John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) was a fourth- and early fifth-century pastor and bishop who sought God with all of his heart for over forty years, and who exercised great influence over the church for many centuries. He was an extremist who was tempered by God and mightily used of him to exalt the glory of Christ and preserve the church, so as we look at his life, what lessons can we learn? I see at least three.
First, Christians must learn to rest in the finished work of Christ. As we have seen, John was an extremist who even lived in a cave for two years because he thought excessive self-denial was the highest way of seeking God. But God, in his grace, redeemed this time of John’s life by teaching him that Christ was punished for us so that we have no need to punish ourselves. As Paul has taught us, self-discipline is an important part of life in Christ (see 1 Corinthians 9:27), but this must be distinguished from self-punishment. The first is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), while the second is the teaching of demons (1 Timothy 4:1-3). May we learn the life-giving truth that John learned: the key to life in Christ is resting in the finished work of Christ.
Second, as we look at John’s life we learn that saturating our lives with the Word of God prepares us to be led by the God of the Word. While he was living in that cave, John memorized the entire New Testament and, among other things, this set him up to understand the true gospel which eventually set him free from misguided practices and prepared him for his life’s work as a preacher and teacher of the Word. If you are ever able to read some of his sermons, you will see that he came to embrace the gospel that sets people free from trying to earn the favor of God, and this is a fruit of the gracious work of God in his life. Like John, we all have serious misunderstandings of the life and work of Jesus, and these things will be corrected if we will humbly soak our lives in the Word of truth, for it is the truth that sets us free.
Third, John teaches us that we must combine love for the Word of God with obedience to the God of the Word. “For Chrysostom, solid doctrine and sound living remained an inseparable whole. What we know must deeply affect how we live. If not, the truth of the gospel is short-circuited and the watching world perceives a skewed picture of the gospel’s reality” (Christopher A. Hall, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Downers Grove: IVP, 1998, page 95-96).
John best displayed this lesson near the end of his time in Antioch when, despite his desire to remain there and preach the Word, his superiors called him up to serve as Bishop of Constantinople. John chose to die to his desires and live to God’s, for he believed the gospel he preached and he knew that the spirit of humble submission is the Spirit of Christ. Like John, may we learn to combine solid doctrine and sound living, and thus exalt the glory of Christ.
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