll here? Have you ever lost control of you and been embarrassed or frustrated by your behavior? Have you ever eaten too much-or spent too much-or said to much-or played too much-or bragged too much-or procrastinated too much-or interfered too much-or worked too much-or complained too much or argued too much or preached too much about doing too much of this or that? Can you think of a time or two or three in your life when you lost your grip on the reigns of self? Sure-we all have! Each of us has had to endure times of difficulty and frustration and defeat and realized later that we had no one to blame but self.

D. L. Moody, the great evangelist of the last century was once asked, "Of all the people you have come in contact with, who would you say it is that gives you the most trouble?" He said, "That's easy, D. L. Moody." We chuckle because we understand all too clearly that the one who consistently gives each of us the most trouble, the one we have to clean up after the most, the one we have to correct the most, is none other than our self. As someone once said, "If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles, you wouldn't be able to sit down for weeks."  Maybe that’s why we have padded pews.

This week I read about a 6' 3" 270 lb University of Kansas football player, named Dion Rayford who went through the drive-thru lane at Taco Bell for lunch back in 2001. He paid for his order and then realized they had shorted him a chalupa. In the ensuing discussion, Rayford got so angry about this that he tried to climb through the 14 by 46-inch drive-through window and got stuck. The frightened manager and employees locked themselves in an office and called the police. The police pulled up to the drive-through and laughed hysterically as they discovered the legs and back end of the football player kicking in midair. Police Sergeant George Wheeler said, "When you take a big guy and put him through a small space, something's got to give." Once they got him out, Rayford had to write a letter of apology, serve 12 months of probation and pay $579.17 to cover the damages to the drive thru window. What's your "drive-thru window?" What's the area of your life where the walls have fallen down and you've lost control such that you find your self caught in embarrassing behavior?

By the way-a lack of self control can indeed make us feel bad, can't it! Did anyone have an inner wince of empathy pain for that football player as you remembered a time when you lost control and did or said something foolish? I bet we all suffer from painful memories like that! When we regain control and are able to think clearly and look back at the damage our lack of self-control caused, well it hurts doesn't it! You don't have to kick yourself because you already feel pain and regret! It feels much better to keep self in check than it does to give it free reign. Maxi Dunham refers to this and says,

"The purpose of self-control is that we may be fit for God, fit for ourselves, and fit to be servants of others, it is not a rigid, religious practice. It's not discipline for discipline's sake. It is not dull drudgery aimed at exterminating laughter and joy. It is the doorway to true joy, true liberation from the stifling slavery of self-interest and fear."

We need self control to overcome temptations, to be victorious in trials, and to resist Satan.

5.​PATIENCE

“Accepting a difficult situation from God without giving Him a deadline to remove it.”  We need perseverance.

It's interesting where this particular virtue is placed in Peter's list. First Peter says we should add to our faith goodness. Then he encourages us to have knowledge. Next he admonishes us to be self-controlled. If you stop to count then you'll see that at this point we are halfway-we're at midpoint in the list of these seven garments of grace-and then, as if to remind us that halfway is only halfway, and that we still have a ways to go, Peter says, "Have patience, Don't quit! persevere. There are more garments of grace to put on, so don't close the door to your 'spiritual closet' just yet."

Peter mentions "suffering." In fact, if you were to count you would see that he does so seventeen times in his first letter alone.

Let's scan through them together so we can get a picture of the kinds of suffering our distant spiritual ancestors were enduring when Peter wrote these words:

• 1 Peter 1:1 says, "They live like refugees, like strangers in the world, scattered throughout the earth."

• 1 Peter 1:6 - "they suffer in all kinds of trials."

• 1 Peter 2:12 - "They are falsely accused, blamed for things they never did."

• 1 Peter 2:18-19 - "They are subjected to brutal working conditions."

• 1 Peter 3:13 - "They are punished for doing good."

• 1 Peter 4:4 - "They are abused and insulted when they won't join the sin of others."

• 1 Peter 4:12 - "They are punished for following Jesus."

• 1 Peter 5:8 - "They are harassed and threatened by the devil himself, who wants to eat them alive."

• 2 Peter 2:1 - "They are surrounded by false teachers trying to mislead them."

• 2 Peter 3:3 - "They are mocked by neighbors who find their faith naive and deluded."

• 2 Peter 3:9 - "They are disappointed with God, Who seems to be slow in keeping His promises."

And the truth is, all this suffering that they were going through would vanish in an instant if Peter's first readers did one thing: quit, abandon their faith, or at least stop talking about it. stop sharing it. quit obeying God when it puts you at odds with an ungodly culture. Quit trying to live pure and holy lives. Quit believing Jesus will return. Quit worshiping. In short, if these people would just say as Peter did, "I never knew Him, I never knew Jesus," then everyone would leave them alone. The "Persian hordes" would retreat and life will be easier. But Peter-this big fisherman who had become wise from his own failings and "quittings," said, "I know how you feel but don't quit! Don't give up! Trust me on this one! persevere! Keep on keeping on! You'll be glad you did because eventually victory will come!"

6.​GODLINESS

The word we translate as “Godliness” here in 2nd Peter is the Greek word “eusebeia.” Sometimes it is translated as “holiness”—but it literally means, “good devotion” or “genuine devoutness” or “piety.” It is a word used to describe the INWARD quality of a heart that is set completely on God, His kingdom, and His purposes. As Mark Buchanan puts it, “Eusebia is God-centeredness.” Charles Swindoll helps us in our search for a good definition by saying that Godliness is

“...not skin deep. No—it is something below the surface of life, deep down in the realm of an attitude...an attitude toward God Himself. The person who is Godly is one whose heart is sensitive toward God—it’s someone who takes God seriously.”

Shortly after WWII came to a close, Europe began picking up the pieces. If you’ve seen the pictures taken back then you know that much of the Old Country was ravaged by war and was in ruins. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was that of orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities. There’s an old story that you may have heard....a story that tells of an American soldier who was making his way back to the barracks in London. As he turned the corner in his jeep, he spotted a little boy with his nose pressed to the widow of a pastry shop.

Inside, the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, with his nose pressed against the window, drooling and watching the cook’s every move.

The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb, stopped, got out, and said, “Son, would you like some of those?” The boy was startled but blurted out, “Oh...yeah...I would!” The American stepped inside and bought a dozen, put them in a bag and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out his bag and said simply, “Here you are.” As the soldier turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. He looked back and heard the child ask quietly, “Mister...are you God?” Has anyone asked you that question lately? Perhaps a more realistic question for us to ponder is this: Has anyone thought that about you lately? Have your actions made anyone feel like God was near and at work?

7.​BROTHERLY KINDNESS

The late Erma Bombeck once wrote about a time when she says she was absolutely tired of listening. She explained by saying this started when she listened to her son go on and on in minute detail about a movie he had just seen, punctuated by at least 1,000 “you know’s” and “okays.” Next, she received several telephone calls filled with mindless chatter that never seemed to end. She says it was with genuine relief that she was able to honestly tell her last caller that she had to hang up because she had to rush off to the airport.

She grabbed her bags and got into a taxi—expecting a quiet ride—but the cab driver, thrilled to have Erma Bombeck in his cab, talked all the way to the airport, telling her all about his son who had won a scholarship at college, and how he was making straight “A’s.” Of course Erma was his captive audience so she had to sit there an listen to it all. She said, “Once I got to the airport, checked my bags, and arrived at the gate, I realized that I was 30 minutes early and I breathed a sigh of relief and thought, ‘I have 30 whole minutes when I don’t have to listen to anybody. I can just sit here and read my book and not be bothered at all. But no sooner had I opened my book than an elderly woman came and sat down next to me and said, ‘I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’

‘I suppose...’” Erma replied without looking up from her book. “I haven’t been to Chicago for three years.” the woman continued. “That’s nice” Erma replied again without making eye contact. “My son lives there.” the woman said. “Oh.” Erma replied, keeping her nose stuck in her book in hopes that the woman would take the hint, but she went on talking and said something that finally got Erma’s attention. She said, “My husband’s body is on this plane. We were married 53 years. I don’t drive and the funeral director was so nice. He drove me to the airport today.”

Erma recalls, “The woman droned on and it hit me that here was a person who didn’t want money or counsel. All she wanted was for someone to be kind enough to listen. And in desperation, she had turned to a total stranger with her sad story. She continued to talk to me until they announced that we were boarding. We walked onto the plane and I saw her sit down in another section. As I hung up my coat I heard her say to the person next to her, ‘I bet it’s cold in Chicago.’”

Well, the fact is there are people like this woman all around us—bearing the burden of grief or fear or just plain loneliness—people whose greatest need is for believers like you and me to put on this next garment in the dress code of a Christian...the garment of kindness. And unfortunately, these days our world needs this garment more than ever before because in essence it has become resistant to kindness. This is a side effect of our busy, “me-first culture.” With our hectic schedules we have created a hostile environment in which kindness tends to shrivel up and die. Like those animals on the endangered species list, kindness is having a hard time surviving these days. It’s becoming increasingly rare.

I think one of the factors when it comes to the approaching “extinction” of kindness is the fact that our world is becoming more and more impersonal. Think of it. We go to a gas station and don’t even have to talk to anyone. We just put our card in the slot, pump the gas, and drive away without ever looking at another human being Remember the days when you used to actually talk to the man who pumped gas for you, wiped your windshield, offered to check the oil, and asked you about your day? It’s the same way at the bank where instead of relating to living, breathing people, we “communicate” with those electronic tellers and even at the grocery store where we see more and more automated checkout lines that require little or no human interaction.

And—when it comes to calling a utility company or a store—or even a church for that matter—more and more often we get these very impersonal phone trees. Computers answer and say, “If you want information about this push #1,” etc. Can you imagine what would happen if they did this to the 911 system? “If your emergency is a murder, push ‘1.’ If it is a burglary, push ‘2.’ If the burglar is still in the house, push ‘3.’ If he has a gun, push ‘4’ repeatedly...’”

8.​LOVE

I want to challenge you to think of LOVE as the LAST thing you put on before you go out the door—your “coat or hat”—the one thing your “outfit” would be incomplete without—because when it comes to Christlikeness, LOVE is indeed an essential thing. In a very real sense we are “un-clothed” without it. Remember—as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 13, it doesn’t matter what else we have—if we don’t have love, we have nothing.

This love is agape love.  It is unconditional love. In order to have this kind of love we have to love the least of these, the most of these, and the worst of these.  

A woman named Regine, who was a survivor of the genocide of Rwanda, tells the story of another woman whose only son was killed. This grieving mother was consumed with hate and bitterness and constantly prayed, “God, reveal my son’s killer.” One night she dreamed she was going to heaven. But there was a complication: in order to get to heaven she had to pass through a certain house. She had to walk down the street, enter the house through the front door, go through its rooms, up the stairs, and exit through the back door. In her dream she asked God whose house this was. He told her it was the house of her son’s killer. The road to heaven passed through the house of her enemy. The next day she couldn’t get that dream out of her mind.

Well, two days later, there was a knock at her door. She opened it and there stood a young man. He was about her son’s age. He hesitated but said, “I am the one who killed your son. Since that day I have had no life. No peace. So here I am. I am placing my life in your hands. Kill me. I am dead already. Throw me in jail. I am in prison already. Torture me. I am in torment already. Do with me as you wish.” The woman had prayed for this day. Now it had arrived and she didn’t know what to do. Well, she found, to her own surprise, that she did not want to kill him or throw him in jail or torture him. In the moment of reckoning she found she only wanted one thing—a son—so she said, “I ask this of you. Come into my home and live with me. Eat the food I would have prepared for my son. Wear the clothes I would have made for my son. Become the son I lost.” And so he did.

That day this woman was practicing Agape love because she reflected God’s love in her attitude and action toward the worst of these in her life—her son’s killer.

And this is INDEED what God has done! Do you remember Paul’s words from Romans 5:6-10 (KJV) 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.