2016 07 03 am Proverbs 3:5-6 The 5 Ps of the Possession of Faith

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Doctrines of Grace are the key teachings of the Bible about salvation.  And we use an acronym to remember these doctrines; that acronym is the word TULIP.  And I won’t put Jacqui on the spot but I am sure she could tell us what the letters of TULIP stand for and what they mean, as could many of you.  The P of TULIP stands for Perseverance of the saints.  It is the teaching that all those that God causes all those that He has chosen to salvation to persevere to the end – they will not; they cannot be lost.  And it is based on Scriptures like John 6:39 where Jesus said, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”  Perseverance of the Saints.

Well, today we have witnessed _____ public profession of faith.  And if we were in many other Christian churches that practice believer’s baptism, this would be a baptism service.  So is it the case then that if you publicly profess your faith or get baptized, your salvation is guaranteed?  Is that what the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints means?  Well, to believe that  would be to confuse profession of faith with possession of faith.  You see, it is not a profession of faith that saves you but the possession of faith.  And the perseverance of the saints has to do with those who possess faith.  It is they whom God will bring to glory.

So what does it mean to possess faith?  What does that look like?  Well, we are helped to answer those questions today with the words of Proverbs 3:5-6.  And since we have already thrown out a few P-words – profession, possession, and perseverance, we will continue in that vein and consider the Five Ps of the Possession of Faith – posture, percentage, pitfall, pathway, and promise.

But before we consider the 5 Ps, we begin with the Object of faith or to whom faith looks.  And its right there in v5, “Trust in the Lord.”   And that begs a rather obvious question: Who is the Lord?  He has revealed Himself in the Bible as one God in three persons – the Triune God.

1. Father
   1. If you believe in the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, the Creator God of the universe is your Father in heaven.
      1. And Jesus said of Him, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? … Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
      2. And the Holy Spirit said, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.”
   2. So “trust in the Lord” means you trust in your Father in heaven and His providence, His promises, and His grace.
2. Son
   1. PoF Question 2 “Do you humble yourself before God and repent of your sins, and do you joyfully trust in and love Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Lord and Saviour?”
      1. Stand before God on Judgment Day, He will demand absolute perfection – Jesus!
   2. Hebrews 12:2, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”  This life can only be lived looking to Jesus.
   3. So “trust in the Lord” means you trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and His power to perfect your faith.
3. Holy Spirit
   1. Romans 8 v13, “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” vv26-27  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
   2. So “trust in the Lord” means you trust in the Spirit to lead you in godliness and to help you in your weakness.

“Trust in the Lord” means you trust in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

So now we move to the 5 Ps of the possession of faith.

1. The possession of faith has one Posture, as we see in the first part of v5, “Trust in the Lord.

1. Why posture? Well, there are two Hebrew words translated as trust in the OT.  Greek version of the OT translates one of them as ‘believe’ and the other as hope in/rely on/to be persuaded of something in relation to a person.  And the word used here is the second one – to hope/rely on/be persuaded of.  Literally, the word means to lie extended on the ground.  Jeremiah 12:5  “And if in a safe land you are so trusting (literally, lying down), what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?”
   1. Illustrate it this way – imagine you are at home, lying on the couch, reading/social media. Sister at the door – you don’t move and are calm / a Mongrel Mob guy at the door – you sit up and are tense!
   2. Psalm 27:3 “Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.”
   3. Psalm 112:6-7 “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.  He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.”
2. Now, we are weak and frail human beings – this is not a command to emotional stoicism. Ancient Greek philosophical school who showed no feelings or visible signs of emotion.  Habakkuk 3:16-19  I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me … yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.”

So if we truly possess faith, our ‘posture’ will be one of trust in the Lord.

1. But we learn more about the possession of faith as we next see something about Percentage of faith in the next part of v5, where we read, “Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart.”

1. Reminds us of the summary of the Law – Love God with ALL your heart/soul/mind/strength…
   1. 100%.
      1. We know we cannot achieve perfection in this life. We need to be like the man who said to Jesus, “I believe, help me in my unbelief.”
      2. But remember also that because of Christ, our efforts can be truly good even if they are not perfectly
   2. So what does trusting in the Lord with all your heart look like? Well, we often recite the words of Heidelberg catechism Lord’s Day 1 Q/A 1 together as a confession of faith.  We say of the Lord that “He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.”                         Do you really believe that?  Personal struggles/marriage struggles/work struggles/church?  So to trust in the Lord at all times means to trust in Him in times of affliction, temptation, and darkness.
   3. But trust in Him at all times also includes times of plenty and joy. Solomon’s prayer, “Don’t give me too much lest I forget you.”

The possession of faith means you trust in the Lord with ALL your heart.

• Well, as we come to the second half of v5 we are next alerted to a Pitfall to faith as we read, “Lean not on your own understanding.”

1. Now I hope it is stating the obvious, but just to be clear, this verse is not anti-understanding. OK?  It is not encouraging ignorance.  Just look down at v13, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding.”  The Bible is very pro-intellect.  Ok?
2. So what is the pitfall we are being warned against? Well, as is often the case, we find a very helpful illustration of what we are being warned about here in the very first pages of the Bible.  God said to Adam, “You may eat from every tree in the garden but you must not eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you shall surely die.”  But then along came the serpent and his “did God really say…?  God knows that in the day you eat it you shall surely be like God.”  And right there, Eve and Adam had a choice – lean on the serpent’s and their own understanding or trust in the Lord?
3. When you are faced with a choice between what God requires in His word and what you think or feel or want, or what the world suggests or what the devil urges you to do or say or think, lean towards what God requires in His word.
4. One example – boyfriend says, ‘If you really loved me you would sleep with me.’ The world says you are nuts not to see if you are sexually compatible before you marry.  The devil says, ‘It will feel so good.’  But you know that God forbids sexual immorality and says, Trust in me, honour me, and enjoy this where I have designed it to be enjoyed – within marriage.
5. All this assumes that you know what God requires. Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  A call to listen to the reading and preaching of the Bible and personal and group study of the word of the Lord.  Attitude of the Psalmist who said in Psalm 19, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes … Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
6. So “lean not on your own understanding,” for that is a pitfall to faith. Instead, follow the way of the Lord.

1. Well, as we come to v6, we find instruction about the Pathway of the possession of faith. For there we read, “In all your ways acknowledge Him.”

1. Read the account of Abraham and you will find that every time he arrived a new place he built an altar to the Lord. “Lord, I acknowledge that you are at the centre of everything I do.”  Read the account of Nehemiah and you will read of him firing off a prayer to the Lord in between the King asking him a question and N answering!  N sought the Lord’s guidance in everything.  And like them, the Lord should be at the centre of everything we do.
   1. In James 4:13-15, we read these words, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”– yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””
      1. One commentator says, “It is nothing less than self-idolatry to [think] that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without [the Lord’s] counsel. He loves to be consulted … Be in the habit of going to Him in the first place – before self-will, self-pleasing, self-wisdom, human friends, convenience, [practical].  Before any of these ways have been consulted go to God at once.  Consider no circumstances too clear to need His direction.”
      2. Think of the Father and his 3-4 year old – Daddy, how, why, when, why, can we…, why? Loving Father gently answers those questions, even if they have been asked for the umpteenth time.  And don’t think that you are not a 3-4 year old child.  You are!
   2. So the possession of faith means we commit everything to the Lord in prayer, seeking His provision and guidance and strength and then we give thanks always because our Lord loves to have us acknowledge Him!
   4. And that brings us lastly to the promise of faith at the end of v6, “He will make straight your paths.”

1. I have on my study desk a bronze plaque that has the words of Jeremiah 29:11 on it. And you will find the words of Jer. 29:11 on coffee cups and calendars and paintings and postcards, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”  They are very beautiful words.  But sadly they are often lifted up out of the context and made to say something they do not say.  You see, there are professing Christians who have the idea that God has this perfect plan for your life that you need to discover and walk in.  And that is not meant in the general sense of believe in Christ and keep God’s commandments, but this is the job God wants you to do and this is the person you need to marry and this is the year you need to go on the mission trip and this is the street you need to live in, etc.  Jacqui will soon graduate and maybe she will have two job offers – she better choose the one that is in God’s plan.   I quoted Romans 12:2 before, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  And that is another verse some take to say that we have to discover God’s secret plan for our lives and stay on it.  But that is not what Scripture teaches.
   1. “He will make straight your paths.”
      1. Abraham – boy did his paths need straightening out!
      2. King David – boy did his paths need straightening out!
      3. Peter – boy did his paths need straightening out!
   2. 2 Cor. 12 – Thorn in the flesh. 3 Times.  “My grace is sufficient for you.”

Posture/percentage/pitfall/pathway/promise.

Conclusion – Phil. 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”  “I am sure” is the same Greek word that translates the word trust in v5.  Paul trusted, Paul relied on, Paul had a firm hope in, Paul was persuaded, Paul had an unshakeable confidence that the Philippian believers would persevere to the end, not because of the Philippian believers, but because of the Triune God and His faithful power, provision, promise and grace.   And to believe in the Triune God is to possess faith.  Amen.