Think on These Things

The Cruciality of a Christian Home

2012-01-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

It is not all that uncommon to hear people these days say something like, "We're not going to raise our kids in any particular religion; we're just going to let them decide for themselves." That's ludicrous; children will naturally choose the faith, or lack thereof, of their parents. I guarantee that, without intervening circumstances, if the parents are not concerned with faith, then their children will not be either. While I do not see such a laissez faire attitude prevailing among many evangelical Christians I know, it is true for some, especially for those who are only nominally Christian. But perhaps it is true for some genuinely converted Christian parents, who thereby demonstrate immaturity and a lack of a biblical worldview. Regardless, I hope this post will be a solemn reminder and wake-up call for all Christian parents not to forsake their Christian responsibility when it comes to their children.

All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Then the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals, and they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked the LORD to anger. Judges 2:10-12 (NASB)

The Israelites lacked a true knowledge of God and His historic work. They were not alive to see such things as the Passover, the exodus, the miracles in the wilderness, or the LORD'S hand win them great victories to bring them into the Promised Land. So how could they know Him? It would have been up to the parents to tell and teach their children the knowledge of God, His work and His ways. This is, in fact, a command in the Law:

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NASB)

The Bible gives a promise to dutiful parents:

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 (NASB)

Many have often incorrectly used this verse to say, "Well, we raised our kid(s) right; they're not walking with the Lord now, but when they get older, they'll come back." That is not what that verse says. It says that even when he is old he will not depart from it, meaning he is faithful all his days; the child reared rightly will never depart from them, let alone depart and then come back to something he obviously never had.

God commands His people to raise their children in the discipline and fear of the Lord (Deut. 6:6-9; Eph. 6:4). He knows it is crucial to begin teaching them the gospel early, for their sin nature also sets to work early--from the womb!

Let me give some disclaimers right now. I am speaking in generalities, not specifics. I am not--and certainly not God's word is not--saying that all children who are raised in a Christian home to know, love, fear, obey, and serve God will without fail be saved or live impeccably. Without a doubt some parents did all they could in earnest to raise their children to worship Jesus and better parents could not be found, yet their children forsook God. Likewise, some parents were lousy and didn't even really raise their kids, let alone in the righteous reverence for Christ, but by His gracious intervention God saved them. Salvation is the sovereign, gracious prerogative of God.

Being raised in a Christian home does not therefore guarantee salvation, nor do I believe that children of believers are de facto among the elect (as do some of my brethren). But, speaking in human terms (to steal Paul's phrase), it substantially increases the likelihood that they will be saved. One thing is for sure: if they are not taught the gospel, they cannot be saved; if they are not taught about God, they cannot know Him, for "there is none who seeks for God" (Rom. 3:11; cf. Ps. 14:2-3; 53:2-3). Parents, I implore you, and God's word commands you, raise your children to love and worship Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do it for their good, the good of Christendom, and the glory of God.

If you are not yet parents, pray for wisdom, purpose in your heart, and plan practical ways to do it right.

What about those whose children are already grown? Perhaps you have grandchildren or even great-grandchildren. You did not raise your children rightly and they forsook God. Is it too late? Let me ask you this: are they still alive? As long as they have life and breath, it is not too late. What should you do?

First, do not beat yourself up and bear unnecessary guilt brought on by that evil accuser of the brethren. Remember this: even if we are disobedient, God is faithful and grace is real. If you failed in your responsibilities as a Christian parent with your children, that is a failure expunged by Christ's blood, enveloped in God's gracious, redemptive forgiveness. If you have confessed and repented, it is cleansed (1 John 1:9), removed as far as east from west (Ps. 103:12).

Second, remember and believe it is not too late. Throw yourself on the mercy of God. Beg and plead persistently before His throne for their souls. Make the most of every opportunity (Eph 5:16) and try to redeem the lost time by witnessing to them and teaching them when you have the chance. Don't ever forget that salvation is the sovereign, gracious prerogative of God, nor that He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (Ex. 34:6); that He does not delight in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 32); that He desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4); and that He is patient, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

Third, it is not too late for you to have a godly influence on your grandchildren, whether they are currently living or as yet unborn. Do all you can in their lives to provide a godly influence and change the course of your family history back to the paths of righteousness.

Joshua 7 - The Wrath and Judgment of God

2012-01-19T08:57:00.001-06:00

You're going want to read Joshua 7 (yes, the whole thing, but it's not all that long).

"...and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. ..." Josh. 7:26 (NASB)

What happened prior to this? Achan sinned by taking some items from Jericho under the ban, which God told them not to do. They were consequently defeated at the city of Ai in what should have been an easy, quick battle. Joshua prayed and God told him that their was sin among them. By lot, Achan was shown to be the culprit. What happens next is important.

Achan confessed his sin and "reparation" was made (vv. 19-23). But, even still, "All Israel stoned them with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. They raised over him a great heap of stones that stands to this day..."

"and the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger." (Josh. 7:25b-26a)

Wow. Doesn't that seem like overkill? Stone them all and everything they owned? Then burn them?

Confession was made. Some form of repentance or reparation was made (they poured out the banned things before the LORD). But that was not sufficient in this case to turn back the wrath of God, who had commanded Israel repeatedly to purge the evil from their midst. Even though God is "gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth," (Ex. 34:6), sin still has consequences and God's righteous standards and ways are upheld. The discipline or judgment of God is still meted out and thus people are spared the outpouring of the fullness of His furious wrath. Sometimes God is super-abundantly gracious and turns back not only His wrath, but even His judgmental, temporal discipline when confession and repentance is made.

There is a distinction made in Scripture between the eternal, condemnatory wrathful judgment of God and the temporal, corrective disciplinary judgment of God. Romans 8:1 assures us that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" precisely because the fullness of God's wrath was poured out upon Jesus Christ on Calvary for those who are in Him and have "swapped accounts" (2 Cor. 5:21). Even so, Hebrews 12:5-6, quoting the OT, says that God disciplines those whom He loves and scourges every son whom He receives, going onto say that every legitimate son receives discipline and if you are without it, you are illegitimate children (vv. 7-8).

While through Jesus Christians are spared the eternal condemnatory wrath of God that will come upon the sons of disobedience (Hallelujah! Thanks and praise be to God!), we are not exempt from the temporal corrective disciplinary judgment of God in life. Sometimes God lets the natural consequences of our sin come upon us as discipline; sometimes He actively takes a role in sending discipline; and sometimes He is super-abundantly gracious to spare us entirely in response to our broken contrition and genuine repentance and confession.

Two NT instances can illustrate this very principle.

In 1 Corinthians 5, we learn of gross sexual immorality on the part of one of the Corinthian congregants. In verse five, Paul says, "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Just like in Joshua 7, the experience of the judgment and discipline of God toward Achan and his family turned back the fierce anger of God.

The second is 1 Corinthians 11:29-32 (NASB), which says,

"For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep [= death]. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world."

We should be extremely thankful that there is such a thing as the discipline of God, which is a sign that His full wrath has been turned back from us.

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11 (NASB)

Of Antichrists and Applications

2011-12-29T12:27:00.002-06:00

This post is based upon and the principles derived from 1 John 2:18-25. Verse numbers serving as the basis for statements are indicated in parentheses in the text [e.g., (v. 1)]. If I were you, I'd read it and/or follow along in an open Bible.

When we think of the word "antichrist," many of us, myself included, are prone to think of the Antichrist, capital A, the eschatological figure who is the false Christ par excellence. But, John says that many antichrists have appeared. The verb "have appeared" is in a perfect indicative, implying past completed action that has continuing results in the present. In other words, John says, antichrists have showed up and they are still around. This is the whole premise and basis of John's discourse in these verses.

The first point I'm trying to make with all that (at length, apparently) is that antichrists were around in John's day, by the end of the first century--and I would say even earlier, almost from the Church's very inception. I think it's safe to infer that what Paul calls false teachers John calls antichrists (which we will see in the course of this post). So, for the purposes of this post and in reading John, if it helps you, think "antichrists" = "false teachers"; only be sure to let John's words and theology speak for themselves in context while keeping it in balance with Paul and the rest of Scripture.

A second point I'm trying to make is that I believe antichrists/false teachers are present in our day. It was true for John (and remember the perfect indicative "have appeared") and it was preserved in Scripture for us. And don't forget that he said, "from this we know it is the last hour" (v. 18). Certainly we Christians are still in the last "hour"--more so than John even! The presence of antichrists indicate that it is the last hour, thus as long as it is the last hour there will be antichrists.

That said, we should probably give some thought to antichrists. Hence this post, the point of which is really to show six characteristics to help Christians discern antichrists.

First, antichrists break away from the fellowship of a true Christian Church (v. 19).
A warning is in order here. Not everyone who leaves a true local church is suddenly an apostate or an antichrist. True Christians sometimes leave or are absent from a church for various reasons, sometimes good but more often for shallow or sinful reasons. I believe that a mark of a genuine convert is a genuine love for fellow Christians (1 John is really strong on this), a love so strong that it compels someone to seek the fellowship of other believers and all the related blessings that entails. Thus, I think that if a true Christian leaves a church, they will be a part of another one or, at the least, seek out the friendship and fellowship of Christians somehow. But John does not mean that about these antichrists. The context (vv. 21-24) indicates that they broke away because they did not subscribe to the Church's historical teaching concerning the person of Jesus. They were heretics, in the medieval sense of the word.
How about some modern antichrists? I can think of two right off the top of my head. The first is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons). The story of their founding fits John's description in v. 19 exactly. The young Joseph Smith, Jr. is said to have sought God to ask which church/denomination was the true, right church. God allegedly answered him, "None of them." and instructed him to leave them all and "restore the true faith" to the world. Hence the LDS "church." The second example is the Jehovah's Witnesses, who are not as ready to identify with "Christendom" as Mormons try to do. Their start is a similar story, a la 1 John 2:19. If I recall correctly, their founder actually started in the Adventist movement. He later started his own "book studies" to teach the "truth" of Scripture. For more information on these pseudo-Christian cults, check out CARM on the JW's and the Mormons.

Second, antichrists do not have the Holy Spirit and thus cannot understand or teach Scripture correctly (vv. 20-21).
The anointing John speaks of is the Holy Spirit (cf. vv. 26-27). Only true Christians have the Holy Spirit living in them. One of His roles is to teach us truth by illuminating the Scriptures in our minds. Because all true Christians have this Spirit-given understanding and discernment, they have an innate ability to sense truth and error. I say "sense" because we must remember that the effects of our fallen flesh are still present and that Satan is a master counterfeiter and deceiver; he even masquerades as an angel of light. Even so, true Christians who submit to the Spirit's leadership in their lives and sincerely seek truth through active engagement and study of the Scriptures will be preserved from error. If not, well, that's one of the benefits of fellowship with a true local church.
This stands to tell us that if our first, visceral, internal reaction to some strange teaching or teacher is uncertainty and uneasiness, then we should take that to heart and search out the Scriptures prayerfully and consult those God has given to the church as teachers and shepherds who have knowledge and resources. It also stands to tell us that false teachers and antichrists will have certain tell-tale signs of teaching error. One of them I call to mind is an inability to correctly and accurately teach the truth of Scripture in its grammatical and historical contexts that bridges the gap to our day by declaring the timeless truth and applying it to our context. In other words, if someone reads a verse at a time out of context and pieces them together to get their doctrines, beware.

Third, antichrists get it wrong when it comes to Jesus (v. 22).
In John's day, these antichrists denied that Jesus is the Christ (or the Messiah, God's anointed servant promised and predicted in the Old Testament). In other words, they did not believe in the right Jesus. They did not believe in the historical Jesus that Scripture (and, at that time, the Apostles and prophets) revealed and the Church affirmed and worshiped. These antichrists either did not believe in Him and His mission outright or they believed wrongly. They had the wrong Jesus, and thus the wrong gospel and faith, a possibility presented elsewhere in Scripture (2 Cor. 11:4).
The point for us is that anyone who does not get it right when it comes to Jesus--His person and/or His work--is not a true Christian. It is not a matter of mere disagreement, a difference in opinion or interpretation; it is a matter of orthodoxy and heresy. Jesus is the center of the Christian faith, so to mess with Jesus is to mess with everything Christianity is. We must not--indeed cannot--have fellowship with those who do not subscribe to Scriptural teaching that has historically been held by orthodox Christianity concerning Jesus. What are some of those teachings? Some creeds from history have helped summarize and clarify Scriptural teaching, including the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the statement of the Council of Chalcedon (all of which can be found here). You can also listen to a great sermon by Dr. John MacArthur on the Scriptural Jesus on John 1:1 here.
Just as a follow-up, neither the Mormons nor the Jehovah's Witnesses believe in Jesus as He is truly revealed in Scripture and affirmed by the Church throughout the ages.

Fourth, a corollary of the third, antichrists do not worship the true God (v. 23).
By definition, if you do not get the person of Jesus right--He who is called the second Person of the Trinity, fully divine, co-eternal and co-equal with the Father, equal in all Their attributes and perfections--you do not get God the Father right--He who is called the first Person of the Trinity. Thus, yet again, we must not--indeed cannot--have fellowship with such antichristian false teachers. We do not worship the same God.
A specific application of this truth is that Christians and other monotheists are not really all worshiping the same God. It should be obvious that the (so-called) Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons are not Christians and thus do not worship the same God. But this also applies to modern Jews. We do not worship the same God. (We must be very careful here, for YHWH as revealed in the Old Testament is in fact the God we Christians worship, but we know and understand Him quite differently than Jews. To be safe and kind, perhaps we should say that the nation Israel does not yet fully know who YHWH is and all that entails.) We do not worship Allah, the Islamic god. It's not a division of monotheism and polytheism or theism and atheism or any other broad classification; it is a division of truth and falsehood.

Fifth, antichrists do not affirm historically held, Scripturally revealed doctrines (v. 24).
John tells the recipients of his letter that they should "let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning." This is a reference, I believe, to the gospel message that John originally set forth to them in what we know as the Gospel of John (cf. John 20:30-31). We Christians need not pursue or be persuaded by revolutionary new teaching or insights. John, and Paul (2 Tim. 3:14-15), said that the revealed, historic Christian truth contained in Scripture and taught by the Church is alone worthy of consideration and study. That alone, per Paul, is the wisdom that leads to salvation. There is an adage popular among scholars and seminary professors that goes something like this, "If you discover a truth from Scripture that no one has ever seen before, you're probably a heretic."
I can think of two applications here. The first has to do with true Christianity and the second with false teachers. Evangelicalism today seems to be infatuated with newness and freshness--new insights, new wisdom, new revelations, new experiences, etc. While I do think that Christians should be vibrant and vital, fresh and refreshed in their communion with God, I do not think this necessarily means bigger and better or more, whether it be knowledge, experience, or whatever; it should be an internal, Spiritual phenomenon as we marvel afresh at the wonders of God. I also affirm two further things:

We can and do grow in our knowledge, both cognitive and spiritual-experiential (in fact, such is commanded in 2 Pet. 3:18)--that is called learning
God is incomprehensible--in the theological sense: not that we cannot understand or know Him at all, but that we can never fully plumb the depths to know Him fully or have perfect comprehension of His being.

The point of this first application, then, is that we evangelicals should recover a focus on and appreciation for the study and affirmation of Scripture alone (such was a cry of the Reformation, sola Scriptura) and the study and affirmation of historic Christian principles and values.

The second application, as I said, has to do with false teachers. Remember that antichrists do not affirm historically held, Scripturally revealed doctrines. Therefore, if you encounter someone--whether it is in person, over the airwaves, or on the internet--who is purporting to teach you a revolutionary, life-changing, never-before-revealed, secret, mysterious truth... beware (at least), run the other way, or silence or confront and correct them (at best). If you encounter some teacher or teaching and you think, "I've never heard that before," or "My preacher/church has never taught that," or "I don't recall getting that from the Bible," well, what I already said.

Sixth, antichrists are not saved; they are lost and headed for hell (v. 25).

John reminds his recipients that God Himself promised us, meaning true Christians, eternal life. This is in contrast to the false teachers, to whom He did not promise that since they do not have the Father or the Son (v. 23). The contrasting language is strong in the following verses (26-27). Both the immediate context and the broader Scriptural teaching indicate that lost people will be marked by their "bad fruit," to use the language of Jesus (Matt. 7:15ff.). We should bear in mind that this does not necessarily or always mean an overt, visible sinful, immoral lifestyle; bad fruit entails more than just behavior. But ultimately behavior flows out of belief. I digress. In John's immediate context, it appears that some, if not all, of these false teachers were lovers of the world who gave expression to that love through sinful living (cf. vv. 15-17, 28-29). Thus the surest sign of an antichristian false teacher is a sinful lifestyle--not practicing what one preaches. Just remember this is not the only one and that false teachers must be discerned using all the measures Scripture provides.

The real point of application here is that because false teachers are not Christians who are lost to hell, we Christians must confront them, evangelize them, pray for them, and seek their conversion. We must not have intimate fellowship with them (2 John 9-11), but neither should we ignore, frivolously or meanly ridicule, or ostracize them. We must also protect ourselves as well as our loved ones from their hellish, damning doctrines.

So as not to end on a particularly strong, sad note, and because I think it is fitting because it is the last verse of our passage under consideration, I want to re-state v. 25 as a reminder to those of us who are not antichrists, but rather who are Christ's:

This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

Jesus' Gift to the Magi

2011-12-29T10:26:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday, on Christmas, I preached a sermon entitled "The Savior Adored" from Matthew 2:1-12 (audio here). While reviewing for it that morning (rather than opening presents like you sinners... just kidding!), I received an insight from Scripture that amazed me. I guess that was my own little gift from God. It's too good not to share. It won't be too long (three short parts), and I really think it's worth the read.

Part 1: On the Magi
We are all familiar with the story of the magi--modern cultural misconceptions and all, of course. But I had better not let myself get sidetracked. Incidentally, John MacArthur has a fantastic teaching on the magi, which you can find here. (Strongly recommended, by the way.) OK, now, back to it. We are all familiar with the fact that they brought their three gifts to Jesus. We know that they were Gentiles (even if they may have been of some Jewish descent) from far off in the East. In fact, they were probably from the Parthian Empire, the empire immediately to the east of the Roman Empire. The Parthian Empire's territory was, basically speaking, the territory of its great predecessor empires: the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Medo-Persians. In fact, the region of Parthia is adjacent to the regions of Media (the Medes), Persis (the Persians), and Babylonia.

Part 2: On Gift Giving
Having laid the necessary foundational geographical-historical information, let us now consider a second piece of our "information puzzle" that will soon come into view. Writing in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Dr. D. A. Carson says

Bringing gifts was particularly important in the ancient East when approaching a superior.... Usually such gifts were reciprocated.... That is not mentioned here, but a first-century reader might have assumed it and seen the Great Commission (28:18-20) as leading to its abundant fruition.*

Part 3: On Pentecost: Jesus' Gift to the Magi?
For whatever reason, in light of such information, the words of the account of Pentecost in Acts 2 came to mind; I've never memorized them, per se, yet there they rang in my ears:

They were amazed and astonished, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia... Acts 2:7-9 (NASB, emphasis added)

Do you see it?! Does it excite you?! Is this Jesus' way of subtly reciprocating the magi's gifts and acknowledging or rewarding their worship? While I certainly cannot be dogmatic, I think it is, if not in actuality then perhaps by virtue of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the order of the words in the Scripture. I find it very interesting and compelling that the Parthians and Medes are the first ones mentioned in the list by not Matthew, but Luke. Even if one argues that the peoples mentioned in Acts 2 are listed generally from the far reaches of the East to the West parts (in the Roman world), the point still stands: Luke starts from the East, and in particular first mentions the likely origin regions of the Magi.

This is fitting, isn't it, given that the magi were the first to worship Jesus in a land filled with the Jews (and remember this is in Bethlehem, just five or six miles south of Jerusalem, where Acts 2 is set). This is even more beautiful if the magi were of Jewish descent and traced their influence back to Daniel as Dr. MacArthur believes is true--and, for the record, I think he is right--since at Pentecost these were Jews in Jerusalem for the feasts of Passover and Pentecost. At the least, it lends credence to the hypothesis that these magi were directly influenced by and descended from the Jews of the dispersion from Daniel's day (cf. Daniel 2:48; 5:11-12; et. al.). Thus you would have the magi's native people present at Jesus' birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and the giving of the Spirit.

An abundant fruition of the magi's three gifts indeed.

*Bibliography: D.A. Carson, "Matthew" in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 8, ed. Frank E. Gæbelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 89.

How Not to Sin

2011-11-29T10:10:00.000-06:00

Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin." Exodus 20:20 (NASB, emphasis added)

This verse is in the account of the delivery of the Ten Commandments. God has descended on the mountain in an awe- and fear-inspiring scene to give the words (v. 18). The people saw this display of God's greatness and were afraid; they knew that if they even came close enough to God to hear Him speak, they would die (v. 19). Because they truly saw God, His power and holiness, I think they became acutely aware of their createdness and fallenness.

Until we view God rightly, we cannot view sin (ourselves) rightly. Until we get a glimpse of God's great glory and His majestic might, we will be content to continue in sin, even if it does come with the occasional conviction or feeling of guilt. But in order to loathe our sin, we must fear God. "...in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin," the Bible says.

The proper starting place for a life of holiness and obedience leading to victory over the power of sin is not, therefore, to try really hard. But neither is it to do nothing, to "let go and let God," to use a popular cliche. Sanctification does not come without effort and discipline on our part; we are enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The proper starting place, then, is that we get a true view of God. Perhaps the best thing we can do is pray earnestly and diligently, asking God to show us more of who He is. Ask Him to help you see His glory, His holiness, His purity, His righteousness, His mighty power, His justice, His dreadful terror, etc. Ask Him to help you love Him truly, rightly, and deeply. Then, of course, we must seek Him where He will be found: His word, the Bible. Just as you would go through the process of getting to know someone here on earth, so it is with God. Getting to know someone requires conversation, knowing and being known. So have communion with God. Talk to Him through prayer--honest, self-revelatory prayer and prayer asking Him to reveal Himself. Then listen with your eyes as He speaks through the Bible (or, if you're an audio Bible kind of person, I guess you can listen like a normal person with your ears).

How I wish I would really grasp this truth. I know, on the authority of the word of God, that if I would be done with my struggle of sin, I must first get a view of God.

P.S. Incidentally, by way of support and illustration, this same principle is found in Isaiah's call (Isaiah 6).

How can I truly know and fear God?

2011-10-12T11:47:00.001-05:00

1 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:1-6

The Bible repeatedly commands and commends the fear of the LORD. I have personally struggled to lay hold of that. The fact is, I don't fear God--or at least not as I should. Perhaps in glimpses or moments, but not consistently or to the depth I inwardly know I should. How can I get it? What will give me the fear of the LORD? What will cause me to live a life of righteous, holy, reverent worship at all times? I think these verses get at the answer. I should have known--it'll be a tried and true Sunday school answer.

Notice in verses 2 and 3 the triad of synonymous virtues that are commended: wisdom, understanding, and discernment. Verse 5 adds the fear of the LORD and the knowledge of God. In verse 6, we are told that these things all come from the LORD (wisdom, knowledge, and understanding). Specifically, we are told that "from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

The point is that if I want to truly fear the LORD and know God, such will only be attained by knowing His words. Yep, that's it, the Sunday school answer: read the Bible, study it, know it. Let's look at five practices from these verses to maximize our Bible intake--and consequently our knowledge and fear of God.

Don't just read, receive (v. 1a).
It is all too easy to just "read over" the Bible. We are prone to read the Bible quickly and detached because of time constraints, familiarity, or a host of other reasons. But we must not just read for the sake of reading. We need to read for the sake of receiving the truth of God. While Scripture has only one meaning that stands for all time, we must ask, "How does this text's meaning apply to me in my life right now?" Read thoughtfully. The following questions may be helpful for us to think about as we read. "What sins in my life does this text address? What comfort can I draw from this in the midst of this difficult situation I'm in? What promises does God make to me here? What commands are present in the text that I need to obey?" Etc.
Meditate and memorize (v. 1b).
I'm the world's worst about this. I am very good at compartmentalization. I can read God's word--even have a great time in it--but then put it away and move my mind to other things effortlessly. It's a skill I've honed over the years, sometimes proving valuable, but in my spiritual life it is detrimental. We should "treasure [His] commandments within" us. This will require memorization and meditation; you can't really separate the two because you can't really do one without the other. Work on memorizing powerful verse(s) that grab your attention in your reading. Think about the verse(s) or passage you read throughout the day. Reflect and pray on the applications the Holy Spirit placed on your heart.
Listen to good Bible exposition (v. 2).
While the Bible is obviously the primary source, God uses men who faithfully expound upon His word. Having studied it thoroughly and being gifted and skilled in the art of processing and packaging truth into a current and cogent form, faithful preachers can really help us to see things we missed and to bring application to mind that we might not have conceived. Plus, listening to preachers and the way they analyze and see the text will help us to hone our abilities to work through the text as well.
Pray for comprehension of the word (v. 3).
The same Holy Spirit who inspired the text is the One who will illumine that text to our minds and hearts. I believe the Lord delights to show us His truth. Therefore we should pray for both mental and spiritual comprehension. Pray that the Spirit would open our minds to understand the text mentally. Pray also that He would open our hearts to believe what we understand and then to receive the application into our hearts by faith--and for grace and strength to respond appropriately.
Be diligent in your pursuit (v. 4).
We must seek the knowledge and wisdom that is found in God's word with diligence and determination. Let's be honest: reading the Bible can be difficult and even dry. Sometimes it is confusing or seems outdated or irrelevant. Let's be honest about another thing: we are impatient and give up easily. In our microwave, Google, drive-through culture, we have lost much discipline, patience, and endurance. We are products of technology that has dulled us to reading and study, making our minds mush with visual over-stimulation and instant gratification. But just like seeking for silver and treasure comes at great risk and difficulty, so it is with the truth of God's word. If the reward for being diligent in the pursuit of precious treasure is so great that we count it worthwhile, how much more so the yield of the word of God? The reality is that reading and studying Scripture is hard work. It will take much time and effort, thought and struggle, possibly the use of some study helps, maybe a rearranging of priorities, sacrifice, and consistency.

If we really do want to know God and live a life of Spirit-filled, Spirit-led worship, this is what it will take.

As I close, I highly recommend an article to you that I recently read about Bible reading. Please read Jim Elliff's "The Man Who Would Not Read His Bible."

Be a man. Obey God.

2011-07-28T09:03:00.000-05:00

As David's time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn," (1 Kings 2:1-3).

Notice what David told Solomon. First, show yourself a man. Immediately following that is, "Keep the charge of the LORD your God." In David's mind, then, there is a definite connection between being a man and following God. It struck me as I read this that obeying God is, in fact, at least for men, a true definition of what it means to be a man. This can be understood in a couple of ways.

First, obeying God fully gets at the essence of what man [mankind] actually is, a creature of and belonging to God. God is the Maker, Master, Owner; man is His and thus entirely at His disposal. Thus, by virtue of his nature as a creature, man has the inherent duty to be entirely submissive to God. It is significant that in the creations story, the text makes it clear that God gave the original command to Adam, the man, and not to Eve--and even apparently prior to Eve's arrival on the scene (Gen. 2:15-17). To obey God then, is to re-capture the essence of what it is to be a man, to restore the purpose and role of man in his Edenic perfection.

Second, obeying God fully shows a man as a true man because complete obedience to God is hard. In fact, it's impossibly hard apart from the indwelling power of the Spirit of God. But, assuming a man is a Christian filled with the Holy Spirit, it is still the most difficult thing to do. Obeying God is hard. Everything comes against you: the world, your flesh, the devil. It isn't "natural" (at least post-Fall). It is all-encompassing; there is no sphere of life where God has not spoken. God's standards and commands are a lot to remember and take heed of; you cannot let your guard down or let up the fight for one second. It is, therefore, exhausting. I could go on, I suppose, but you get the point. The stark reality is that being an obedient servant of God is hard. I have a friend who once said to me, "I didn't say it would be easy. If I wanted life to be easy, I'd be a Christian." How wrong he was! He had no idea what it takes to be a Christian. You must be strong, persevering, disciplined, self-controlled, and diligent. You must die to yourself every single day, mortifying your pride and fleshly desires. You must be a man.

For example, anybody can give full vent to their anger though a chain of explicit four-letter words with a great deal of volume to them. Any guy can let his eyes roam free and have sex with any woman he wants in his mind. It takes a man of God--a true man--to control his anger and hold his tongue. It takes a man of God--a true man--to gouge out his eyes so that he won't stumble (figuratively, of course, but not excluding literally) and violate a woman, refusing to see her as an object for his "innocent" pleasure but as a precious creation of God who belongs to Him and to someone else.

No, obeying God means being a man. Men, you want to be a true man? You want to show yourself rugged, strong, disciplined, faithful, worthy, respectable? Obey God. It's the purpose and role for which you were created. Not only that, it is the hardest thing on earth to do, so if you do obey God, you are worthy of hearing, "Now he is a real man, a man of God."

What is Jesus like? Mark 6

2011-06-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

The Gospel According to Mark, Chapter 6

People took offense at Jesus because of what He said and did (2-3).

Are people taking offense at my life's work?

Jesus went and taught (6). He is going again.
Jesus cared for the well being of His own close circle (31-32).

I need to be sure to always do this with those closest to me. Do not worry about those whom you do not have; do not neglect those you do have. Minister to them.

Jesus was compassionate (34). He continually gave of Himself, even in His fatigue (34 cf. 31-32). He sacrificed His time with His own to meet the needs of the crowd.

I must be willing to give up my personal time and comforts if I want to minister like Jesus.

Jesus was knowledgeable and capable of sharing that knowledge ("many things" v. 34).

I need to be knowledgeable in various subject areas and capable of discussing that with those who ask. This will require effort and study.

Jesus ministered (taught) long and late (35).
Jesus was a leader. He commanded crowds (39).
Jesus was personal with the crowd, not withdrawn and unreachable (45).

I must be diligent to make sure I never become withdrawn and unreachable. My presence must substantiate my words. Ministry is involvement with people. "Leadership is influence."

Jesus did end His ministering at the appropriate time (45).
Jesus prayed, apparently even late at night, and after He had taught (46).

I need to be a man of prayer, before and after. It is easy for me to get done and be spent after preaching and then go on as if the matter was ended, not continuing to pray for or dwell on that message. The task is not accomplished when the sermon is preached, but until the purpose of the sermon is fulfilled, and only continual prayer can accomplish that.

NOTE: This is the last of my posts from Mark's Gospel about Jesus for now. Due to various circumstances, I have kept going in Mark but not kept track of or had opportunity to write entries like these past few.

What is Jesus like? Mark 4

2011-06-15T10:40:00.000-05:00

This is a continuation, long overdue, of my posts from Mark's Gospel in my personal study of what Jesus is like.

The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4

Jesus sometimes got alone (10).

It's OK to want to be alone sometimes, or at least with your close inner circle.

Jesus spoke differently to His disciples than to the world (33-34). He explained the mysteries to His own, but only spoke the truth without explanation to the world.

In presenting the truth of God, should I labor to make everyone understand it? If the Spirit is not working on someone, should I wrangle intellectually or merely present the truth and say, as Jesus did, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."? Only God grants a hearing of faith; only God can open eyes, hearts, and minds.

Jesus slept, too. After working hard, He took a nap (38).

It's OK to rest. I must give myself permission to do so.

Jesus was direct and blunt with His disciples sometimes (40).

Sometimes it is OK to be stern and direct with people who do not get it. Don't forget how Jesus also was often "moved with compassion."

Intellectualism, But Not Saving Faith

2011-06-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Read Mark 12:28-34.

Especially striking is verse 34a: "When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'" Why did Jesus say this particular scribe was not far? What does that even mean? A simple reading of the passage causes us to understand immediately that Jesus was saying that this scribe knew his stuff. He knew the law intellectually and that very well.

This stands to remind us of a few realities. Intellectualism is not saving faith. Knowing a lot about the Bible or Christianity--even knowing it well and rightly--does not make one a Christian. One is not in the kingdom of God by mere intellectual knowledge. Correct interpretation does no good unless it is followed by correct application in life, which apparently this scribe lacked. That's why he was "not far from the kingdom of God."

Note well, however, that this does not mean faith is the absence of intellect. The Christian faith is not a blind one that accepts anything and everything uncritically and unexamined just because it is what we are taught or want to believe. The Christian faith is a logical one, rooted in reality and reason, with plenty of evidence to support it, both physical and philosophical. Jesus did not denounce this scribe's knowledge; rather, He implicitly affirmed it. The scribe's knowledge obviously counted for something to get him close to the kingdom of God. This reminds me of something I often say: "You don't have to have a PhD in theology to get saved, but you have to know something." This reminds me of a quote by R.C. Sproul, who said, "Faith is not mere intellectual assent, but it is not less."

James 2:19 says, "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (cf. Mark 12:32, wherein the scribe affirmed that oneness of God). Demons have intellectual assent. Demons went to the synagogue and, in Mark's Gospel, a demon was the first one to announce the true identity of Jesus (Mark 1:23-24). The devil himself quoted Scripture in the wilderness of Jesus' temptation (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).

Now for one of my favorite questions: what makes you different than a demon? This is precisely the point that oh-so-close scribe missed. He knew the right stuff, but it did not infiltrate his life and change him.

If I am being honest, this is frightening for me, particularly as one who is intellectually inclined and driven. I like knowing stuff. It is quite possible to go through your whole Christian life--and even to serve in ministry--knowing the right stuff, but not truly being born again. (It's not unheard of that long-time pastors get saved in their latter years!) This then makes me think of Matthew 7:21-23. And I, like the demons, shudder.

How can we know? We must continually examine ourselves and look at the fruit of our lives. Correct interpretation is necessary, but not sufficient. Is there sufficient change and growth in my inward life by the Holy Spirit's work that manifests itself outwardly? Am I growing in Christ-likeness, in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

So how far is "not far?" To use a cliche, I would propose 18 inches. There's 18 inches from your head to your heart. The Christian faith must reside in both. The scribe fell short of the kingdom of God by 18 inches. Will you?

If you know all the right stuff, but sense that you have not truly embraced it with all your heart and soul, please this moment repent of the demon-like mere intellectual assent that keeps you 18 inches from the gate of heaven. Trust fully and actually with your life the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust what He has done for you through His death to meet the penalty of sin and appease the wrath of God by shedding His blood for the forgiveness of sin. Believe that His resurrection from the dead has defeated the power of death and brought victory and eternal life to those who follow Him. Surrender to Him and give your entire self, body and soul, to following Him. Live for Him. Correctly apply what you correctly interpret. Eighteen inches is all it takes. Will you receive Him and His message by faith and not mere intellectual assent?

What is Jesus like? Mark 3

2011-05-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Gospel According to Mark, Chapter 3
[Note: The parenthetical numbers indicate the verses from which I am deriving my observations.]

Jesus directly, even sometimes proactively, challenged those who were against Him (1-5).

I need to be more bold to speak up and challenge the thinking of those who are wrong, especially in the way they apply truth.

Jesus was angry and grieved at hardness of heart (5).

It is OK to be angry when evangelism doesn't go well and the hearers are hard of heart. When my natural response has been a negative emotion, such as anger or frustration, I sometimes have felt guilty, thinking, "I should just feel sorrow and compassion for them." and then beat myself up because I'm not heartbroken enough. But even Jesus got angry with them, and it's listed first. Yes, He was grieved, but it's OK to be angry so long as you are also grieved.

Jesus' reputation preceded Him. Because of all His work to minister to people, they sought him out (7-8).

Do people seek me out because they know my works?

Jesus had an inner circle with whom He was more intimate and intentional (7a, 13-14).

It's OK to have an inner circle. It's OK to have different levels of relationships and to desire intimate fellowship with some and not others. It is not de facto partiality; you can be impartial and still have an inner circle--Jesus did.

Jesus' own people thought He was out of His mind and tried to intervene at times (21).

Do not be discouraged when people think you are crazy and wrong and try to stop you. There is a danger here that you might justify everything by saying, "I'm just like Jesus--people don't get me!" when in fact you need to hear wise counsel because you are wrong. But if, as the context shows, you are genuinely of God and doing His will, people may still oppose you.

Jesus radically redefined and re-prioritized His most intimate relationships to those who were in God's family (31-35).

This speaks of the very important and intimate nature of the true church. If we lose earthly family, we still have a spiritual one. If our earthly family seeks to come between us and our Heavenly Father, they are to be disregarded as true family and we are to find solace in our church family.
To be close to Jesus, you must do the Father's will.

What is Jesus like? Mark 2

2011-05-24T11:48:00.000-05:00

This post follows the first, found here.
The Gospel According to Mark, Chapter 2
[Note: Parenthetical numbers indicate the verses from which I derive my observations.]

Jesus spoke the word in all settings, even at home (1-2).

Do not compartmentalize the command to "preach the word" (2 Tim. 4:2).

Jesus called even the most despised people (14).

Do not be partial to anyone! Share the gospel with all types of people, even the ones you really do not want to.

Jesus spent time with sinners, even eating with them, for the purpose of evangelism (15-17).

Make, or at least do not shy away from, relationships with lost people. I should be intentional about making real relationships with lost people, but not just because. The whole point is to share Christ with them. There is a danger here: do not be deceived into thinking that the relationship itself is the end; it is the means to the end. There is no such thing as "friendship" or "lifestyle" evangelism; you must verbally proclaim the gospel if anyone will be saved. So make those relationships, but use them, even from early on, as an opportunity for calling men to follow Christ.

Jesus was concerned for the well being of people and the spirit of the Law (25-27).

I must not allow my own personal convictions, ideals, or ideas to cause a fellow Christian to stumble. I must not get so caught up in a legalistic system that there is no flexibility or that I miss the overall spirit and heart of Jesus, the giver of the Scripture. I must be more concerned about others' well being, not just getting them to do things my way or agree with me.

What is Jesus like? Mark 1

2011-05-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

This post and the subsequent posts spring from a personal interest. Lately I have been stirred by the realization that if I am called to be like Jesus I should probably know what Jesus is like. I tend to be very theological; Paul and I are good friends. Epistles sit well with me; narrative, such as the Gospels, not so much. But we are called to be like Jesus, to follow Him, to be conformed to His image. As such, I realized that I honestly don't know a lot about Jesus--His personality, characteristics, how He interacts or responds. At least I don't know Him more than general abstractions or broad brush strokes, and certainly not in very specific, applicational, personal life-changing terms. So I decided to try and become a student of Jesus. I will do so through the Gospels. I've started with Mark (because I really like Matthew and John, I tend to avoid Mark and Luke and know very little about them). So I'm going to share with you my findings on this journey. This and subsequent posts will be aimed at answering the questions, "What is Jesus like? What does that say about what I should be like?" Some observations will have specific application thoughts following, some only in the form of a question. Others will have no application because they are potent enough on their own.

The Gospel According to Mark, Chapter 1
[Note: Parenthetical numbers indicate the verses from which I derive my observations.]

Jesus is the Son of God (1).

I, too, am a child of God. What does a son of God look like?

Jesus is mighty (7).

Conduct your life with authority.

Jesus is beloved and well-pleasing to God (11).
Jesus was Spirit-led (12).

Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Let Him guide your life, not just in general terms, but on a daily basis. Let Him arrange, interrupt, and prioritize your day.

Jesus went and preached the gospel: repent and believe (15).

I must actively go and witness to others. It must be intentional and widespread, not compartmentalized, but a standard part of my life.

Jesus made others fishers of men (17).

I must strive to make others become fishers of men.

Jesus called people to follow Him (17).

I must call men to follow Jesus.

Jesus taught authoritatively (22).
Jesus had a reputation with demons (24).

Do the demons of hell know your name? Enough said!

Jesus healed the sick; He met needs of the afflicted, tenderly, sacrificially, and persistently (29-34).
Jesus rose early and prayed alone (35).

I need greater spiritual discipline to rise and pray early, to diligently seek God alone.

Jesus is compassionate (41).

Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Jesus touched people--literally, with His hands--even social outcasts (41).

Physical contact is a powerful thing, communicating love, compassion, care, and concern. People need physical contact with others. I need to be one who appropriately uses physical contact with the sick, hurting, and lonely--even the social outcasts or unlovable.

Jesus kept the Law and strove for a good reputation with the lawyers (44).

Don't break the law. Be a good example, even to the authorities.

A Great Quote on Humility in Leadership

2011-05-02T14:27:00.000-05:00

Studying for my Sunday school lesson this week, I came across this paragraph by Mike Hurt, the author of this series of lessons. I wanted to share it with you. Mike Hurt is the pastor of Parkway Church in Victoria, TX, and this excerpt is from LifeWay's Life Matters: Bible Studies for Life material for May 8, 2011.

Humble leaders do things God's way, because they know that even though they're gifted, called, and prepared for God to use them, they're nothing if God doesn't move. Pride is the antithesis of godliness. Humility shows submission to God first and foremost.

More John Stott Quotes

2011-04-04T10:35:00.000-05:00

From John R.W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006).

Either we preach that human beings are rebels against God, under his just judgment and (if left to themselves) lost, and that Christ crucified who bore their sin and curse is the only available Savior. Or we emphasize human potential and human ability, with Christ brought in only to boost them, and with no necessity for the cross except to exhibit God's love and so inspire us to greater endeavor.
The former is the way to be faithful, the latter the way to be popular. It is not possible to be faithful and popular simultaneously. (338)

The object of our boast or "glory" fills our horizons, engrosses our attention, and absorbs our time and energy. In a word, our "glory" is our obsession. (340) Paul's whole world was in orbit around the cross. It filled his vision, illumined his life, warmed his spirit. He "gloried" in it. It means more to him than anything else. Our perspective should be the same. (341)

To be an enemy of the cross is to set ourselves against its purposes. Self-righteousness (instead of looking to the cross for justification), self-indulgence (instead of taking up the cross to follow Christ), self-advertisement (instead of preaching Christ crucified) and self-glorification (instead of glorying in the cross)--these are the distortions which make us "enemies" of Christ's cross. (341)

Quotes by John R. W. Stott

2011-04-03T15:27:00.000-05:00

While reading yesterday I came across some thoughts worth sharing by John R. W. Stott in The Cross of Christ.

The place of suffering in service and of passion in mission is hardly ever taught today. But the greatest single secret of evangelistic or missionary effectiveness is the willingness to suffer and die. It may be a death to popularity (by faithfully preaching the unpopular biblical gospel), or to pride (by the use of modest methods in reliance on the Holy Spirit), or to racial and national prejudice (by identification with another culture), or to material comfort (by adopting a simple lifestyle). But the servant must suffer if he is going to bring light to the nations, and the seed must die if it is to multiply. (313)

We have to learn to climb the hill called Calvary, and from that vantage point survey all life's tragedies. The cross does not solve the problem of suffering, but it supplies the essential perspective from which to look at it. Since God has demonstrated his holy love and loving justice in a historical event (the cross), no other historical event (whether personal or global) can override or disprove it. This must surely be why the scroll (the book of history and destiny) is now in the hands of the slain Lamb, and why only he is worthy to break its seals, reveal its contents and control the flow of the future. (320)

... I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering. (327)

God's Gifts for God's Work

2011-03-22T10:19:00.000-05:00

God is the one who instills in His people the gifts and skills necessary to carry out His work to His specifications and for His purposes.

Compare Exodus 31:1-11; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 12:27-30; Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11.

How quickly we forget that Christ is the head of His Church! How quick we are to say, "If only I could be like so-and-so. If only I had such-and-such ability. If only I were in this place. If only I...." But God has made you just as He wants you. He has a place and a purpose for you. He has given you the skills, abilities, natural talents, and spiritual gifts you have so that He might use you in the construction of His holy Temple, the Church. He doesn't want you to be someone else, but He wants you to be you. He wants you to glorify Him and help others by serving Him with gratitude and humility for who you are--and all this by His doing.

Equal Opportunity

2011-03-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

In these times, we see and hear a lot about equal opportunity. There's equal opportunity housing, non-discrimination laws, equal opportunity employers, etc. Clever as we are, it was God's idea first.

Sin is an equal opportunity destroyer. Christ is an equal opportunity Savior.

(Side Note: That must be understood in the wider context of orthodox biblical doctrine, not implying universal salvation or even that everyone has an equal opportunity to be saved per se with no distinction. The doctrines of God's grace must be considered, especially depravity and election. What I mean to say here will become clear when I cite the Scriptures to make my point. I only mean to convey that there is no distinction between the types of people God will save; there is no partiality with God based on gender, age, race, social standing, etc.)

Exodus 30:15 - "The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves."

Galatians 3:26-28 - "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

How to Recognize Pharisaic Legalism (John 7:45-52)

2011-03-17T12:31:00.003-05:00

These days, Christians are all too eager to slap the label "legalist" on someone. I'm willing to say that more often than not it's a false charge; the charge of "legalism" against someone is usually given because that person has high standards of holiness and expects that of other Christians as well. Consequently, these "legalists" make others uncomfortable with their own level of sanctification and holiness (or, more aptly, the lack thereof) or because they have firm, definitive, studied (="legalistic") positions on an issue. While our post-modern culture, and the all-too-often capitulating corresponding church subculture, the emerging church, would tell us that not really being certain or at least too firm on anything is a virtue, the Bible warrants (and even commands) certainty on matters of truth. Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (John 8:32).

However, I do think that sometimes Christians who are very strong in their beliefs and practice do tend toward, or even cross the line into, a form of legalism. Perhaps legalism is not the right word; I suppose it depends on the issue at hand and exactly what one says about a given issue. Let's define legalism. Biblically, strictly speaking, legalism is adding the works of the Law as requirements to salvation, either omitting Christ and mandating that one keep the Mosaic Law (strict Judaism) or requiring faith in Christ but also requiring the keeping of the Mosaic Law in whole or in part (Judaizers). So technically legalism is any view that does not hold to salvation by God's grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work alone as the basis, means, and grounds of salvation. That's legalism, strictly speaking, so the term should not, in my opinion, be applied as widely as it is today, especially to genuinely saved saints of God who nevertheless have very strict understandings or lifestyles. However, there is, as I said, the tendency toward "legalism" (as is popularly understood), but perhaps we should use a different term, such as "rigidity" or "inflexibility" or Pharisaism or, as I have entitled this post, Pharisaic legalism. (Side note: those poor Pharisees get hammered a lot. Almost makes me feel sorry for them.)

Read John 7:45-52 (and some more context would also be good).

NOTE: I am well aware that in the overall context of John, recognizing Pharisaic legalism is not the main point of this passage and that the real issue for John is what this says about Jesus. But the truth is there no less and may be considered a valid, secondary reading of the text. Oh the depth of the riches of the word of God!

Here then, are seven traits that help us recognize when someone is crossing the border into legalistic territory:

Legalists have a specific, personal agenda (v. 45).
Legalists often work together, even if they are of different groups, to achieve a particular agenda (v. 45).
Legalists set themselves up as the standard against which others should be measured, especially in what to believe (vv. 47-48).
Legalists view themselves and their abilities with an air of superiority and put down or dismiss others' beliefs and understandings, especially the "commoners" (v. 49).
Legalists quickly dismiss any question of their beliefs, methods, or motives, even if the question is a legitimate one with reasonable basis (vv. 50-52).
Legalists tend to view any question as personal attack and thus respond with a personal attack or questioning of the person rather than the issue, the classic ad hominem fallacy (v. 52a).
Legalists are absolutely settled in their position, convinced that they are right based on past study--and make no attempt to check and see if the objections are valid (v. 52b).

In the words of Jesus, these type of people "tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger." Just prior to that, He warned, "But do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them" (Matthew 23:4, 3b, resp.). Legalists--even true Christians who tend toward Pharisaism--will exhibit the seven traits above. The reality is they have high standards for themselves and others that they themselves do not and cannot meet. Let me state clearly that there is nothing wrong with having high standards in the Christian life, whether of knowledge, practice, holiness, righteousness, or whatever; in fact, we are called to Christ-likeness, or, in a word, perfection. But the problem comes when you have high standards that you yourself do not meet, but pretend that you do, and lay such burdens on others. To make matters worse, these Pharisaic legalists are really crushing the spirits of those around them with their oppressive demeanor. This is not in keeping with the Spirit of Christ at all, for Scripture says

A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly lit wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice. Isaiah 42:3

Furthermore, He was the one who said, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11: 28-30). Let us all strive to be like our Savior in all things, and not least of all in how we walk with each other on this common path of true faith. To those who have strong views of liberty, let them be sure to walk in holiness and refrain from labeling as a legalist anyone who disagrees with them. To those who tend toward Pharisaism, let them be compassionate, gracious, patient, understanding, and humble and refrain from being too quick to pass condemnatory judgment on the servant of His own Master.

Acts 4:13

2011-03-04T09:57:00.000-06:00

Acts 4:13 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. In the course of sermon prep it came to my mind again. (Prepare to hear it Sunday!) The verse reads

Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.

I love it because it speaks so directly and powerfully to us Christians today. It doesn't matter what you know or how much you know, but it matters who you know! You don't have to have an IQ of >100 or a Ph.D. or even a formal education to know Jesus (or, bless God, to be known by Him). You need not have great education or eloquence to be used by Him. Not at all.

Knowing Jesus, you see, is the only thing that matters ultimately, and He is the only reason for any effectiveness we have. The fact that there are atheistic, apostate "professors" of the Bible in some of this nation's (formerly) finest theological institutions tells us that much. You can be educated to the nines and not know Jesus. You can possess all the wealth of worldly wisdom, but be totally ignorant of His ways. Turning our sights to genuinely saved people, let us consider that you can have all the capabilities and charisma you want, but if you don't have Jesus, you will not be effective and have the power of God on your life.

Why were Peter and John confident? Because they had been with Jesus.
Why were the people amazed at Peter and John? Because they had been with Jesus.
Why were Peter and John effective and powerful? Because they had been with Jesus. (Read the context, esp. v. 14).

So what matters, then? Being with Jesus.

Have you ever met Jesus? Do you know Him? Does He know you and call you His own? If not, you must repent (be genuinely sorry for and turn from your sinful way of living for yourself and turn to God and live for Him) and trust in Jesus Christ alone (believing in who He is and what He has done for you through His substitutionary death and resurrection) for salvation. The truth of this good news (the gospel) is found in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Then hear the words of Romans 10:9-10, 13 on how to be saved.

If you are a Christian, then what about you? Have you been with Jesus? Much? Lately? Are you walking with Him?

"Oh, God, I confess that even though I know this is true, I so often, quickly, and easily fall short. My flesh resists the Spirit. I grow weary and apathetic. I do not love or worship You as I ought. I do not spend the time with Jesus that I should. Forgive, oh Lord, and change my heart. Give me the desire, devotion, and discipline to walk with You. Do all this for my good and Your glory in my life, that all around me may see it and be amazed at You. In Jesus name and for His sake, Amen."

On the Body: We are Christ.

2011-03-02T10:04:00.001-06:00

Do not let the title alarm you. I am not at all suggesting that we are literally one and the same as Christ, that any one individual becomes or channels Christ, that we progress to a state of "the anointed one," that we are gods or become gods, or any heretical notion.

Check out 1 Cor. 12:12:

For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. (The added emphasis is mine.)

Consider also 12:27:

Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. (Emphasis mine)

What does it mean that Christ is one body but many members? Paul might mean this in a literal sense, that Christ is like any other human, having many body parts yet constitutes one body. While that is true, that is not what Paul is really saying, as a cursory look at the context will indicate. No, he is clearly talking about the corporate body of Christ, the ekklesia, the local assembly, the church. So I believe Paul is here speaking mystically or metaphorically.

Paul is enunciating here a doctrine that is dear to himself. Paul teaches that, in some sense, the corporate body of Christ (the church) is the body of Christ, continuing to carry out His work on earth (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27-29, where a wordplay on 'body' is used; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:19). Of course this is not literally true, but mystically true. Christ counts us, the many members of God's family with different gifts and functions, His body on earth. In a very real sense, then, the church (given expression in local assemblies) is the presence of Christ in the world. To put it simply, we really are "the hands and feet of Jesus."

Since this is true, a question immediately comes to mind. How well are we doing what Jesus would be doing? I don't mean we individually, but we corporately. Because of the pervasive individualistic mindset of the Western/American culture, we automatically ask the question more like, "How is my walk with Jesus? What would Jesus have me do? Do I look more like Jesus now? Am I doing what Jesus would have me to do?" These are not wrong questions, and are, in fact, good questions to ask given that we must individually be conformed to the image of Christ. But it misses the point that the church--not any one individual--is the body of Christ.

How well are we doing what Jesus would be doing? When we look at the ministries, programs, activities, and services of our church, is there any resemblance to the ministry of Jesus? Are we being Christ to the world, the hands and feet and mouth of Jesus--doing and serving, going, preaching the kingdom? That must be the measure of our success.

Are My Prayers Being Heard? A Thought on James 5:16

2011-02-22T23:05:00.000-06:00

"Sin separates us from God" is a truth that, while not stated exactly thus, is abundantly attested in Scripture. This is true for both sinners and saints. Sinners (non-Christians, the lost, the unregenerate, unbelievers) are separated from God entirely, now and forever; saints (Christians, the saved, born-again believers) are separated from God in that the Holy Spirit is grieved (Eph. 4:30) and intimate fellowship with God is thus interrupted.

If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear; (Ps. 66:18)

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all day long.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. (Ps. 32:3-4)

So when you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide My eyes from you;
Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen.
Your hands are covered with blood. (Isaiah 1:15)

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden his face from you so that He does not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully. (Psalm 24:3-4)

But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. (2 Chron. 7:19-20)

Those are abundant examples. Just because they're in my head, consider also the Genesis account of the fall of man: they were cast out of the Garden, away from the presence of God. Consider, too, that Jesus was forsaken by God on the cross (Matt. 27:46 par. Mark 15:34) because He was made to be sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). Paul says the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9), and John says something similar (Rev. 21:8). Perhaps most powerful of all is the sentence pronounced by Jesus at the judgment: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).

I hope I've made my point. Sin always separates us from God in some sense, whether sinners or saints. In particular, this is manifest in God's response to our prayers.

Now let us consider James 5:16:

Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

Isn't it interesting to really note the order prescribed here? First there is confession, then prayer for healing. Then the promise is given that the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Because of the word order, this righteous man seems to be not just any Christian (who is, after all, counted righteous through Christ), but in particular the Christian who has confessed sin and is thus righteous (according to God's promise in 1 John 1:7, 9). It is the prayer of a righteous man that can accomplish much.

So now I have to ask the hard question. This hit me square between the eyes the other day--while I was praying, no less. How many of our prayers are doing any good? Or worse, how many of our prayers are even being heard?

Could it be that so little happens in response to our prayers because we are trampling God's courts with our abominable ritualistic offerings by hands covered in blood and filthy lives (see Isaiah 1:10-16)? Clearly God does not care how fervent, frequent, or sincere our prayers are. That's not what will get His attention. He will clearly, mightily answer the prayer offered in faith by a righteous man (and in accordance with His will; see John 15:7; 16:23-24; 1 John 5:14-15).

I'll share with you my story so as to illustrate this with real life. I was in the middle of praying fervently for the healing of someone who needs a miraculous healing. In the middle of the prayer, I found myself drift into sin in my thoughts! Then James 5:16 came to mind and it hit me hard. I pictured myself in the very presence of God taking part in these sinful acts right before His eyes and at the same time beseeching Him for this need on behalf of someone else. I could not even imagine what God would have done in that case, but if I ventured a guess, His face was not even toward me and His hands were over His ears. He cannot look upon or hear any evil at all; it cannot even be in His presence. It was then that I realized that the whole of my efforts and energies were being expended in vain. God was not hearing my prayer--and He certainly wouldn't answer it. Why? My sin got in the way. Then I realized I hadn't even taken time to quiet my soul and ask the Spirit to help me confess my sins that I may ascend into the hill of the LORD with clean hands and a pure heart.

And how often have I done that? How often have I prayed without a second thought and without confession? How many prayers have gone as high as my cranium--or, at best, the ceiling--and bounced right back? What kind of work might God have done in response to my prayers if it were otherwise? What kind of work might God do if a truly righteous person lifts up an effective prayer? I wonder if there are many of these prayers making it to heaven at all.

This is pure speculation, and I realize that the people recorded in Scripture were not perfect saints either, but maybe this is the reason we don't see powerful works of God as we do in Scripture. We love and coddle our sin; we may try to hide it or we might even try to take it openly with us into the throne room of God.

But then there's Psalm 66:18 and James 5:16.

Oh, Lord! Please forgive! Cleanse, O Lord! Apply the blood of Christ to my heart anew; "sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!" Father, forgive my cherishing of sin and give me grace to hate my sin. Help me, please, God, to be a righteous man in your sight, that my prayers may be effective, that you would be pleased, and that your name would be magnified by my life. In Jesus' name--thank you for grace--and for His sake, amen.

My response to the current debate on my Facebook wall re: abortion

2011-02-19T15:25:00.001-06:00

Disclaimer: I know this will be long. I hope people will read it, particularly those presently engaged in the debate on my wall.

    Seeing as I'm the one who's stirred up the pot with my wall post (re: abortion), I feel the need to respond, elaborate, and conciliate. This is especially pressing on my heart given that I seem to have hurt friends I hold dear and have set at odds those of long ago and those of recent days. This also means I now have a personal interest vested, whereas my "unexamined one-liner" (and that is an apt description, by the way) really carried no such strong personal sentiments. Well, that is, apart from my strong conviction that abortion is wrong because I believe it is murder (the unjustified termination of a human life). Originally I was more impressed that Mr. Richards makes such a huge annual salary; honestly, if it had been the Wall Street Journal and I read about some CEO I probably would have posted the same sort of thing. It only heightened the audacity in my mind that he does what he does. Laura is correct in saying that this is the downfall of social media; much is lost. While it is advantageous in many ways, its ubiquity has forever changed--and I would go so far as to say degraded--our communication.

    What I will say up front, however, is that I am not sorry I posted what I did. I initially felt bad and thought of removing it. However, I realized that this is not bad; it is good. The issue is an important and passionate one. It will not go away. We must address it like all other generations and cultures. Those of us who are presently engaged in this debate show that we are wrestling with the issue and all the emotions, convictions, and world views behind it. I believe this shows, more than most other topics, that we are human, for this type of dialogue is necessarily humanitarian.

    I want to respond to some people individually, so I will herein, and generally in the order they appear. Otherwise I'd have to make like 50 comments because of Facebook's length limits.

@Laura
    First, I'm glad you said that abortions are bad.
    Second, You said that "people should spend more time combatting the resulting problem (people having unprotected sex)." Who should do that and how? That is a moral issue that cannot be addressed by a governmental or public organization; that's the domain of religion (from here on out I will say the Church, for obvious reasons if you know me). Otherwise people will scream about "legislating morality." Marilyn is dead on in one of her comments: it is a heart issue, a sin problem, that cannot be corrected by external constraint or education. What's on the inside inevitably gets out.
    Third, you also said we should work harder on combatting the resulting problem rather "than one of the desperate solutions." On the first part I agree, but on the second I disagree. If one of the desperate solutions is wrong (which is my position), then I think we must adamantly combat it. If it is murder (which is my position), then I ask how on earth we could ever simply ignore that. Hence Richard Nuzum's comment (#3).

@Rachel B. (a.k.a. RayeB's)
    Yes, a very safe assumption indeed! I will say that if we changed what they were allowed to do, namely eliminate abortions, it's likely I would be more OK with the organization.

@Jessica
    I disagree. My friend, Will, is spot on in his comment and his analysis of what the Bible lays out for judgment. In fact, the Bible commands Christians to judge in many ways. That said, though it is a matter of nitpicking semantics, at the same time I do agree with you in a limited sense. It is not our place or right. If my judgment/condemnation came from within myself, it would be hypocritical, unfounded, and wrong. However, it is the duty of Christians to declare what God has said. God has already given His judgment in the Bible, so if Christians are standing firm on the word of God and upholding the truths and standards therein, they are not casting their own judgment. They are declaring God's judgment.
    At this point, I will also pose a question to you. I'm sure it will sting, just to warn you. You made this assertion, "Judging is not our place or right." On what do you base such a claim? Can you show me that Scripturally? Or is that just what you think? Whether or not you accept the authority of the Bible, I do. I will respect you if you can meet me on my terms and show me from the source I accept as authoritative where I err. Otherwise, I don't have much respect for unfounded assertions. I find that most people are fond of saying and quick to say, "Judge not, lest ye be judged!" -- in the King James, even! -- but cannot show me where that verse itself appears in the Bible, let alone any other passage that deals with judgment. Almost no one that says such things has even really read the Bible, and that not recently, correctly, or consistently. They are simply parroting what they've heard from others and fitting Scripture to beliefs and sins they cherish.

@Rusty
    Thanks for the information. Here's a news story about it: http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=34424.

@Jessica
    Regarding opening the proberbial can, touché. Let me explain, though, in a twofold way. First, what I really meant was that many of my posts get few comments anyway. Second, I honestly figured most people would either respond with an eye roll and think, "That's just Allen, that fanatic, at it again." and move on or ignore it altogether (which is something I'm inclined to do with hot topics like this).
    You also said that my proverbial can's label was, "Not love or forgiveness." While I see why you said that, I think that's fallacious on a couple of levels. First, it's fallacious on a practical level. It seems that Christians are always accused of not being loving or forgiving at the drop of a hat. Anytime Christians express any firm conviction or negative sentiment, do not speak in a make-everybody-feel-good manner, or fail to tolerate every viewpoint, they are immediately denounced as hate-mongers, bigots, etc. Second, it's fallacious logically. The statement has nothing to do with love or forgiveness. Love and forgiveness are shown to people, not organizations. (I realize that's somewhat tenuous.) Further, however, from a Christian vantage point, not to attempt to intervene or speak out against evil, which will come against the sure judgment of God, is the height of hatred, the polar opposite of love and forgiveness. This is what Will pointed out in his first comment (#9). Even further than that, a statement (scathing though it is) about an organization and its leadership is not a statement about how I would interact with its clientele. I absolutely do think we need to show the love, compassion, and forgiveness of Christ to women who are struggling with abortion (either before or after). But that does not necessitate that I condone an organization that would promote what I stand against.

@William - Well said. I concur.

@Stephen
    Thanks for the info. That's very revealing. To be fair, however, I don't think that the present generation or current leadership can be held responsible for the purposes or functions of those of the past. In that case, Christians today would bear the guilt of the Crusades. That type of thinking, as far as I can tell, is what leads so many people to level that charge against us. Even so, you are right when you later say that "a poisoned seed gives root to a poisoned tree." But I still maintain that because Planned Parenthood is not a eugenics organization, it's unfair to use that against them.

@Jessica
    I can't say much more than Will and I have already said about the judgment issue. Oh! Actually, yes I would. Everyone judges. Any amount of moral conviction necessitates it. You judge others just like I do. Even if it's unexpressed, you have to admit that. Further, if it were wrong for us to make judgments, we couldn't even have a legal system. Is it also wrong for us to judge murderers, rapists, child molesters, and thieves? How can we put people in prison, especially if they acted the way they did as a "desperate solution" (cf. Laura's comment, #1).
    Also, I'd just like to point out that you seem to be casting some pretty strong judgment on me and my motives. You said, "I'm just asking if that's what you've been called to do, what's the point of ministering to sinners when you'd rather judge them." Call it what you want, but you're not asking anything; you're making an accusation against me, namely that I'd rather judge sinners than minister to them.

@Rachel K.
    I don't think this is proof positive that we cannot (or are not) still "live side by side, debating long into the night, without any fear that disagreement meant anything more than a differing viewpoint." We may not be debating long into the night or doing so face-to-face, but we are still doing the same thing, it seems. Of course terms and personalities have changed. They still are clearly differing viewpoints--they always have been and always will be. But because of the nature of the topic, it invokes deep passions and convictions; it's an issue that cannot be a simple "you say tom-ay-to, I say tom-aw-to" differing viewpoint. What's at stake matters, so by necessity it becomes like this.
    As to "cheap, unexamined one-liners to underscore judgmental viewpoints," I admit that you are right. I didn't really think about the post; it was an impulsive post out of shock. Given what I believe and think about Planned Parenthood's work, the post came out very terse. Of course I realize that PP does more than just abortions.   I do not mean that the president himself is the one performing the abortions. He is being paid to lead a very large organization--that just so happens to, in my rhetoric, kill babies. The fact is that explaining all that and discussing the merits/demerits of PP does not carry the same punch as the short one-liner. It admittedly does underscore a viewpoint. As to the judgmental part, I refer you back to what's already been said by me and others. I would only like to reiterate here (hopefully without too much redundancy) that I don't see what's judgmental about it. I'm not attacking a woman who is considering having or recovering from an abortion. I guess you can say I am attacking that man--hence the unexamined part. But the issue is this: is what the man leads the organization to do wrong or not? If it is wrong (and, obviously I believe it is), then it is not judgmental to speak against it. Obviously Mr. Richards (and perhaps some of you) and I disagree on whether it is wrong or not. But if it is wrong, then it is not judgmental to speak against it. Because I believe firmly that abortion is wrong, that's what I'm doing. I'm speaking from conviction, not a desire to slander anyone in particular. The whole concept is wrong, and that this man and a whole organization is involved only necessitates that they be mentioned. What do you expect me to do? Be silent? I have as much right and responsibility to say bold, hard things as do my opponents. They do the same thing. I think you recognize as much, given that you said "we are all victims" of these cheap, unexamined one-liners.
    "I miss the children we used to be" sounds nice. But the reality is that we grow up--and we must. The Bible does speak of the value of being child-like. Jesus commended (commanded, you might say) child-like faith. Paul tells the Corinthians to be infants in evil. However, he also tells them to be mature in their thinking. He also says in that first letter that when he became a man, he put away childish things. But you are clearly referring to the way we used to interact. For that, I say the same thing I said above. I don't think we've changed that much. I held these convictions even in the Academy days (even if they waffled and I have grown in faith since then). By the way, let's not let nostalgia get the best of us. I recall often having said "cheap, unexamined one-liner" type things, for which I had to be chastised and corrected at times by virtue of more mature thinking and discussion. Right?
    Though this is from a different source, I want to address one other thing. I fail to see how speaking from my convictions does not make the world a better place. Remember that I equate abortion with ending a human life (or, as I strongly put it before, killing babies). I do not see how embracing that act, either actively or passively, makes the world a better place. If abortion is murder, the world is not a better place for it; as Edmond Burke said, evil will triumph when good men do nothing. In some sense, the children we were are forever lost. We are not who we were in many ways. People grow up and change. But on the contrary, I would argue that in essence, we are still the same and can still interact in the ways we did then, even if positions/viewpoints, beliefs, and convictions have changed. For example, I may hold more tenaciously that abortion is wrong now than I did then, but the way I would interact with you about it will still be in the same manner (what I hope is thoughtful, gracious, polite, amicable, etc.).

@Laura
    I suppose it is possible that people can talk about these things without bringing Scripture or religion into it. But you know what I notice? The ones I see doing that are all for it. Why not? If Scripture, religion, and morality don't come into it, whence the foundation? I can opine all day long about what I think is right--but I will be tossed about like a wave of the sea. If my foundation is within myself, based upon what I think or feel at the time, I'm in trouble because I know how fickle I am.
    But honestly, that is a ludicrous idea. What I am about to say was handled well by Stephen in his second comment (#27). You cannot separate people and religion. I cannot think of many issues where this is more apparent than the abortion debate. Religion, I would argue, is part of the human condition. To try to eliminate it is to seek to dehumanize us. For those who are truly religious (or committed to their faith/convictions/beliefs, however you say it), their beliefs are the foundation of everything they do; their world view informs everything. That is clearly the case with me--and with everyone. To say that you don't have to bring Scripture or religion into it would relegate to absolute silence anyone who has moral convictions on this issue based on a faith system. How on earth can you say it's not a religious thing?! Of course it is! This is an issue of human life and of morality. It's not anything if it's not a religious issue--and certainly not just a governmental one! The fact that there are so many differing beliefs and religious ideals shows how precisely it is a religious issue. The level of difficulty bound up in the debate due to differences in religious belief should not demand that it not be addressed in that way. Just because it's hard doesn't mean we should avoid it.
    You said, "We are not saying you should forget one wrong for the sake of a right, but working in black/white (all right/all wrong) viewpoints is like working with blinders on." Really? Does God work with blinders on? Because I'm pretty sure it's black-and-white to Him. I'm going to quote an earlier statement again, where you said, "Yes, it's bad that they do abortions, but I think people should spend more time combatting the resulting problem." And in your later comments, you said, "We are not saying you should forget one wrong for the sake of a right." But with all due respect, that sounds like exactly what you are saying. To say that they do abortions, which is bad, and yet to commend them for all the other good stuff they do leads me to two difficulties. First, if they cannot get human life right, I'm a lot less inclined (disinclined, in fact) to care much about other stuff they say. Second, that's like saying that there's a multipurpose vitamin tablet. It contains a lot of good stuff that will do many good things for your body. But, oh, by the way, it also contains 1% arsenic. It's just a small thing, after all... you can just ignore that arsenic because of all the good stuff in the rest of the pill. It's related to what Stephen said: "a poisoned seed will give root to a poisoned tree."
    As to casting the first stone, sure. Fine. So what? When I say things like that, I am not saying that I am sinless. Nor am I necessarily saying that they are evil agents of the devil. For instance, if there is sin in someone's life that I know to be a Christian, I'm going to "cast a stone at them" (if that's how pointing out sin must be described--unbiblically, by the way) because I am going to point it out and seek to correct them. But that we are all sinners does not--cannot--preclude us from pointing out that we are sinners or pointing out sin when we see it. And it certainly doesn't prevent God from doing that. If God says abortion is wrong, then I think we've got bigger problems to worry about than casting stones.
    Finally, don't think that I hate PP exclusively; it's just the catalyst for the comment I made. I'm an equal opportunity abortion hater. I oppose all abortion providers.

@Marilyn - Bravo.

@Nathan - Thanks. I concur.

Well, there you go. For what it's worth. Hope some people actually read this. Thanks for the lively discussion thus far.

So who's the stronger/weaker brother again? Romans 14

2011-02-11T22:42:00.000-06:00

I've always had trouble keeping them straight, especially in real life problems (um, I mean, applications). I decided that it would be helpful to go through the text and pick out their characteristics. So I did, making a contrasting list (since the terms "weak" and "strong" only have relative meanings to each other). It was helpful for me. I hope it proves helpful for you, too. Here is the fruit of my labor (sorry for the formatting; viewing them in side-by-side columns as I can in Word is preferable, but I don't know how to do it here):

Strong Brother

· Strong view of Christian liberty (2, 5)

· Tends to disregard weaker brother (3)

· Tends to have a clear conscience (14)

· Tends to downplay or disregard weaker brother’s views (15)

· His actions are wrong if they offend the weak brother (20-21)

· Must walk confidently in his own faith (22)

Weak Brother

· Weak view of Christian liberty (2, 5)

· Tends to judge the stronger brother (3)

· Tends to have a cautious conscience (14)

· Tends to slander stronger brother’s choices (16)

· [No equivalent present]

· Must not violate his conscience (23)

Experience Is a Faulty Guide

2011-02-05T10:24:00.000-06:00

According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it. (Job 4:8 NASB)

These words come from Eliphaz, one of Job's friends, in his first discourse, wherein he reproves Job. Let me sum his thoughts up for you: "Job, you must have done something wrong. No man is perfectly just before God. Neither are you. That's why you're suffering." Talk about a vote of confidence, huh? Thanks a lot, so-called friend.

What I want to point out from this text is the first phrase in v. 8. Eliphaz said, "According to what I have seen...." Eliphaz's problem was that he was making his experience the basis of his understanding and wisdom; he was relying on his experience as the foundation for truth.*

The problem with that? He was wrong. His experience misled him. Job was not unrighteous, nor had he sinned at this point (see 1:1, 8, 22; 2:10).

Many (most?) people rely on their experience as the basis for truth. Indeed, this is especially prevalent in evangelical Christian circles, and some groups and denominations in particular, where it seems experientialism has become the basis for a life of faith. Emotionalism, "feeling," and impressionism has become the reigning guide in the Christian life. (Don't get me started on that; that's another, longer post!)

Let us learn from Eliphaz's mistake. His experience misled him to a wrong judgment and therefore, I believe, to sin against Job and against God (by virtue of his untrue speech). The problem was not that Eliphaz looked to his experience, it was that he looked only at his experience but not at the revelation of God.*

We, however, have that benefit. We are not left to look to our experience as some uncertain, fuzzy, faint guide as to what might be right. We have the full, final revelation of God in His word, the Holy Bible (see Rom. 1:2; 2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:1-2; 1 Pet. 1:10-12; 2 Pet. 1:20-21 for starters; don't forget all the "Thus says the LORD" occurrences in the OT!).

Ever read Psalm 119? The whole thing is a beautiful poem about the excellence of the word of God. Here are some verses of truth from Psalm 119 for today's post:

Forever, O LORD,
Your word is settled in heaven. (v. 89)

From Your precepts I get understanding;
Therefore I hate every false way. (v. 104)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path. (v. 105)

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments (v. 176).

Finally, I'd like to close with the words of a hymn entitled "How Firm a Foundation":

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word.

*END NOTE: I do not mean to imply that our experience is altogether wrong, bad, or untrustworthy, nor am I saying that it is wrong in itself to look to our experience. Experience can be a valid, useful guide and source of wisdom for decisions in life. After all, if something has generally been time-tested and proven consistently, there is warrant for paying attention to it. In fact, that's a specific type of reasoning called inductive reasoning, in which we construct a general principle from many specific instances (which gives rise to such things as scientific theories and even laws). I digress a bit. Again, Eliphaz was not wrong to bring his experience into consideration, but he was wrong to make experience the basis for truth. Experience may be a useful guide, but it is not an infallible, authoritative guide as Scripture is. Anytime our experience contradicts Scripture, our experience must be rejected and we must submit to the word of the all-knowing God.

Focusing on the Real Issues - Matt. 22:23-33

2011-02-02T09:32:00.000-06:00

Because it's so long, I will not post it here, but please read Matthew 22:23-33. That's the source of my thoughts this morning.

Often in evangelism (or other spiritual conversation), people will ask all kinds of extraneous questions or bring up "rabbit trail" issues. Some of them seem like good questions for which we may even have the answer. I think we should avoid trying to chase down every rabbit and answer every question they have. I think we should focus on the larger, more critical, essential issues of faith (or lack thereof) in their life. Why? More than for practical reasons (time, confusion, etc.), Scripture shows us that Jesus focused on the real issue behind the funny scenarios and questions that were asked Him.

Consider this passage, for example. The Sadducees questioned Jesus (probably insincerely). They did not believe the resurrection, so to justify their unbelief, they posited a ridiculous scenario to Jesus (who they obviously knew did believe in the resurrection). They were asking the wrong question from the wrong motives. They were worried not about the reality of the resurrection, but some extraneous matter of details about how the resurrection could possibly work (namely how spouses are chosen).

It is true that Jesus answered their extraneous question (vv. 29-30). Notice that He did so quickly and authoritatively. But then what did He do? He moved right on into the real issue:

But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. (vv. 31-32)

We can learn much from this. "But regarding the resurrection of the dead..." The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection (v. 23). Jesus knew this. It seems to me that was a bigger deal to Him--it was a matter of foundational truth, an essential they needed to believe. So He moves quickly and directly to address that. Notice He did not wait so they could ask another question. He did not keep talking about marriage in the resurrection. He went straight to the real, larger issue at hand, the big matter of faith they ignored.

Notice also that in His speaking to them, He used Scripture. He also used reasoning, but that reasoning was based on the truth of Scripture. What were the results? Astonished crowds (v. 33).

Here, then, are some principles for us when involved in spiritual conversation.

Don't let others distract you with irrelevant, extraneous questions--especially if you sense they are insincere or distraction tactics.
You may address their question, but do so concisely, directly, and authoritatively.
Use their question to determine the real, larger faith issue behind the question. Use their irrelevant questions as a segue to speak about the "behind the scenes" real question.
Focus on the main issue. Do not allow them to "steamroll" you with an endless tirade of questions. Always bring the conversation back around to the real, deeper issues.
Use Scripture. Prove your answers with Scripture. Reason with them from Scripture. It doesn't matter if they accept it or not. The Word of God has the power (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16; Isa. 55:11). The result will be astonished crowds.

Jesus, Our Defender

2011-01-12T11:22:00.002-06:00

First read Matthew 12:1-8.

What a beautiful passage this is! It shows how our Lord Jesus Christ will be our defender! Let us note a few thoughts.

He descended to walk with His disciples (v. 1). Note we see Jesus, the Lord of glory and of all creation, walking through some grainfields with His disciples. A beautiful picture of the friend we have in Jesus! He goes through the everyday, common places with us.
He defended His disciples from the accusers (vv. 2-5). What a glorious thought, that though men and devils may accuse me before the throne of God, Jesus will come to my defense!
He declared His disciples innocent (v. 7). His conclusion was that they had wrongly condemned the innocent. What was the reason for their innocence? They were walking with Christ (v. 1)--that's what a disciple is, after all. Though it is true that the strictest interpretation of the Law would have condemned them, the fact that they were walking with the Lord of the Law (v. 8) was more important than walking by the letter of the Law as understood by a bunch of "lawyers."
He designated His disciples priests (vv. 5-7). The priests broke the Sabbath and were innocent (v. 5); the disciples are declared innocent (v. 7). Therefore Jesus must consider His disciples as priests to the Lord. But notice their (our) priesthood is not based on some earthly lineage or building, but is found in Christ (v. 6).

The overwhelming point of all this, however, rings in my ears. I wonder if Jesus has descended into your life to walk with you. I wonder if He walks with you day by day, as a friend would. Are you His friend? Does He know you? Jesus' defense of His own, declaring them innocent, well, that only happens for those who are His own. Do you belong to Jesus? Does He consider you a priest to Himself, the Lord of the Law, or are you trying to keep your own law to be found innocent?

On the Day of Judgment, I have an Advocate! Do you? If so, rejoice! If not, repent! Believe in Christ, plead for and receive His mercy, and walk with Him.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. (Heb. 2:18)

Therefore He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Heb. 7:25)

Heaven Is Not Just for You Alone

2011-01-01T21:25:00.000-06:00

[3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. (Colossians 1:3-5a ESV, emphasis added)

Wow. Do you see the connectedness between verses four and five? Particularly striking is the connection between the hope of heaven and the love for all the saints. Once again my individualistic, all-too-often-self-centered faith was hit in the face. I typically think of heaven as my reward, the place Jesus is preparing for me, the place where I will see His face, the end of a long, arduous journey of my faith and struggle, the goal and destination of my individual walk with Christ.

I realized tonight that I tend to think of heaven the same way I think of my walk with Christ: I have a personal relationship with Christ, one that will continue throughout eternity. More often than not, the heavenly scene I see in my mind's eye (apart from the glances in Scripture) is comprised of Jesus and me. Nobody invades my daily "quiet time" with God; in fact, I try to keep it that way. I seek God alone--without other people around, when it's quiet and lonely, no phones, no computer, etc. So I guess I expect it to be that way in heaven as well... my relationship with Christ, cultivated so long on earth, will go on unchanged. It's my hope of heaven.

Are you like me? Do you think like this?
(I'll not accuse anyone, but I'm guessing that you probably do. It's the prevailing mindset of Americans, a mindset that has come into Christianity and into our reading of Scripture. )

But tonight, yet again, the corporate emphasis and focus of the Bible (particularly the NT) has shone through to my mind and heart. Let's note a few things, hoping to (re)learn some lessons along the way. Just for the record, all the personal pronouns and verbs in this text are plural (in modern Southern: "y'all" instead of "you").

NOTE: If you want the short version, jump to the last two paragraphs.

First, let us note the cause of their love.
The love the Colossians had for all the saints was predicated upon the hope laid up for them in heaven. They have a hope of heaven, therefore they love all the saints. That's weird, isn't it, at least on first glance? John's first epistle emphasizes a love for the saints as a surefire test that someone actually possesses the hope of heaven, but here Paul reverses that. Their hope of heaven led them to love all the saints. If you read on through v. 6, you will find that they heard the gospel and understood the grace of God in truth. I guess it's because they realized that any and all saints are only that by the grace of God. They realized that all saints were wretched, deplorable, helpless, hell-bound sinners that God graciously saved and gave them hope--the hope of heaven! Therefore, they realized that everybody together, all the saints, have the same hope of heaven and will be there rejoicing together when that hope is realized.

Second, let us note the scope of their love.
They loved all the saints. It didn't matter if they had never met them (as was the case with Paul and Timothy); they loved them. The lesson for us is this: no matter what differences may exist in theology, location, appearance, ethnicity, socio-economic class, personality, style of music, liturgy--whatever the difference--if we have good reason to believe a person is a fellow saint, we must love them and treat them as fellow heirs of that hope of heaven. Even if we never meet saints that live across the globe, we are to love them--and I think that means in real, tangible ways (not necessarily or exclusively trying to feel some emotion).

Third, let us note the cause of their faith (at least partially).
Their faith in Christ, as well as their love for the saints--and note well the two are inextricably constructed here and in all Scripture--was because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. I just want to say at this point that it is perfectly true that God Himself is the focus and goal of all things. We should worship, obey, and love Him simply because of who He is. There are some that say, as I have said in times past, that if you come to Christ for any other reason than His worthiness, you might need to check your motives and your salvation. While it is unfortunately true that many cheapen and even pervert the gospel by focusing the spotlight on man instead of on Christ, it is not a wrong motive (Scripturally speaking) to believe in Christ because of the hope of heaven. Heaven is not the end, it is the means to the end, because heaven is where God is. But even so, based on this verse I believe it is legitimate to use heaven in our evangelistic efforts.

I've been rambling on way too long. What's the point of all this? I had to remember tonight a couple of things. First, the focus of the Christian life in Scripture is corporate. I need to get away from an individualistic, "me-and-Jesus-doing-it-alone" mindset and M.O. We need each other. We are a family--all of us saints. Second, I remembered that all my fellow saints will be in heaven! Heaven is, again, not about me and Jesus, but about God and all His children. The pictures of heaven in Revelation portray throngs, multitudes, corporate worship. Heaven is not about me seeing God; it's about God's presence with His people, who together worship Him forever and ever.

This makes me realize that I must strive to really love and live with (and within) the body of Christ. The fact is, if you're my brother or sister in Christ, I'm going to be with you in eternity. Might as well get along with, worship, and live the Christ-life with you now. In short, it reminds me (or, I should say, us) to "be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3).

Worship v. Entertainment

2010-12-14T09:22:00.001-06:00

Yes, here is yet another quote from David Hansen. This man's writing is so good! Pastors, if you haven't, you might want to read this book.

Maintaining worship as a vertical dialogue with God in which we eschew entertainment and press our minds and bodies into service is a battle against one of the public's deepest felt needs. ... Worship as entertainment, defined as the ritual excitement of the central nervous system to temporarily relieve boredom, is a short-cut to the believer's soul-deep satisfaction of serving God through vertically oriented worship.

David Hansen, The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 73.

"Ladder Climbers Destroy Churches"

2010-12-14T09:08:00.001-06:00

The following is a quote from David Hansen in The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers, p. 69:

There is a crisis in the small churches in our country. Many of these churches are weak, ingrown and damaged. Many do not trust pastors. They have never known a pastor's love; they have only known a pastor's lust. They have been simply rungs on the climb to success. These churches are so accustomed to being used by pastors that they never learn how to love a pastor. They have been courted and jilted time and time again. They learn not to trust. They punish pastors. Pastors willing to engage small churches in long-term, substantial ministry can teach these churches to love and trust pastors again, but it's hard work.

Wow. Right on.

Lord, help me. Drive away pride, selfish ambition, and lust for success, honor, and applause. Help me honestly not to be a ladder climber. Give me a pastor's heart, oh Lord. Help me to live life with the members of your church, to pour my life out for them. Give me a genuine love for people. Please help me to really be a devoted, loyal pastor where I am as long as You will--and help me to be OK with that. Help me to see clearly and not to give into the temptation to cut and run when it arises. God, do all this for Your name's sake and the good of Your people. In Jesus' name, amen.

He goes on to later say (p. 71) something else with which I identify:

I accept these truths about the pastoral ministry and about myself:
I have to choose between ladder climbing and love.
I have in me the desire to climb ladders and to love.
I must live in constant repentance for my desire to climb ladders and in constant turning toward the God of love.

A Hierarchy of Trinitarian Authority - Rev. 1:1-2

2010-12-11T13:54:00.000-06:00

In Trinitarian theology, we must grapple with the tension between the one nature or essence of God and the three persons of God (the italicized terms are the best words we have to describe what we mean and have sufficed since the Council of Nicea in 325 AD). More particularly, we have to wrestle with what we mean by the three persons of God and how each One can be completely independent and yet totally unified. Certain questions, prompted by specific Scriptures, raise this issue to the forefront. Not surprisingly, the heretical critics of Christianity, whether theistic or atheistic, love to bring these up.

One such example is Jesus' words regarding His knowledge (or, better said, lack of knowledge) regarding the end times. He says, for example, in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (cf. parallels and other places). They object, "How can the Father and the Son be one if Jesus does not know these things? How can Jesus be divine?"

The issue has been discussed down through the centuries and solid theologians have come to some good conclusions on the matter. The distinction between the persons is one of function or role, not essence or nature. In other words, when dealing with the relationship within the Trinity, we assert that Scripture clearly teaches some form of subordination among the Godhead. But it is a functional subordination, not an essential subordination. Fancy theology terms, huh? In other words, then, we mean that no one Being of the Trinity is inferior to the other, but that they do exercise specific roles that are distinct. And this, of course, completely voluntarily and in perfect unity. While their roles are distinct, we maintain that the three Persons of the Godhead are completely one in essence--in their nature (including all their attributes), purpose, will, and so on.

As a brief side note, let me say that it is not my purpose in writing this to defend the Trinity. Creeds and scores of books and articles have been written by people far more qualified and capable than I that do so very well. As far as I am concerned, I think Scripture defends itself on the issue, clearly and abundantly testifying to the Tri-unity of the one true, living God whom we worship. Assuming that, I will go no further on the issue of the essential unity and equality of the three Persons of the Godhead, but turn my attention to my original purpose (yes, all this has been a foundational introduction to my real purpose in writing... don't you love my verbosity?!) in writing, which is to provide an example (well, probably examples) in Scripture of the apparent functional subordination within the Trinity. Of course this discussion is not complete without a discussion of the kenosis doctrine, that is, the teaching of Christ's emptying Himself in His Incarnation and what that means. But I'll not do that here, either. Suffice it to say that I do not believe Christ gave up any of His divine attributes, only the free and total use of them; He limited Himself in some ways in the Incarnation--and by virtue of His role as God the Son.

Revelation 1:1-2 (NASB)

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Notice, first of all, that there is no contradiction in Scripture. In Matthew, Jesus said He didn't know, but only the Father. So here we see God giving to Jesus Christ the knowledge. Now it is His to reveal to His bond-servants.

Notice, second, the order: God --> Jesus Christ --> His angel --> His bond-servant John --> (the saints [us]). I intend to convey a couple of things in pointing this out.

There is clearly a flow of authority and commission. So we are justified in saying there is a definitive authority structure within the Trinity. (Again, I do not believe this has to do with their person but their role because of the abundant testimony of Scripture as to their equality.) Further, this authority structure is still in place, even though Christ is now exalted. It seems, then, that this authority structure is definitive of the persons of the Trinity because it seems to be an eternally-existent subordination (see the discussion of 1 Cor. 15 below).
Notice that such authority flows all the way down, ultimately to us. Our position provides two further reminders.

We are at the bottom of the proverbial food chain. We are the recipients of God's revelation, and as such our responsibility is to receive, believe, and obey it.
Thus we are not higher than any other human being. We do not have recipients like the others in that list of authority. There is no one below us over whom we can lord any authority. We can only declare God's received revelation to others on the same playing field as us. Our only authority is derived, but it is derived straight from God the Father Himself (see John 20:21). We do have authority in declaring the gospel, but the power is not us, but the Word itself. "Evangelism is," to quote a cliche church phrase, "one poor beggar telling another beggar where to find bread."

This distinction in role and functional subordination of authority is delineated in 1 Corinthians 15, when it speaks of Christ's resurrection and its implications for now and the eschaton (the last days, the end of the ages). Consider these verses:

         24      then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
         25      For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
         26      The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
         27      For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.
         28      When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

The Father is not put in subjection under Christ, but Christ is number two, now given authority to rule and reign all things as God. At the end of days, Christ will turn over all this back to the Father--and here we understand the text to say He does so willingly--because the Son has accomplished His role in God's redemptive plan. God the Son is even once again--and now visibly before all our eyes--subjected to the Father, "so that God may be all in all." I haven't studied this at all, let alone the Greek text, but I think it probably could be translated, as are other similar or identical Pauline phrases, "so that God may be all in every way." In other words, God will be seen to be the perfect consummation--that is, the whole point--of everything, no matter how you look at Him. This would include the functional subordination within the Trinity, for God has perfect relationships even within Himself, a fact for which we will give Him glory.

While I dare not try herein (or ever?) to fully explain or definitively state the role(s) of God the Son, I will conclude by stating a very simplistic, brief view as to how this functional subordination within the Godhead is arranged. Here, in grossly general terms, limited only to God's redemptive purpose, is how I think this functional subordination in the Trinity works. You'll have to think of specific applications and Scripture on your own. Enough said. Here:

God the Father purposes and plans salvation.
God the Son secures that salvation.
God the Spirit applies that salvation.

In conclusion, the subordination of the Son to the Father, and the Spirit to the Father and the Son, would be governed by those roles. That's what each of the Persons does, and so they each function however it pleases the infinite mind of the Triune God. Whatever "limits" or differing roles each Being may have, it does not make any One of them inferior to the other or any less divine. It is simply them carrying out their role in their unified purpose and plan (which gets at the unity and equality of their nature or essence), a plan the infinite mind of the Truine God has always had from eternity past. Said shortly, it's just the way it is; this is simply how God has revealed Himself to us, even if we cannot fully comprehend or explain it.

A Great Pastoral Prayer from Scripture

2010-12-11T12:36:00.002-06:00

May this ever be my pastoral prayer and the cry of my heart:

The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of disciples,
That I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
Isaiah 50:4

The Surgical Healing of the Gospel

2010-12-11T10:34:00.000-06:00

The following is a beautiful quote by David Hansen in his book, The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers and a great reminder for all Christians, pastors, and evangelists:

The call to repent assaults the Old Adam in us: the life of the flesh, our involvement in the sinful structures of this world, our stubborn refusal to yield to God's will. We cherish our sin, we clutch it, it kills us but we love it. The gospel demands that we choose life, rejecting sin and its ungodly demands. So the love of God in the gospel works like a surgeon. Cutting out sin's cancer, with pain like death, the gospel heals.

David Hansen, The Art of Pastoring: Ministry Without All the Answers (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 38-9.

The Advent of the Messiah - A Message for Today

2010-12-07T13:46:00.003-06:00

Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.
Say to those with anxious heart,
"Take courage, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance;
The recompense of God will come,
But He will save you."
Isaiah 35:3-4

The context here is the Advent of the Messiah. If you are exhausted and feeble today from trying to earn your own salvation, look to Christ. HE will save you. If you are weary, feeble, burdened, tried, or anxious, Christian, remember the day of God's vengeance is coming. You will be vindicated; foes will be defeated. But HE will save you.

Belief Is Shown through Obedience

2010-11-17T10:41:00.002-06:00

However, they did not listen, but stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the LORD their God. They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. ... (2 Kings 17:14-15a)

All the time when sharing the gospel I hear people say, "Oh, I'm fine. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus." And almost always, everything in me wants to say, "I don't believe you. No you don't!"

I don't believe people who say they're Christians but do not live--or at least sincerely strive to live--in obedience to the Word of God. Neither should you. Did you see the connection in the verses above? They did not believe in the LORD their God as proven by their disobedience, tantamount to rejection of His covenant.

This is also attested in the New Testament. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matt. 7:16, 20). He also said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15). He also asked, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46). In Romans, Paul uses the stark contrast of obedience/disobedience as a way of describing true believers versus non-believers (see Romans 6:16-18; 11:30-31). In Ephesians 2:2, he speaks of the sons of disobedience, which we (Christians) formerly were--and says a similar thing in Titus 3:3. Perhaps the most direct of all is found in Titus 1:16:

They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Demons "believe in" God (James 2:19). Demons were the first to acknowledge who Jesus really was (e.g., see Mark 1:24). But they certainly aren't born again believers in Christ (nor could they be, by the way). They don't obey Him! See, that's the kicker: obedience demonstrates true belief. Hence James 2:14-26, which teaches us a vocalized faith that is not lived out is really dead, that is to say, no faith at all.

All the pages of Scripture stand to teach us that genuine faith is always lived out. Are you one who calls yourself a Christian but "just isn't living how you're supposed to right now"? I'd be cautious about calling yourself a Christian, then. Disobedience shows a lack of true faith, which means you've rejected His covenant. In today's terms, that means you've rejected Christ (the New Covenant in His blood). Don't fool yourself! You're no Christian. You must repent and turn to Christ, surrendering your life of sin and giving it all to Him in full obedience. If you repent and believe, and consequently your life changes, then you're a Christian.

For the genuine believer, take comfort. If your sin grieves you to the point of repentance, it's a good sign (2 Cor. 7:9-10). And don't forget 1 John 1:9.

"The Apple Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree"

2010-11-16T13:57:00.000-06:00

Reading in the book(s) of Kings, I cannot escape how Israel had one bad king after another. The constant refrain seems to be on the order of, "[So-and-so] did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel sin." Who was Jeroboam, you ask? The first king of Israel (the Northern Kingdom during the division, vis. Judah, the Southern Kingdom). He set the stage--and the kings after him followed in his footsteps.

This impresses upon me the truth that once a direction is set, it's hard to change it. Or, put another way, it's hard to stop a moving train. Or turn a massive ship. Or whatever the saying is. This is why it's so crucial to start right from the get-go.

This is a perfect example of what I think is the meaning of the Biblical concept of "the sins of the fathers shall be visited on the children to the third and fourth generations." In modern terms? "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Even so, there is hope! The cycle can be broken. Just because they were overwhelmingly bad, that does not preclude a good one from rising up. And the corollary can also be seen in the case of Judah. There were several good kings in Judah, but once in a while there was a bad one (such as Ahaz, 2 Kings 16).

The conclusion? "Fate" isn't sealed. No one is absolutely destined or bound to be what their predecessors were. But odds are pretty favorable towards it.

The Certainty of the Word of God

2010-11-16T13:47:00.000-06:00

This is the word of the LORD which He spoke to Jehu, saying, "Your sons to the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel." And so it was. 2 Kings 15:12 (NASB; emphasis mine)

Check out 2 Kings 10:30 for the original promise. Don't you just love that? "And so it was." Yep, just like every promise God has ever made, this one came to pass. Exactly as God said.

So what about those future promises of God? Behooves you to think. What about this one?

because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)

Even therein, we see proof yet again--and a promise of future coming judgment. Are you ready?

Jesus Does Not Promote Cannibalism After All!

2010-11-12T12:22:00.001-06:00

John 6:26-58 has been a troubling passage for me for a long time. I pray forgiveness if this comes across as sacrilegious, but I have always thought, "Jesus said some weird, confusing things." I'm just being honest. Eat My flesh? Drink my blood? Was he, as one comedian blasphemed, a cannibal? I knew, of course, that I didn't agree with the Roman Catholic interpretation of the passage and the consequent doctrine of transubstantiation. Having read this passage again recently, my eyes were opened to an understanding I'd never had before. Actually I've always held the view I propound here, but I couldn't defend it based on the text well. (Don't judge me! Yes, I am that thick-headed and slow.) I can't stand it anymore; I must share it with you in hopes that some who wonder and wrestle with this apparently mysterious, confusing passage will benefit also. The following verses (51-58) are especially confusing and under consideration herein:

"I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh."
Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever. (John 6:51-58, NASB)

What's the number one rule of interpretation? Say it with me: "Context is king." The second is like it: "Scripture interprets Scripture." We must consider the context in all its facets, including the immediate context, the larger context (preceding and succeeding), the authorial and literary context (especially John's style of writing), and the historical context. [Editorial note: I have decided not to explain at length many of these facets of context due (again) to considerations of time and space. They inform my conclusions, and if you would like, I will clarify what I mean by each one in regards to this article.]

This dialogue between Jesus and the Jews immediately follows the account of the feeding of the 5,000. There was a large crowd and they had just eaten real bread and been filled. So, in typical fashion, Jesus, seeing the large crowd, says something particularly difficult and awful to weed out those who would be true followers. "Eat My flesh" and "Drink My blood" certainly qualify, don't you think?

The beginning of the pericope (look it up, slacker! I'll help with this link.) sets the stage. Go back and read vv. 26-29. (I am no longer going to quote all the verses I cite herein for reasons of time and space.) In those verses, Jesus accuses them of following Him because their bellies were filled with physical bread rather than their hearts with belief, and tells them to work "for the food which endures to eternal life" (v. 27). In response, they ask what the works of God are, to which He responds that it is to "believe in Him whom He has sent" (v. 29).

That's a crucial, albeit subtle, connection He just made between working and the food; work leads to food. Physical work leads to physical food which leads to physical life, but the work of God is a spiritual work, namely belief in Christ. Presumably, then, there is a spiritual food (and thus a spiritual life) connected. It's a beautiful parallel, but it's not explicit yet, only presumption. Is there further warrant for such a view?

Next the Jews ask for another sign and cite the manna (vv. 30-31). In response, Jesus corrects them that God is the one who gives the true bread which brings life, namely Jesus. This becomes more apparent in v. 35 where some further clarification is given by way of the literary device of parallelism.

Then Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life;
he who comes to Me will not hunger,
and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

Jesus is now explicitly identified as the spiritual food (see italics above). There is an important parallel within this verse and a parallel that must be connected back to a previous verse, namely verse 29. The parallelism within the verse tells us that coming to Jesus and believing in Jesus are the same thing (bold text above) and that the results (no hunger or thirst) are considered equivalent (underlined text above). The connection between this verse and verse 29 is crucial, however. What was the work of God? It was to "believe in Him [Jesus]." Don't miss this! What Jesus is saying is that the spiritual work of belief leads to the spiritual food of Jesus Himself. So far we've made the first connection, but does the text go on to make the second connection between spiritual food and spiritual life?

Verse 40 and later verses make that connection for us. Verse 40 says, "Everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life...." Remember, belief is the spiritual work (v. 29). That leads to the spiritual food of Jesus being ingested (v. 35). Consequently, spiritual life is imparted (v. 40 cf. 47). Jesus repeats this reasoning with the spiritual/physical contrast in vv. 47-50.

He still says the hard, weird statements about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. And He says them in physical terms, with no immediate indication that He's referring to a spiritual act. But He clearly is because of the setup He has just given. Constantly bearing in mind these parallels (which I'll show explicitly below) prove it.

My conclusion is that such statements by Jesus are metaphorical, Jewish circumlocutions (look it up here). In plain terms, when He tells people to eat His flesh and drink His blood, He's really telling them, "Believe in Me." He's asking them to do that spiritual work of belief, which leads to them (metaphorically) ingesting--taking in--Jesus as their spiritual food, their source of life. See the inter-verse parallelism below:

I am the bread of life;
he who comes to Me will not hunger,
and he who believes in Me will never thirst. [v. 35]

Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man
and drink His blood
you have no life in yourselves. [v. 53]

Note the parallels between the formatted lines above. Eating is the solution to hunger and drinking is the solution to thirst. Belief in Jesus quenches thirst; thus to drink His blood is to believe. Coming to Jesus satisfies hunger; thus to eat the flesh of the Son of Man is to come to Jesus (which is also the parallel equivalent of belief).

There you have it. When reading this text, "believe in Jesus" may (must) be substituted for their metaphorical equivalents, "eat My flesh" and "drink My blood."

By way of wrapping this all up, it is clear that Jesus is speaking in physical terms for a spiritual reality--something that should come as no shock to any Bible reader (remember parables, anyone?). Yes, it is confusing. I take comfort in the fact that the Jews of His day were confused also (vv. 42, 52). But we know that this ostensibly mysterious way of speaking is a spiritual principle:

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted." (Matthew 13:10-11)

There are other Scriptures that also speak of those who hear but do not hear or who see but do not perceive. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned, but not by the natural man (2 Cor. 2:14-15). Christians, who have the Holy Spirit as our Helper and Teacher can, with sound study, understand Jesus' spiritual teachings. This makes them no less difficult, but it does make them all the more glorious.

The conclusion of the matter is this: Jesus was not a cannibal after all. Further, the Roman doctrine of transubstantiation cannot be supported by any fair, thorough study of this text (though that is not necessarily a problem for them since in their view the Church is the ultimate authority, not Scripture).

An Interesting Example of Membership?

2010-11-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

[16] Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.
[17] "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him."
[18] So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
Malachi 3:16-18 (NASB)

Very interesting indeed. Lest I push Scripture too far, I will be cautious. But I do see interesting things here that would support the NT church's practice of membership (and the necessary corollaries of exclusive, regenerate church membership and church discipline). I think, at the least, it serves as an illustration of the concept of membership--for which (I believe) expectations are laid out in the NT.

Note the following items that stand out to me:

There were those who feared the LORD who banded together in fellowship (v. 16a).
They actually wrote the names down (v. 16b).
The only people in the book were the true people of God who received mercy and served Him (v. 17).
They were mandated to distinguish between the righteous and the wicked (v. 18a).
The righteous = one who serves God; the wicked = one who does not serve Him (drawn from the parallelism in v. 18b).

On Genuine Salvation: All Your Heart (Short[er] Version)

2010-11-10T11:34:00.001-06:00

In this post, I want to ponder on salvation. It springs from a seemingly odd text, but I can't help but reflect on it. I feel compelled to ponder on this and share some thoughts. In this post, the main question in view is how someone can be saved. The main point I see from this account is that God wants all your heart, not a good life. I am burdened lately as I have been thinking and teaching (in various venues) about genuine salvation and discipleship. I am burdened again as our church has been going out into our community to share the gospel at just how many people are so deceived by the "good life" lie. You know the one: "I'm a good person. I believe in God and try to live accordingly. I do good things. [Et cetera.]"

This morning, let us consider the account of Jehu. Check out 2 Kings 10:18-33. I want to focus on v. 31 especially. It says

But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

Jehu did a lot of good things for the LORD. He destroyed the wicked kings and their families from Israel and Judah, thus fulfilling prophecies given by the LORD through Elijah. He destroyed all the idolaters, those who worshiped Baal, in the land. He destroyed the very house of worship Baal's cult.

But for all the good in his life, all the good service and ostensible zeal for the LORD, what was the last word concerning Jehu? What was the thing that the LORD made clear about him in the end? His sin. (By the way, this same principle goes for a few other kings of Israel and Judah.)

I am not here speculating about the state of Jehu's soul. Even so, contrast this statement to King David, of whom God said he was "a man after My heart, who will do all My will" (Acts 13:22). What I really want to do is to draw some parallels with the New Testament's concept of genuine salvation and thereby issue some challenges to any who read this who might be deceived about that or who are even considering it. I also want to end this not dismally, but in full hope and assurance based on Christ alone.

Jehu's problem was that he did a lot of stuff, but he still had a sin problem in his heart. That's the epitome of the human condition. Be assured that at the end of days, when all is said and done and you stand before God, nothing else will matter but your sin problem. You can beg and plead and point to all the "good work" you did for God, but it won't matter if there is sin in your heart. If you did not "walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all [your] heart," well... Let me put it this way: all that stuff didn't ultimately matter for Jehu--and it won't for you either.

Jesus Himself sets forth the clear standard that God requires. He said, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as Your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). When asked what is the first and greatest commandment, He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, saying, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30; par. Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27). Catch that? With all your heart.

Jesus also said something that should terrify us all, especially if we claim to be Christians:

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23)

What's the point so far? God's standard is perfection--complete devotion to Him and His commandments with everything in your being, so that with your very essence, the sum total and core of who you are, you reflect and glorify Him (after all, that's an image bearer); nothing short of that will suffice for salvation. The problem with that is, well, none of us have lived up to that standard--nor can we. Even those of us who have apparently good, religious lives of activity for God may find on that day that our devotion was to lawlessness rather than to righteousness (the commands of God).

Now do you see why I run to Jesus and cling to Him? I desperately, more than anything else, need Him. I need Him eternally and I need Him every day. He is perfect; He is everything I am not and can never be.

You and I have desperately wicked, deceitful hearts (Jer. 17:9) and a sin problem. Nothing we can do--however good or however much, even for God--is going to suffice. He requires all our heart and all our obedience. Jehu couldn't do it. I can't do it. And you can't either. Stop trying! Will you surrender? Will you admit your need? Will you cry out to God? Will you forsake your sin? Will you trust Christ and Him alone? Will you receive His new heart?

Are you living for Jesus or are you caught up in a "good life?" Are you walking with God or are you busy with a flurry of "good" religious activity that won't matter one bit in the end? Are you clinging to His perfection or are you counting on your mere "goodness" to get you there?

Even as a Christian, I constantly find myself straying, disobeying God, indulging in sin. It just drives me back to Jesus all the more.

Prone to wonder, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
(Verse 3 of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing")

I leave you with these few words from a great hymn entitled "No Other Plea," (full text here) which serves as my credo:

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

On Genuine Salvation: All Your Heart (Long Version)

2010-11-10T11:25:00.003-06:00

WARNING: This turned out longer than I originally thought. It's long, but I hope it will be found worthwhile.

In this post, I want to ponder on salvation. It springs from a seemingly odd text, but I can't help but reflect on it. I feel compelled to ponder on this and share some thoughts. In this post, the main question in view is how someone can be saved. The main point I see from this account is that God wants all your heart, not a good life. I am burdened lately as I have been thinking and teaching (in various venues) about genuine salvation and discipleship. I am burdened again as our church has been going out into our community to share the gospel at just how many people are so deceived by the "good life" lie. You know the one: "I'm a good person. I believe in God and try to live accordingly. I do good things. [Et cetera.]"

This morning, let us consider the account of Jehu. Check out 2 Kings 10:18-33. I want to focus on v. 31 especially. It says

But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel sin.

Jehu did a lot of good things for the LORD. He destroyed the wicked kings and their families from Israel and Judah, thus fulfilling prophecies given by the LORD through Elijah. He destroyed all the idolaters, those who worshiped Baal, in the land. He destroyed the very house of worship Baal's cult.

But for all the good in his life, all the good service and ostensible zeal for the LORD, what was the last word concerning Jehu? What was the thing that the LORD made clear about him in the end? His sin. (By the way, this same principle goes for a few other kings of Israel and Judah.)

I am not here speculating about the state of Jehu's soul. Even so, contrast this statement to King David, of whom God said he was "a man after My heart, who will do all My will" (Acts 13:22). What I really want to do is to draw some parallels with the New Testament's concept of genuine salvation and thereby issue some challenges to any who read this who might be deceived about that or who are even considering it. I also want to end this not dismally, but in full hope and assurance based on Christ alone.

Jehu's problem was that he did a lot of stuff, but he still had a sin problem in his heart. That's the epitome of the human condition. Be assured that at the end of days, when all is said and done and you stand before God, nothing else will matter but your sin problem. You can beg and plead and point to all the "good work" you did for God, but it won't matter if there is sin in your heart. If you did not "walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all [your] heart," well... Let me put it this way: all that stuff didn't ultimately matter for Jehu--and it won't for you either.

This ultimate problem of sin is made abundantly clear from a couple of Scriptures. Isaiah 59:2 says

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Isaiah 64:6 says

For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
All of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

In Romans 6:23a, Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death." And James writes, in 2:10, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Jesus Himself sets forth the clear standard that God requires. He said, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as Your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48). When asked what is the first and greatest commandment, He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, saying, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30; par. Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27). Catch that? With all your heart. When asked how to gain eternal life by the rich ruler, Jesus said to keep the commandments (to be understood as to keep them all perfectly; see Nehemiah 9:29), the accounts of which are found in Matt. 19; Mark 10; and Luke 18. In like manner, God Himself issued the standard of perfection to His people: "But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'" (1 Peter 1:15-16 cf. Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7).

Jesus also said something that should terrify us all, especially if we claim to be Christians:

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:21-23)

He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Therefore, having been justified [declared righteous in God's courtroom] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

...that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

It is through Christ's death on the cross, where He poured out all His blood--His very life--to save us, by exchanging His life for ours. He swapped accounts with us. And it is through His resurrection from the dead that He defeated the power of death (and sin with it). He's it! There's no other way (see, e.g., John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

Our heart harbors sin. You and I, like Jehu, have not departed from the sins of Jeroboam (or anyone else for that matter). We need a new one, and that can only come through Christ. Hear these promises of God:

"But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. ... I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more." (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

OK. I've gone on long enough. What's the point of all this? You and I have desperately wicked, deceitful hearts (Jer. 17:9) and a sin problem. Nothing we can do--however good or however much, even for God--is going to suffice. He requires all our heart and all our obedience. Jehu couldn't do it. I can't do it. And you can't either. Stop trying! Will you surrender? Will you admit your need? Will you cry out to God? Will you forsake your sin? Will you trust Christ and Him alone? Will you receive His new heart?

Even as a Christian, I constantly find myself straying, disobeying God, indulging in sin. It just drives me back to Jesus all the more.

Prone to wonder, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
(Verse 3 of "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing")

I leave you with these few words from a great hymn entitled "No Other Plea," (full text here) which serves as my credo:

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea;
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

The Burden and Blessing of Preaching: Yet Again, It's All About Him

2010-11-09T11:23:00.001-06:00

The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel.
Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,
Zechariah 12:1 (NAS)

Wow. In this one verse there is so much truth that I can attest. I felt the need to reflect on this a moment.

Anyone who has ever preached or taught the word of God will know the same truth Zechariah speaks here. I know it experientially also. When you have a word from God, it's a burden on your heart. You seek the LORD and ask Him for a word and He gives it to you to carry to His audience. It weighs heavily on you, sometimes both before and after you have delivered such a message. That's why, I think, preaching is so taxing. It's a burden you've been carrying and struggling under. Because it's given to you, your whole being is wrapped up in it--your heart, mind, emotions. When you get done preaching, you're exhausted--mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and consequently physically (fellow preachers, can I get a witness?). God's word is indeed heavy, weighty--a burden.

Should this alone be true, I wonder if prophets and preachers could stand long. I tend to doubt it. Yes, God's word is heavy, and it is a burden we must bear. But the rest of that verse brings me great comfort and points to our source of strength in bearing up under it. It brings me comfort to know that when I study and prepare diligently, seeking the LORD for His word for His audience, I can stand behind the pulpit with confidence and say, "Thus declares the LORD!" How blessed I am to know that it's not my word, my opinion, my decree going forth, but God's. It is not up to me to invent or contrive truth for His people, nor to direct His church, nor anything else; that's His job. When I preach, (by God's great grace and may He help me always) it is not my word going forth--thus I am not responsible for the results, good or bad. I am especially relieved to know that in the wake of bad results, if I've been faithful to preach His word, I am not culpable!

But it also points to the source of our strength to keep on preaching. It's His word and it is heavy precisely because of who He is. He is the one "who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him." In light of that, how can I do anything else but proclaim faithfully His message?

Oh! Something else just hit me. See even in this verse some of His attributes. See here His transcendence, for He stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth. See now His imminence, for He forms the spirit of man within him. See His omnipotence, for it certainly takes all power and authority to do such things. See His creativeness. See His love and concern for His creatures, for He gives a word to them. See also His sovereignty, to raise up servants for Himself to proclaim His word.

Behold our God and stand in awe. LORD, You are good!

Tattoos? Reevaluating My Stance

2010-10-21T19:19:00.000-05:00

You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD. -Leviticus 19:28

It's a rather common question, especially from Christian teenagers/young adults: "Is it wrong to get a tattoo or not?" There are three common answers: yes, no, and it depends.

To this point I have been in the "it depends" category. My stance (and the stance of all others who answer this way) is a rather nebulous one, and perhaps unhelpful in terms of guidance. Basically, I have refused to be hard and fast about it. I don't believe it "Eee-vil" outright, but I don't think it's particularly necessary or tasteful; I question the reasons and wisdom for getting one and the consequent message it might send. Usually I tell the person that's between them and God, that it's a matter of their conscience. Basically, I say some stuff but then basically say, "Do what you want. I don't think you're wrong either way." But now, studying in Leviticus 18-20, I'm not so sure.

To justify my answer in the past, I have quickly pointed out the fact that this is found in Leviticus, which is quite clearly an Old Covenant book of laws prescribing the standards of holiness required for the theocracy of Israel (and to be even more specific, in a context of cultic cleanliness). Because we are under the New Covenant, so the thinking goes, this does not apply to us--at least not directly. Besides, if we keep this one in particular, why not keep the ones before or after it in particular, such as not wearing garments of two materials (v. 18) or standing when an older person walks in the room (v. 32)? That leads to the larger, more difficult discussion about which laws we keep and why--a topic I will most definitely not be covering herein!

Those things I said about the OT are all true. Well and good. But how does this prohibition of tattoos in particular apply to us, then? More importantly, why?

Here's what we cannot say:

"It doesn't apply to my life in the least." That's just silly; it's in the Bible and therefore intended by God to teach us something.
"It applies directly to my life and since God prohibited it for the Israelites, it applies directly to me also." That's also silly and leads to arbitrariness; that would require you to keep letter-by-letter the whole OT Law and system, but I don't see you traveling to a non-existent Temple in Jerusalem and offering the sacrifices prescribed [through an Aaronic priest, mind you] in Lev. 1-7.

So a simple yes/no dichotomy will not help us. But let's consider what we do know and find a statement of theological principle behind it so as to make application for today.

First, let us consider the literary context. Yes, this book is written to the OT people of God--but note it is written to the people of God. We in the New Testament are still the people of God, albeit under a different covenant, so somehow this does apply to us. This particular statute is given in a section of Leviticus called the "Holiness Code" (Lev. 17-27), where the LORD's holiness is the basis for the call/command to His people to lives of holiness. (Do not forget that holiness is the opposite of the profane or common; to be holy is to be utterly different, set apart, distinguished. This concept of and imperative for holiness is important, which we shall see in a moment.) This command is given to everyone in the nation Israel, not just the priests or Levites as some are (and priests/Levites often are used to parallel NT ministerial offices).

Second, let us consider the historical context. This Law is given after the Israelites have come out of Egypt but before they have entered Canaan. They are about to go into the Promised Land and when they do, they will find pagan peoples living there. These pagan peoples/nations (such as the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perrizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites [see Ex. 3:8 et. al.]) already have their own gods and religious systems with corresponding ritual and cultic practices. It so happens that the prohibitions given in Leviticus 19:26-31 are all practices of the Canaanites in their worship!

Third, let's bring the literary and historical considerations together. I need to regress for a moment back to the literary context. Lev. 19:19, which requires no mixing of two kinds of cattle, seed, or material for clothing, serves as a microcosm for the unity and purity Israel is supposed to maintain among the pagan nations. Indeed the same can be said for the the larger context, Lev. 18-20, which is a special segment of the Holiness Code that provides ethical and moral concerns, prohibiting pagan practices and prescribing Israel's unique, YHWH-exalting practices. In simpler terms, then, Leviticus 18-20 prohibits any common or profane practice of the (God-less) peoples around them; at the same time it prescribes holy (different, unique, set apart, distinguishable) practices for life and worship for Israel, the people of the one, true, living God--the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Moses, YHWH.

All that seems a long way off course from our original question, doesn't it? But it's really not. Let's now get to the questions of application with the above considerations in mind.

The timeless truth underlying all this seems to be that God's people are to be holy (i.e., set apart, different, unique, distinguishable) in all areas of life. We are to look different from the world. We are not to adopt the common pagan practices, means of worship, ways of life, or looks and styles of worldly people. We should be identifiably different--both at a glance and at a thoroughgoing inspection of every minute of our lives.

Now you might be saying, "Wait a minute! Those things had to do with worship practices! We're not in Canaan and nobody (at least to speak of) is going around using tattoos for overtly religious reasons. Tattoos don't mean the same thing they used to."

Granted. But...

The real, larger issue at hand here is the holiness of God's people.
Tattoos for a long time have been recognized as a symbol of rebellion, independence, world experience, toughness, (ironically) uniqueness, and probably other things as well. It seems to me the world has embraced tattoos as a quick, common marker of a certain group of people--people of a related stripe or mentality. Read on to the next point for a related, yet ironic, twist.
Tattoos these days are quite common. Many people have them. Now what's the opposite of common or profane? That's right: holy. So here's my logic playing out: if tattoos are now common, and God's people are to be holy, then Christians shouldn't have tattoos. These days, because they're so common and it is simply assumed that having a tattoo is perfectly acceptable or even desirable, not to have a tattoo actually stands out.

Someone might object to this (as I've heard quite a bit), "But getting a tattoo gives me common ground with people and gives me an opportunity to witness. To that I have a few responses.

Posh. The only way that's valid in my thinking is if you actually have regularly used the tattoo as an entry point into conversation. In my experience, most Christians, tattooed or not, don't even open their mouths and get into a gospel conversation anyway, no matter how well they're set up for one. If you don't share the gospel without a tattoo, you won't share the gospel with one either!
You have more than enough in common with another person regardless of a tattoo. You're another human being, after all. You're both in this world dealing with the same difficulties and dilemmas. Jesus was the most different person on earth, and yet He related to human beings with all kinds of natural bridges and transitions. (I'll grant that He did use Himself sometimes.)
I don't need or want to behave like a lost person to relate to a lost person. Honestly, someone who is drowning does not look to another person drowning in the water beside them to save them; they look to someone who's got a lifeline and solid ground! Lost people don't necessarily look to someone like them; they may look to someone radically different precisely because they're so different.
Not having a tattoo might even lead to conversation about why you don't have one.

Some others may say, "Well, I want to get a Christian tattoo." or "I want a Bible verse as my tattoo."
To that I say there's no such thing as a 'Christian' tattoo; a tattoo is a tattoo. It's just ink. Why do you need a Bible verse as your tattoo? It's already been written in ink in the pages of Scripture! Besides, if you want that Bible verse with you all the time, memorize it. The Biblical authors hid the word in their hearts instead of displaying the word on their skin.

Well, I've really gone off track now. But here's my main point and conclusion. Based on these considerations, I do not think Christians should get a tattoo. Under the weight of these Biblical considerations and the imperative for holiness, any other reason to get a tattoo seems to collapse. That said, I still don't think getting a tattoo makes you a heathen, condemns you to hell, or proves you are lost. I still don't find it "Eee-vil." But what this does mean is that if a person asks me if I think Christians can/should get a tattoo, I'm going to say no and cite the reasons I have above. Ultimately the decision is still theirs, the issue is between them and the Lord, and they will have to wrestle out the meaning and application of that Biblical text as it relates to their life situation and other factors. Perhaps they will have other considerations I've missed or other Scripture that further informs this one. But as for me, no tattoos.

Incidentally, this same argument is one that applies to other, similar issues. There may be other, better reasons against some of the things I'm about to mention, but in part the same thinking extends to other things. In my thinking, this same reasoning is why I don't think Christians should have innumerable piercings, go to bars, go to overtly secular concerts and/or listen to all kinds of terribly worldly music, etc.

Well... Ensue the lynching and "bigot"/narrow-minded/holier-than-thou/old fashioned/goodie-two-shoes comments!

Can sermon prep be spiritual food? 1 Tim. 4:6

2010-10-12T14:44:00.000-05:00

We interrupt this regularly scheduled time of sermon preparation to bring you this special announcement...
While working on my sermon just now, I came across something and I just had to share.

It has always bugged me that many Christians, and even Christian leaders and ministers, have forcefully insisted that you MUST separate sermon preparation from personal Bible reading or spiritual devotion. I myself have capitulated to such insistence, even to the point of restating that belief to others. It never really sat particularly well with me, though, given that some of my greatest times of spiritual nourishment and growth have happened in the midst of sermon preparation. Similarly, some of my greatest times of devotional reading have led to some great sermons. It just seems to me that those who insist on such a distinction between "personal devotion," "quiet time," or "self spiritual nourishment" Bible reading and academic, sermonic, or preparatory Bible study have forced a false dichotomy.

A word of warning is in order. I do realize full well that we must feed our own souls. We must not get to the point where we read the Bible as a textbook. We must not open the Bible only for sermon preparation, nor should we constantly "sermon hunt" or seek only outlines, points, or illustrations for our teaching/preaching when reading Scripture. However...

Honestly, my best personal Bible study comes in the context of sermon preparation. When really digging in deep, studying the words, grammar, syntax, history, etc., and only then, do I have the confidence to say, "Thus saith the Lord." I don't know how your daily devotional time looks -- now I'm perhaps revealing too much about myself here -- but mine is not in-depth Bible study. Usually it is more of a surface-level reading, a cursory evaluation, an emotionally- and applicationally-emphasized time. I rarely learn--and least of all retain--much of anything in my personal quiet time. Because the readings are so broken up (at this point, I'm reading through the Bible on a one-year plan), I'm always in danger of forgetting context or other equally bad perils.

I fear I digress a bit. What's the point? I have always felt that divorcing personal Bible reading from sermon preparation was a false, unnecessary dichotomy. Today I found some Scriptural basis for that thought--with great irony, while doing sermon preparation.

In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following. 1 Tim. 4:6

Hah! Paul told Timothy that while he prescribed and taught true doctrine, Timothy himself would be nourished spiritually! So, it seems to me that all preachers/teachers can also be nourished spiritually while they prepare to, and actually do, preach and teach.

Those who preach and teach well tend to think a certain way. They tend to be academically geared, wired more for intellectual considerations, for thinking and analysis. Generally they tend to be, I venture to say, more the student types--those who study, read, write, etc.--and enjoy those academic exercises and pursuits. Makes sense, doesn't it? Scripture requires it (1 Tim. 3:2; 2 Tim. 2:15).

Anyway, my point is I tend to be academically wired. I have great difficulty in separating the intellectual from the spiritual. My intention here is not to denigrate those who are not academically oriented or even to say that those who don't do in-depth Bible study don't really hear from God. What I am trying to say is that people are different. Those differences must be taken into account in the way we approach and interact with God and His word. Therefore we must be cautious about making blanket statements or prescribing universal rules for personal spiritual disciplines.

Will I continue to have a quiet time where I read more devotionally? Yes. Will I say only that particular time is my spiritual nourishment, but sermon preparation is not? No. It is the case today that I did gain a new spiritual insight and application for my life not from my quiet time reading, but from sermon preparation.

We now return to the regularly scheduled sermon preparation program...

"It is enough" - Scripture interprets Scripture (2)

2010-10-11T10:18:00.001-05:00

Here follows another example of a hermeneutical (look it up if necessary!) principle: Scripture interprets Scripture.

Just before they entered the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples to go out again (Luke 22:35-38). This was in contrast to the sending out of the seventy (Luke 10). In this instance, he told them to buy a sword. It almost seems as if they were giddy when they could say

"Lord, look, here are two swords."
And He said to them, "It is enough." Luke 22:38

What does Jesus mean, "It is enough"? I propose He intends to communicate, "That's enough. Stop it. Don't do that or worry about that right now." Two other places in Scripture inform my understanding. The first is the close context of Luke's Gospel account. Later in that same account, we find the following:

And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, "Stop! No more of this." And He touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:50-51

This first consideration demonstrates another principle, that context determines meaning. When Jesus told them to buy a sword, He intended to communicate not that it should be used to start a revolt or fight an earthly battle for his (heavenly) kingdom. Rather, it seems He intended to communicate that they should take and use personal items as they go with the message of His kingdom in the future. (I must confess I haven't studied why a sword would have been good or necessary.)

But now look at some other verses where "it is enough" is used to communicate the command to stop (or, as I originally wrote and reconsidered my words, the imperative of cessation!) :

When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 2 Samuel 24:16 (cf. 1 Chronicles 21:15) [God tells the angel of the LORD to stop the planned destruction.]

And He came the third time, and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Mark 14:41 [Jesus tells His disciples, "Stop sleeping!"]

The conclusion? When Jesus says, "It is enough." in Luke 22:38, He is telling His disciples, "Cut that out! We aren't here to fight and kill right now!" (That's an obvious paraphrase.) It shouldn't sound strange to us, should it? I mean, even we do the same. I remember hearing parents and even my sixth grade teacher forcefully yell, "ENOUGH!" when kids were being particularly overwhelming and it was time to get their attention and tell them to stop.

(For a comparison of all the verses cited in this post, click here or on the title at the top.)

"the lower parts of the earth" - Scripture Interprets Scripture (1)

2010-10-11T09:58:00.001-05:00

Up front, I need to provide a couple of disclaimers. First, this is not a full-on, scholarly, conclusive study about this particular phrase ("to the lower parts of the earth"). Even so, I think it's a good start. Second, this is really intended as an illustration of the hermeneutical (look up 'hermeneutics') principle that Scripture interprets Scripture.

Ever been confused by or wrestled with Ephesians 4:9? It reads (in the NAS)

(Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?

What are the lower parts of the earth? There are, as best I know, three traditional interpretations:

Christ, after dying, descended to hell.
The phrase should be translated, "into the lower parts, namely the earth" (a genitive of apposition), thus indicating nothing more than Christ descended from heaven to earth. In other words, it's another way of stating the incarnation.
The "lower parts of the earth" refers to a grave, in which Christ was buried.

The first option is not really an option at all, if you ask me. At the risk of caricaturing much other scholarly work that has been done and revealing my own lack of knowledge of the Scriptures, I do not know of anywhere else in Scripture that clearly teaches such a doctrine. If this verse is the definitive verse that shows it, one can say it is at best dubious. It is not at all clear that Eph. 4:9-10 teaches that. The OT language of "going down to the pit" or "going down to Sheol" does have some relation to and bearing on the NT concept of hell, but they are not identical.

I have gladly held to option 2 for some time, albeit mostly on the teachings and thoughts of another. It was not my own thought-out conclusion. It does have much to commend it. The grammatical construction really does support a genitive of apposition quite nicely. Contextually in Ephesians 4, it fits, speaking of Christ as the now-exalted head of all things, who once came down to earth to free captives to sin and make them His captives, bestowing on them gifts through the Spirit. The next verse (4:10) makes that clear:

He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

But today I read Ezekiel 32:24, which says

Elam is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who went down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who instilled their terror in the land of the living and bore their disgrace with those who went down to the pit.

So there is precedent in Scripture for "the lower parts of the earth" referring to a grave--and, by extension, the concept of the state of death (or Sheol, or the nether world, both also appearing in the OT and in Ezekiel 32). This perhaps gives us insight into the Jewish mind as to the meaning of the phrase. Since Paul was a Jew (and a learned one), might this have bearing on his thoughts in Eph. 4? I think so. (Click here or the title at the top for a comparison of the verses side-by-side.)

My conclusion, then, is that Paul is making a reference to Christ's death and burial in "the lower parts of the earth" in Ephesians 4:9-10. That does, of course, include the incarnation--in fact it necessitates it. Put another way, options 2 and 3 are not mutually exclusive--both can fit together. It is my assertion that they do in the case of Eph. 4:9 and that, furthermore, the burial is Paul's primary underlying thought in those verses. It presents a nice contrast, doesn't it? The lowest of lows you can get on earth is a grave, the state of death, being laid down inside the thing. But Christ is now exalted to the highest of heights, the right hand of God the Father. In death is seen ultimate defeat and powerlessness, but in Christ's Ascension is seen the ultimate victory and power.

Considering the larger scheme of theology, this interpretation also makes sense; we know that Christ's "humiliation" included the Incarnation, the crucifixion, and the burial. It was through His actual death on the cross and in the grave that He substitutionarily identified with humanity. And yet, in the grave when sin and death and hell appeared to have one, it was actually their greatest defeat. In the moment He got up out of that grave, He defeated that evil triumvirate and delivered those who were held captive to their power. Scripture speaks of this also:

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15

Christians are captives to Christ (see Eph. 4:8):

and having been freed form sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ... But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. Romans 6:18, 22

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14

(The last verse refers to a parade of conquered officials and soldiers that were taken captive in a battle by the Roman army; the general and his men would lead the processional "in triumph." So it is with us and Christ, hence Eph. 4:8, also informing our understanding of vv. 9-10.)

So what does all this mean? I think Ephesians 4:9-10 is a reference to Christ's burial (thus also His incarnation) and ascension. All that gleaned from a phrase in Ezekiel 32. The lesson? Scripture interprets other Scripture and aids us in our understanding.

The Biblical Motive for God's Blessing

2010-10-07T08:54:00.001-05:00

We often ask God to bless us. I'm afraid that even in my own life, the oft-uttered petition for God's blessing is vaporous and has become almost a filler phrase in prayer. At best, anyway, I'm usually not sure what I have in mind when I say it. Is this true in your life also? I hear it much in prayer, and I wonder why we ask for God's blessing.

This unknown Psalmist tells us the Biblical motivation in asking for God's blessing:

God be gracious to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us-- Selah.
That Your way may be known on the earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
Psalm 67:1-2 (NASB)

Notice also verse 7:

God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

Three thoughts emerge. First, God's blessing should be bestowed for God's glory (and especially, in this context, in reference to salvation). Second, see again the priority of evangelism! I can't shake the Great Commission running through my head right now. Third, God's blessing is primarily for His glory, and yet see how good He is to us in that His blessings are often for our good also. The two are not mutually exclusive. Even God's goodness to us is His glory--or at least it should point others to Him.

Oh, God, please bless us with a Great Commission mindset and focus. Bless us for Your name's sake!

Reminder for Ministers by John MacArthur

2010-10-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

This will hit you right in the gut. It did me.

Many in the ministry today have left the emphasis on prayer and the Word of God. They are so involved in the administrative details of their church that they have little time left for intercession and study. Yet pastors are given to the church "for the equipping of the saints fo the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12). Their calling is to mature the saints so they can do the work of the ministry. By neglecting that calling, they doom their congregations to languish in spiritual infancy. Programs are no substitute for the power of God and His Word. Those whom God has called to the ministry of prayer and the Word must make it their priority.

John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Acts 1-12 (Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 1994), 179.

Another Reason for the Sabbath

2010-09-29T09:34:00.001-05:00

This note is an addendum to my previous post about the Sabbath, found here. The point of that post was essentially thus:

I think the third reason is to bring the people back to a right relationship with God. It is about resting in and restoring that fellowship with God. The repeated refrain of these verses is to "keep the Sabbath day holy." It's not just a physical rest; it's about walking with God. [Refer to Jeremiah 17:19-27.]

Ezekiel 20:12 says, "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them" (see also v. 20). Ezekiel reaffirms what Jeremiah asserted. The point of the sabbath was to point Israel (and all the nations) to the relationship between Israel and God.

This also gets at the definition of the Sabbath. It is not simply a "day of rest," as if we should do nothing whatsoever. Those days are nice, but they are not true sabbath rests. The sabbath is to be a day of worship and rest. Its point is to "Cease striving and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). It is restful worship, rest in worship, worshipful rest.

Honestly, it makes me want to re-think how I spend my time on the Lord's day (Sunday). While I do not think the Sabbath is now officially Sunday (the Lord's day) in this NT era, I suppose Sunday can be a Christian's sabbath.

Waiting on God... In Church

2010-09-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.
Psalm 52:9, NASB (emphasis added)

Not much to say here, so it'll be short. I find it interesting that even David understood the importance of corporate worship and presence. While we often think of waiting on God as an intensely personal, private affair, David said he would wait on God in the presence of other godly ones. This is very concordant with the NT emphasis on the corporate body of Christ, the church.

My point? "Let us not forsake assembling together" (Heb. 10:25a). Come to church! Worship with us! Wait on God there. We'll wait with you. We will wait on His good, holy name together as His people to see what He would have us do.

Short Thoughts on Psalm 51 (THIS IS THE 100th POST!)

2010-09-21T09:18:00.000-05:00

First of all, I'd just like to do a little celebration. *does private happy dance* This is my one hundredth blog entry! Ok. Now on to business.

Read verses 10-13. Our personal cleanliness is a prerequisite to our effectiveness.
Note the progression, too:

Mourning over sin and a prayer for cleanliness and steadfastness (10)
Crying out for the presence and power of God (11)
Restored joy and a willing spirit (12)
Effective proclamation of God's truth (13)

Read verses 14-19. True public, pleasing worship of God is always preceded by private, penitent worship before God.
It seems that in these verses renewal and revival comes first with one person's heart getting right (vv. 14-17). By God's favor and goodness, that spreads to the whole congregation (v. 18). THEN the prescribed rituals--in other words, the regular, public rites of worship--delighted God.

Our Promise Keeping God: 2 Samuel 7

2010-09-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

Promise 1:

I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut of all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. --2 Sam. 7:9 (NASB)

God was here speaking to David. Its fulfillment? Well, King David is still spoken of. His accounts are recorded forever in sacred Scripture. We still look to David as the man after God's own heart and learn much from him as a chosen, yet fallen, human. And just how many Davids are there in the world today anyway?

Oh, reader, now turn your thoughts to Jesus and consider the excellency of the name of Jesus, far above that of David. Jesus is the true and eternal King of Israel, not the typical, temporary king of Israel:

For this reason God also highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:9-11)

Promise 2 (v. 10):

I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly

Fulfillment 2: Did Israel not settle in Canaan, the Promised Land?

Promise 3 (vv. 12-13):

When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.

Fulfillment 3: Ever heard of King Solomon? Have you not heard of Solomon's Temple, the great and glorious temple the Jews have ever longed to restore? Was not Solomon's reign one of great power, expansion, wealth, prosperity, and peace? Has not the nation of Israel existed to this day (regardless of geographic boundaries)?

Promise 4 (vv. 14-15):

I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed before you.

Fulfillment 4: Read the account of Solomon's life. This proves to be true also. Though Solomon did sin and strayed from the Lord, he was punished but not removed.

Promise 5 (v. 16):

Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.

Fulfillment 5: This, I think, is the greatest promise of all these--and perhaps of all promises. See now King Jesus, the son of David, ruling and reigning forever at the right hand of God! He sits upon the throne as David's descendant and has established the kingdom of God and yet will fully and finally bring it to its completion. It shall truly be forever.

What's the real point here? When God promises you something, He keeps it. Fellow saint, if you're weary and heavy laden, worried, doubting, afraid, simply remember that God keeps His promises. Take heart! If you believe God has promised you something, be sure He will do it. Hear 1 Thess. 5:24:

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

Am I really ready to say that?

2010-09-20T22:06:00.000-05:00

May our God come and not keep silence;
Fire devours before Him,
And it is very tempestuous around Him. -Psalm 50:3 (NASB)

Wow. What a dreadful picture of God.

If I am being quite honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to say that with this psalmist (Asaph). I am afraid there's much in my life that would be burned away. I'm afraid that perhaps even my works themselves would be burned away. I would be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

Wow again. I'm afraid of God. I am afraid of His appearing. Tonight I feel like an unworthy slave (Luke 17:10). Well, hmm, no, I feel worse than an unworthy slave. Sometimes I don't even do the things I ought to do.

Thank You, God, for your great, amazing grace. Make me usable.

On the Holy Spirit - Max Lucado

2010-09-14T07:28:00.000-05:00

This comes from Max Lucado's devotional, Grace for the Moment, for September 11, entitled "From the Inside Out." It's right on.

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever--the Spirit of truth. John 14:16-17

Do-it-yourself Christianity is not much encouragement to the done-in and worn-out.

Self-sanctification holds little hope for the addict....

At some point we need more than good advice; we need help. Somewhere on this journey home we realize that a fifty-fifty proposition is too little. We need more....

We need help. Help from the inside out.... Not near us. Not above us. Not around us. But in us. In the part of us we don't even know. In the heart no one else has seen. In the hidden recesses of our being dwells, not an angel, not a philosophy, not a genie, but God.

How Beautiful His Feet Must Have Been!

2010-09-09T14:32:00.000-05:00

[7] How beautiful upon the mountains
        are the feet of him who brings good news,
    who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
        who publishes salvation,
        who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”
(Isaiah 52:7 ESV; cf. Rom. 10:15)

Now see the sinful woman kissing the feet of Jesus:

[37] And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, [38] and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
(Luke 7:37-38 ESV)

EW! She was kissing His feet?! That's disgusting! Especially given the salty-muddy mix of mess that must have been on His feet! Right?

Well, I'm not so sure. In her eyes, the eyes of faith (cf. Luke 7:50), His feet were beautiful--irresistably beautiful. Because the words of Isaiah are true for us as gospel-bearers, how much more so are Isaiah's words true for Jesus, the gospel-bearer par excellence?

His feet must be the most beautiful of all. One day, I shall see His feet. Perhaps I, too, will be able to kiss those beautiful feet. But! O thought! Dare I think it?! Not only shall I see His most beautiful feet, but His face also! "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard..." (see 1 Cor. 2:9).

Interesting additional note: Isaiah 52:7 is written in a section of Isaiah called the "Servant Songs," chapters 49-57, held by most scholars to refer to YHWH's Anointed Servant, the Messiah, who we know as Jesus.

A Potent Thought on Substitution by John Stott

2010-09-04T13:56:00.000-05:00

Following is a knock-out paragraph from John R. W. Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), 159.

The concept of substitution may be said, then, to lie at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives that belong to God alone; God accepts penalties that belong to man alone.

Lack of Intercession is a Moral Problem

2010-08-31T21:08:00.001-05:00

Hear these potent words from Harry Emerson Fosdick in his book The Meaning of Prayer (p. 192):

The chief obstacles to intercession are moral. We live for what we can get; our dominant desires are selfish. The main current of us runs in the channel of our mean ambitions, and our thoughts of other people and of great causes are but occasional eddies on the surface of the stream. Even when we do succeed in praying for our friends, our country, or the Kingdom, we are often giving lip-service to conventionality; we are not expressing our urgent and continual demand on life. Our prayers are hypocrites. If the cause we pray for should suddenly take form and ask of us our share in the achievement of our own entreaty, we would dodge and run. All such intercession is clanging brass.

Oh, Lord, I do not want to be like that. Father, I'm sorry. Please forgive me for 'praying' as I do. Forgive me for praying so little. Forgive me for praying so selfishly. Please help me to really pray. Give me the desire, devotion, and discipline to seek You in real prayer. Help me to commune with You. Grant me a greater love for those for whom I pray, that I may pray truly. God, I want You. My soul needs You. Come fill me up. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Character vs. Knowledge

2010-08-26T10:08:00.001-05:00

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, (2 Peter 1:5 ESV)

According to the ESV Study Bible notes, "The word 'excellence' (Gk. arete^, 'virtue, excellence') was used by Greek writers to describe the sum of all desirable character qualities."

Now re-read that verse. Note the order: faith, virtue [or excellence, i.e., the sum of all desirable character qualities], then knowledge. (The NAS translates it "moral excellence" and the NLT "a generous provision of moral excellence.")

The point? God is more concerned about who you are than what you know.

See also the qualifications for an overseer in 1 Tim. 3:1-7. Note that of the fourteen qualifications listed, only one of them is an ability or function ("able to teach"); the rest are chalked up to character.

God is more concerned about who you are than what you know.

ADDENDUM (9/4/10):
Please see the comments below for a tidbit more that I actually logged on here today to clarify. Basically, I wanted to point out that while Scripture makes clear God is concerned about who we are (our character) as foundational, Scripture is also clear that He is concerned with what we know (our competence). We are supposed to grow in knowledge and understanding. This very text points that out (vv. 5-8). Additionally, later Peter commands us to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18).

Addendum to "Guidelines for a Call to Ministry"

2010-08-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

This post follows my previous one, found below (or click here).

My thoughts are drawn from 1 Samuel 10:20--11:7 (esp. 10:21-23; 11:6-7).

Notice in the first part of this passage that Saul was hiding like a scared cat. God had chosen him and called him to be king of Israel. Yet when the time came for that inauguration, he was fearful.

Notice in the second part of this passage that God empowered Saul when the time came. 11:6 says the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul. As a result, Saul was no longer scared, but bold and brave. In fact, he was so empowered that the fear of the LORD fell on the people of Israel--all because of Saul's bold leadership.

The principle we often hear (maybe it's even cliché?) is found here: God does not call the equipped; He equips the called. That was certainly the case with Saul, or so he thought (check out 1 Sam. 9:21).

If you feel a call to ministry, chances are that you also will feel inadequate, insufficient, and unequipped (or at least ill-equipped) for the task. That's OK. God Himself will anoint you with the Holy Spirit and you will be empowered. God Himself will grant your authority so that His people will follow.

Guidelines for a Call to Ministry

2010-08-18T11:12:00.001-05:00

Read 1 Samuel 3 (or click the title above to read it online).

In this chapter, I see five guidelines concerning a call to ministry. I write this for the benefit of those who are wrestling with what a call to ministry might look like or are sensing God's call on their life.

In 1 Samuel 3, we find five guidelines concerning a call to ministry.

The call will come only to those who are in the presence of the LORD (1 Sam. 3:1-3).

Samuel was in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. That, in OT terms, represents the fact that God chose to inhabit this temple among His people. Notice Samuel's call came in the temple (v. 3), or, in other words, in His nearness to the presence of God. Notice also that Samuel was already involved in the work of service to the LORD (v. 1).
Generally speaking, I do not believe that God will call someone just out of the blue, nor someone who is not walking closely with Him, nor someone who is not already involved in the work of ministry where they are. (I realize there are exceptions. Perhaps Samuel was once since Hannah had dedicated him to God's service already. Saul/Paul was certainly one. But the tenor of Scripture and the experience of history tells us that God calls specifically those who are near Him already.)

The call may be unclear or uncertain at first (vv. 3:4-8a).

Samuel was confused as to what was going on. He was unsure who was calling him. "The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him" (v. 7).
You may not expect a call from God. Maybe nothing like this has ever happened to you before. Maybe God is gripping your heart in a new, fresh way. Maybe you sense a stirring in your heart, but you wonder if it's really the Spirit of God or if it's just some bad spaghetti--after all, that sauce did have mushrooms in it... Seriously, you might wonder if it's just your own thoughts or desires creeping in (but hear the words of 1 Tim. 3:1 also). Perhaps you struggle with this for a while and you go back and forth, trying to answer the call through various venues, but still there is no rest when you "lie down again." Do not be discouraged; often the call is somewhat unclear or uncertain at first.

The call will probably be clarified or helped by other godly people and/or servants of God (vv. 8b-10).

Eli, one who had been called and appointed to holy service, caught on first. He helped and instructed Samuel as to what he should do.
If you think God might be calling you, seek out godly counsel. Talk in particular to those who have responded to the call of God on their lives and who are serving Him in ministry. Seek out their advice. When they give it, heed it. (Of course I am assuming it will be godly, sound advice that accords with Scripture.)

The call can be to a quite burdensome and difficult task (vv. 11-18).

God called Samuel to deliver a hard message. But he also called Samuel to do it because he was about to succeed Eli as the priest. That is to say that God raised up Samuel to do hard things and right things because Eli's house failed to do so. God raised up Samuel because He needed a man for the job at that particular time.
If you think God is calling you, gird up your loins. It will not be easy. If so, it means He is calling you to a specific task He needs accomplished and He has decided you are the man to do it. You will be required to say hard things. You will be required to preach the whole counsel of God. It may even mean that you have to rebuke and/or replace those who are over you, those whom you love, or those with whom you serve.

The call will be confirmed in your life (vv. 19-21).

By God (v. 19)

If God calls you, He will be with you. His purposes and His message through you will not fail ("and the LORD was with him [Samuel] and let none of his words fall to the ground"). His word and the ministry entrusted to you will not fail. He will establish it, bless it, and keep it (so long as it really is His call and ministry through you).

By others--and especially God's people (v. 20)

Others saw God's call on Samuel's life and the work God accomplished through him. The same will be true for your call and ministry. If it is of God, others among the people of God will see that, affirm you, and support you. This is closely tied to number three above.

By the word of God (v. 21)

God will keep confirming that call in your life through His continued presence and revelation through His word. When you read Scripture, God will speak to you. He will give you further direction for your life and ministry.

Heaven Here and Hereafter--It's About Him

2010-08-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
(Psalm 16:11 ESV)

I'm so glad I can experience a bit of heaven on earth now! In His presence there truly is fullness of joy! Are you communing with Him in His presence daily? If not, you are missing the pleasure of His presence and the inner peace and joy it brings. You are missing out on what God truly has for you, namely Himself.

At God's right hand there are pleasures forevermore. What are they? I am not sure, nor could I grasp them if I knew. But I do know they are not carnal pleasures. They are not at all like the fleeting pleasures of this life. They are at His right hand. So what does it really matter? The pleasures of eternity must be God's very presence--or at least they are explicitly tied to His proximity. We get to see God! In all His fullness, in all His glory, majesty, might, dominion, love, grace, radiance, beauty... We get to see Him--and live! He has made known to us the path of life! It is Himself (cf. John 14:6)!

Again I say, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." (Rom. 11:36 ESV)

If you don't want God Himself, heaven is not for you. Christianity is not for you. It seems strange to me that many people in life seem to want to go to heaven, but they don't want anything to do with God or His presence here on earth. What do you think heaven will be?! Heaven is heaven because God is there! If you don't want Him now, do not think you will want Him then! You can't have heaven without God, and you can't get to heaven except through God--including His requirements and demands.

Our Compassionate, Condescending Savior

2010-08-18T10:26:00.000-05:00

[3] And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. (Mark 14:3 ESV)

Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper. As you are probably aware, lepers were social outcasts, unacceptable company for anyone. They were unclean--the unclean of the unclean-- and unattractive. They were the lowest of the low, despised, and forsaken of men (sound familiar?). And yet Jesus was in his house; Jesus kept company with such as those--the lowly, unacceptable, unattractive, unclean.

But notice that Jesus just didn't "pop in" to fulfill some sort of religious obligation, nor to fulfill some sense of compulsion or duty (i.e. He didn't stop in because He had to or ought to), nor to keep up appearances or reputation as the Messiah. He didn't merely "grace" Simon with a five-minute visit--just to pray and read a Scripture or two. No, rather He gave Himself to Simon. He was reclining at table (which is the first century way of saying He was eating with Him). There was real interaction and intimacy there; Jesus had a relationship with Simon. Meals are something you share with friends and/or family; over meals the closest fellowship usually takes place, with details of each life's journey being shared.

How willing are you to go and have real--not token--relationships with those who are different? Those who are low on the social totem pole, those who are unclean or unacceptable or undesirable, those who are unattractive to you and to the world? Jesus was clearly willing. Do you want to be like Him? It cannot be for the sake of religious obligation or duty or appearance or reputation. It cannot be merely to "grace them with your presence." It must be real. It must be relational. Jesus was.

Aren't you glad that Jesus condescends to the lowly, unacceptable, unattractive, undesirable, outcast, and unclean? For if He did not, none of us would know the glories of a personal relationship and intimate fellowship with Him. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, for "from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." (Rom. 11:36 ESV)

Messiah as King (with mention of Prophet and Priest)

2010-08-16T09:55:00.000-05:00

First off, the thoughts herein are just a snippet. This is not at all exhaustive. Whole chapters and books have been written in theologies about this very topic. I only intend here to give a short bit of information I just learned from the word of God this morning (and it really serves as a documentary reminder to myself).

In theology, we are taught that Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Testament offices of prophet, priest, and king. (Note that "Christ" is the transliteration of the Greek christos, meaning anointed one, which is the equivalent of the Hebrew mashiach, transliterated for us as Messiah.)

    The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
        he will give strength to his king
        and exalt the power of his anointed.” (1 Sam. 2:10b, ESV, highlight emphasis added)

The word "anointed" is our word "messiah." This is the first occurrence in the Bible of this word. To whom does it refer? The king of Israel (even though the monarchy is not established yet)! This, then, foreshadows Jesus the Messiah, who is the true king of Israel (John 18:33-37; 19:19). My point is simply that this is one verse from which the theology of Christ fulfilling the OT office of king is taken.

Note also that in the OT, priests are also referred to as anointed, for recall they were chosen and consecrated by God in that way beginning with Aaron (e.g. Lev. 4:3). In the OT, the prophetic office was also referred to as an anointed office (e.g. 1 Chr. 16:22 || Ps. 105:15).

The conclusion, then? Jesus is the Messiah with a capital "M." He is the Messiah par excellence, the true Prophet, the true Priest, and the true King.

Samson, 1100; Jesus 30

2010-08-07T11:55:00.002-05:00

Wow. I know someone's written about this before. Perhaps you even know it already. I just learned it this morning and it blew me away.

[4] After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. [5] And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.”
(Judges 16:4-5 ESV)

[14] Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests [15] and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. [16] And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.
(Matthew 26:14-16 ESV)

The wicked Philistines paid 1100 pieces of silver each for Samson, a mere man. Samson, the one who was supposed to be a clean and holy Nazirite, yet defiled himself all the time. Samson, a disobedient, disregarding, God-dishonoring, haughty strong man. Not only that, but the 1100 pieces of silver (times who knows how many; there were five kings of the Philistines, so maybe 5500 pieces of silver?) was simply so they could humble him. They just wanted to tie him up.

And our Lord? 30 pieces of silver! Jesus, the eternal Son of God, the God-man, the exact radiance of God's glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the healer, miracle worker, compassionate, just, kind, good, loving, patient, merciful Savior. Jesus, the clean, holy, perfect, obedient, God-honoring, humble servant. He was reckoned worth 30 measly pieces of silver. Wicked humanity--His own people nonetheless--thought so little of Him that 30 pieces would do. And not just to humble Him, but to take His very life. They just wanted to annihilate Him. That's all.

Wow. Jesus, You amaze me. You truly did empty Yourself (Phil. 2:6-8).

Teachers and Preachers Beware

2010-08-05T10:54:00.000-05:00

[30] Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: [31] “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, [32] therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, and he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the LORD, for he has spoken rebellion against the LORD.’”
(Jeremiah 29:30-32 ESV)

Wow. I am stricken afresh by the weight and danger of the responsibility I bear to preach and teach the word of God. This sheds light for me on James 3:1:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

O my soul, heed this potent warning from God's word. Preach only what God sends you to preach. Further, the message he sends you to preach, preach it with boldness, authority, confidence, and clarity. If you know it is His word, preach. If you do not have a word from God, be silent. Do not think this is something that happened only in "those Bible days." God is. He can still strike you dead behind the pulpit for blasphemy, falsity, hypocrisy, or heresy in the middle of a sermon. It is not beyond Him.

Fellow preachers and teachers, let us all take heed. Remember 2 Tim. 2:15: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."

Even at Night!

2010-08-05T10:29:00.000-05:00

"I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me." --Psalm 3:5 ESV--

What a thought! Unless the LORD sustains us even through the night, we would not wake again. Every day truly is a gift from the LORD, given us for His plan and purpose. This one verse evokes in me the imagery of God watching over us all the night long, watching--and giving--each breath we take. That's how intimate He is! Thereby we also see His transcendence, omnipresence, and omnipotence. He is so big and removed as to watch over every one who is sleeping all at the same time and so intimate and near and able so as to sustain them with breath, keeping them through the night.

He has given you rest. He has given you this day. It is for His purpose and plan. What will you do with it?

"Majestic Message" by Max Lucado

2010-08-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

This is taken from Lucado's devotional, Grace for the Moment, vol. 2, August 4:

"You will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. -Matthew 1:21

Many of the names in the Bible that refer to our Lord are nothing less than palatial and august: Son of God, The Lamb of God, The Light of the World, The Resurrection and the Life, The Bright and Morning Star, He that Should Come, Alpha and Omega.

They are phrases that stretch the boundaries of human language in an effort to capture the uncapturable, the grandeur of God. And try as they might to draw as near as they may, they always fall short. Hearing them is somewhat like hearing a Salvation Army Christmas band on the street corner play Handel's Messiah. Good try, but it doesn't work The message is too majestic for the medium.

And such it is with language. The phrase "There are no words to express..." is really the only one that can honestly be applied to God. No names do him justice.

Max Lucado, Grace for the Moment, Vol. 2 (Nashville: J Countryman, 2006), 237.

Given Over to Our Sin

2010-08-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

[6] The people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And they forsook the LORD and did not serve him. [7] So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites, [8] and they crushed and oppressed the people of Israel that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the people of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. ... [13] Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. [14] Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” [15] And the people of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.” [16] So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.
(Judges 10:6-8, 13-16 ESV)

This account reminded me of Paul's repeated verdict in Romans 1:24, 26, 28: "Therefore God gave them over...."

Herein lies a Scriptural principle, that God gives people over to their sin (and also the consequences of that sin). Note in verse 6, they served the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines; in verse 7, God gave them over to the Philistines and the Ammonites. A few other considerations are worthy of note:

Sin still angers God, by the way (v. 7). Just a reminder.
Sin will crush and oppress you (v. 8a).
The period of their oppression was a long one--18 full years (v. 8b)! It holds true here and in my experience that once you give place to sin, it stays around a lot longer than you intended. Our fallen flesh craves it; it becomes an addiction. Be warned: do not think you can toy with sin or give in "just this once." It will not allow you that. You will deal with it and its consequences for a long time. Oh, what a battle it is! We must be ever vigilant to fight each temptation every time, lest we be given over 18 years!
The people of Israel had shown God what they really wanted by their actions (v. 14). So do we. If we continually go to our sin, it becomes apparent to God that is what our heart truly desires. Has He ever said to you, "Go and cry out to the sin you have chosen; let it save you now in your distress."? If He has not, be thankful for His mercy, but do not presume that He never will.
By way of further application here, Christian, will you not give yourself to God? Show Him that He is what you truly want! Many Christians always speak of not "feeling like it" or that their "heart is not right." I've got a reminder for you: you never will. Your heart will never be right. You've got to "lead your heart" (as the movie Fireproof so aptly said). I believe our heart will come in line when we discipline it to do so. That's why it's called spiritual discipline. Self-control is fruit of the Holy Spirit's work.
We see here humanity's fickle, whiny, comfort-seeking nature (v. 15). They tell God to do what He wants with them, but then in the same breath cry for deliverance. I do the same all the time! Do you? I pray for His will to be done, but then tell Him specifically how I'd like it to come--and it usually does not involve hardship, work, or suffering on my part.
Notice God's great mercy when they repented. They repented and He relented (v. 16 cp. 13). They showed God by their actions that they were serious about their relationship with Him. Then He responded with deliverance (Judges 11:1-12:7 record the account of Jephthah who was raised up to deliver them).

My point and question is will you not show God by your actions that you want Him? Will you not cease giving yourself over to sin and start giving yourself over to God? Think with me a minute: if the people of Israel showed God by their actions their desire for sin (foreign gods) and He gave them over to it, and if they showed God by their actions their desire for restored relationship with Him and He granted it, will He not do the same for us? I am confident He will. If we will "draw near to Him", He will conquer the oppression of sin in our lives and "draw near to us" (James 4:8a).

So what's the bottom line? How can you draw near to God? Here are some ideas (warning: nothing new here):

Spend real, quality, distraction-free, private, personal time with God each day in prayer and in His word. Give yourself to this. A short 5- or 10-minute check-the-box session won't do. Plan for it and discipline yourself. Get up early if you have to. Get rid of some form of entertainment if you have to (I'm talking sell it or give it to someone you trust to hold onto for a while; just so you don't have it). It won't be easy, but following Jesus isn't easy. Spend longer periods of time than you think you can or than you would normally--and give yourself plenty of time. Discipline!
Getting and keeping a personal prayer list and/or journal helps. Following a Bible reading plan also helps.
Memorize Scripture.
Attend church faithfully for fellowship with believers and pay attention to the preached word. More than that, get involved in the activities and life of your church. Give financially to the church (NOT because I'm the preacher, but because giving is a biblical act of worship). You might be surprised, but giving is a discipline that does produce change in your life.
Get involved in a discipleship / accountability relationship.
Evangelize.
Read and study edifying, challenging, biblically sound, theologically-oriented Christian literature. Blogs can count, but books are better. Take notes, ask questions, research, and discuss it with other believers. Authors from before 1900 should become your good friends.

I guess that's enough for a start.

Will we be given over to the lusts of our flesh or to the almighty, gracious, all-loving, all-wise, eternal, transcendent, thrice holy, infinitely glorious and ever blessed God, the Creator and Sustainer, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, the King of glory, the King of all kings and Lord of all Lords, the Savior of our souls?

Judges 2:1-5: Sin Takes You Farther Than You Want to Go

2010-07-26T09:04:00.002-05:00

This post has the same principle found in another of my posts located here dealing with Romans 6:19.

Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” As soon as the angel of the LORD spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the LORD.
(Judges 2:1-5 ESV)

The principle I want to point out is simple. It's a cliché these days (sorry about that). Sin always takes you farther than you want to go. Notice that the failure of Israel to obey the voice of the LORD first to take the land led to the foreign gods becoming a snare. Did this come true? Most certainly! All one has to do is read further history of Israel and the prophets to see that (in fact, just a few verses later in vv. 11-15 we see it)! God gave His people over to exile and destroyed their land because of their idolatry and other related abominable deeds.

Here, Christian, is a lesson for us. Anytime you give sin a place in your life, it takes hold (Heb. 12:1) and opens the doorway for other sin later. Indeed, it even makes other sin easier--if not certain. We must be vigilant to fight all sin all ways and always. "Oh, God, help me! By Thy grace, give me a hatred for sin! For Jesus' name and sake, Amen."

As a side note, please note two actions they took. First, they lifted up their voices and wept. See their brokenness over past sin and over even the prospect of future sin. Second, they sacrificed there to the LORD. In spite of their failure, they still sought God.

Brothers!

2010-07-22T11:01:00.000-05:00

Wow! This just jumped out at me from Matthew 28:10. Jesus calls us brothers!

Then Jesus said to them [Mary Magdalene and the other Mary], "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

I don't know why, but that just hit me today. He actually calls us His brothers. Jesus, the Risen Christ, the Lord of Glory, the Creator of all things! He calls us brothers. Which means, by the way, that He actually considers us that. Now Hebrews 2:10-11 hits harder:

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers.

Wow. Jesus Christ, our brother. Thank you, great God and Father! You amaze me.

A Short Note on the Sabbath

2010-07-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

Read Jeremiah 17:19-27. This one will be short--I promise. OK, shorter.

Why is the Sabbath such a big deal? I think the Sabbath was created for a few reasons. One is for man's good; we need to rest (see Mark 2:27). I think God also made the Sabbath to point to Himself. In the nomadic, primitive, survival-oriented world in which Israel lived, most people basically worked every day just to provide for their needs for that day (or at least only short-term). So not to work--not even to gather food--one day was a big deal. All the nations around were constantly striving, constantly working day in and day out so that they could survive. But not Israel. She's different. She has a God who can and will provide for her needs when she rests and looks to Him. The surrounding nations would see that--and marvel at the LORD'S power and care. (The same principle applies for the sabbath year of the fields, I think.)

Here in Jeremiah we see another reason for the Sabbath. I think the third reason is to bring the people back to a right relationship with God. It is about resting in and restoring that fellowship with God. The repeated refrain of these verses is to "keep the Sabbath day holy." It's not just a physical rest; it's about walking with God. It is also a spiritual rest (consider the book of Hebrews in light of this, esp. chapters 3-4). We all need seasons of spiritual rest and refreshing. We all need special times and seasons where we "cease striving, and know that [He] is God" (Psalm 46:10). We all need to have those focused times that we devote to God and keep it holy.

I think all this because of the wider context of this passage as it fits in Jeremiah's scheme. Basically, Jeremiah has declared judgment is certainly coming. Yet here God spoke through Jeremiah that if people would keep the Sabbath, He would relent. The blessing of fulfilled promises concerning David's line and Jerusalem would be fulfilled. If they did not keep the Sabbath, the judgment would come. This is not about keeping some ritualistic legal requirement. The Sabbath here, it seems to me, has become a microcosm for Judah's relationship to the LORD. God's complaint against them was that they had forgotten and forsaken Him (e.g. 13:25; 15:6). Returning to the Sabbath, and in particular keeping it holy (set apart for God), was the way they would return to right remembrance and worship of Him.

In closing, there are two thoughts I must say. First, I don't believe Christians have to keep the Sabbath in this NT age; that was for Israel. Even so, the Sabbath concept is a spiritual blessing and benefit. Second, the Sabbath is not Sunday! Sunday is the Lord's day, not a "day of rest." (That's just a pet peeve of mine.) That is all. :-)

The Blessedness of Salvation

2010-07-22T10:31:00.003-05:00

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
>>Jeremiah 17:7-8

The word "bless" is a complex one with a vast range of meaning that is determined by context. At times it conveys the sense of material well-being or riches. At times it means to receive praise or adoration. At other times it is closely connected with the idea of an inner sense of happiness, security, or well being, as I think the case is here (read the wider context of Jeremiah 17 or even the book to this point). Both the Hebrew word and the Greek words (in the Septuagint) used convey such a sense of security or happiness in various places.

Jeremiah says here that those who trust the LORD are blessed, that is, they are secure and at peace because they are safe. This is in contrast to "the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD" (v. 5). In NT language, then, I believe the contrast here is between saints (who are blessed) and sinners (who are cursed). With that in mind, then, what exactly is the blessing of sainthood, or, in other words, of salvation? This is beautiful! There are three key attributes I see here of those who have truly trusted in the LORD.

The first attribute is confidence. "He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes...." Those who trust in the LORD have great confidence. When the heat comes upon them, whatever the difficulty in life--you name it--they do not wilt, they are not quenched, they do not faint. No, saints of God are like a tree constantly nourished by the unseen water of God's Spirit through the roots that go down deep and reach far. Saints of God are not nourished by some shallow root in the topsoil seen by men. No, but their communion is a deep one, roots stretching out for God and going deep down into their souls, where they find sweet communion with God. Such a man does not fear any heat of life--not persecution, difficulty, trial, sorrow, loss, nor any other thing--because he is watered by the stream of God. He is blessed (happy, secure, well) precisely because he really trusts in the LORD.

The second attribute is joy. "...for its leaves remain green." In Jeremiah's metaphor, when the heat came, this tree planted by the water remained lush and green. If you were to look at that tree, though you were in the middle of the desert, you would not know it. Looking at the tree alone, you would be led to think that the land was a lush, vital one. But when you would look at the environment around it, realizing all around is a droughty desert, you would marvel at this green tree. "How can this be?" you would be compelled to ask. "There must be something else going on that I cannot see." So it is with the Christian, the one who trusts in the LORD. In spite of the arid heat of this fallen world and difficulties aroused by sin, the Christian's life remains lush and vibrant, alive and well. The Christian going through the midst of life's difficulties should visibly display the joy of the faith. Christian, your life should be so full of joy that even when you're walking through the desert heat in life, others perceive only life and vitality. Others should look on your life in the midst of a trial and think, "How can this be? They are so full of life! There must be something else going on! What is this great mystery? How can they be doing so well when everything around them is against them?" That, friend, is joy. If I may attempt a definition, I say joy is the God-given, unshakable, inner spiritual sense of peace, contentment, and well being in spite of external circumstances. The one who trusts in the LORD is blessed precisely because he has joy.

The third attribute is perseverance. "...And is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Note that even in the time of drought, the tree produced fruit. It is a great truth of Scripture that those who truly trust in the LORD unto salvation continually produce fruits in keeping with that salvation. Christian, even when there are droughts in your life, you should--yes, you must--produce fruit. This year of drought may be external. Life may be hard. But the one who trusts in the LORD produces fruit. This year of drought may be internal. Perhaps spiritually you are not doing as well as you once were. Maybe your passion has waned. Perhaps sin has found its way in. Maybe you are not enjoying the sweetness of close communion with God. But even still, the one who trusts in the LORD produces fruit. This reminds me so much of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:16, 20: "You will know them by their fruits." This is something even John picked up on, when he wrote in 1 John 3:19-22:

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heat before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

(As a side note, I think that "By this" refers back to vv. 16-18, when it talks about our love for the brethren, indicating positive fruits of salvation, one of John's four main tests for genuine conversion. Even so, it may point forward to what follows. Either way, the idea is the same: our assurance comes from perseverance in life change, specifically with loving God and loving God's people.)
The one who trusts in the LORD, then, is blessed--happy, secure, content, unafraid--because he bears fruit and that fruit can be seen.

Oh, these are the blessings of salvation! Confidence in Christ. Joy in Jesus. Perseverance by the Paraclete. It is not about material blessing; a "wonderful plan for your life"; or an easy, comfortable, picture perfect, sweet-as-roses American dream plus Jesus; no, but trust in the LORD is about what comes out of your life as a result of what's in your life.

(Oh, the glorious truths of the whole counsel of God!)

Tonight The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

2010-07-12T23:30:00.001-05:00

I wish you could have seen it with me. Perhaps you did. Have you seen the glory and majesty of God? Have you been incited to worship Him by all creation pointing to His handiwork?

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalm 19:1, KJV)

Tonight on my run I experienced it. Imagine this scene with me.
To the south and west, the dark, billowy storm clouds radiate with flashing lightning, the fire of heaven, God's darts.

Behold, He spreads His lightning about Him,
And He covers the depths of the sea. (Job 36:30)

Under the whole heaven He lets it loose,
And His lightning to the ends of the earth. (Job 37:3)

The eastern sky is littered with innumerable stars, shining forth like dazzling diamonds. Looking directly above you, the vast expanse engulfs your sight.

Lift up your eyes on high
         And see who has created these stars,
         The One who leads forth their host by number,
         He calls them all by name;
         Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
         Not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. (Genesis 1:16)

"He made the stars also." As Louis Giglio points out, it's written almost as an afterthought... Oh, yeah, and by the way, "He made the stars also." As if it were some simple feat.

While you are taking in this awesome scene, hear these words of a song whose name nor artist do I know:

I lift up my eyes to the heavens
to gaze at Your majesty.
There is no one that my heart adores
but You, Jesus.

And I fall upon my knees
to worship at Your feet.
I sing holy, holy, holy.
I sing worthy is the Lamb
To receive honor and glory and power
Forever.
I sing holy.

And who is this Creator? He is the Lamb, the one worthy of all honor and glory and power forever, the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world and redeemed us with His precious blood (1 Peter 1:17-21). Indeed, who is a God like you? There is none! That is, I suppose, why He is called holy.

“He is holy, thrice holy, infinitely holy, originally, perfectly, and eternally so.” (Matthew Henry)

Oh, LORD, God, Maker of the heavens, You are holy. Help me not forget.

Some Potent Thoughts on the Cross

2010-07-06T12:31:00.000-05:00

From time to time something I read hits me and I feel compelled to share. That time has come once again. Hear first these words from Max Lucado in his devotional Grace for the Moment, v. 2, for July 2. It was originally taken from his book, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior.

The Time Line of History

He sent me to preach the Good news...so that the cross of Christ would not lose its power. 1 Corinthians 1:17

The cross...rests on the time line of history like a compelling diamond. Its tragedy summons all sufferers. Its absurdity attracts all cynics. Its hope lures all searchers.... History has idolized it and despised it, gold-plated it and burned it, worn and trashed it. History has done everything to it but ignore it. That's the one option that the cross does not offer. No one can ignore it! You can't ignore a piece of lumber that suspends the greatest claim in history. A crucified carpenter claiming that he is God on earth? Divine? Eternal? The death-slayer? ... To accept or reject Christ without a careful examination of Calvary is like deciding on a car without looking at the engine. Being religious without knowing the cross is like owning a Mercedes with no motor. Pretty package, but where is your power?

Now hear these words by John Stott in his classic, The Cross of Christ:

[He lists seven possible symbols the early Christians could have used to mark Christianity: the manger, the carpenter's bench, the boat, the apron, the stone, the throne, or the dove.] Any of these seven symbols would have been suitable as a pointer to some aspect of the ministry of the Lord. But instead the chosen symbol came to be a simple cross. Its two bars were already a cosmic symbol from remote antiquity of the axis between heaven and earth. But its choice by Christians had a more specific explanation. They wished to commemorate as central to their understanding of Jesus neither his birth nor his youth, neither his teaching nor his service, neither his resurrection nor his reign, nor his gift of the Spirit, but his death, his crucifixion (p. 27).

Consider these potent questions Stott asked earlier:

The repeated insistence by word and symbol on the centrality of the cross has been striking. Yet questions have arisen in his mind. Some of the language used seemed exaggerated. Do Christians really for the sake of the cross "count the world but loss," and "boast" in it alone, and "sacrifice everything for it? Can the Christian faith be accurately summed up as "the faith of Christ crucified?" What are the grounds, he asks himself, for this concentration on the cross of Christ?

-----------------------
"Oh, Father, grant that I may really learn the centrality of the cross of Christ, live in its shadow, lift its silhouette, and laud it in all my preaching."

Reflections on Week One

2010-07-03T15:06:00.002-05:00

As of today, I have been in Pleasanton for one week. There's a hymn often sung around Thanksgiving entitled "Count Your Blessings." I have decided that it is a fitting time to recount some blessings and reflections gleaned this week. I will herein avoid naming names with the specifics (though I want to) because I don't have permission and I don't want to embarrass and/or exalt anyone in particular over anyone else. Even so, I give thanks to God for all of you--you know who you are--and I magnify Him for His goodness shown me through you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.

First, there have been a great number of simple kindnesses shown to me. They started as soon as I got here. There was a good number of folks at the house waiting on my arrival. They promptly moved my stuff right in. I practically didn't even have to lift a finger, but simply directed traffic. I have been given many gifts. I was given some cookies, poppyseed bread, and meatballs to ensure I ate while I was getting settled. I was given a few items that I needed or wanted for the house. I have been firmly instructed not to buy things I might need, but to keep a list so that the excesses of others can be shared with me. The offers for help materially and otherwise continue to come, as do other necessary items for the house. I have been visited and invited several times to take part in family gatherings and treated with the utmost hospitality and welcome.

My first Sunday was such a blessing. Two things in particular hit me hard during the service.
First, during communion time, I was seated behind the table. Centered on the table is a large ornamental cross. As I sat there, I looked up to realize I was directly behind the cross. What a beautiful picture and paradigm for ministry.

"Oh, LORD God, please hide me always behind the cross. Help me always to live in the shadow of the cross. In this, your ministry entrusted to me, please help me exalt the cross of Christ above all else and be overshadowed by it. Let it not be about me, my name, fame, ability, or reputation, but simply the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whose name and blood I can pray. Amen."

Second, as I entered the pulpit to read the Scripture, I looked out and was taken aback in my heart as I gazed upon all the souls now under my charge. "Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you" (Heb. 13:17). Powerful. What a great responsibility I bear to God and to you, First Christian Church, fellow saints of God, my brothers and sisters, His sheep. "Oh, God, help me! I need you desperately! I am woefully inadequate and unfit for the task. Strengthen me by Thy grace."

I sense a genuine gratitude and concern for me already. There have been several times in prayer when people have lifted me up specifically, thanking God for bringing me here and praying on my behalf. I cannot express what that felt like--how humbling, how moving, how burdening... There's just something about hearing someone genuinely pray for you--and to pray the same things you are praying for yourself. Oh, God, you are good!

Yesterday in the men's prayer meeting, I was so blessed to see men of God gathered together, praying passionately for one another and each other's families, for the community, and for the nation. There were three generations represented there--and not just from our church. God is faithful to all generations.

A certain individual sent me a text message one night this week. In it, he referenced the "initiation" I must undergo. I asked him to be easy on me. His response was humbling. He said, "We won't be too mean. That would be disrespectful." Bam! Do you see it? There is an implicit respect for me by virtue of the office and position to which God has called me. "Oh, Lord, though I am unworthy, make me worthy of such respect and grant that I may really be a pastor to these, your people--not by virtue of title, but by virtue of earned respect and trust."

I met with a man directly under my charge as the pastor. He assured me of his absolute support and submission to my authority. What on earth?! He is older than I am. He has been in the ministry longer than I have. He is married and has children. He has been at this church for years. And He is deferring to me, a know-nothing, single, wet-behind-the-ears, would-be pastor? "Oh, God, your Spirit's fruit astounds me."

Yesterday, I walked into my kitchen. The blinds were open. Lo and behold, there was a young man from the church push mowing my yard in the middle of the day's heat. I wanted to ask him, "Brother, are you mowing my yard? I thought it was my job to do that! Why on earth would you mow my yard?"

To all of you, my brothers and sisters, thank you. I love you in Christ. I am thankful to God for you and sincerely appreciate the opportunity to serve Him alongside you. His grace has ministered to me through you--a blessing I sincerely hope to be able to return in the days ahead.

-Allen

Wisdom from Max Lucado for Today

2010-06-08T14:48:00.001-05:00

I found this particularly potent today. Read these words of Max Lucado in his devotional, Grace for the Moment, for June 8 entitled "Set Apart."

Anyone who wants to be a friend of the world becomes God's enemy. --James 4:4--

     John the Baptist would never get hired today. No church would touch him. He was a public relations disaster. He "wore clothes made from camel's hair, and had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey" (Mark 1:6). Who would want to look at a guy like that every Sunday?
     His message was as rough as his dress: a no-nonsense, bare-fisted challenge to repent because God was on his way.
     John the Baptist set himself apart for one task, to be a voice of Christ. Everything about John centered on his purpose. His dress. His diet His actions. His demands.
     You don't have to be like the world to have an impact on the world. You don't have to be like the crowd to change the crowd. You don't have to lower yourself down to their level to lift the your level. Holiness doesn't seek to be odd. Holiness seeks to be like God.

Addendum to "Levites as NT Clergy Parallel" (May 26, 2010)

2010-06-08T11:09:00.001-05:00

In the post linked above, I cited my belief that the Levites parallel the NT office of pastor. The short of it is because in the NT, all Christians are priests--to God and to one another. The Levites were set apart to minister to the Lord and to help the priests carry out their functions.

Now hear this verse from Deuteronomy:

Therefore Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers. The LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God said to him. --Deuteronomy 10:9--

Oh! may all ministers of the gospel count this their motto, that they hold nothing here on earth as their own, that they would be willing to give up all they have in the service of our God and be totally devoted to Him.

Hear now the admonition of Paul to Timothy:

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. --1 Tim. 6:9-12--

May we count nothing as our own but God Himself, relinquishing all that is necessary to be wholly devoted to Him and to our assigned dutiful service to His Kingdom and His people.

(NOTE: I am well aware of 1 Cor. 9 and am in no way suggesting that pastors should be unpaid or take vows of poverty.)

Forgiveness Demonstrated

2010-06-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

"Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry." -2 Tim. 4:11

See here a beautiful picture of forgiveness and restoration in the body of Christ! Recall Acts 15:37-39:

"Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus."

First of all, note the reality of the humanity of our apostle. He had interpersonal difficulties. He got angry. He had a sharp disagreement.

Second, note the reality of weariness in ministry. John Mark deserted the mission.

Third, note the reality of interpersonal difficulties, even in ministry, even between good, God-fearing ministers of the gospel. There will be differences of opinion and preference as to how things should be done.

Finally, though, recall our beginning. Notice the reality of the grace of God working in the life of Paul and of Mark. Paul obeyed the imperative to forgive others. Mark seems to have grown in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. God's grace brought reconciliation and restoration. Praise His glorious grace!

Levites as the NT Clergy Parallel

2010-05-26T12:47:00.000-05:00

"Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the people of Israel, and the Levites shall be mine. ... For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel. ... And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel..." --Numbers 8:14, 16a, 19a

The Levites were chosen specifically by God and set apart for His service. They served and assisted the priests.

In the NT, all Christians are called priests to God (a wonderful doctrine of priesthood of the believer). 1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (emphasis added).

Now hear the words of Ephesians 4:11-12: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ." Do you see the parallel? Numbers 8 says, "I have given" and Ephesians 4 says, "And he gave."

The conclusion is clear. Those called of God to the ministry are God's gift to His people. OT ministers were a gift to the people Israel. NT ministers are a gift to the church. So, my fellow ministers of the gospel, we are Levites!

In light of that, then, recall Numbers 8:16a: "For they are wholly given to me from among the people of Israel." Please grant it, Lord!

Running

2010-04-27T23:40:00.000-05:00

I'm tired of running alone. I want someone to run with me. Not ahead of me, not behind me, but with me.

While I do not appreciate in the least the TKE fraternity or anything the "Tekes" stand for (at least in my experience), I am struck by a shirt the FL Tech frat had. It read thus:

We don't want you to walk ahead of us and be our leader.
We don't want you to walk behind us and be our follower.
We want you to walk beside us and be our brother.

Apropos for me as of late, I think.

Isaiah's Parallel with Revelation

2010-04-24T13:19:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 25:8-9
"He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
It will be said on that day, 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.'"

Rev. 21:3-4
"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'"

Amazing. The passage in Isaiah 25 contains oracles of God's salvation, following Isaiah 24, which declares God's judgment of the whole earth. Revelation 21 is about the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven from God after the judgment of the whole earth.

Perhaps this is Isaiah's apocalyptic vision? Perhaps this is another illustration of the near-far fulfillment we see so often in prophecy? Perhaps this validates again the Christian understanding of the Messianic age vis-a-vis the Jewish understanding so often seen in the NT?

I suppose it will take more study, but it's a good initial train of thought, isn't it?

Lessons from Leviticus: Uncleanness

2010-04-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Lev. 22:4-7
"None of the offspring of Aaron who has a leprous disease or a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean through contact with the dead or a man who has had an emission of semen, and whoever touches a swarming thing by which he may be made unclean or a person from whom he may take uncleanness, whatever his uncleanness may be--the person who touches such a thing shall be unclean until the evening and shall not eat of the holy things unless he has bathed his body in water. When the sun goes down he shall be clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because they are his food."

I believe we can learn three lessons regarding uncleanness in the life of a Christian.

Uncleanness spreads.

Note that even contact with anything unclean, whether an object or an unclean person, would defile the priests. This is, in the first place, a very high standard of holiness. No wonder Paul admonished the Corinthians to cleanse from among themselves the old leaven, that is, the sinful man (1 Cor. 5:6-7). Church discipline, anyone?
Christian, whether the sin is in you or you associate with sinful people or sinful objects, it does not matter. Uncleanness inevitably spreads. God's standard is the utmost cleanness and holiness.

Uncleanness stifles.

The priests who became unclean were not allowed to eat of the holy things offered to God. That was part of their function and the blessing of their office. During the time of their uncleanness, their function and their blessing was removed from them. Though they did not lose their standing as priests, they simply could not carry out their role.

Christian, sin in your life stifles you. It does not change your status as a child, saint, or priest of God. But it does cause you to not be able to correctly perform the holy duties He has commanded you. And it also guarantees He will not be near to you and bless you; it hinders fellowship with God (see also Lev. 22:3). Ever tried to preach or teach when you are involved in known sin? Ever tried to evangelize when you are involved in sin? Ever felt the discipline and displeasure of the Lord because of it? Ever felt that though you cried out unceasingly in prayer, He would not answer? (I recommend checking out Psalm 66:18 at this point.)

Note also this not only affected just their job, but their very livelihood. The function and blessing to which I am referring in this passage is the ability to eat. Their uncleanness was so serious that it affected even their very ability to be nourished and sustained. It was so serious that it threatened even their life!

Christian, sin affects not just what you do, but it threatens the very core of who you are. It will affect your ability to be spiritually nourished and sustained. It will threaten the very life that now lives within you. It grieves the Holy Spirit of God. I am not suggesting in the least that you can pass from spiritual life to death (i.e. lose your salvation or lose the Holy Spirit). I am merely saying that all sin is a constant and serious threat to your ability to live abundantly (John 10:10) and display the Christ-life that you actually do possess.

Uncleanness can be short-term.

The priest's uncleanness was only temporary. On the new day, at sunset, he could be clean again. But a few items are worthy of note.

He had to recognize his uncleanness.
He had to bear the consequences of his uncleanness. That is, he had to remain defiled and separate throughout the whole day, unable to fulfill his role as priest.
He had to fulfill the condition for restoration from his uncleanness. He had to bathe himself in water. He had to consciously, proactively do something to restore right standing with God to be useful for service again.

The restoration of the priest immediately entitled him to take part again in the functions and blessings of his office. He did not lose his food! It was still there waiting for him when he was restored.
Christian, take heart! Perhaps some uncleanness has found its way into your life. But know that it need not be a permanent stifling influence in your life. It can be short term. It can be removed in order to your restoration in regard to your spiritual walk with the Lord. But, like the priests, there are some conditions that you must meet.

You must recognize your uncleanness. Admit it. Face it. Call it what it is. Sin is sin. Do not justify it or ignore it any longer.
You must realize that you have to bear the consequences of your sin. You are, as I have said, saved in an ultimate sense. You are not condemned. But God does discipline His children (Heb. 12:5-11). And realize that even though forgiveness may come, sometimes sin has ongoing consequences and effects that must be endured, perhaps as a part of God's discipline. (By way of illustration, though not perfectly parallel here, consider Rom. 1:18-32, where God "gave them over" [vv. 24, 26, 28].)
You must fulfill the conditions for restoration. Check it out: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Oh, child of God, you need not bathe yourself in water. The blood of Jesus is efficacious to cleanse all your sin. If you have truly been washed in His blood, then in some sense all your sin is atoned for and washed away. But there is another very real sense in which the blood of Jesus is efficacious in an ongoing sense, such that we need to be continually cleansed by it. If some sin has soiled your life, wash yourself this day and be restored!

Note that, if you do, your food is right there waiting for you. Your fellowship with God will be restored and He will use you yet again.

God's Persistent Presence: OT Cleanliness Requirements as NT Motivation

2010-04-22T22:50:00.000-05:00

Deut. 23:9 "When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing."
Now consider 1 Peter 5:8, wherein Satan is explicitly called our adversary. Eph. 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Deut. 23:12-14 "You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. Since the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you."

In the NT, quoting the Old, Peter says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1 Pet. 1:16). Hebrews 12:1 tells us to "lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us." Eph. 5:3-5 says, "But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."

Oh, Lord, please forgive me, for "I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips" (Isa. 6:5). "Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions!" (Ps. 51:1) Lord, please do forgive me, cleanse me afresh, and help me to purge the evil from my life, that I may be holy! Sanctify me and change me; make me like Jesus. Thank You for your unfailing love and grace, that I may come now in His name. Amen.

What is the dung in your life that needs to be removed from the camp and buried?

Thoughts 3-25-2010

2010-03-28T20:17:00.001-05:00

Ex. 29:36 "and every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement. Also you shall purify the altar, when you make atonement for it, and shall anoint it to consecrate it."

1.     See here the need for constant, daily repentance and confession of sin unto the ongoing work of atonement (cf. 1 John 1:9). This is absolutely beautiful when contrasted to the words of our Lord when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30)! Aren’t you glad it is done? Hallelujah!
a.     “He [Christ] entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (Heb. 9:12)
b.     “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Heb. 10:10-14)
c.     Oh, how glorious it is that the blood of Jesus is efficacious once for all time! So it is that His blood is efficacious to cleanse me even today (1 John 1:7)! “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean! Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!” (Ps. 51:7)
2.     See here the fullness of the extension of the demand for holiness. Not only the priests, but also the utensils of worship by the priests (and thus the people also) had to be holy. This leads to two further applications:
a.     How true it is that the "utensils" of Christian worship often become defiled by fallen humanity in their use. For example, songs of worship, or even preaching, may be idolized or sought after more than the object of their aim, our Lord and His glory. In such case, they are defiled. We must seek always to purify not only ourselves, but we should also strive to ensure that our means and methods of worship are also sanctified and not defiled.
b.     We should strive to ensure that everything about our ministry and worship is holy. This speaks to God’s demand for absolute, extensive holiness in all worship and service rendered unto Him. Consider these, then. Our methods must be pure, sound, and biblical. Our motives should be pure. The books we use in study and preparation; the posters, pictures, banners, advertisements, etc. that we display in our churches; the outreach events we host; the words and way in which we preach or teach; the materials we use to teach; the fellowship events; the prayers we pray; the private times behind closed doors; the very thoughts of our minds; the way we find rest and recreation—all these and more are encompassed in a life of ministry and worship of which God demands purification and holiness.

Ex. 29:37 “Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.”

1.     “It shall be most holy.” Oh, not just holy, but “most holy.” How much more, then, are we “most holy” who have been atoned for and consecrated by the thrice holy God (Isa. 6:3; cf. Rev. 4:8) through the blood of His dear Son!
2.     Remember Isaiah? When a coal was taken from the altar and touched to his lips, his guilt was taken away and his sin atoned (Isa. 6:7). But what a greater altar we have as Christians! We have Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, holy Son of God, as our altar and our propitiation!
3.     Have you come in contact with—have you touched—the altar of Jesus Christ? If you have, you have been made “most holy.” If not, run to the altar! Reach out for Him and Him alone! He alone is the altar that can now purify from all sin. And He will! If you but run to the altar and ask, He will!

Ex. 29:43, 45 “There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. … I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.”
1.     The Lord is here speaking of the tent of meeting. Note that the tent of meeting shall be sanctified by His glory. Now hear these words:
a.     “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. … And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:14, 16)
2.     At the risk of stripping the Old Testament of its original value to its original audience, I say how perfect and glorious is the parallel typology to prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah! How glorious it is that Christ is manifest even from the earliest institution of true worship! Thus it shall always be! “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says He (Rev. 1:8).

1 Cor. 1:6 “even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you”
Salvation is confirmed in the lives of those who apparently trust Christ. There is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. “You will know them by their fruits,” so said our Lord (Matt. 7:16, 20). However small, there must be fruit, but there surely is no such thing as a fruitless Christian. Perish the thought that He may be your Savior but not your Lord. You cannot have one without the other. When you meet the risen Christ, you must like Thomas cry, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). When you meet the risen Christ, the Lord of glory, you will inevitably be changed.

1 Cor. 1:7-9 “so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1.     Notice first that believers lack no spiritual gift. We have all been filled and given something with which to serve our Lord. Remember this was written to a church (I think the “you” is plural). The implication is that the body of Christ (in each local context) has been filled by God with gifts just as He sees fit to carry out His work (cf. Eph. 4:1-16).
a.     How are you using the grace-gift(s) He has given you? If not, why not—and will you now?
b.     Are you taking part in your local church? Are you serving there—I mean really serving—using what you have for the good of the body and the glory of our Lord?
2.     Notice second that we are waiting for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming again! Hallelujah! Let this thought be your hope and constancy this day and in the days ahead. Do not forget to live like Jesus is coming. I’m just waiting. I’m ready! All is done. The war is won! Though battles yet remain, He is coming. Quickly (Rev. 22:20). Are you ready to go?!
3.     Notice third, “who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
a.     Amen and amen. I can add nothing to that.
4.     Notice fourth that all this, this great salvation, depends not on us, but on God, who is faithful. It’s not about you. It’s not up to you (well, at least not alone). Stay close to Him.
a.     Thank You, oh my God, for your steadfast faithfulness, grace, and love, that will not let me go. Thank You for filling me and sustaining me! How great and good You are! Hallelujah!

Scriptural Thoughts for Today 2

2010-03-16T22:38:00.003-05:00

Rom. 4:11
The sign and seal of the old covenant with Abraham was circumcision. By his belief alone Abraham was first made righteous and thus made a member of God's covenant people. The seal and sign was circumcision. The parallel in the New Covenant in the New Testament is the Holy Spirit; for that, see Eph. 1:13-14. (Sorry, Presbyterian friends, but the parallel is apparently not baptism according to Paul.) So, then, we see affirmed yet again salvation by God's grace through the instrumentality of our faith. Belief in Christ alone saves us, declares us righteous, and grants us standing in God's family. The sign and seal received to demonstrate that is the Holy Spirit. That, too, says a great deal about the proof of a Christian's salvation, that is, his fruit (Matt. 7:16, 20). As the seal of circumcision was an outward and visible sign of right standing with God, so must the seal of the Holy Spirit be an outward and visible sign. Are you Spirit-led (see Rom. 8:12-17; Gal. 5:15-16)?

Rom. 6:19
Lawlessness always leads to more lawlessness. The old saying holds true: "Sin will take you farther than you want to go." Christians, stop sinning! Every time you give in, it gets a stronger grip on you. Perhaps that is why Paul said to FLEE immorality and pursue virtue (2 Tim. 2:22). The last part of that verse is equally encouraging. It tells us that with each act of righteousness (such as each victory over sin), we progress in sanctification. Each action matters, good and bad. Take heart! There is no such thing as a small victory, and in spite of failures sin and death are still defeated through Christ (cf. 6:1-11).

Thoughts from Scripture Today

2010-03-15T23:24:00.000-05:00

Exodus 10:7-19 (esp. vv. 12ff.)
When Pharaoh failed to fulfill God's demands exactly, the LORD still sent the plague. God is not interested in compromise, but full and exact obedience.

Exodus 10:19
The total removal of the locusts represents the LORD'S total forgiveness and removal of sin-guilt (cf. v. 17).

Exodus 12:43-49
The Passover was only for the circumcised people of Israel! This has great parallels and implications for the Lord's Supper, no? The Lord's Supper is only for God's people, that is, not for lost people. Further, it seems that it is only for God's people who have received the sign of His covenant. In the OT, that was circumcision, but in the NT, it is baptism. If so, my conclusion based on NT Scriptures is affirmed that only baptized believers in Christ should partake of the Lord's Supper. Further, strangers or sojourners could eat the Passover as well, so it seems this eliminates closed communion. (I have to be careful here, Presbyterian friends, for I do not intend to push the metaphor too far to suggest infant baptism.)

Exodus 14:4
"And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD. And they did so."
Hmm. Interesting. It's there.

Exodus 16:3, 9-12
Meat and bread is what they had in Egypt. God's message is that He can provide that, even in the wilderness, from nothing (vis. the Egyptians) and for nothing in return (vis. slave labor in Egypt).

Exodus 16:7-8
Their complaints against Moses and Aaron were really complaints against the LORD, for the servants are nothing but messengers of the divine.

2 Chronicles 36:15
"The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers [the prophets], because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place." Wow. God sent the prophets with their harsh messages due to his compassion! Though it may be hard to hear, we should remember well that God sends his prophets and preachers to us with harsh truths of the word because of his compassion.

My Ordination Charge

2010-03-15T17:38:00.001-05:00

Ordination Charge

Delivered by Gary Gates, D.O.M. of the Brevard Baptist Association

at Haven Baptist Church in Kansas City, KS

for the ordination service of Allen Reger

March 14, 2010

Text: 2 Cor. 4:1-7

There are five principles for your ministry.

I. Recognize God has called you to this ministry (v. 1).

a. You don’t have to become discouraged.

b. You don’t have to become weary.

c. You don’t have to be cowardly or timid.

II. Reach for the highest level of integrity (v. 2).

a. In your private life

b. In your public life / ministry – We are not Christian showmen!

c. In your proclamation of God’s word

III. Reveal the truth of God’s word (vv. 3-6).

a. The focus is not your ministry. Always preach Jesus Christ.

IV. Realize you are a servant of Jesus Christ (v. 5).

a. “If you can’t stand the smell of sheep, you shouldn’t be a shepherd.”

b. It is all for Him! It is for Christ’s sake.

V. Remember your power is from God (v. 7).

a. Outside of the power of God, you have no power and no ministry.

b. Illustration: You are the glove; the Holy Spirit is the hand.

Deuteronomy 5:24-27--Still happening today!

2010-02-17T10:21:00.000-06:00

"You said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we will die. For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go near and hear all that the LORD our God says; then speak to us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.'" --Deut. 5:24-27

Here we have the words of the people of Israel to Moses after God appeared to them on Mount Sinai. I think the same thing is happening among God's people today. Look at this progression. Think on it with the church in mind.

They saw and heard from God directly. They drew near to the place of His appearing. In so doing, they saw how awesome and fearful He was. It seems they realized how utterly unholy and unworthy they were in such a glorious presence. Therefore they became afraid. "Why should we die? For this great fire will consume us ... then we will die. [!]"

Out of their fear, because of the overwhelming presence of God, they gave up. They withdrew. He was too much for them. They viewed themselves as too unworthy. So they developed what one leadership expert has called SHHMS, the Super Hired Holy Man Syndrome. They asked Moses to go near to God and speak with Him on their behalf.

They thought that surely Moses, this great leader, was more worthy than they. Either that or they desired to put his life on the line instead of their own. (I guess those of you who lead God's people have to decide which one!) They wanted someone to do it for them.

They promised to do two things. First, they said they would hear what God said. Second, they said they would obey. They failed in both.

Remarkably, they did not even really hear. They had just heard the Ten Words [Commandments] of God from the midst of the fire, darkness, and thick gloom not to make an idol. Yet after this, they asked Moses to be their intermediary. When he returns what does he find? They had made and were worshiping a golden calf! They could not truly hear the word of the Almighty LORD God! So how much less the word of a human intermediary. This problem continued throughout Israel's history, even to Jesus' day. He pronounced woes upon Jerusalem and the religious leaders, for they were guilty of persecuting and killing all the prophets God sent to them. They would not hear the word of the Lord, neither firsthand for themselves nor through an intermediary.

Corresponding to that, they could not obey. They did not do it. This needs little expounding, for it should already be apparent that the "hearing" and the "doing" are inextricably linked. If you do not obey, you have not really heard. If you really hear, then you will obey. Thus the connection in the Hebrew word, shema.

And now think on the church. We have churches full of people who get saved. They draw near to God. They hear His awesome voice, sense the weight of His presence, and feel the distinct fear that comes with the sense of their own unworthiness in the light of His glory and holiness. It scares them, so they withdraw. They get the SHHMS. They think, "Well, that's why we pay the preacher. He'll do that. Preacher, you spend time with God during the week. Then you come tell us what He says in the Bible and we'll do it."

That is folly. Learn from the children of Israel. If you will not first draw near and hear from God yourself, you are wrong to think that you will hear from Him through a human intermediary. No. You will not hear, nor will you then obey! Children of God, let us not forfeit the great and wonderful privilege that is ours, to draw near and hear directly from the LORD God, the Almighty Sovereign of the Universe. Let us not forget that He is indeed holy and glorious and awesome, a God above all to be feared. But let us also not forget to "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" because of the blood of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord (Heb. 4:16), who has reconciled us in his fleshly body through death (Col. 1:22), granting us peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

[To treat the Biblical text fully and fairly, note well what God said in Deut. 5:28, commending the people for their actions. Without full explanation, while I have cast the people of Israel in a negative light here, God said it was a good thing. Thus I submit to Scripture. But perhaps the emphasis of v. 28 is the condition of their hearts, among other considerations.]

Some Thoughts for Today

2010-02-15T19:28:00.001-06:00

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." --Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5
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"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" --Psalm 46:10 (emphasis added)

Oh, Lord! Help me to remember that it is all bigger than me. This life, with its momentary afflictions, difficulties, and troubles pales in comparison to Your eternally glorious plan. My life is nothing. My troubles are nothing. This day is nothing. But you are everything. You will be exalted. Let my life resound with that song and my heart set on that purpose. Help me forget myself, that I might magnify you. Or, in the words of John the Baptist, "He must increase; I must decrease" (John 3:30).
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"The LORD is with you while you are with him. If you seek him he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." --2 Chr. 15:2 When we return to God, He will respond and be gracious. Oh, glorious promise! You are faithful, O God. Thank you for your unfailing love.
----------------------------
"Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days." --2 Chr. 15:17
Oh, Lord, may it be said of me!
-------------------------
Read 2 Chr. 16. Asa, the good king of Judah, fell away from God in his old age. This bears an important lesson. Even great men of God can fall away from righteousness and seeking the LORD after a great many years. Be vigilant all your days!
"Oh, Lord, please help me to seek you all my days."
---------------------------
"But Micaiah said, 'As the LORD lives, what my God says, that I will speak.'" --2 Chr. 18:13
"Oh, Lord, may it be said of me! Give me the courage and boldness to speak your word of truth no matter the cost."
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Acts 12:12 - the disciples were meeting together for prayer late at night. In chapters 9-11, we see them praying at various hours of the day.
"Oh, Lord, give me that desire and persistence in prayer."
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"Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and grandsons." --Deuteronomy 4:9

The Morning Watch: More Thoughts on Prayer

2010-02-04T17:03:00.001-06:00

"Give ear to my words, O Jehovah,

Consider my meditation.

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God;

For unto thee do I pray.

O Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my voice;

In the morning will I order my prayer unto thee, and will keep watch.---Psalm 5:1-3

Probably most people are so constituted by nature and are so preoccupied by business that some such arrangement as is suggested in this Psalm about regularity is essential to a successful life of prayer. ... The chances are in most lives that the keeping of the 'morning watch' will prove to be one of the most salutary agencies within the control of the will. This will cost, as regularity always costs, a persistent determination not to surrender to adverse circumstances or wayward moods."

Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer (New York: Abingdon Press, 1915), 75-76.

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"Prayer is opening the life up to him. The prayerless heart is fleeing from God. Finding God is really letting God find us; for our search for him is simply surrender to his search for us. Whent he truth of this is clearly seen, prayer becomes real. ... They consent to be found by him."

Fosdick, 89.

----------------------

"I said, 'I will find God, and forth I went

To seek Him in the clearness of the sky,

But over me stood undendurably

Only a pitiless, sapphire firmament

Ringing the world, blank splendour; yet intent

Still to find God, 'I will go seek,' said I,

'His way upon the waters,' and drew nigh

An ocean marge, weed-strewn and foam-besprent;

And the waves dashed on idle sand and stone,

And very vacant was the long, blue sea;

But in the evening as I sat alone,

My window open to the vanishing day,

Dear God! I could not choose but kneel and pray,

And it sufficed that I was found of Thee."

Fosdick, 89-90, quoting Edward Dowden.

A Somber Reminder for Ministers of the Gospel

2010-01-26T11:35:00.000-06:00

"She's alright, isn't she?" The question pierced my soul. I cannot shake the tone of the question. What do you say in a moment like that?

The question was whispered in my ear in the midst of an embrace of a close friend of mine just after her mother's funeral. The casket was being borne out the doors at that moment. I wanted so badly to be comforting, and yet I dare not toy with--or, worse, lie about--sacred truths. The truth was I did not know.

In that encounter, I was reminded of two imperatives for all who would serve as ministers of the gospel.

First, we must always be prepared. We must know the truth of God's word. We must know God's word in our hearts and minds whereby we may offer comfort, yet through the purest words of truth that exist. We must think about these questions in advance and prepare our souls to minister before the time comes. We must be prepared by daily communion and fellowship with our Father, that through the abiding awareness of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit we may offer words of wisdom with wisdom. Yes, and we must also know people. Our relationships must not be cursory and superficial. That is, we should always strive in our relationships to be spiritually aware, knowing where that individual stands with Christ. I suppose any real relationship worth having and maintaining ought to concern itself and center around the spiritual and the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Alas, in this case I simply did not know well enough in this case to answer confidently.) Thus for those that know him, we may rejoice together in our relationships with individuals. And for those who do not, we may ever urge them on to the cross of our Lord.

Second, I was reminded of how utterly important our relationships with others really are and what a drastic impact we (can and should) have. This lady is one of my closest friends. She has done much for me and means much to me. It became apparent to me in her soft sobs and the tone of the question that the same is true from her vantage point. In spite of three other ministers who officiated at the service, she asked me. Throughout the service, they had lauded her mother's life and spoke with confidence of her favorable standing with God, assuring the mourners that she was in heaven, where we, too, shall one day see her again. (Personally, I think this is true as well, for her life seemed to have good fruit, though I cannot say absolutely and finally, for I do not see the heart nor did I know her well enough to have had such meaningful conversation about her spiritual condition.) But in spite of all their assurances, she still asked me. She did not ask them; she asked me. She wanted to know from me because she trusted me. "She's alright, isn't she?" She knew of my devotion to the Lord and my sincerity of faith. So she asked me. Oh, my fellow servants of Christ, we must really invest in people. Let us be absolutely sincere and authentic with them about our faith. Let us invest in them. Great opportunities will be afforded us to really minister to souls when we do. I may also suggest this will keep us honest.

By all this I was greatly humbled and honored. What a great task lies before us! Yes, and what a great privilege is ours to be used of our Lord in such a substantial, significant way in this life, the consequences of which flow into eternity. I think I know a little better now Paul's words in 1 Cor. 1:12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service."

Some Excellent Thoughts on Prayer

2010-01-14T21:35:00.000-06:00

All are taken from Harry Emerson Fosdick, The Meaning of Prayer (New York: Abingdon, 1915), 41-46.
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Let us face again today that formality in prayer that comes from a failure to grasp the individual love of God. There are real difficulties for the mind to face when it tries to believe that God so cares for each of us, but perhaps even greater for most people is the difficulty that the imagination faces. In this vast universe how can we picture God as caring for every individual thing, even to stricken sparrows and to the hairs f our head? Consider, however, the scientific truth of gravitation, that the whole earth rises to meet a child's ball, just as truly as the ball falls to meet the earth, and that only the lack of sensitiveness in our instruments prevents us from measuring the earth's ascent as it responds to the pull of the child's toy. Can we imagine that? Is it not unimaginable, though plainly true? And if in a gravitate system a whole planet moves to meet a tossed ball, we ought not to dismiss, for reasons of weak imagination, the truth that in a love-system of persons, the Eternal God responds to each child's approach. As Kipling sings:

"Who clears the grounding berg,
And guides the grinding floe,
He hears the cry of the little kit fox,
And the lemming on the snow."

O Thou good omnipotent, who so carest for every one of us, as if Thou caredst for him alone; and so for all, as if all were but one! Blessed is the man who loveth Thee, and his friend in Thee, and his enemy for Thee. I behold how some things pass away that others may replace them, but Thou dost never depart. O God, my Father, supremely good, Beauty of all things beautiful, to Thee will I intrust whatsoever I have received from Thee, and so shall I lose nothing. Thou madest me for Thyself, and my heart is restless until it repose in Thee. Amen.---St. Augustine (354-430).

O God, mercifully grant unto us that the fire of Thy love may burn up in us all things that displease Thee, and make us meet for Thy heavenly Kingdom.---Roman Breviary.

Most loving Lord, give me a childlike love of Thee, which may cast out all fear. Amen.---E. B. Pusey (1800-1882).

Grant me, even me, my dearest Lord, to know Thee, and love Thee, and rejoice in Thee. And, if I cannot do these perfectly in this life, let me at least advance to higher degrees every day, till I can come to do them in perfection. Let the knowledge of Thee increase in me here, that it may be full hereafter. Let the love of Thee grow every day more and more here, that it may be perfect hereafter; that my joy may be great in itself, and full in Thee. I know, O God, that Thou art a God of truth; O make good Thy gracious promises to me, that my joy may be full. Amen.---St. Augustine (354-430).

What Great Irony!

2009-12-30T01:07:00.000-06:00

"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself" But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die." John 12:31-33

What great irony! First, the judgment that is upon this world is the cross. Right there it is equated! The very instrument and event that saves the world also judges the world. Yet another reason Jesus is THE way. Second, the ruler of this world is cast out by the cross. The very place Satan thought He had won, the place it appeared His power was greatest, actually turned out to be the place where He was defeated and His power was shown for nothing.

You are amazing, God. Truly inscrutable.

Doesn't this seem backwards?

2009-12-30T01:02:00.000-06:00

"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him." John 12:26 (emphasis added)

What a thought! God honors you? Can you imagine that scene? Doesn't this seem backwards? I mean, who are you? (Who am I, that is?) The almighty, omnipotent, eternal, glorious sovereign, the creator and sustainer of the universe, the one that no man can see and live? He honors you, His creation from dust, the one who broke His law and spurned His grace and nailed His Son to the cross, the one who kept on sinning and failing every day even after you knew His grace and were freed from the bondage of sin?

You probably know what it's like to be honored. Maybe you've been praised by important people in front of lots of other important people. Maybe you've been paraded on stage and lauded for your accomplishments. Maybe you've received some award. Maybe you've received a VIP or backstage status to some event. Maybe you've even had a dinner held in your honor. Or perhaps you were called to the head table to sit with the president or director or something. People know who you are because of your association with and recognition by those who matter.

And here John recounts for us the words of Jesus Himself assuring us that one day the only One who really matters will call everyone's attention to you for your service to His Son. He will call you to His side, give you the place next to Him at the head table. He will present your reward in the sight of all the audience. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords will point to you. Yet, strangely, all this will glorify Him as well. And let us not forget the scene of the twenty-four elders falling down, casting their crowns at His feet.

Oh, what a motivation for service to our King! I don't mean the honor or reward itself. No, that pales in comparison to the real motivation. I mean the motivation stemming from the great humiliation this thought should bring to our hearts. God always did do things a little backwards from the world, didn't He?

(Let us also not forget the conditions: "If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.")

Powerful Truth from the Word "Then"

2009-12-30T00:36:00.001-06:00

"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, 'Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.' But when Jesus heard this, He said, 'This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.' Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was." John 11:1-6 (emphasis added)

Wow. That one little word just now jumped out at me. "Then." Out of all the times I've read this passage, I simply glossed over it. But it makes all the difference. It contains profound theology and provides powerful application. So what lessons can we learn from this one little word (and these six short verses, of course)? I propose that this one little word in this short passage provides four truths concerning a believer's relationship with Jesus.

1. Jesus' love for you is not connected to circumstances.
Do not miss that verse five plainly states His love for His three friends. He loved them before Lazarus was sick, He loved them in the middle of it, and He also loved them after the ordeal. He knew Lazarus was sick, but He then stayed two days longer where He was. I think He did it to demonstrate, as He later did, that His love and concern for His own is not bound by time and space.
Here's an application for you: He can deliberately choose to delay or deny your requests just so He can prove His love to you in the end. His love is not necessarily shown by what He gives you or does for you; His love stands as it is. When you pray and seem to get no answer... When you're in the middle of the storm and He seems to be sleeping... When you cry out, "Oh, Lord! Be swift to answer me!" and He then stays in the place where He is... You see, when He delays or says no, it does not mean that He is not pleased with you or that He does not love you. It may simply mean that He is showing you who He is--the One who does as He pleases because He is the Sovereign Lord over time and space. (This, as you might surmise, has great implications for a theodicy in response to the problem of evil, a fact that holds true for all the other points as well.)

2. Jesus is absolutely sovereign.
He is in control. He has a plan. He knows what is coming. He knows what to do. He is not a God manipulated or coerced by human requests, frailties, or whining. Nor is He in some way controlled by His attributes, as if He were forced to respond because He loves. No, He is in possession of Himself. "So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was." He deliberately chose to let Lazarus die. Though they tried, none could find fault with Him for His actions--because He is sovereign!
Here's a hard application: He is sovereign. He owes you nothing. He does not have to answer you at all. He is worthy of your worship and adoration even when He does not seem to answer you or give you what you think you need. You cannot find fault with Him, for He is operating according to His eternal, glorious plan, not your temporary, fleeting desires.

3. Jesus does what He does for your best interest.
While it is not true that Christianity is ultimately about you, it is equally untrue that Christianity is utterly not about you. The Bible is in fact God's message to you of His great love for you. In verse four, Jesus thought of the plight of Lazarus. Thereby He reminds us that in spite of the circumstances that come our way, He is thinking of you. Even though "He then stayed two days longer in the place where he was," assuring Lazarus's death, He also assured His disciples that the story was not over. The death that would come for Lazarus would not have the last word. It wasn't best for Lazarus to finally die at that point. But nor was it best for Lazarus to be healed and live on at that point. Jesus said no to death; it wasn't in Lazarus's best interest. It was not ultimately what he or his sisters needed. They needed to know Jesus' love and power more.
Here's an application: When Jesus is distant, when He tells you to wait, or when He tells you no, you must trust that it really is out of thought for your best interest. You may think you need something now, but Jesus knows better. He knows that maybe instead of that job or being healed, you need far more to agonize for a while so He can show you--and those around you--His glorious, mighty power in an unmistakable way later.

4. Jesus is ultimately concerned about the glory of God.
Verse four unmistakably displays this truth. It is not all about you. It is not about you. Do not misunderstand me. Point three above is true. Though He was concerned for Lazarus, "He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was" because that was what would ultimately bring God the Father all the glory through the Son. Jesus does everything He does because it glorifies God. He knows what will bring God glory, even when you don't, and He is sovereign to bring it about.
Here's an application, similar to what we have already discussed. Worship Him and glorify Him in the middle of it all. Even when you don't understand, remember He is working not only for your good, but for His glory. Trust Him. Rejoice in the fact that your plight here is being orchestrated by the One who gave Himself for you and is coming again for you. Rejoice that He is deliberately working out your life so that it will glorify God. He is accomplishing in you the purpose for which you were created! Remember that and count yourself blessed to be a part--a simple stone in the mosaic or a brush stroke on the canvas--of the beautiful, indescribable picture that is God's glory. You get to glorify God when Jesus decides what to do then.

Amazing. "Oh, Lord, change my mindset! Help me to love, trust, and fear you more. Help me to see all those little words that so change how I understand you. Thank you for your amazing grace and for showing it to me in your Word and your word. Through Christ our Savior, Amen."