I enjoy a good run or being able to exercise with my wife, and I love that God has wonderfully made us body-soul beings. We are material and immaterial. We walk, work, see, touch, go, taste because of the physicality with which we were created. And, we think, dream, discern, judge, choose, want, love, delight, hate, bond, etc. because God has given us souls or what the Bible so often calls the “heart.”
Though there is a marvelous and mysterious interconnectedness of body and soul, the Bible, without discounting or denying the body, places the emphasis and priority on the soul. That’s why Jesus said that we “must be born again,” (Jn 3:3, 7) and why Paul wrote, “Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16). We need this reminder of emphasis and priority because we live in a culture that worships the body. People all around us are driven by image, shape, health, and nutrition not so much as good stewards, but because of restless hearts and guilty consciences. We need to hear the wisdom of Proverbs, “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot” (Pv 14:30). My paraphrase of this verse is, “A whole and contented heart is beneficial to the whole person, but a restless, unsatisfied heart will inevitably destroy the body.” Exercise and physical health is good, but it cannot give life to the soul. Only, the grace of God can heal our inner self (Eph 2:1-5). Like Augustine learned, our hearts can only find rest in God. For, only the blood of Jesus can cleanse our consciences (Heb 9:14), and only the Holy Spirit can make our hearts new and continue to make them new (Titus 3:5). So, go ahead and enjoy being a good steward of your God-given physicality, but never forget that “while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8). May we not forget the priority of the soul. “Keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 I am a pastor that is blessed with a patient and understanding congregation. This last Sunday I put that patience to the test by attempting to preach on Psalm 119! Thankfully they passed the test, but I failed! With great kindness and patience they sat through about 50 minutes of teaching that contained 4 main points and 35 sub-points! Yes, you saw that right: 35 sub-points. (I told you they were patient and understanding!)
As you may imagine, I rushed way too fast on the last point with its 7 sub-points. So, (at a friend’s recommendation) I am going to use this post to attempt to clean up my mess and present (much more slowly) the last main heading of Sunday’s sermon: “Oh, How I Love Your Law!” (Psalm 119) To guide our study of Psalm 119, I offered 4 questions to be considered: 1. What is God’s Word? (a definition); 2. What is God’s Word like? (a description); 3. What is God’s Word for?; and 4. What should be our response to God’s Word? (application). It is this fourth question that I want us to (re)consider. According to Psalm 119, what should be our response to God’s Word?
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AuthorChuck Cook is the pastor of Grace Bible Church - Rolla. Archives
April 2020
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