Finishing Well - Tim Phillips

I recently finished preaching a short series of sermons from 2 Chronicles 14-16 to begin the new year. These chapters focus on the life of King Asa of Judah, who helped bring about a reformation of true religion in the nation. King Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord (2 Chr 14:2). He continually called the people to seek the Lord (seeking after the Lord is a theme of these three chapters). When a crisis (a foreign invasion) threatened Judah, he sought the Lord in prayer (2 Chr 14:9ff). When he was confronted with the word of God from aprophet named Azariah, he listened and obeyed (2 Chronicles 15:1ff). The people removed idols and renewed covenant vows. Asa even confronted a member of his own family for her idolatry (2 Chr 15:16). The people sought the Lord during Asa’s reign, and the result was that they enjoyed peace on all sides and rest from their enemies.

But Asa is also an example of someone who did not finish well. Near the end of his reign, when he faced the threat of another invasion, he did not seek the Lord but instead sought to make a covenant with a foreign king (2 Chr 16:1-6). When he wasconfronted by a different prophet, he did not listen to the word but responded in anger toward the prophet (2 Chr 16:7-10). Later, when Asa was afflicted with a severe disease, he still didnot seek after God (2 Chr 16:17). What started out so well with King Asa ended very poorly.

Asa’s life serves as a warning to all of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ. We must be seeking the Lord all the days of our lives. We must seek Him in prayer and in His word. We must strive to put away any idols that stand in the way of this and worship Him alone. This is one reason why Christians must closely guard our time, especially on the Lord’s Day. It is very easy to give in to the influences of the culture around us, which can cause us to seek after the things of this world rather than seek after God. Two of the biggest idols of our culture are consumerism and entertainment, and both of those seem to dominate how our Sundays are spent. If the average Christian spends more time shopping and watching sports on a Sunday than he spends in worship, then is he truly seeking after the Lordwith all of our heart and soul (see 2 Chr 15:12)?

Still, many Christians do successfully navigate through the pressures and temptations of this world and do finish well. The Westminster Confession of Faith gives the following comforting statement: “They, whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved” (WCF 17.1). We cannot become lazy, or complacent, or negligent in our Christian religious duties. We persevere by the gracious and almighty hand of God. “This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof” (WCF 17.2). We persevere because it is God who is work in us, through the gospel of Jesus Christ, by the indwelling power of His Holy Spirit, to preserve us.

King Asa did not finish well, although the people did honor him in his death (2 Chr 16:14). The Apostle Paul is an example of a Christian who did finish well. In his last epistle he writes: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). I recently heard a funeral sermon preached on this text. It has been said that the job of a pastor is helping the members of his flock die well. As long as the Lord tarries, we will all face death. But death has been swallowed up in victory because of the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. As we march through life headed toward that inevitable end, let us make sure we do so by seeking after the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of our lives. Let us make sure our hearts are filled with all affections toward Him. Let us make sure He is our priority. Let us make sure we finish well. And if we are in Christ, we will.