Tag Archives: God’s glory

“The Christian should be an inexhaustible source of forgiveness” by Herman Bavinck

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“The metaphors of turning the other cheek, walking the extra mile, surrendering your coat, and adding the cloak are explained in Matthew 5:44: ‘But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’

The idea is that evil must be repaid with good, curses with blessing, hatred with love, sin with forgiveness, misery with compassion.

God acts this way, too (Matt. 5:45-48).

Once more, that is not apathy, no Stoic passivity, no condoning the enemy’s behavior. On the contrary, Jesus rebukes His enemies and pronounces woe upon the Pharisees. But while He is reprimanding the sin, He is loving and blessing the enemy.

Indeed, He commands us to forgive those who wrong us as often as seventy times seven– that is to say, countless times, again and again (Matt. 18:21-34).

The Pharisees said that one must forgive three times. Peter boldly says: Isn’t seven times enough?

But Jesus will have nothing to do with numbers or calculations here. The Christian should be an inexhaustible source of forgiveness.

After all, Christians need forgiveness themselves (Matt. 18:33).

Certain evidence that we love our enemies is when we pray for them in all sincerity. Righteous anger is certainly permissible and obligatory, but it must be an anger without sin, not long-lasting, and not rising rashly (Eph. 4:26-27; Ps. 4:4; 37:8).

‘The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God’ (James 1:20; cf. Col. 3:8; Titus 1:7). And vengeance is never fitting; it belongs to God (Deut. 32:35).

Love thinks no evil (1 Cor. 13) and covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 439-440.

“The Christians changed a funeral into a feast” by Herman Bavinck

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“Holy Scripture gives us no specific prescriptions with regard to burial. We have an example in the tender way Jesus was buried by his disciples; the same is true of Stephen (Acts 8:2).

We are allowed to mourn and to be sad as appears from both the Old Testament (Gen. 23:2; 37:34-35; 50:1-3; 1 Sam. 25:1) and the New Testament (Luke 7:12-13). Jesus himself (John 11:33-35), Mary (John 20:11), and the disciples (Mark 16:10; Luke 24:17; John 16:20) mourned, and the church at Ephesus mourned for Paul (Acts 20:37).

Death is an evil. Yet Christian mourning is different from pagan mourning. No sorrowing without hope (1 Thess. 4:13), no worldly sorrow (2 Cor. 7:10).

The Christians changed a funeral into a feast of celebration and triumph.

They buried their dead not at night but during daytime, in the full light of day, dressed in white robes, accompanied by retinues and spectators, without wailing women, without wreaths on the body or the coffin.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 433.

“Blood relatives” by Herman Bavinck

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“All people are blood relatives (Acts 17:26).”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 424.

“All of us are murderers” by Herman Bavinck

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“All of us are murderers– it was our sins that caused Jesus’s death.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 454.

“Not paying attention is a great sin” by Herman Bavinck

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“We are to develop a Christian character with respect to the intellect. To that end we must first of all instill a love of truth– not just saving truth but also scientific truth and truth in everyday life.

This love of truth is not only of formal (logical) truth- that is, not just the freedom of our propositions from contradiction– but also the love of material, factual truth.

Christianity has given us knowledge of God as the Truth (John 17:3; 14:6) and given us proper love for the truth, not for its own sake (which is ultimately for our own sake, egotistically), but made possible for the sake of God.

The Word, a lamp unto our feet, the truth (John 17:17), enables us to pursue truth, to recognize it, to distinguish it from the lie (Acts 17:11; 1 Cor. 2:14-16; 1 John 4:1; 1 Thess. 5:21).

Indifferentism and skepticism are therefore not permitted for the Christian– they are a sickness of the soul that needs healing. And we are called to abound, to mature, to grow in knowledge (Rom. 12:4-8; 1 Cor. 12 and 13; Phil. 1:9; 4:8; 1 Thess. 5:21; Titus 3:8-9; 2 Pet. 3:18).

But the arena of the intellect contains other faculties, each of which also needs to be developed. These include the capacity to pay attention and to observe, for to observe is better than the fat of rams (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).

Not paying attention is a great sin (2 Chron. 33:10; Prov. 1:24; Zech. 7:11).

In every field, attentiveness, both spiritual and natural, is so difficult. We must compel our senses to observe well, and we must practice this. To see, hear, touch, and read well is such an art.

Next, there is memory and the capacity of recollection: the cupbearer forgot Joseph (Gen. 40:23); Israel repeatedly forgot the covenant, forgot the Lord (Deut. 4:23; 6:12; 8:11-16; 32:18), forgot God’s works and wonders (Ps. 78:7, 11), forgot their Savior (Ps. 106:21); we are forgetful hearers (James 1:25).

The believer, however, is seized with a desire to remember it all-God’s acts of loving-kindness (Ps. 48:9), His works (Ps. 77:12)-in order to remember His word, law, and ordinances and not forget them (Ps. 119:16, 61, 83, 176).

The same is true in the natural arena: kindnesses should be inscribed in marble, but insults written in sand.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 406.

“Grateful enjoyment” by Herman Bavinck

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“God wants all of His gifts to be enjoyed with thankful hearts (1 Tim 4:4-5).

Only through grateful enjoyment is creation’s goal fulfilled.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 343.

“Sunday is the day of resurrection” by Herman Bavinck

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“Every ceremony is fulfilled in Christ. Sunday is the day of resurrection.

Under the Old Testament the pattern was first work, then rest– that is, the worship of God.

Now, we are first strengthened by the worship of God, and from there we undertake everything with vigor.

Then, moving toward the Sabbath was climbing up toward God. Today, we move from God into the wide world.

Then, people ascended; today, we descend.

Then, earth moved toward heaven; today, heaven comes down to earth.

Then, the promise; today; the fulfillment.

Then, expectation; today, enjoyment.

Then, from outside to inside, from the periphery to the center. Today, just the reverse.

Then, shadow; now, substance.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 273-274.

“An idol” by Herman Bavinck

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“An idol is whatever leads us away from the living God.”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 128.

“The sole end of all things is God’s glory” by Herman Bavinck

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“Viewed properly, there is only one duty, that of love, which is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10). And there actually is only one object of that love, namely, God.

Everything else– people, angels, nature, art, and so forth– may and must be loved only in God and for God.

The sole end of all things– ourselves, our neighbor, the state, and the like– is God’s glory.

God is also the only one who obligates us in His law; He alone compels us in our conscience. A duty exists only because there is a God who can obligate us. For duty is an obligation not only to do things but also to will them.

God obligates us in such a way that we feel obligated also to have to will what God commands. People and animals can force us to do things. God alone can obligate us, can oblige us to will.

He alone is sovereign over our conscience, the Lord also of our innermost being, the Master of and in the deepest depth of our heart.

‘I am the LORD your God’ serves as a heading above all the commandments.

And for this reason, for this reason alone, we are not only to love Him but also for His sake to love our neighbor, not kill him, and so forth.

We are to love our neighbors not because they are lovable, good, beautiful, and rich, but for God’s sake. Actually, therefore, there is only one type of duty– or better: there is but one single duty– toward one object only– namely, God.

All other duties acquire force only in and through that and under that. All duties are therefore religious duties.

Thus, the nature of duty does not disclose any classification of duties; all duty is mandatory for God’s sake and at God’s behest; there are no broad, imperfect duties.

The end goal, too, offers no basis for classification; all things must be done for the glory of God.

But besides an ultimate end there is also, under God, a subordinate end (which Pietists fail to appreciate all too much). It is not an ultimate goal, yet still a relative goal, a secure stage for our conduct.

That is the creation, the world of creatures: angels, humans, nature, art, science, and so on and so forth.

They may be– nay, must be– loved in God and for God, but they are nevertheless truly objects of our love.

Therefore, God Himself classifies the law as two tables: love of God and love of neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40).”

–Herman Bavinck, Reformed Ethics, Volume 2: The Duties of the Christian Life, Ed. John Bolt (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2021), 2: 101-102.

“Christ is more full of goodness than the sun is full of light” by Thomas Watson

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“Christ has not only a few drops, or rays, but is more full of goodness than the sun if full of light. He has the fullness of the Godhead (Col. 2:9).”

–Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture Drawn with a Scripture-Pencil (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1666/2003), 48.